Effect of Joint Camp on Patient Outcomes Following Total Joint Replacement.

Two major cost concerns related to joint replacement surgery are patient length of stay (LOS) and 30-day hospital readmission rates. A quality improvement project was implemented to evaluate the impact of a joint replacement program on patient readmissions and hospital LOS. A total of 1425 patients older than 50 years participated. At the end of the project period, readmission rates decreased from 6.19% to 2.8% and average LOS decreased from 5.87 days to 2.7 days.

Curricular Interventions to Promote Self-care in Prelicensure Nursing Students.

Personal self-care should be an expectation of the professional nursing role. This study evaluated self-care behaviors and perceptions of prelicensure nursing students after the integration of curricular interventions designed to promote self-care behaviors. Although few statistically significant changes were found, findings indicate that changes were beginning to occur and self-care behaviors were not declining: the curricular interventions are having a positive impact on self-care behaviors in nursing students.

Care-of-Self in Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Pilot Study.

Poor management of care-of-self behaviors can contribute to job dissatisfaction, burnout, and attrition in nurses. This pilot study, designed to explore self-care among nursing students, was used to examine feasibility for a future long-term study. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. The data suggest a downward trend of care-of-self behaviors as students assume more responsibility for care of others. Findings substantiate the need for development and implementation of care-of-self-promoting interventions in order to increase lifelong health-promoting behaviors.

Explanatory models of obesity of inner-city African-American adolescent males.

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to construct an explanatory model of illness in inner-city African-American adolescent males using Kleinman's Explanatory Model of Illness as a framework. Thirteen males were enrolled in this study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to explore adolescents' perspectives regarding the nature, cause, prevention and responses to obesity; their perception of self; and meanings they attach to obesity with particular emphasis on existing attitudes, expectations, and values. Data analysis was achieved through a process of inductive content analysis. Findings, future research and clinical implications are discussed.

African American adolescent males living with obesity.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to explore, through the concepts of self-perception and meaning, the lived experience of obesity in African American males between the ages of 13-17 years. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: Hermeneutic phenomenological design was used to guide the study. Thirteen inner-city African American males were enrolled. All participants had a documented body mass index of >95th percentile and were actively receiving treatment at a medical obesity clinic. MEASURES: Qualitative data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Self-perception and meaning are interrelated and important factors in understanding obesity uniquely from the adolescents view. If individuals do not understand that they are obese then they are unable to assign meaning to obesity within their life. Four main themes were discovered. The main themes were as follows: (1) It Don't Mean Nuthin'; (2) It's Just Me, Who I Am; (3) Something Bad Might Happen; and (4) I'm Confused and I Feel Bad. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns emerged that will allow health care workers to engage adolescents on a personal level, thereby increasing the potential for treatment outcomes consistent with weight management clinic goals. To realize successful outcomes for these adolescents, health care providers must incorporate the adolescents' understanding, knowledge, and values related to obesity in treatment planning.

Obtaining family histories from patients with cancer.

Information obtained from family history data can provide valuable insight into the biologic and environmental etiologies of an individual's personal and family history of disease. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief introduction to cancer genetics and discuss ways to obtain accurate family histories in a time-efficient manner to identify families with a hereditary cancer syndrome. The focus is on gathering family history information, which should be a standard component of the initial intake for any patient and updated regularly to keep the information current.