The Effect of a Quality Improvement Project on Improving Patients' Willingness to Receive an Influenza Vaccination in the Emergency Department.

The aim of this project was to increase willingness to receive the influenza vaccine to the optimal rate of ≥ 70%. Low acuity adult patients who visited an Emergency Department (ED) were assessed regarding their willingness to receive the influenza vaccine before and after an educational intervention that included a provider recommendation and an educational handout. A total of seventy-six patients (n = 76) were assessed. Patients' willingness to receive the influenza vaccine rose from 29% pre-intervention to 72% post-intervention without disrupting the clinical flow in a busy ED. Similar vaccine educational strategies can be applied to influenza and other vaccines in EDs  to increase vaccination willingness in patients, including those who use the ED as a primary point of contact for healthcare, decreasing the burden of influenza illness in the community.

36th Annual APRN Legislative Update: Improving practice scope and authority, one state at a time.

ABSTRACT: Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) across the US continue to remove statutory and regulatory barriers to patients' full access to APRN care. The status of APRN practice in each US state and Washington, D.C. is examined, with any updates to practice authority and reimbursement reported.

34th Annual APRN Legislative Update: Trends in APRN practice authority during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Relaxation of existing regulations in supervision, collaboration, license renewal, and portability due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic improved practice authority for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in reduced- and restricted-practice states. This 34th Annual Legislative Update covers the scope of practice changes, and legislative and regulatory decisions that most impacted APRNs across the US in 2021.

33rd Annual APRN Legislative Update: Unprecedented changes to APRN practice authority in unprecedented times.

ABSTRACT: In a year unlike any other in recent history, healthcare workers, including advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), faced challenges and triumphs as the frontline in the battle against COVID-19. This 33rd Annual Legislative Update covers the scope of practice changes and legislative decisions that most impacted APRNs across the US in 2020.

32nd Annual APRN Legislative Update: Improving access to high-quality, safe, and effective healthcare.

The Annual Legislative Update describes recent legislative and regulatory changes to practice, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority that have the most impact on NPs and other advanced practice registered nurses across the country.

Emotional and Behavioral Health Needs in Elementary School Students in an Underserved Hispanic Community.

High rates of mental health problems in adolescents have been well documented; less is known about elementary school children in disadvantaged communities. We examined emotional and behavioral health needs in 202 third and fourth graders enrolled in a charter school in a largely Hispanic community. The child-reported Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-25 and Teacher's Report Form were used to evaluate mental health needs as perceived by these children and their teachers. The prevalence of teacher-reported depression and child self-reported anxiety was 7.0% and 6.67%, respectively. Living in a single parent household was found to be a specific risk factor in that those children had higher rates of emotional and behavioral problems than children living with both parents. Evidence of higher depression and anxiety identified in this sample compared to national representative data suggests the need for development of culturally sensitive early prevention and intervention in this underserved community.

Hispanic Mothers' Experiences with School-Based Emotional Health Curriculum and Perspectives of Their Own Mental Health Needs.

An Emotional Health Curriculum (EHC) was developed to promote positive mental health in primarily Hispanic elementary school-aged children. In order to further expand the EHC, the mothers' experiences with the curriculum were examined. Eighteen mothers participated in two focus groups. Mothers reported that they valued this curriculum as a preventive program. Importantly, all mothers wished to extend their involvement to not only assisting their child in completing the curriculum homework but also attending a proposed parenting program. This study provides preliminary evidence that mothers embraced the EHC as an accessible community mental health service for their children and sought greater involvement.

31st Annual APRN Legislative Update: Improving state practice authority and access to care.

The Annual Legislative Update describes recent legislative and regulatory changes to practice, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority that have the most impact on NPs and other advanced practice registered nurses across the country.

30th Annual APRN Legislative Update: Improving access to healthcare one state at a time.

The Annual Legislative Update describes recent legislative changes to practice, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority that have the most impact on NPs and other advanced practice nurses across the country.

Feasibility of an emotional health curriculum for elementary school students in an underserved Hispanic community.

PROBLEM: Hispanic children have greater mental health challenges but fewer received mental health services than other ethnic groups. A classroom-based Emotional Health Curriculum (EHC) was developed to address mental health disparities in an underserved Hispanic community. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design with one group pre- and post-intervention was used to test the feasibility of an 8-week EHC for one hundred 3rd and 4th grade children in a dual-immersion Spanish-English elementary school. Limited efficacy was measured by changes in depression and anxiety scores reported by children and teachers. Acceptance was evaluated by a child-reported satisfaction survey and a focus group in which the four teachers shared their experiences. Implementation was measured by participation, retention, and fidelity rates. FINDINGS: The child-reported depression and anxiety and teacher-reported depression were significantly decreased in at-risk children with the effect size ranging from 0.60 to 1.16 (ps < 0.05). The majority of children (89.7%) enjoyed the EHC and teachers observed that children had acquired skills to manage their emotional distress. The participation, retention, and fidelity rates were 98%, 94%, and 99.13%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide promising evidence that the EHC has the potential to improve depression and anxiety symptoms in at-risk children.

29th Annual APRN Legislative Update.

The Annual Legislative Update describes the legislative issues that have the most impact on NPs and other advanced practice nurses across the country.

28th Annual APRN Legislative Update: Advancements continue for APRN practice.

The Annual Legislative Update discusses the legislative accomplishments in the areas of practice authority, reimbursement, and prescriptive authority that have the most impact on nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses across the country.

27th Annual APRN legislative update: advancements continue for APRN practice.

As the tides of healthcare in the United States continue to change, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are at the forefront of legislative history. This overview provides a snapshot of legislative and regulatory activity in 2014 as reported by state Boards of Nursing and nursing organizations representing APRNs.

26th Annual Legislative Update: progress for APRN authority to practice.

Healthcare access and delivery continues to grow in the United States as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) work through the legislative and regulatory process to enact and amend current statutes and regulations in individual states.

25th annual legislative update: Evidence-based practice reforms improve access to APRN care.

The 2012 legislative session marked significant accomplishments for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) across the country. Despite attempts by medical boards and state physician organizations to limit current practice authority, APRNs succeeded in improving access to APRN care in several states.

APRN consensus model implementation and planning.

The Annual Legislative Update describes the legislative issues that have the most impact on nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses across the country.

Effective use of interpreters by family nurse practitioner students: is didactic curriculum enough?

PURPOSE: Nurse practitioners (NPs) care for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). However, NP education for improving communication in interpreted encounters is not well reported. We report a single school study using standardized encounters within a clinical practice examination (CPX) to assess the adequacy of current curriculum. DATA SOURCES: Entering family NP (FNP) students (n=26) participated in a baseline CPX case. They were assessed by standardized patients using the validated Interpreter Impact Rating Scale (IIRS) and Physician-Patient Interaction (PPI) scale, and by interpreters using the Interpreter Scale (IS).The case was re-administered to 31 graduating students following completion of existing curriculum. Primary outcome was aggregate change in skills comprising global IIRS, PPI and IS scores. Pre- and post-performance data were available for one class of 10 students. Secondary outcome was change in skill scores for this class. CONCLUSIONS: Mean aggregate global scores showed no significant improvement between scores at entry and graduation. For 10 students with pre- and post-performance data, there was no improvement in skill scores for any measure. Skill assessed on one measure worsened. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: FNP students show no improvement in skills in working with interpreters with the current curriculum. An enhanced curriculum is needed.

Human papillomavirus and the HPV vaccine: are the benefits worth the risks?

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most commonly sexually transmitted infection in the United States. This article gives an overview and discussion of HPV virus types and transmission, and the quadrivalent vaccine now available to protect against it. Included are the nursing implications for the HPV vaccine related to education and counseling of parents, patients, and young adult women regarding HPV vaccination, for whom the vaccine is indicated.