Business continuity beyond COVID-19: Lessons learned and the 'illusion of preparedness'.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations to react swiftly to an evolving crisis and find creative solutions in real time. In a relatively short period, remote access, employee hardware requirements and flexible work schedules have significantly raised people's expectations regarding what constitutes a 'normal' level of preparedness. However, have organisations capitalised on the lessons learned from the event to improve operational practices and business opportunities, or has the situation merely created an illusion of preparedness? This paper describes the incredible strides made over the last two years before exploring the key lessons that have been overlooked and discussing the potentially misleading sense of readiness that threatens to prevail.

Toxic stress and disconnection from work and school among youth in Detroit.

This study explores toxic stress and youth disconnection from work and school using data from the Detroit Jobs for Michigan's Graduates (JMG) program. A secondary cross-sectional analysis was conducted using a program census of 1934 youth participating in JMG between 2014 and 2019. Youth with criminal justice contact, parenting responsibilities, and toxic stress barriers showed the greatest disparity in graduating or become employed following participation in the JMG program. Youth without toxic stress-aligned barriers were 1.87 times the odds more likely of successful program outcomes when controlling for program enrollment year, program type, Detroit residency, gender, and age. Toxic stress is associated with disconnection from education and employment before and after participation in the JMG program. This indicates that expanding trauma-informed systems and community approaches in youth-serving programs can play a role in mitigating the impact of toxic stress exposure on connection to opportunity for Detroit youth.

Establishing priorities on the range of conditions managed by UK community practitioner nurse prescribers: A modified Delphi consensus study.

AIM: To provide national consensus on the range of conditions community practitioner nurse prescribers manage and for which it is considered important that they can prescribe. BACKGROUND: Around 35,000 community practitioner nurse prescribers in the United Kingdom are able to prescribe from a limited formulary. Although prescribing is a key role for these nurses, there has been a decline in the numbers of community practitioner nurse prescribers who prescribe. It is evident that changing patterns of client and service delivery, changes the role of community nurses and the conditions they manage, however, little is known about the conditions community practitioner nurse prescribers manage. DESIGN AND METHODS: A modified Delphi approach comprising three on-line surveys delivered to a national Expert Panel of 89 qualified community practitioner prescribers. Data collection took place between January-March 2017. RESULTS: Panelists reached a consensus, with consistent high levels of agreement reached, on nineteen conditions for which it is believed community practitioner nurse prescribers should be able to prescribe. Conditions identified by school nurses (N = 12) and health visitors (N = 7) were mainly acutely focused, whereas those identified by district nurses (N = 9) and community staff nurses (N = 6) included both long-term and acute conditions. CONCLUSION: Given the high degree of consensus, this list of conditions should influence any decisions about the items community and public health nurses should be able to prescribe. The findings should also influence the education and training of these nurses.

Both mating types in the heterothallic fungus Ophiostoma quercus contain MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 genes.

In heterothallic Ascomycota, two opposite but distinct mating types control all sexual processes. Using mating crosses, mating types were assigned to ten isolates of the heterothallic fungal species Ophiostoma quercus. Primers were subsequently designed to target the MAT1-1-1, MAT1-1-3 (of the mating type 1 idiomorph), and MAT1-2-1 (of the mating type 2 idiomorph) genes in these isolates. Results showed that all isolates contained the full gene sequence for the MAT1-2-1 gene. In addition, fragments of the MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-1-3 genes were sequenced from all isolates. These results were unexpected, as each isolate from a heterothallic species would typically contain only one of the two possible MAT idiomorphs.

Peak flow monitoring in pediatric asthma management: a clinical practice column submission.

Peak expiratory flow (PEF) monitoring has long been a mainstay of asthma management, but controversy surrounds its efficacy in the pediatric population, and little published research exists on the subject. PEF is both effort and technique dependent and is not suitable for use in children under the age of 5 or with developmental disabilities. However, PEF is useful for monitoring airway changes if used properly, especially in that segment of the population labeled as "poor perceivers" of worsening symptoms. The authors review existing literature on the subject, including the newly revised National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). Expert panel report 3: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma-full report 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/asthma/asthgdln.htm) evidence-based guidelines.

Evaluation of a model of nursing care for older patients using participatory action research in an acute medical ward.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The main aim of this study was to improve the quality of nursing care for older acutely ill hospitalized medical patients through developing, implementing and evaluating a new model of care using a participatory action research process. BACKGROUND: One of the challenges of nursing today is to meet the health-care needs of the growing older population. It is important to consider what quality of nursing care means to older patients if nurses are to address gaps between their own perceptions and those of older patients themselves and to consider conceptual models of care appropriate for older patients care in order to improve the quality of care provided. DESIGN: This study is a mixed method triangulated study, involving the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods through participatory action research methodology to establish an evidence-base for an evolving model of care. METHODS: The model was tested on 60 acutely ill patients aged at least 65 years. The medical ward nurses selected a key reference group including the researcher to facilitate the participatory action research process to develop, implement and evaluate a new model of care based on Orem's self-care model incorporating the Nurses Improving Care to Health System Elders Faculty (Am J Nurs 1994; 94:21) medication protocol to improve the nursing care provided for acutely ill older patients. RESULTS: The participatory action research process resulted in improved heath-care outcomes for the patients, such as significant improvements in activities of daily living capabilities between admission to discharge, significant improvements in knowledge levels regarding their medication regimes, as well as increased satisfaction with nursing care activities as perceived by older patients and nursing staff. The implementation of educational sessions during the model of care improved the older patient's functional activities and knowledge levels of their medication regime prior to discharge. In addition, by repeatedly explaining procedures, nurses became more involved with their individual patient's care, developing a patient-centred care relationship based on Orem's self-care model. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the efficacy of a new model of nursing care in improving the quality of nursing care for older patients in the acute medical ward setting. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study is significant because of its evidence-base and demonstrates how the participatory action research process empowered nurses to make sustainable changes to their practice. The nurses in the study wanted to affect change. The planned change was not dictated by management, but was driven by the clinical nursing staff at the 'grass roots' level. Therefore, being involved in the decision-making process provided an incentive to actively implement change.