Nurse Leadership Style, Nurse Satisfaction, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review.

The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize current evidence on nursing leadership styles, nurse satisfaction, and patient satisfaction. Results suggest that relational leadership traits contribute to greater nurse satisfaction whereas task-oriented styles may decrease nurse satisfaction. Minimal information for the connection between nursing leadership and patient satisfaction was found.

Longitudinal analysis of virtual community perceptions of cohesion: The role of cooperation, communication, and competition.

Online, virtual group interactions may help adherence to health promotion programs. The purpose of this study was to explore longitudinal relationships among dimensions of group cohesion and group-interaction variables to inform and improve group-based strategies within programs aimed at promoting physical activity in virtual communities. In all, 56 online virtual users completed a group dynamics-based physical activity promotion intervention and assessments of group cohesion and group interaction at baseline and 4 weeks. Friendly competition and cooperation were consistently strong predictors of cohesion. Facilitating a sense of friendly competition and cooperation may increase engagement in physical activity programs by bolstering group cohesion.

Stakeholders' Perceptions of Care Coordination: A Participatory Process.

OBJECTIVE: Children with special health care needs or chronic conditions are more likely to have unmet health needs than other children. The purpose of this study was to use a community engagement research strategy to assess the essential elements of care coordination that can serve as the foundation for a system-wide care coordination model for children with special health care needs. STUDY DESIGN: As part of a summit designed to review the status of pediatric care coordination within the state of Arizona and a call to action, a qualitative descriptive study was conducted to solicit anonymous feedback from 104 stakeholders (family, health care provider, or community entity) on the strengths and areas of improvement in the current system that provides care to Arizona children with special health care needs. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. RESULTS: Five essential categories crucial to building an effective and seamless care coordination model were extracted from the data: Communication, Insurance, Health Care Capacity, Provider Knowledge, and Family Education. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study can serve as the working foundation to build a system-wide model for pediatric care coordination throughout the state. Providing care coordination services involves many activities across a wide range of organizations and locations. Research that is inclusive of community stakeholders can determine essential components for building a foundation for care coordination.

A Mobile, Avatar-Based App for Improving Body Perceptions Among Adolescents: A Pilot Test.

BACKGROUND: One barrier to effectively treating weight issues among adolescents is that they tend to use social comparison instead of objective measures to evaluate their own health status. When adolescents correctly perceive themselves as overweight, they are more likely to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this pilot test was to develop and assess acceptability and usability of an avatar-based, theoretically derived mobile app entitled Monitor Your Avatar (MYA). METHODS: The MYA app was engineered for high school adolescents to identify, using avatars, what they thought they looked like, what they wanted to look like, and what they actually looked like based on body measurements. RESULTS: The MYA app was pilot-tested with male and female adolescents aged 15-18 years to assess for acceptability and usability. A total of 42 students created and viewed their avatars. The majority of the adolescents were female (28/42, 67%), age 16 years (16/42, 38%), white (35/42, 83%), non-Hispanic (36/42, 86%), in grade 10 (20/42, 48%), healthy weight for females (23/28, 82%), and obese for males (7/14, 50%). The adolescents had positive reactions to the avatar app and being able to view avatars that represented them. All but one student (41/42, 98%) indicated some level of comfort viewing the avatars and would use the app in the future to see how their bodies change over time. CONCLUSIONS: Avatar-based mobile apps, such as the MYA app, provide immediate feedback and allow users to engage with images that are personalized to represent their perceptions and actual body images. This pilot study adds to the increasing but limited research of using games to improve health outcomes among high school adolescents. There is a need to further adapt the MYA app and gather feedback from a larger number of high school adolescents, including those from diverse backgrounds.

The Value of Preparing PhD Students as Research Mentors: Application of Kram's Temporal Mentoring Model.

The ability to successfully mentor others is an essential skill necessary for building and strengthening an infrastructure of well-prepared nurse faculty to accelerate advancements in nursing science. Mentoring is a fundamental part of the nurse faculty role, but new faculty are often unprepared to take on mentoring roles early in their academic career. Applied training in research mentoring initiated during doctor of philosophy (PhD) programs may better prepare future faculty to manage teaching and mentoring responsibilities earlier and with greater confidence. The unique opportunity exists for PhD students to engage in research mentoring with undergraduate nursing students, with probable benefits for both the mentor and the mentee. This manuscript uses Kram's temporal mentoring model as a guide to examine the training experiences of 3 PhD students mentoring undergraduate nursing students and discusses the benefits and challenges associated with these mentoring relationships. Collectively, these experiences provide preliminary support and guidance for the development and adoption of formal PhD mentor training programs to better prepare future PhD nursing faculty for their mentoring responsibilities.

Adolescent Boys' Reactions to Using Avatars to Represent Their Bodies.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed description of completing the Attitudes and Avatars Instrument in the classroom and explore the feasibility and acceptability of the instrument. METHODS: The descriptive study included three written open-ended questions for data collection to which young adolescent boys responded after completing the Attitudes and Avatars Instrument. RESULTS: Fifty-nine boys between 11 and 14 years of age completed the instrument in the time allotted and had an overall positive reaction. CONCLUSION: As the Attitudes and Avatars Instrument continues to develop as a screening instrument, it is imperative to obtain feedback from boys of diverse races and ethnicities.

Attitudes and avatars instrument: development and initial testing.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to develop and test the initial psychometric properties of the ATTitudes and Avatars INstrument (ATTAIN). The integrated behavior model guided instrument development to measure the young adolescent boys' attitudes, intentions and actions to change their bodies. METHODS: An adolescent health expert panel and young adolescent boys were recruited to test for content validity. Fifty-nine boys 11 to 14 years of age were recruited at a middle school in the USA during physical education class to conduct a pilot study to test for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The ATTAIN was found to have high content validity, slightly below recommended levels for internal consistency, and varied test-retest reliability. CONCLUSION: The long-term goal of the development and testing of the ATTAIN is to make it available to researchers and professionals to screen and focus on adolescents' perceptions of their bodies and using those perceptions to attain and maintain healthy bodies. The results of this study suggest preliminarily a theoretically derived instrument with appropriate content for young adolescent boys and variable reliability. The attitudes, intentions, and actions survey items and avatars as measured by the ATTAIN, were meaningful to the boys. The ATTAIN has potential to be used as a screening instrument for young adolescents boys and understanding their attitudes toward their bodies; however, it will require continued development and testing to establish construct and discriminant validity.

How adolescent boys perceive their bodies, body parts, and weight: letting adolescent boys' voices be heard.

The purpose of this study was to conduct elicitation, semistructured interviews with adolescent boys to document their attitudes, perceived norms, personal agency, intentions, and actions about their weight. The boys indicated that they liked and disliked certain body parts and were in charge of their weight. Almost half of the boys did not want to change their weight. Most of the parents were inaccurate when asked to self-report their sons' heights and weights. A screening procedure that adds adolescents' perceptions of their bodies to BMI classification can aid in the referral and treatment of weight management.