Healthy People 2010: implications for orthopaedic nurses.

Healthy People 2010 is the latest publication developed by the United States Public Health Service (USDHSS, 2000) to identify the most significant and preventable threats to health and to establish national goals to reduce these threats. This document contains two major goals, 467 objectives, 28 focus areas, and 10 leading indicators. Orthopaedic nurses are in ideal positions to assume leadership roles in promoting healthier behaviors in neighborhoods and communities as individuals, groups, and organizations begin to incorporate Healthy People 2010 into health promotion planning. Healthy People 2010 is designed to be a valuable resource for participating most effectively in improving the nation's health. By using this document to plan health promotion and disease prevention programs, orthopaedic nurses, regardless of practice setting, can impact the health of future generations of Americans.

Osteoporosis education programs: changing knowledge and behaviors.

Osteoporosis is an age related metabolic disease that primarily affects women and causes bone demineralization that results in fractures. Early identification of risk factors for osteoporosis and development of prevention programs is needed to halt the increasing incidence of the disease. Public health nurses (PHNs), with their emphasis on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention with individuals and families, are in a unique position to protect the health of these vulnerable populations who are at risk for osteoporosis. This article describes the implementation and program evaluation of three osteoporosis prevention educational programs that use three levels of intensity of design. Each design is based upon the learning needs of the targeted audience. The goals of each program were to increase knowledge of osteoporosis, increase health beliefs, and increase the frequency of osteoporosis preventing behaviors. Theoretical aspects from adult learning and the Health Belief Model (HBM) were used to develop the programs. For the program evaluation, participants completed evaluation instruments before and 3 weeks after participating in an osteoporosis health education program. Participants in all programs had significantly higher levels of knowledge after completing the programs; however, overall, there was no change in health beliefs or behaviors. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Codependency and related health variables.

Codependency is a controversial concept especially for feminist scholars who are concerned about pathologizing traditional female roles. This study's purpose was to determine: (1) the prevalence of codependency in a sample of older women who because of age may ascribe to traditional roles; (2) how the Hughes-Hammer/Martsolf theoretical model of codependency relates to other health variables; and (3) whether previous findings about the relationship between codependency and depression replicate. Survey design was used with a sample of 238 women (ages 65 to 91) attending a flu shot clinic. Subjects completed the Codependency Assessment Tool, Beck Depression Inventory, Quality of Life Scale, Perceived Health Report, Measurement of Patient Functional Abilities, and Illness Prevention Screening Behaviors Checklist. Of these women, 99% had low codependency scores. Statistically significant correlations existed between codependency and perceived health (p < .01), and functional ability (p < .01). Codependency was not significantly correlated with illness prevention behaviors and quality of life. Codependency and depression, as in previous studies, were significantly correlated (r = .446, p = .0001). Using analysis of variance, 3 codependency subscales had significant positive effect on depression: Low Self-Worth, Medical Problems, and Hiding Self. Further studies should examine the degree of ascribing to traditional female roles in women dealing with codependency issues.

Osteoporosis in older men: knowledge and health beliefs.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this theory-based descriptive study was to describe older men's (> or = 65 years of age) knowledge of osteoporosis, their health beliefs about osteoporosis (specifically their perceived susceptibility), their confidence to perform osteoporosis-prevention behaviors, and actual performance of osteoporosis-prevention behaviors. DESIGN: A descriptive design was used to determine men's knowledge and health beliefs of osteoporosis, confidence to perform osteoporosis prevention behaviors, and performance of osteoporosis prevention behaviors. SAMPLE: A community-based convenience sample of 138 men 65 years of age and older was obtained in Northeastern Ohio community centers where men were likely to gather. METHOD: Men completed a questionnaire that included the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test, Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale, Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale (Kim, Horan & Gendler, 1991), and the Osteoporosis Preventing Behaviors Survey (Doheny & Sedlak, 1995). MAIN RESEARCH CLASSIFICATIONS: Osteoporosis, Men, Prevention, Health Beliefs, Orthopaedic Nursing. FINDINGS: Men had poor knowledge of osteoporosis, did not perceive themselves as susceptible to osteoporosis, and engaged in few osteoporosis preventing behaviors such as weight-bearing exercises and dietary calcium intake. CONCLUSION: Men need osteoporosis education and modification of lifestyle to include osteoporosis prevention behaviors. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING RESEARCH: Future research should include the development of osteoporosis awareness programs for men.

Fashion tips for women with osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a major nursing and health concern. Outcomes of this disease result in major body image changes including loss of height, curved spine, and protruding abdomen. Individuals with osteoporosis are not usually disabled but may perceive themselves as unattractive and experience social isolation due to ill fitting clothes that accentuate the physical changes. This article describes fashion tips on how to select clothes that are attractive, comfortable, and easy to wear.

Alcohol use in women 65 years of age and older.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between depression, codependency, self-coherence, and alcohol use and health outcomes in women 65 years of age and older. The framework is Erikson's ego-development theory. A convenience sample of 238 women was obtained from women attending flu shot clinics. This cross-sectional field study used survey methodology. Measures included the Beck Depression Inventory, Codependency Assessment Tool, Self-Coherence Survey Form C, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Alcohol Use Questionnaire, Self-Rated Health Tool, Quality of Life Visual Analogue Scale, Functional Ability Scale, Illness Prevention Screening Behaviors Checklist, and Sociodemographic Data. Results indicate a low consumption and little variation in use of alcohol. There were no significant associations between alcohol consumption and the dependent variables. Depression was significantly related to all the health outcomes; codependency was significantly related to all health outcomes except perceived quality of life; and self-coherence was significantly related to all health outcomes except illness prevention behavior. These findings have important implications for those providing care for older women.

NAONline. A valuable Internet resource for orthopaedic nurses.

NAONline is a valuable Internet resource for obtaining current information about topics related to orthopaedic nurses. NAONline provides up-to-date information about NAON, upcoming events and registration information, membership information, NAON products, continuing education offerings, the Orthopaedic Nursing journal, online continuing education offerings, and a forum to exchange information on practice topics. This article highlights various aspects of NAONline, how to access the site, and a brief discussion on how to connect to the Internet.

Peer review through clinical rounds. A collaborative critical thinking strategy.

Facilitating the development of critical thinking in beginning nursing students is challenging and exciting. Peer review through student-led clinical rounds can be an effective way to promote students' critical thinking in communicating assessment data and identifying client strengths and problems. Nineteen beginning baccalaureate nursing students participated in a peer review clinical round experience and were then asked to describe their critical thinking. Strengths of using the peer-led rounds include promotion of active student learning and encouragement of collaboration among peers.

Osteoporosis prevention in young women.

PURPOSE: To assess whether young women who participate in an osteoporosis prevention program based on the Health Belief (Rosenstock, 1966) and Self-Efficacy Models (Bandura, 1977) demonstrate higher levels of knowledge regarding osteoporosis prevention than young women who do not participate in such a program. DESIGN: A classic experimental design with one treatment group and one control group was used to test the efficacy of the osteoporosis prevention program. Pretest data on knowledge, health belief attitudes (7 subscales), and self-efficacy (2 subscales) were collected in the treatment and control groups. SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 31 young college women were randomly assigned to an experimental group or to a control group to receive an osteoporosis prevention program. METHOD: Subjects in the experimental and control groups completed the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test, the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale, and the Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale (Kim et al., 1991) at two times. The experimental group received an osteoporosis prevention program. MAIN RESEARCH CLASSIFICATIONS: Osteoporosis, Health Belief, Self-Efficacy, Women's Health. FINDINGS: Subjects in the experimental group had significantly higher knowledge and health belief scores after receiving the intervention than their pretest scores while subjects in the control group had no change in scores. CONCLUSION: The osteoporosis program was effective in increasing awareness of osteoporosis prevention in this group of young women. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING RESEARCH: The results may be useful for developing young women's awareness and knowledge of osteoporosis prevention. Future research could include developing osteoporosis prevention programs at an earlier age when girls are in grade school and junior high school. Teaching health promotion strategies for bone health is essential to all women across the life span.

Nutritional aspects of the orthopaedic trauma patient.

The metabolic response to trauma is related to a variety of factors, including severity of injury, age, and previous state of health and nutrition (Cardona et al., 1994). This article addresses nutritional considerations of an orthopaedic trauma patient. A case study has been developed with common findings associated with malnutrition, including postoperative infection. Three concepts are discussed: (a) pretrauma nutritional status, (b) post-trauma metabolism, and (c) nutritional assessment parameters. A brief comment on nursing diagnoses related to nutrition concludes this article.

Mental practice: an alternative approach to teaching motor skills.

Nursing educators expect that students will learn psychomotor skills and demonstrate competence in these skills. However, current emphasis on cognitive and psychosocial skills concerns nursing educators because psychomotor skills are necessary for safe practice. One possible strategy, based on a holistic framework, is mental practice. This is the same type of practice that athletes use when preparing to perform a sports activity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mental imaging practice for nursing students affected the learning and performance of giving an intramuscular injection. Findings suggest that mental practice does affect learning and performance of motor skills.

Caring for the orthopaedic patient with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited, chronic, painful condition seen primarily in blacks and populations from the Mediterranean and Caribbean areas. The crescent or sickle shaped red blood cells have a shorter lifespan causing severe anemia; they are sticky and easily clump together causing intravascular occlusions which eventually damage vital organs. Providing nursing care for patients with sickle cell disease can be very challenging because of the chronic nature of the illness. Understanding the disease phenomena can facilitate nursing assessments and help nurses individualize care for these clients.

Binge eaters: a comparison of eating patterns of those who admit to binging and those who do not.

The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of undiagnosed bulimic or pre-bulimic behaviours in a normal, but high risk population. A questionnaire eliciting information about eating habits and potential binge episodes, demographic background, and information about height and weight was completed by 479 college students. Subjects were designated as a non-binger, a non-labelled binger, or labelled binger according to their responses. Consistent with previous literature, findings showed a high prevalence of bulimia in the young, female, middle income population. Findings also revealed a group of students who described frequent binge episodes but did not consider themselves to have an eating disorder in that they did not label themselves as 'binge eaters' (the non-labelled binge group).