Knowledge and perceptions of HIV/AIDS among Cameroonian nursing students.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic impacts people throughout the world and is complicated by fear, prejudice, and stigma. Nurses play a major role in the health care delivery systems, yet in many parts of the world with high HIV sero-prevalence rates, nurses lack sufficient training and education to provide care to patients with HIV/AIDS. In an effort to build capacity and improve knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding care of patients with HIV/AIDS, a 4-day workshop was provided by American nursing students for Cameroonian nursing students. The training program included HIV epidemiology, disease management, and natural course of the disease, testing, legal and ethical issues, and infection control practices. Pre- and post-test scores were calculated using a series of surveys that measured HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Results indicated that these measures of HIV-related perceptions improved due to the train-the-trainer workshop.

Soothability and growth in preterm infants.

PURPOSE: This randomized control trial investigated the relationship between soothability, weight gain, and length of hospital stay in premature infants. METHOD: Forty-eight preterm infants were randomized into control group or flaxseed pillow treatment group. The pillow group received two 15-minute treatments per day. Treatment consisted of placing a flaxseed-filled pillow on the infants' upper thorax, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, for the infant's first 5 days of life. Physiologic measurements were obtained pre- and posttreatment, including temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and pain scores and measures of physical activity. FINDINGS: Infants in the treatment group demonstrated significant decreases in heart rate, respiratory rate, and pain scores compared to infants in the control group. Infants in the treatment group also gained more weight in the first 3 weeks of life and spent more time awake. Discharge weights and length of stay at hospital did not vary between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The flaxseed pillow is a new method that may assist premature infants to become more soothable and gain weight more rapidly in the first weeks of life. The pillow is inexpensive, easy to use, and not associated with adverse events. Further research is recommended to explore the efficacy of this intervention in other populations.

A workshop report on promoting HIV/AIDS understanding through a capacity building train-the-trainer educational intervention.

Nursing educators are frequently confronted with challenges that bring about innovation and transition to new ways of transferring knowledge in their home environments. These challenges are magnified when approached from an international perspective. Optimal implementation of knowledge transfer incorporates choosing models that promote local initiatives in line with increasingly decentralized educational structures. These decentralized models are a means to foster ongoing participation for both educators and students in their own professional development. Innovative education stems from creativity in approaching the need with formats and activities to meet a specific challenge. This experimental study builds upon previous study by the authors which was conducted in March, 2009, based upon the qualitative open focus forum at each of the five nursing programs. Overwhelmingly, the Cameroonian nursing students expressed a keen desire to study the HIV infected pregnant woman and the feeding options of the newborn. The study team developed the train-the-trainer program which was delivered at the University of Buea in the Southwest region of Cameroon in March, 2011. TTT is particularly effective for reaching large audiences and also permits a degree of sustainability such that the Cameroonian students will be trainers for subsequent cohorts of their peers. This study continues to strengthen the collaborative endeavors between the two nursing schools; the University of Buea (UB) and Goldfarb School of Nursing (GSON) at Barnes Jewish College in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. The final aim of the intervention was the initiation of collaborative relationships between the faculty members of the two educational organizations.

International collaboration to enhance the fight against HIV/AIDS: report of a consultative meeting between the University of Buea in Cameroon and the Goldfarb School of Nursing in the USA.

HIV/AIDS is a major public health pandemic affecting the development, survival and life of young people both in Cameroon and the USA. Youths are more adaptive to change and less hindered by prejudice than adults. Student-to-student peer mentoring is a non-formal way for students to learn new life skills and different cross-cultural values. We report on a two-day consultative meeting in 2010 on developing international collaboration for the fight against HIV/AIDS between Cameroonian and USA nursing students. We used adult learning approaches consisting of presentations, discussions, questions and answer sessions, role plays and demonstrations. Deliberations and resolutions from the consultative meeting enabled the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Goldfarb School of Nursing in the USA on HIV/AIDS international collaboration paving the way forward for more developmental health projects in this domain.