Impact of Hydrocolloid Dressing and Moisturizing Cream as Facial Skin Protectants Among Health Care Workers.

INTRODUCTION: During the novel coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, health care workers experienced facial problems from prolonged use of N95 masks, including skin irritation, pigmentation changes, and contact dermatitis. We assessed the use of hydrocolloid dressing versus dimethicone cream to prevent skin breakdown among military health care workers while wearing an N95. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling in this nonblinded, randomized, cross-over study with 2 active treatments, hydrocolloid dressing and dimethicone cream, across 3 time points. The skin was assessed using photographs and subepidermal moisture scanner (SEM). N95 seal integrity was assessed using qualitative fit test. Institutional review board approval was obtained from the Madigan Army Medical Center Institutional Review Board. RESULTS: Among the 73 participants, wearing an N95 alone versus with dimethicone cream or hydrocolloid dressing caused more adverse skin reactions. There were no significant differences in qualitative fit test failure rate between groups. Participants experienced minimal to no dizziness, loss of energy/tiredness/fatigue, claustrophobia, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and dry or itchy eyes. For all interventions, wearing an N95 did not interfere with participants' concentration, verbal communication, hearing, vision, and, importantly, delivery of care. CONCLUSIONS: Using a skin protectant with an N95 may prevent adverse skin reactions while preserving health care workers' ability to safely and competently care for patients in routine and pandemic conditions.

Looking Back, a View to the Future of the Health and Readiness of Gender and Sexual Diverse U.S. Service Members.

The objective is to provide a brief overview of the history of gender and sexual diverse service members, health utilization rates, outcomes, and disparities, as well as perceived challenges accessing health care and gaps in the evidence base underpinning sex- and gender-appropriate care. The article also provides strategies going forward to address these issues and optimize health care delivery.

Outcomes of LGBTQ culturally sensitive training among civilian and military healthcare personnel.

BACKGROUND: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) military servicemembers are at higher risk of developing health problems compared to heterosexual peers. To improve outcomes and address negative attitudes, previous literature has recommended education of healthcare personnel. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the knowledge and skill outcomes of an LGBTQ cultural sensitivity training program. METHODS: We used a pretest/posttest design. Participants completed the Ally Identity Measure (AIM) to assess three subscales: knowledge and skills, openness and support, and oppression awareness. Participants included both military and civilian healthcare personnel from multiple disciplines. Descriptive statistics and pairwise analyses were used. RESULTS: A total of 101 participants answered both pretest and posttest. Across all AIM subscales, posttest scores demonstrated statistically significant (P < 0.001) increases from mean pretest scores. Completion rates for the pretest and posttest were 99% and 93%, respectively. The majority of participants were female (75%) and non-Hispanic (87%), composed of Caucasians (39%) and Asians (33%). Over one-third (39%) of participants were aged 30-39. Fifty percent were active-duty military and more than half (58%) of all participants did not have prior training in LGBTQ patient care. Statistically significant differences were found between the pretest and posttest scores for the knowledge and skills subscale (M = 2.64-3.70). The most significant increases were observed in Item 12 and Item 15 (M = 2.72-3.70) regarding awareness of theories and skill development to provide proper support, respectively. CONCLUSION: These significant findings contribute to the currently limited research exploring LGBTQ cultural sensitivity training in both civilian and military settings. To our knowledge, this is the first time a cultural sensitivity training of this depth has been provided to active-duty servicemembers. Further research and development of similar educational programs integrating interactive participation can potentially aid in the delivery of improved care and military readiness for all servicemembers.

Ambulatory Care Nurse-Sensitive Indicators: A Scoping Review of the Literature 2006-2021.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Meeting recommendations that nurses should partner in leading health care change is hampered by the lack of ambulatory care nurse-sensitive indicators (ACNSIs). This scoping review was conducted to identify evidence regarding ACNSI identification, development, implementation, and benchmarking. METHODS: Following the PRISMA-ScR reporting guide, we performed PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library searches for the period January 2006 to March 2021. RESULTS: Twelve of the 1984 articles from 6 countries met inclusion criteria. All focused on identifying, developing/pilot testing indicators, and included structure, process, and outcome indicators. Seven articles were level II and all were at least grade B quality. Leverage points involved leadership support, automated data extraction infrastructure, and validating links between nurses' roles/actions and patient outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: While high-quality work is ongoing to identify clinically meaningful and feasible ACNSIs, knowledge in this field remains underdeveloped. Prioritizing this work is imperative to address gaps and facilitate national strategic health care goals.

Feasibility of a Clinical Decision Support Tool to Manage Resistant Hypertension: Team-HTN, a Single-arm Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Based on defining criteria, hypertension (HTN) affects 31% to 46% of the adult U.S. population and almost 20% of service members. Resistant HTN (rHTN) consumes significant resources, carries substantial morbidity and mortality risk and costs over $350 billion dollars annually. For multiple reasons, only 48.3% of people with HTN are controlled, e.g., undiagnosed secondary HTN, therapeutic or diagnostic inertia, and patient adherence. Our purpose was to determine the feasibility of a web-based clinical decision support tool (CDST) using a renin-aldosterone system (RAS) classification matrix and drug sequencing algorithm to assist providers with the diagnosis and management of uncontrolled HTN (rHTN). Outcomes were blood pressure (BP) rates of control, provider management time, and end-user satisfaction. METHODS: This two-phase, prospective, non-randomized, single-arm, six-month pilot study was conducted in primary care clinics at a tertiary military medical center. Patients with uncontrolled HTN and primary care providers were recruited. Phase 1 patients checked their BP twice daily (AM and PM), three times weekly using a standardized arm cuff. Patients with rHTN were enrolled in phase 2. Phase 2 patients were managed virtually by providers using the CDST, the RAS classification matrix, and the drug sequencing algorithm which incorporated age, ethnicity, comorbidities, and renin/aldosterone levels. Medications were adjusted every 10 days until BP was at target, using virtual visits. RESULTS: In total, 54 patients and 16 providers were consented. One transplant patient was disqualified, 29 met phase 2 criteria for rHTN, and 6 providers completed the study. In phase 1, 45% (n = 24) of patients were identified as having apparent uncontrolled HTN using peak diurnal blood pressure (pdBP) home readings. In phase 2 (n = 29), previously undetected RAS abnormalities were identified in 69% (n = 20) of patients. Blood pressure control rates improved from 0% to 23%, 47%, and 58% at 2, 4, and 6 months, respectively. Provider management time was reduced by 17%. Using home pdBP readings identified masked HTN in almost 20% of patients that would have been missed by a single daily AM or PM home BP measurement. Feasibility and satisfaction trends were favorable. CONCLUSIONS: Despite significant morbidity, mortality, and existing guidelines, over half of hypertensive patients are uncontrolled. Our results suggest that this CDST used with pdBP monitoring is a feasible option to facilitate improved rates of control in rHTN, aid in overcoming therapeutic/diagnostic inertia, improve identification of secondary HTN, and potentially, access. Further research with this tool in a larger population is recommended.

A Partnership for Patients Initiative: Redesigning a Medical-Surgical Unit's Discharge Process to Reduce Readmissions.

Each year millions of people are readmitted to hospitals across the nation; many of these readmissions are preventable. Successful care coordination and transition management strategies are critical steps needed to meet Partnership for Patients goals of reducing harm and improving the quality and safety of health care. Decreasing variance in healthcare delivery can improve quality, safety, and improve patient outcomes. Project Re-Engineered Discharge shows promise as an evidence-based, standardized approach to address preventable hospital readmissions.

Achieving army nursing evidence-based practice competencies through a civilian-military nurse partnership.

Despite the Institute of Medicine's goal of 90% of all practice being evidence-based by 2020, educational and practice institutions are not on target to achieve this goal. Evidence-based practice is one of 5 core elements of the Army Nurse Corps' patient care delivery system and a key focus of the Hawaii State Center for Nursing. In order to increase evidence-based practice (EBP), a civilian-military partnership was formed to include healthcare organizations in the state, optimize resources, and share strategies for successful practice changes statewide. The partnership has been successful in meeting each of these goals using national EBP competencies and Bloom's taxonomy as a guide. The article presents a discussion regarding the history, processes, and outcomes of this partnership.

Synthesis strategy: building a culturally sensitive mid-range theory of risk perception using literary, quantitative, and qualitative methods.

AIM: This article presents a discussion of development of a mid-range theory of risk perception. BACKGROUND: Unhealthy behaviours contribute to the development of health inequalities worldwide. The link between perceived risk and successful health behaviour change is inconclusive, particularly in vulnerable populations. This may be attributed to inattention to culture. DATA SOURCES: The synthesis strategy of theory building guided the process using three methods: (1) a systematic review of literature published between 2000-2011 targeting perceived risk in vulnerable populations; (2) qualitative and (3) quantitative data from a study of Samoan Pacific Islanders at high risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. DISCUSSION: Main concepts of this theory include risk attention, appraisal processes, cognition, and affect. Overarching these concepts is health-world view: cultural ways of knowing, beliefs, values, images, and ideas. This theory proposes the following: (1) risk attention varies based on knowledge of the health risk in the context of health-world views; (2) risk appraisals are influenced by affect, health-world views, cultural customs, and protocols that intersect with the health risk; (3) strength of cultural beliefs, values, and images (cultural identity) mediate risk attention and risk appraisal influencing the likelihood that persons will engage in health-promoting behaviours that may contradict cultural customs/protocols. IMPLICATIONS: Interventions guided by a culturally sensitive mid-range theory may improve behaviour-related health inequalities in vulnerable populations. CONCLUSIONS: The synthesis strategy is an intensive process for developing a culturally sensitive mid-range theory. Testing of the theory will ascertain its usefulness for reducing health inequalities in vulnerable groups.

A cultural perspective of Samoans' perceived risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes, which are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, have a high incidence among Pacific Islanders. Risk of these conditions increases in the presence of metabolic syndrome. Risk-reducing behaviors for CVD and diabetes are driven partly by perceived risk of health threats and their consequences. Perceived risk is influenced by sociocultural beliefs and is a component of some health behavior models, yet it is understudied in Pacific Islanders. OBJECTIVE: This mixed-methods study explored the perceived risk of CVD and diabetes in at-risk Samoan Pacific Islanders. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We used culturally sensitive strategies to recruit and enroll 43 adult Samoans from a community setting in Hawaii. Participants were obese with at least 1 other component of metabolic syndrome. Their objective risk was determined by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Program III risk categories. Participants provided demographic and health history information and answered 2 quantitative perceived risk questions. They also participated in 1 of 7 focus groups--the source of perceived risk qualitative data. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively. The mixed-methods analysis targeted points of data convergence and complementarity for the 2 methods. RESULTS: More than 80% of participants who were at moderately high (10%-20%) objective risk for CVD and diabetes had high (>20%) perceived risk of these conditions. There was high concordance of perceived risk for CVD and diabetes (P < .05). Qualitative data revealed bidirectional codes that influenced and were influenced by perceived risk within the participants' cultural perspective: current and planned health behavior, physical health, and family history of CVD or diabetes. CONCLUSION: Using mixed methods facilitated better understanding of cultural perspectives of perceived risk of CVD and diabetes. These results provide a foundation for developing culturally appropriate interventions targeting CVD and diabetes risk reduction in Samoans.

Pacific Islanders' perceived risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

PURPOSE: To explore literature on Pacific Islanders' perceived risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. METHOD: A search of literature databases for English-language perceived risk research published from 2000 to 2008. RESULTS: Few studies targeting perceived risk of CVD (n = 6) and diabetes (n = 4) included minority participants. No studies targeted Pacific Islanders exclusively. Overall, Pacific Islanders and other minority groups inaccurately perceive their risk of these conditions. No studies explored cultural relevancy or measurement of perceived risk. IMPLICATIONS: Perceived risk, an integral part of health behavior change theories, is greatly understudied in Pacific Islanders. Perceived risk research for CVD and diabetes is sparse for any minority group. More research is needed to develop socioculturally appropriate interventions that promote accurate risk perceptions for both diseases and facilitate adoption of health behaviors. Ultimately, these behaviors will reduce the onset and devastating consequences of CVD and diabetes in Pacific Islanders and other minority populations.

Translating questions for use with Samoan adults: lessons learned.

The purpose of this article was to present the process of translating questions about perceived risk for diabetes into Samoan and describe important cultural adaptations to the modified Brislin's translation model for cross-cultural research. With the assistance of a culture broker and several Samoan translators, 14 questions were translated into the Samoan language. Cultural adaptations included using a group approach, working with a matai, and following protocols such as fa'alavelave. Questions were back-translated and then pilot tested. Results from the pilot testing supported the use of these cultural modifications in the translation model.

Perceived intrafamily melanoma risk communication.

Melanoma is a skin cancer that can be deadly. Members of families with a strong history of melanoma have a high risk of melanoma occurrence or recurrence. Enhanced survival in these family members could be influenced by their knowledge of melanoma risk and by simple behaviors to decrease their risk or detect melanoma in its early, most curable, stage. Yet, there is minimal exploration on communication of risk or risk-modifying behaviors in melanoma at-risk families. In this study, we describe perceived intrafamily communication of melanoma risk. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, we examined in-depth interviews with 22 members of 8 families having 2 or more cases of melanoma. We identified 4 major themes: (1) awareness and understanding of risk, (2) families facilitate and hinder communication, (3) promoting melanoma prevention and detection in the family, and (4) an obligation to tell others. We discuss these findings in the context of extant knowledge of cancer risk communication in families at high risk for other cancers, impediments to cancer risk communication, remaining gaps in knowledge of this phenomenon, suggestions for hypothesis-driven research, and clinical implications that are applicable to these and other at-risk families.