Engaging Undergraduate Nursing Students in Collaborative Research.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are expected to base practice on evidence from research, which requires an understanding of the research process. However, baccalaureate nursing students may find research courses uninteresting or feel unprepared to conduct research. Participation in experiential research projects may affect their research attitudes, knowledge, and skills. METHOD: Nursing investigators engaged nursing students in an experiential, active learning research project centered on the effects of pet interaction involving university students. Faculty mentored and partnered with nursing students, immersing them in all research processes. RESULTS: Students confirmed that participation in the project enhanced their understanding of research, improved their clinical and communication skills, and fostered professional growth. Students presented results in a scientific poster at the University's research event. CONCLUSION: Collaborative faculty-student research projects enhance students' interest in and appreciation of evidence-based research, and support professional development, confidence in assuming research roles, and feelings of connection with faculty, each other, and the university. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

Ethical Dimensions and Filial Caregiving.

The elderly are growing rapidly today as life expectancy increases. As this longevity has increased, so has the need for filial caregivers. While much has been written about caregiving stress, little has been written regarding the ethical dimensions of filial responsibility and daughter and son caregivers' perceptions of responsibility and moral demands. This paper will address the concept of family caregiving and contextual family characteristics. Family characteristics will expand awareness of the interrelationship value between the nature of the prior filial relationship, image of caregiving, and ethical views that underscore acceptance of the filial obligation. An explanation of both the interview process and selected measurements that speak to ethical perspective, sense of caregiving image, and expectations of filial caregiving will also be addressed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate how adult children may be helped in an anticipatory and proactive manner as more and more adult children take on parent care for longer durations of time.

Exploring professional caregivers' perceptions. Balancing self-care with care for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

With the are hundreds of studies about caregiver burden related to family caregivers that exist, little has been written about caregiver burden as it pertains to professional caregivers. The purpose of this study was to explore professional caregivers' perception and meaning associated with their caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Twenty-two professional caregivers were interviewed. Content analysis was used to clarify respondents' interview data. Several themes emerged from the data related to beliefs about choosing and maintaining AD caregiving role, beliefs about self-efficacy, commitment and self-satisfaction, nature of family interaction of individuals with AD, grieving responses, and ability to maintain self-care through social support as well as solitary time. Implications include AD professional burden measurement; study related to recruitment, orientation, and staffing patterns; and effect on the quality of care provided to patients and their families.

Professional caregivers for patients with dementia: predictors of job and career commitment.

The purpose of this study is to identify what factors predict job and career commitment among professional caregivers working with patients with dementia. A secondary analysis was completed using data collected from 77 professional caregivers working in residential dementia special care programs. The findings suggest that professional caregivers' commitment to their jobs and careers is most closely related to their level of involvement in the interpersonal aspects of the work, the degree to which they feel personal growth or benefit, and the level of burden that their work generates. Strategies are suggested for improving job and career longevity among professional caregivers by enhancing attachment to patients and families, fostering professional identity and personal growth, and monitoring and managing professional caregiver burden.

Burden and professional caregivers: tracking the impact.

The objective of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of the Professional Caregivers' Burden Index (PCBI), a new measure of burden for professionals who work with patients with Alzheimer's disease. In phase 1, content validity was examined; in phase 2, the 24-item instrument was administered to professional caregivers on specialty dementia care units at a long-term care facility in New England. In phase 3, mean staff PCBI scores were found to increase significantly at 3 and 9 months following a reduction of approximately 5% in staffing levels at a dementia care program. These initial data on the PCBI suggest that it may be used as a valid and reliable measure of burden among professional caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.