Looking Beyond Physical Disability: Cognitive Impairment in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis.

PURPOSE: Cognitive impairment (CI) is an underestimated part of disability in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). The purpose of this evidence-based project was to influence clinicians treating PwMS by education of the current guidelines on cognition and multiple sclerosis and to screen CI with a valid neuropsychological tool. METHODS: Staff were educated on the 2018 National Multiple Sclerosis Society guidelines about CI in PwMS. The Processing Speed Test (PST) measured CI. RESULTS: Of 50 eligible patients in a 3-month period, 21 (42%) PwMS were cognitively screened. Of the 21 enrolled patients, nine (42.9%) patients were cognitively impaired. Employed patients' PST scores tended to be higher than unemployed patients. As age increased, PST raw scores decreased. CONCLUSIONS: In this project, less than half of eligible patients received cognitive screening after an extensive education program. Thus, education alone was not sufficient to change behavior. Other strategies to influence change may be more effective.

Distrust of Public Health's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Public health recommendations at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were initially well received by Americans. But when personal, economic, and social impacts were felt, a concerted pushback began. The response to pandemic mitigation measures has become increasingly partisan, exacerbated by an ideological divide fueled by news sources and social media. Nurses, whether working in public health or other fields, can contribute to rebuilding trust in public health institutions.

Transforming RN Roles in Community-Based Integrated Primary Care (TRIP): Background and Content.

Given the large body of evidence linking physical and mental health and the impetus provided by health care reform and the Affordable Care Act, the time is ripe to engage nurses in community based, integrated primary care teams to holistically address psychiatric, mental health and substance abuse needs. There is a compelling need for curricular redesign and clinical innovation to prepare an RN workforce for practice in community based integrated primary care teams. To that end, a faculty team of primary care, interprofessional education and content experts developed the Transforming RN Roles in Community Based Integrated Primary Care (TRIP) program for BSN students in a large university in the southeastern United States. The primary goals of the TRIP program are to build/implement an innovative BSN curriculum and expand our academic practice partnership by enhancing student clinical experiences with the goal of preparing an RN workforce for practice in community based integrated care teams. The TRIP program incorporates didactic, simulation and clinical components. Our first student cohort began the TRIP program in the fall of 2018 and will complete the program in spring 2020. In this paper, we provide details about the background, content and activities of this 4-semester (2 year) program.