Generating Oncology Patient Trust in the Nurse: An Integrative Review.

An integrative review was conducted to evaluate the extent and quality of literature regarding adult oncology patients' trust in nurses. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Three themes were identified, which are as follows: nurse trust facilitating behaviors, nurse attributes, and the influence of patient-nurse trust on health and psychosocial well-being. Findings indicate that the extent of literature is limited in specific examples of nurse interventions that facilitate interpersonal patient-nurse trust. Future research should include more detailed nurse actions and attributes that build patient-nurse trust to fully understand the benefits of trust in oncology patients.

Professional socialization of students enrolled in an online doctor of philosophy program in nursing.

A descriptive online survey design was used to describe professional socialization of students enrolled in an online Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in nursing. Twenty-six (48%) of 54 students participated by completing the Doctoral Student Socialization Questionnaire. Activities associated with four of the six dimensions of professional socialization, including student-peer interactions, supportive faculty environment, collegiality, and student scholarly encouragement, were prevalent in the analysis. Activities associated with student-faculty interactions and preparation in scholarly activities were evident but were not prevalent. Students in an online PhD program in nursing can be socialized to the graduate school environment, as well as to their future role in an academic setting. Although challenging in the online environment, faculty need to promote activities related to student-faculty interactions and preparation in scholarly activities.

Double ABCX model of stress and adaptation in the context of families that care for children with a tracheostomy at home: application of a theory.

Theories provide a roadmap for scientific inquiry, help organize knowledge, and establish the foundation for knowledge development. The Double ABCX Model of Family Stress and Adaptation is a middle-range theory developed in social science and widely used by researchers of various disciplines. This model encompasses the major variables of interest in this study, including stress, coping, duration of tracheostomy, and quality-of-life, and forms an excellent framework for this specific research study. The purpose of this article was to discuss relationships between various individual and environmental factors that can impact health and well-being in families. In addition, this article illustrates how the application of the model helps nurses and healthcare providers understand the significance of the family context on positive well-being and promote optimal caring practices to achieve a balance in the midst of illness and suffering.

Parental quality of life: caring for an infant or toddler with a tracheostomy at home.

PURPOSE: To explore the relationships between stress, coping, duration of tracheostomy, and quality of life (QOL) of parental caregivers who care for a child with a tracheostomy at home. DESIGN: A cross-sectional correlational design was used to study parents who care for a child with a tracheostomy at home. Family Inventory of Life Events, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale, and Psychological General Well-Being Index were used to measure stress, coping, and QOL, respectively. Data were collected using both online and paper-pencil format. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLE: quality of life. RESULTS: Parents who care for their infants/toddlers with a tracheostomy at home were found to be in moderate distress. Mean age of the participants was 33 years (N = 71), and the average duration of the child's tracheotomy was 18.22 (SD = 9.59) months. Multivariate analysis showed a significant inverse relationship between QOL and stress. QOL was significantly associated with coping, B = 19.91, ß = .43, p <.001.

Successes and challenges of a distant faculty model.

PURPOSE: The planning, implementation, and evaluation of a 2-year pilot project for a distant faculty model is presented through the reflections of the distant faculty member and other stakeholders. A school of nursing with a 15-year history of offering distance education graduate programs served as the setting for this project. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the distant faculty model was successful. It is anticipated that new opportunities to explore the distant faculty role will exist as the university expands its current online campus initiatives. IMPLICATIONS: This distant faculty model can be adopted by other schools of nursing interested in employing faculty at a distance and provides an opportunity to manage faculty shortage.

The effect of a 5-week head & neck surgical oncology practicum on nursing students' perceptions of facial disfigurement: part I.

PURPOSE: This pilot study tested the effectiveness of a head and neck surgical oncology clinical practicum on nursing students' perceptions of facial disfigurement in these patients. Hypotheses also addressed the impact of patient and student gender; patterns in perceptions based on patient gender and surgical procedure were noted. DESIGN: A two-group pretest-posttest repeated measures experimental design was used with King's Theory of Goal Attainment (King, 1971, 1981) serving as the framework. SAMPLE/SETTING: Thirty-seven junior-level male (n=9) and female (n=28) nursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate program's adult medical-surgical course were randomly assigned to a 5-week clinical experience in an urban university-affiliated medical center. The Experimental Group (n=19) was assigned to a head and neck surgical oncology unit and the Control Group (n=18) was assigned to a general surgical unit. PROCEDURES: All students completed the Demographic Data Form-Student Version (DDF-SV) and the Modified Disfigurement Scale (MDS) (Lockhart, 1992a, 1992b, 1999, 2000) prior to attending a 4-hour lecture Care of Head and Neck Surgical Patients, a 45-minute clinical conference Care of Facially Disfigured Patients, and the 5-week clinical practicum. All students repeated the MDS after their clinical practicum. RESULTS: A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance and analysis of covariance revealed no significant differences in ratings, irrespective of clinical group or student gender; all photos were described as being "moderately disfigured". All students rated female patients as being significantly more disfigured than male patients with identical surgical procedures. Both male and female photos were similarly rank-ordered according to severity of disfigurement; surgeries that involved the central portion of the face were rated as being more severely disfigured than surgeries that affected peripheral portions.

Can a journal club bridge the gap between research and practice?

It is imperative that nursing students learn to use research as a basis for making clinical decisions. The author discusses how a journal club was structured and designed to promote evidence-based practice and to reduce several of the barriers in utilizing research in the clinical setting. Vignettes illustrate the serendipitous events that also triggered the staff nurses' participation. An informal evaluation of the journal club is presented and suggestions for implementing future journal clubs are provided.

The effects of therapeutic back massage on psychophysiologic variables and immune function in spouses of patients with cancer.

BACKGROUND: Spouses of patients with cancer are at risk for stress-related disorders and may experience a reduction in immune function. Therapeutic back massage (TBM) has been shown to enhance relaxation and thus, may reduce stress associated with caring for an ill partner. OBJECTIVES: To determine if TBM's influences on psychosocial, physiologic, and immune function variables in spouses of patients with cancer, and explore the relationships between psychosocial variables and immune function in spouses of patients with cancer. METHODS: This group experimental design measured the effects of a 20-minute TBM at three time points (preintervention, immediately postintervention, 20 minutes postintervention) on spouses of patients with cancer (N= 42) randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The major dependent variables including natural killer cell activity (NKCA), heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mood, and perceived stress were measured at the three time points to examine the effects of TBM. Data collected on measures of mood and perceived stress were correlated with NKCA to examine their relationships. Prior to hypotheses testing, data collected on measures of depressive mood, loneliness, marital disruption, and health practices were also correlated with NKCA to ascertain any possible confounding variables. RESULTS: Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance tests determined the effects of TBM over the two postintervention time points and resulted in significant group x time interactions on mood (F [2, 40]= 14.61, p=.0005) and perceived stress (F [2, 40]= 28.66, p=.001). Significant inverse relationships were found between mood and NKCA (r= -.41, p=.009, N= 42) and perceived stress and NKCA (r= -.37, p=.017, N= 42). DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that TBM may enhance mood and reduce perceived stress in this population. Insight was gained into the psycho-immunologic relationships studied.