End-of-Life care concepts in Journal of Neuroscience Nursing.

This descriptive study evaluated concepts relating to end-of-life care addressed in Journal of Neuroscience Nursing during a 10-year period. An analysis of 377 articles published from 1993 to 2002 found 40 articles addressing some area of end-of-life content. Of 2,558 pages reviewed, 201 pages (7.8%) contained end-of-life content. The primary areas of end-of-life care discussed in the articles were needs assessment for families, coping strategies and support systems, and recognition of family and caregiver needs. The most common diseases and disorders addressed were epilepsy, stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. To increase overall content in the field of palliative and end-of-life care, authors can include end-of-life content in articles submitted for publication.

Nursing time and work in an acute rehabilitation setting.

Nursing staffing has long been recognized as a significant variable in a hospital budget even through the era of increased productivity and efficiency. In addition, patient acuity has been rising, and increasing demands on nursing personnel have been documented. These increased demands have affected nurse staffing, patient outcomes, and nurse retention, all of which have an impact on our healthcare system. Therefore, it is imperative that nursing time and work be examined in the acute rehabilitation setting--a setting in which research has been sparse. To estimate patient acuity, the activities of nursing personnel must be examined to establish timeframes for the care needed by patients. Previous studies have examined time and work according to pre-established patient acuity categories. California has passed legislation that requires mandatory nurse-staffing ratios in response to the concerns about the adequacy of patient care and safety. We did this study to assess the time and work related to patients with different diagnoses that are typically found in a rehabilitation unit. The data collected can be used to develop a patient acuity system. This study sought to identify how nurses spend their time so that hidden costs and important interventions can be addressed by an institution's administration.