Say the Words: Using Words to Confront Injustices in Health Care.

A guide for speaking out and taking action.

Normalizing Anxiety on Social Media Increases Self-Diagnosis of Anxiety: The Mediating Effect of Identification (But Not Stigma).

Normalizing mental health disorders in media communication can have a positive impact on the public by improving awareness. However, normalizing issues like anxiety could lead people to categorize normal anxiety as a disorder. In Study One, viewing social media posts that normalized anxiety resulted in a greater likelihood of self-diagnosis of anxiety disorder compared to social media posts that did not normalize it. This effect was through identification with and liking of the person featured in the social media post. In Study Two, those results were replicated. Additionally, we expected, but did not find, that normalizing anxiety had an impact on perceived stigma of anxiety disorders. Thus, at least in this case, normalization influenced self-diagnosis primarily through increasing identification with another person with anxiety, rather than decreasing stigma. Efforts to maximize positive impacts of normalizing disorders should examine unintended, potentially negative, consequences.

The Use of Hydroxyurea in the Treatment of COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: The rapid worldwide spread of COVID-19 motivated medical professionals to pursue and authenticate appropriate remedies and treatment protocols. This article aims to analyze the potential benefits of one treatment protocol developed by a group of care providers caring for severe COVID-19 patients. METHODS: The clinical findings of COVID-19 patients who were transferred to a specialized care hospital after unsuccessful treatment in previous institutions, were analyzed. The specialized care hospital used a treatment protocol including hydroxyurea, a medication commonly used for sickle cell treatment, to improve respiratory distress in the COVID-19 patients. None of the COVID-19 patients included in the analyzed data were diagnosed with sickle cell, and none had previously taken hydroxyurea for any other conditions. RESULTS: In all presented cases, patients reverted to their baseline respiratory health after treatment with the hydroxyurea protocol. There was no significant difference in the correlation between COVID-19 and hydroxyurea. However, deaths were extremely low for those taking hydroxyurea. CONCLUSIONS: Fatality numbers were extremely low for those taking hydroxyurea; death could be attributed to other underlying issues.

Telehealth in Nursing Education: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Telehealth encompasses a broad variety of technologies and methods to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services. This systematic review examined the research completed in the past 10 years to determine the prevailing state of the science related to nursing education and telehealth. METHOD: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was followed. The criteria for inclusion were nursing education research related to telehealth in an academic setting. RESULTS: A total of 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. A lack of rigorous research design, valid and reliable instrumentation, and measurable outcomes were noted. CONCLUSION: This review found a lack of research focused on nursing education associated with telehealth. One article validating 14 nursing telehealth entrustable professional activities with 52 corresponding competencies was found to have the potential to guide curricular integration, measure outcomes, and build a program of telehealth nursing education research. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(11):633-635.].

Increasing Alcohol Control Policy Support: The Mediating Role of Empathy and Emotions.

Background: Mass media messages have the potential to reduce alcohol-related harm through increasing support for alcohol-control policies. Objectives: In Study 1, we experimentally examined the incidental effects of alcohol mention in news articles about accidents and crime and found evidence that messages mentioning alcohol as a causal factor in the accident or crime can activate empathic and emotional responses, which in turn increase support for alcohol control policy. In Study 2, anti-drinking and driving public service announcements (PSAs) were edited to either portray consequences of drinking and driving for the driver only or for both the driver and innocent others. Results: The versions of the PSAs that showed consequences to others were more successful at eliciting alcohol-control policy support than the versions showing only consequences to the self. As hypothesized, empathy that was directed toward victims (but not drivers under the influence) and negative emotions were supported as mediators of this relationship. Although negative affect and feelings of empathy for the victims of drunk driving are not pleasant emotions to experience, they appear to play an important role in increasing support for public policies to increase safety without having a negative impact on viewer's evaluations of the PSA. Conclusions: Results from the two studies provide evidence that empathy and emotions can play a mediating role between message characteristics (either intentional or incidental) and alcohol control policy support.

Soil Salinity and pH Drive Soil Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Along a Lateritic Slope in the Avon River Critical Zone Observatory, Western Australia.

Soils are crucial in regulating ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth. To a large extent, these functions are carried out by highly diverse and dynamic soil microbiomes that are in turn governed by numerous environmental factors including weathering profile and vegetation. In this study, we investigate geophysical and vegetation effects on the microbial communities of iron-rich lateritic soils in the highly weathered landscapes of Western Australia (WA). The study site was a lateritic hillslope in southwestern Australia, where gradual erosion of the duricrust has resulted in the exposure of the different weathering zones. High-throughput amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used to investigate soil bacterial community diversity, composition and functioning. We predicted that shifts in the microbial community would reflect variations in certain edaphic properties associated with the different layers of the lateritic profile and vegetation cover. Our results supported this hypothesis, with electrical conductivity, pH and clay content having the strongest correlation with beta diversity, and many of the differentially abundant taxa belonging to the phyla Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. Soil water repellence, which is associated with Eucalyptus vegetation, also affected beta diversity. This enhanced understanding of the natural system could help to improve future crop management in WA since the physicochemical properties of the agricultural soils in this region are inherited from laterites via the weathering and pedogenesis processes.

Academic-Community Partnership Educating Children About Weather-Related Disaster Preparedness.

Children are a population that has an increased risk of harm during any disaster events. This risk can be decreased by educating children in disaster preparedness skills. This article outlines a basic modifiable curriculum for teaching weather-related disaster preparedness to children ages 10-13, and shares how this was accomplished at an elementary school in North Alabama through a collaboration between the school and a local college of nursing.

Reevaluating the neutropenic diet: time to change.

The neutropenic diet historically has been a mainstay in oncology practice, with many providers continuing to adhere tightly to the diet for patients with neutropenia. However, clinically sound evidence remains limited and weak and does not support the diet as a foundation for policy and practice. Therefore, two questions remain: Does evidence exist to support the effectiveness of the neutropenic diet in reducing infection rates in the neutropenic oncology population? Based on limited evidence supporting the neutropenic diet in this population, what clinically sound diet strategies are best for these patients?

Health effects of the Federal Bureau of Prisons tobacco ban.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in America, claiming 450,000 lives annually. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, caused by smoking in the vast majority of cases, became the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2008. The burden of asthma, often exacerbated by tobacco exposure, has widespread clinical and public health impact. Despite this considerable harm, we know relatively little about the natural history of lung disease and respiratory impairment in adults, especially after smoking cessation. METHODS/DESIGN: Our paper describes the design and rationale for using the 2004 Federal Bureau of Prisons tobacco ban to obtain insights into the natural history of respiratory diseases in adult men and women of different races/ethnicities who are imprisoned in federal medical facilities. We have developed a longitudinal study of new prison arrivals, with data to be collected from each participant over the course of several years, through the use of standardized questionnaires, medical chart reviews, lung function tests, six-minute walk tests, and stored serum for the analysis of present and future biomarkers. Our endpoints include illness exacerbations, medication and health services utilization, lung function, serum biomarkers, and participants' experience with their health and nicotine addiction. DISCUSSION: We believe the proposed longitudinal study will make a substantial contribution to the understanding and treatment of respiratory disease and tobacco addiction.

Inorganic pyrophosphatase induces type I collagen in osteoblasts.

INTRODUCTION: The physiologic selectivity of calcification in bone tissue reflects selective co-expression by osteoblasts of fibrillar collagen I and of tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP), which hydrolyzes the calcification inhibitor pyrophosphate (PP(i)) and generates phosphate (P(i)). Humans and mice deficient in the PP(i)-generating ecto-enzyme NPP1 demonstrate soft tissue calcification, occurring at sites of extracellular matrix expansion. Significantly, the function in osteoblasts of cytosolic inorganic pyrophosphatase (abbreviated iPP(i)ase), which generates P(i) via PP(i) hydrolysis with neutral pH optimum, remains unknown. We assessed iPP(i)ase in Enpp1(-/-) and wild type (WT) mouse osteoblasts and we tested the hypothesis that iPP(i)ase regulates collagen I expression. METHODS: We treated mouse calvarial osteoblasts with ascorbate and beta-glycerol phosphate to promote calcification, and we assessed cytosolic P(i) and PP(i) levels, sodium-dependent P(i) uptake, Pit-1 P(i) co-transporter expression, and iPP(i)ase and TNAP activity and expression. We also assessed the function of transfected Ppa1 in osteoblasts. RESULTS: Inorganic pyrophosphatase but not TNAP was elevated in Enpp1(-/-) calvariae in situ. Cultured primary Enpp1(-/-) calvarial osteoblasts demonstrated increased calcification despite flat TNAP activity rather than physiologic TNAP up-regulation seen in WT osteoblasts. Despite decreased cytosolic PP(i) in early culture, Enpp1(-/-) osteoblasts maintained cytosolic P(i) levels comparable to WT osteoblasts, in association with increased iPP(i)ase, enhanced sodium-dependent P(i) uptake and expression of Pit-1, and markedly increased collagen I synthesis. Suppression of collagen synthesis in Enpp1(-/-) osteoblasts using 3,4-dehydroproline markedly suppressed calcification. Last, transfection of Ppa1 in WT osteoblasts increased cytosolic P(i) and decreased cytosolic but not extracellular PP(i), and induced both collagen I synthesis and calcification. CONCLUSIONS: Increased iPP(i)ase is associated with "P(i) hunger" and increased calcification by NPP1-deficient osteoblasts. Furthermore, iPP(i)ase induces collagen I at the levels of mRNA expression and synthesis and, unlike TNAP, stimulates calcification by osteoblasts without reducing the extracellular concentration of the hydroxyapatite crystal inhibitor PP(i).

Treating patients with CKD who are violent or homeless: a need for further study.

A Special Interest Group (SIG) session entitled "Caring for the Homeless Dialysis Patient and Patients with Behavioral Issues" was held during the 2007 ANNA National Symposium in Dallas. This session shed light on two ever growing populations of patients. The panel of presenters included Judy Kauffman, RN; Deb Cote, RN; and Melissa Foster, RN. Monica Riley, RN, moderated the session. Audience discussion gave voice to a large area of growing concern about both the violent and homeless populations of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from around the country. While these two population sets were discussed individually, similar concerns surfaced about both groups.

Surveying acute care providers in the U.S. to explore the impact of HIT on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in acute care settings.

In 2005, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's Nursing Informatics Task Force surveyed acute care providers across the United States to explore the impact of health information technology on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in acute care settings. More than 1,700 healthcare professionals responded to the online survey and provided numerous insights into the impact that clinical information systems have in their daily communication and workflow patterns. This paper provides an overview of survey results from four large healthcare delivery systems with a focus on how the results will be employed to support an evidence-based approach to improving acute care IT systems across the following healthcare delivery systems: Partners and Lifespan Health Systems in the Northeast, Baptist Health South Florida in the Southeast, and Providence HealthSystem in the Northwest.A case study approach is employed to describe survey findings at the healthcare system level and then provide a set of recommendations to leverage findings to capitalize on the strengths of existing IT applications and tools, and work towards overcoming barriers to interdisciplinary communication or acute care workflows.