Home Health Nurses' Perceptions of Caring for Persons With Severe and Persistent Mental Illnesses.

BACKGROUND: Severe and persistent mental illnesses (SPMIs) affect a significant portion of the adult population in the United States. Despite their enhanced medical disease burden, individuals with SPMIs often lack access to appropriate medical care. Home health services offer cost-effective options for caring for this population in the comfort of their homes. However, little is known about the perceptions of home health nurses providing care to persons with SPMIs, and how they are adjusting care to persons with SPMIs. AIMS: This study aimed to explore home health nurses' perspectives on caring for persons with SPMIs. METHODS: Using a grounded theory approach, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with home health and home hospice nurses. The research questions focused on the nurses' experiences, barriers and facilitators to care, and the impact of the home environment on caring for persons with SPMIs. Data analysis followed coding procedures outlined in grounded theory, resulting in the development of an axial coding model. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by home health nurses when providing care for individuals with SPMIs. The outcomes of this study are intended to contribute to the understanding of current care practices and can guide the allocation of resources to improve care for this vulnerable population, such as incorporating training specific to persons with severe psychiatric illnesses.

Preparing New Nurses During a Pandemic.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty, staff, and administrators at a large research university in the mid-Atlantic part of the country pivoted to move many classes, laboratories, and clinical experiences to a virtual environment to mitigate the risks of COVID-19. This article will highlight 2 exemplars of how faculty at this university provided students with options to learn in-person or online and how faculty managed to provide students with valuable online learning experiences. Through innovative teaching strategies, this university was able to graduate competent nurses when they were most needed by society.

Community Goal Setting and Attainment: Organizational Characteristics and Indicators of Staff Adoption.

In residential care communities (CCs), implementation strategies can improve the use of person-centered approaches for residents' behavioral symptoms of distress. We examined staff perceptions of how well their organizational goals for achieving person-centered care (PCC) were met following implementation of the strategy, Evidence Integration Triangle for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Distress. We also identified organizational characteristics and indicators of staff adoption associated with perceived goal attainment. Goal attainment was evaluated by staff using goal attainment scaling (GAS) at the completion of the implementation trial in 26 CCs. Correlations, t tests, and linear regression were used to determine which factors were associated with goal attainment. Total time spent with the research facilitator, stable staff group membership, and presence of a survey deficiency during the study period explained 63% of the variance in goal attainment. Staff can set achievable organizational goals to improve PCC for residents' behavioral symptoms of distress. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 48(5), 5-12.].

Palliative Care in Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: A Systematic Review.

Severe and persistent mental illnesses refer to a group of psychiatric disorders causing severe dysfunction in patients and include diagnoses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Patients with severe and persistent mental illnesses have a complex symptomatology and face complicated medical disparities creating a difficult care process and reduced quality of life. Palliative care, a holistic approach to care that aims to reduce symptoms and stress of illness in persons living with chronic diagnoses, is appropriate within this population to address the complexity of care needs but is currently underutilized. The purpose of this review was to systematically review the literature to determine what is currently known about palliative care utilization in the severe and persistently mentally ill population. The databases systematically searched include PubMed, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE, to find all articles relevant to the research question. Keywords include "palliative care," "end-of-life care," and "severe and persistent mental illness," including all subsets. Literature was reviewed per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The results of this systematic review helped synthesize current information about this developing topic to inform clinicians on how to best integrate palliative care to this population.

Person-Centered Care Considerations for End-of-Life Care to Persons With Severe and Persistent Mental Illness.

Various factors impact end-of-life (EOL) for older adults. This period is more complex for older adults with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). The current article aims to explore a non-exhaustive list of person-level and environmental factors that may impact EOL for older adults with SPMI. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 48(3), 11-16.].

Process evaluation of an implementation study in dementia care (EIT-4-BPSD): stakeholder perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of distress in dementia (BPSD) are major drivers of poor quality of life, caregiver burden, institutionalization, and cost of care in nursing homes. The Evidence Integration Triangle (EIT)-4-BPSD in nursing homes was a pragmatic Hybrid III trial of an implementation strategy to help staff use evidence-based non-pharmacological interventions to prevent and manage BPSD. This study aimed to describe and explore the stakeholders' perceptions of the process to implement the EIT-4-BPSD strategy including its utility, and the barriers and facilitators to implementation in real-world settings. METHODS: EIT-4-BPSD was a multi-layer implementation strategy that engaged nursing home stakeholder groups to define community specific goals towards reducing BPSD over a 12-month period. Stakeholder groups from nursing homes that completed all 12-months of the implementation strategy were invited to participate in this process evaluation study. Qualitative data from focus group transcripts were analyzed using a conventional content analysis. Emerging codes were sorted into categories, then organized in meaningful clusters based on the domains of the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework. RESULTS: The EIT-4-BPSD implementation strategy was completed in 21 nursing homes; 93 stakeholders participated in focus groups. Over half of participating nursing homes reported meeting their BPSD goals as expected or more. Challenges, facilitators, and contextual factors reported by stakeholder members explains variability in the implementation of EIT-4-BPSD strategy in 11 key categories: family; staff; organizational; staff, environmental, and resident outcomes; utility of EIT resources; adoption barriers and facilitators; care process adaptations; and future planning. CONCLUSION: Stakeholders offered guidance on salient factors influencing the feasibility and utility of EIT-4-BPSD adoption and implementation to consider in future implementation research that aims to improve behavioral well-being in NH residents living with dementia. Engagement of family and staff at all levels of the organization (Management, leadership, and direct care); and measurement of staff, environmental, and resident outcomes were perceived as critical for future implementation success. While regulations, finances, and competing demands on staff time were perceived as reducing implementation success. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Testing the Implementation of EIT-4-BPSD study was registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03014570 ) January 9, 2017.

Impact of an Educational Intervention on Organ Donation Attitudes in College-Aged Students.

As the national demand for donated organs continues to rise, the rate of registered donors within the United States has remained stagnant, creating a shortage of viable, transferrable organs. Lack of registered donors can be partially attributed to misconceptions about organ donation, which has led to a population less willing to register as organ donors. The utilization of educational interventions can begin to address common misconceptions and change attitudes to favor organ donation. A quantitative pretest, posttest survey design was utilized in order to assess effectiveness of an educational intervention within the college-aged population. Results suggest that educational interventions are effective in creating positive attitudes about organ donation in college-aged students.

Developing Nurses Through Mentoring: It Starts in Nursing Education.

Faculty mentoring of undergraduate students is an essential and necessary component in helping students achieve exposure and success in cocurricular activities that they may not get in the classroom. It is through these cocurricular activities that faculty can expose students to the realms of various clinical activities, nursing research and education, and various service-related opportunities, such as tutoring and committee work. The intrinsic and extrinsic awards of watching your students succeed and grow into nursing leaders make mentoring worth it. This article outlines the benefits and difficulties experienced by 1 faculty member in his crusade to mentor undergraduate nursing students.