Nursing Patient-Centeredness Improves African-American Female Medicare Patients' Experience-of-Care.

BACKGROUND: Along with clinical technical competence, nurses' interpersonal ability influences patient outcomes. Patient-centeredness, "[p]roviding care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions" (IOM, 2001, p. 3), is especially important in assuring that African-American Medicare patients achieve the desired outcomes. PURPOSES: This study was designed to measure the effects of nursing patient-centeredness on African-American female Medicare hospital inpatients across national random test and cross-validation samples; specifically, on their experience-of-care, likelihood of recommending the hospital, and ratings of care. The stability of effects was assessed across samples and a competing model challenge further tested the hypothesis. HYPOTHESIS: Nursing patient-centeredness improves African-American female Medicare hospital patients' experience-of-care and increases the likelihood that they will recommend and highly rate their care. RESULTS: Supporting the hypothesis, the model fit. Nursing patient-centeredness significantly influenced African-American female Medicare hospital patients' experience-of-care, likelihood of recommending the hospital, and ratings of care (χ2 = 39.35, df = 42, p = .588; RMSEA = .000, p =.982 CL90% = .000-.043; CFI = 1.000), explaining 71% of the variance of patients' experience-of-care (p < .001). A unit increase in nursing patient-centeredness increased patients' experience-of-care, likelihood of recommending the hospital, and ratings of hospital care by .842, .778, and .798 standardized units, respectively. These results were stable across both the test and cross-validation samples, and the hypothesized model was sustained when compared to the hypothesized competing model (χ2Δ = 10.974, df = 16, p = .811). DISCUSSION: Nursing performance is often chiefly associated with clinical or technical competence. Patient-centeredness concerns nurses' ability that affects the quality of their interaction with patients and concomitant outcomes. This study provided empirical evidence that nursing patient-centeredness significantly improves African-American female Medicare hospital patients' experience-of-care and increases the likelihood that they will recommend and highly rate their care.

An e-health intervention for increasing diabetes knowledge in African Americans.

An evidence-based e-health program, eCare We Care, was developed to disseminate information on diabetes management through web-based interactive tutorials. This study examined the effect of the eCare We Care program on diabetes knowledge development in African American adults with low diabetes literacy. Forty-six African American adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and low diabetes literacy were recruited from two health-care centres in eastern Winston Salem, North Carolina. The eCare We Care program included four weekly sessions: introduction to diabetes; eye complications; foot care; and meal planning. Significant differences in scores on the diabetes knowledge survey were demonstrated between the eCare We Care program participants and the comparison group. Study findings indicate the eCare We Care program is more effective in improving diabetes knowledge of African American adults with low diabetes literacy than paper-based, text-only tutorials. The eCare We Care program can be an effective educational strategy for improving diabetes knowledge and decreasing diabetes disparities among African American adults.

Transformational mentorship models for nurse educators.

A consistent supply of competent and confident faculty is essential to meeting the growing demand for nurses. One way to ensure continuity among nurse educators is through faculty mentorship. There is very little literature about nurse educator mentorship models and no research was found that tested mentoring frameworks or strategies with nurse educators. The matriculation and retention of nursing faculty requires diligence in the areas of practice, teaching, and scholarship. The authors of this article discuss current nursing mentorship models and propose a new one for consideration.

Foster cultural responsiveness on your unit.

As patient populations become more diverse, the challenge for nurse managers to ensure delivery of individualized, patient-centered care intensifies. Every patient presents with unique healthcare beliefs, values, behaviors, and lived experiences, and their culture shapes and influences health decisions and perceptions of healthcare encounters. Although cultural responsiveness resources and capabilities are influenced by a health organization's leaders and policies, they're directly implemented by nurse managers, nurses, and staff in each patient and family interaction. Equipping your staff with cultural responsiveness knowledge and skills, and helping them to internalize and consistently demonstrate culturally responsive behaviors, will improve patient satisfaction and quality care outcomes on your unit.