Six Steps in Reading to Appraise Scientific Publications: Discover a Different Path.

BACKGROUND: Effectively reading scientific publications, for example, research/quality improvement, is an acquired skill. Critical appraisal identifies articles' strengths and weaknesses related to credibility and authenticity or appropriate standards. AIM: To stimulate rehabilitation nurses' interest/participation in reading to appraise published studies (using brief evaluation questions). STEPS APPROACH: Read in this order: (1) title, abstract, and key words (are these words clear and directly connected to identified problem?), (2) discussion and conclusion (how are results/findings interpreted; are there recommendations for actions?), (3) results/findings (do key outcomes relate to the problem?), (4) introduction and review of literature (what are main arguments for study/project; does the study build on what's already known?), (5) data collection and analysis methods (are materials/procedures described for gathering information and evaluation?), and (6) references (are citations accurate/up-to-date?). DISCUSSION/RELEVANCE/CONCLUSION: Steps taken on this path help close the gap in reading to appraise scientific publications, discovering ways to build evidence-based rehabilitation nursing practices.

Male Caregivers' Stories: How They Successfully Adjust to Partners With Stroke.

Men transitioning from noncaregiver to caregiver for their partner (wife or long-term friend) with stroke may find that role unsettling. Male caregivers' success stories in caring for these partners through authors' reflections from their experience are shared. These men's stories focused on achievements: (1) gaining confidence through functional improvement; (2) nurturing success through mutually positive attitude; and (3) resuming "normal" roles. Providers can learn from these accounts, sharing these success stories with other caregivers so that they can successfully adapt to new roles in caring for women partners with stroke.

The Journey of Web-Based Education for Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: It Didn't Happen Overnight.

Family caregivers provide long-term, complex care in home settings where most persons with dementia (PWD) live. These men/women caregivers differ in responses and approaches to caring problems. Following our review of the research literature and needs assessment from caregivers of PWD (group 1), a comparison revealed key caregiver gender differences in caring problems and approaches. We developed and implemented a Web-based Educational Modules (WBEMs) project focused on gender-based differences to offer unique support for men/women caregivers who face these problems. Other caregiver evaluators (group 2) agreed the WBEMs were well designed with clear, credible, informative content. Evaluators' suggestions for larger font size and navigation directions were incorporated in module improvements. Six modules were eventually placed on an established university-sponsored caregivers' website. WBEMs have potential to reestablish well-being for caregivers of PWD. Home healthcare nurses and other healthcare providers can use, adapt, or create additional modules to meet the needs of and support for caregivers and patients living in community settings.

Innovative qualitative research data collection and analysis activities that engage nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Rather than traditional teacher-centered classrooms, it is important for instructors to shift to student-centered models, encouraging active learning. PROBLEM: The challenge for instructors is to design in-person and/or virtual classroom activities that introduce and engage students in essential aspects of qualitative research data collection and analysis. APPROACH: Two instructor-created and student-centered activities focused on qualitative data collection and analysis strategies that connect instructors and undergraduate or graduate nursing research students are described. OUTCOMES: Instructors witnessed students' interaction and robust group discussion. Positive students' evaluations and quantitative success on assignments were noted. Outcomes suggest that these activities (in-person or virtual-platform) for qualitative data collection and analysis are effective classroom strategies to present difficult concepts in an easily understood and learner-friendly context. CONCLUSIONS: These leaning activities move students to engage with and learn from one another under instructor's guidance. Other faculty may use these activities in structuring classrooms that involve and stimulate students' critical thinking about qualitative research methods.

Professional Development for Inexperienced Speakers: Making Effective Oral Presentations and Audience Connections.

ABSTRACT: This article addresses how inexperienced speakers can prepare and deliver oral presentations that make connections to audiences. Nursing students/providers, university and staff development instructors, or managers may find these tips helpful. Successful content delivery (beginning, middle, and ending "remarks") depends on setting the right tone, incorporating engaging activities, and concluding with recommendations for audiences. Exemplars are presented for each "remarks section" using a project focused on one nurse's responses in a web-based caregivers' support group.

Nurse Author: Who Me? Yes, You!

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Potential nurse authors may find writing a challenge, including managing the publication process from getting started through submission to revision of the work and its acceptance. This special article presents strategies to help inexperienced writers develop and hone skills for journal publication. POTENTIAL PUBLICATION STRATEGIES: Tips discussed here that may lead to manuscript acceptance include selecting a topic of interest, using motivational self-talk approaches and structuring time to write, choosing coauthors, targeting a journal for submission, writing strong sentences in active voice, developing a structured abstract, using correct citation and reference formats, understanding reviews and resubmitting the manuscript, and keeping momentum to produce continued writing results. Practical writing hints are also suggested for inexperienced writers. RELEVANCE AND CONCLUSION: These strategies can help guide nurse writers in planning, navigating the system, and finding success as a published author.

Male Caregivers Report Problems in Caring at Home After Spouses Survive Stroke.

STROKE is sudden and often traumatic with results that affect both the patient and family members who provide care. Approximately 40% of individuals caring for family members/friends are male. Transitioning from the noncaregiver role to caregiver can be unsettling. Guided by Friedemann's framework of systemic organization, this secondary data analysis examined problems reported by men caring for spouses in the first year after stroke. Using a mixed methods design, 73 caregivers (CGs) participated in bimonthly telephone interviews for 1 year. For this analysis, only the males caring for spouses (n = 12 married and n = 1 unmarried partner) were examined. These data were analyzed using Colaizzi's rigorous method of content analysis. Five problem themes emerged: 1) adjusting to multitasking in everyday living (Friedemann's system maintenance and individuation), 2) recognizing physical and mental disabilities (coherence), 3) dealing with outside forces and limited resources (individuation), 4) struggling to return to normal (system maintenance), and 5) feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted (system maintenance). These problem themes demonstrated incongruence as the men sought to maintain their prior lives.Theory-based themes of male stroke CGs' problems were uncovered that can be used to target interventions to help them achieve balance between incongruence and congruence in their lives.

Family caregivers' reports of hospitalizations and emergency department visits in community-dwelling individuals with dementia.

Individuals with dementia in the United States have higher rates of hospitalizations and emergency department visits compared to those without. This descriptive study examined the frequency of hospitalizations and emergency department visits among community-dwelling individuals with dementia, reasons for hospitalizations and emergency department visits, and caregivers' actions to prevent these events. Family caregivers ( n = 63) from education/support groups offered through Alzheimer's Association chapters in western Ohio completed a survey. Twenty-two percent of caregivers reported that their care recipient stayed overnight in the hospital and 30% reported that their care recipient visited the emergency department at least once in the past three months. The most frequent reasons for hospitalization and emergency department visits, such as urinary tract infections and fall-related injuries, were potentially avoidable. Caregivers reported giving medications, seeking healthcare services, and obtaining home care services, as the most frequently used preventive actions. Family caregivers of individuals with dementia should be provided substantive education about preventable hospitalizations and emergency department visits.

Instructor-Created Activities to Engage Undergraduate Nursing Research Students.

BACKGROUND: In flipped or blended classrooms, instruction intentionally shifts to a student-centered model for a problem-based learning approach, where class time explores topics in greater depth, creating meaningful learning opportunities. METHOD: This article describes instructor-created activities focused on research processes linked to evidence-based practice that engage undergraduate nursing research students. In the classroom, these activities include individual and team work to foster critical thinking and stimulate student discussion of topic material. RESULTS: Six activities for small and large student groups are related to quantitative, qualitative, and both research processes, as well as applying research evidence to practice. Positive student outcomes included quantitative success on assignments and robust student topic discussions, along with instructor-noted overall group engagement and interest. CONCLUSION: Using these activities can result in class time for the construction of meaning, rather than primarily information transmission. Instructors may adopt these activities to involve and stimulate students' critical thinking about research and evidence-based practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(3):174-177.].

The e-Poster Conference: An Online Nursing Research Course Learning Activity.

BACKGROUND: Posters have become one of the most important types of scientific communication. This article describes an e-poster conference as an online learning activity for professional nursing students. METHOD: Research and evidence-based practice (EBP) project posters from colleagues across the country were placed on a university research course Web site, along with an evaluation tool and discussion prompts. During one semester, students experienced a range of activities focused on understanding research and EBP basic processes in preparation for evaluation and discussion of the layout and content of these e-posters. RESULTS: From all accounts, the conference was rated as positive, providing nursing students with opportunities to (a) view studies and projects from a wider nursing science audience, (b) foster the development of important evaluation and communication skills, and (c) be exposed to evidence that could be translated into their practice. CONCLUSION: Other schools and organizations may adopt this e-poster conference activity to stimulate professional nurses' critical thinking ability. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(9):533-535.].

Meanings of Falls and Prevention of Falls According to Rehabilitation Nurses: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

PURPOSE: Guided by Friedemann's theoretical framework, this survey explored the meaning of a fall of an institutionalized older adult or fall prevention to rehabilitation registered nurses and whether the experience changed the nurse's practice. DESIGN: Qualitative, descriptive survey. METHODS: A convenience sample of 742 rehabilitation nurses was asked to describe these experiences and the impact on their practice. FINDINGS: Themes discovered related to the meaning of a fall include negative feelings (incongruence) and positive feelings (congruence). Themes related to the meaning of preventing a fall include positive feelings (congruence). Practice change themes emerged from both the experience of a fall and fall prevention. Practice change themes were drawn to Friedemann's (1995) process dimensions. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses' experiences and meanings of falls uncovered negative and positive feelings about these falls. New findings of this study were the positive feelings expressed by nurses, when there was no injury or when a fall was prevented.