Advancing health equity in prelicensure nursing curricula: Findings from a critical review.

Nurses play a crucial role in reducing health disparities and advancing health equity for individuals and communities. The future nursing workforce relies on their nursing education to prepare them to promote health equity. Nursing educators prepare students through a variety of andragogical learning strategies in the classroom and in clinical experiences and by intentionally updating and revising curricular content to address knowledge and competency gaps. This critical review aimed to determine the extent to which health equity concepts are explicitly present in prelicensure undergraduate nursing curricula globally. Of 434 articles screened, 22 articles describing 20 studies met inclusion criteria. Frequency and quantity of health equity content, concepts and topics, teaching strategies, evaluation strategies, and the overall extent of integration varied widely. Notably, only two articles described overall well-integrated explicit health equity content, and there was little attention to whether students transfer this learning into practice. A focus on individualism rather than population and community was noted, highlighting the presence of whiteness in nursing. Results from this review confirm that nursing education has room to improve with respect to health equity in the curricula.

RNs in nursing homes-It is not always about the numbers.

The compelling evidence that higher RN to resident ratios improve health outcomes in nursing homes underscores the necessity of implementing evidence-based RN nursing home staffing standards. However, there are other dimensions to RN staffing in nursing homes beyond the numbers or hours per resident day (HPRD) that influence the quality of care. Without attending to a broader focus on nurse staffing, the benefits of increased RN staffing levels will not be achieved. This article outlines how RN HPRD can be maximized by magnifying the RN's scope of practice and attending to how nursing care is organized and delivered in nursing homes using a nursing practice model framework. This framework addresses the accountability of the RN and the RN's role in supporting and facilitating: (1) collective decision-making among the nursing staff about the care of residents and the work environment, (2) continuity of information among care providers, and (3) ensuring residents have continuity with the care providers assigned to their care. Attention to the RN's expertise in gerontological nursing and leadership capacity further leverages the RN's ability to influence the quality of care for nursing homes residents.

Planetary health in nursing curricula: How one school transformed nursing curricula as they integrated planetary health concepts with the 2021 AACN essentials.

BACKGROUND: Human health and the health of the planet are inextricably interconnected. The human impact on the environment and likewise the impact of the environment on human health is well documented across various areas of study. Climate change, air and water pollutants, land usage, vector borne illness, and other examples demonstrate this relationship. Nurse educators would be negligent if this knowledge was not integrated and aligned with AACN Essentials competencies to demonstrate acquisition of knowledge. METHODS: The five domains of the Planetary Health Education Framework were mapped to the AACN Essentials competency based framework. RESULTS: Crosswalks were developed for Level 1 and Level 2 Domains, Competencies, and Sub- Competencies with the Planetary Health Domains. Specific Planetary Health outcomes were identified with supporting resources. Exemplars demonstrate the application of the Planetary Health domains to classroom activities and learning objectives. CONCLUSIONS: In order for graduates to be practice ready, practice to the full scope of their license, and practice from a holistic perspective, nursing education programs must address the reciprocal impacts of planetary health and human health as it is imperative for the health of all.

Toward ensuring care quality and safety across settings: examining time pressure in a nursing home with observational time motion study metrics based on the Omaha system.

BACKGROUND: Meaningful data to determine safe and efficient nursing workload are needed. Reasoning a nurse can accomplish a finite number of interventions and location changes per hour, examination of time pressure using time motion study (TMS) methods will provide a comparable indication of safe and efficient workload for an individual nurse. METHODS: An observer shadowed 11 nurses at a 250-bed nursing home in the Southeastern United States and recorded 160 h of observations using TimeCaT, web-based TMS data recording software. Predefined Omaha System nursing interventions (N = 57) and locations (N = 8) were embedded within TimeCaT. The time-stamped data were downloaded from TimeCaT and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Five time pressure metrics were derived from previous TMS findings in acute care settings. RESULTS: Overall, nurses spent 66 s for each intervention, performed 65 interventions per hour, stayed 130 s at each location, changed locations 28 times per hour, and multitasked for 29% of working time. Computed hourly time pressure metrics enabled visualization of variability in time pressure metrics over time, with differences in multitasking by licensure, unit/role, and observation session time. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing home nurses consistently experienced a high degree of time pressure, especially multitasking for one-third of their working time. To inform staffing decision making and improve the quality of care, resident outcomes, and nurse satisfaction, it is critical to identify ways to mitigate time pressure. Additional research is needed to refine and extend the use of the time pressure metrics.

Calling all nurses-Now is the time to take action on improving the quality of care in nursing homes.

For a number of decades, nurses have raised concerns about nursing-related issues in nursing homes (NH) such as inadequate registered nurse (RN) staffing, insufficient RN and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) gerontological expertise, and lack of RN leadership competencies. The NASEM Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes illuminated the long-standing issues and concerns affecting the quality of care in nursing homes and proposed seven goals and associated recommendations intended to achieve the Committee's vision: Nursing home residents receive care in a safe environment that honors their values and preferences, addresses goals of care, promotes equity, and assesses the benefits and risks of care and treatments. This paper outlines concrete and specific actions nurses and nursing organizations can take to ensure the recommendations are implemented.

Interventions Employed By Licensed Nurses in Nursing Homes: Refinement and Validation of an Existing Omaha System Nursing Intervention Set.

Background and Purpose: Demands on long-term services and supports for older adults are growing, although geriatric workforce shortages have persisted for decades. Methods to define and quantify practice of licensed nurses in nursing homes are needed for work optimization within limited nurse resources available in nursing homes. This study aimed to refine and validate observable nursing interventions for nursing homes, using the Omaha System. Methods: Based on the existing corpus of Omaha System interventions for acute care nursing, this multi-phase, multi-method study included a mapping procedure of interviews from licensed nurses in nursing homes, the evaluation of content validity and coding of the interventions using a survey, and inter-observer reliability assessment using TimeCaT. Results: This study validated 57 observable interventions for nursing homes. Of the previously identified acute care nursing interventions, eight interventions were deemed out of scope. One additional intervention was identified. Refined intervention definitions were related to procedures common in acute care settings such as tracheal intubations/extubations and nasogastric tube insertion that were not performed in nursing homes. Expert agreement for content validity and coding of the interventions was high (S-CVI = 0.97), and inter-observer reliability levels (Cohen's κ value >0.4; proportion agreement >60%) were acceptable for all case studies. Implications for Practice: The validated observable Omaha System nursing interventions for nursing home practice have potential for use in future studies of nursing home practice to understand evidence-based practice, and gaps in care provided. The methodology may be extended to define observable interventions for other roles and settings.

Neurodevelopmental disorder with dystonia due to SOX6 mutations.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in SOX6 have recently been recognized as a new molecular cause of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by intellectual disability, behavioral changes, and nonspecific facial and digital skeletal abnormalities. To date, <25 cases have been reported in the literature. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Here we report a new case of SOX6-associated neurodegeneration and expand the phenotype to include ceratoconus. The clinical picture consisted of early onset mildly reduced intellectual function, facial asymmetry, and dystonic tremor of hands and neck, substantially improved by levodopa. Skeletal abnormalities included scoliosis and hypertrophy of the mandibular coronoid process. A heterozygous de novo loss-of-function variant in SOX6 (c.277 C>T. p.Arg93*) was molecularly confirmed which leads to truncation of the SOX6 protein in its N-terminus, upstream of any known functional domain. CONCLUSION: SOX6-associated neurodevelopmental delayis ultrarare with less than 25 cases described in the literature. We report a new case who presented with early-onset mildly reduced intellectual function, facial asymmetry, skeletal abnormalities and dystonic tremor of hands and neck, substantially improved by levodopa. Given the therapeutic implications, SOX6 mutations should be considered in patients with complex dystonia parkinsonism.

Transatlantic Collaborations: Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Experiences of Participating in a Semester-Long Study Abroad Program.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe students' experiences during a 15-week semester involving clinical placement in an Irish university. BACKGROUND: Internationalization is promoted and facilitated through study abroad initiatives within nurse education. Collaborations were developed between one university in the United States, an Irish university, and service partners. This study abroad initiative involved planning logistics, curriculum learning opportunities, and negotiating clinical placement in meeting state professional requirements. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Following ethical approval, 19 fourth-year students participated in focus group and individual semistructured interviews. Data analysis followed a thematic approach. RESULTS: Connecting our worlds details a process of acclimatizing, navigating learning, and using person-centered practices, illustrating meaningful learning in a journey of personal and professional development. CONCLUSION: Moving beyond the rhetoric of globalization is critical in future proofing initiatives in developing nursing practitioners while balancing potential safety risks in a post-COVID-19 era.

Multidimensional Aspects of Nurse Staffing in Nursing Homes.

Nurse staffing involves determining, allocating, and delivering nursing resources and care to residents in order to achieve the desired and required quality of care and life for residents. A comprehensive evidence-based framework for nurse staffing in nursing homes is presented to be considered beyond the number of nurse staff and consequently the nurse staffing strategies needed to address care quality in nursing homes.

The Relationships of Nursing Home Culture Change Practices With Resident Quality of Life and Family Satisfaction: Toward a More Nuanced Understanding.

Transforming nursing homes (NHs) from restrictive institutions to person-centered homes, referred to as NH culture change, is complex and multifaceted. This study, based on a survey of administrators in Minnesota NHs (n = 102), tested the domain-specific relationships of culture change practices with resident quality of life (QOL) and family satisfaction, and examined the moderating effect of small-home or household models on these relationships. The findings revealed that culture change operationalized through physical environment transformation, staff empowerment, staff leadership, and end-of-life care was positively associated with at least one domain of resident QOL and family satisfaction, while staff empowerment had the most extensive effects. Implementing small-home and household models had a buffering effect on the positive relationships between staff empowerment and the outcomes. The findings provide meaningful implications for designing and implementing NH culture change practices that best benefit residents' QOL and improve family satisfaction.

Expert nurse response to workforce recommendations made by The Coronavirus Commission For Safety And Quality In Nursing Homes.

COVID-19 has exposed the longstanding internal problems in nursing homes and the weak structures and policies that are meant to protect residents. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services convened the Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in NHs in April, 2020 to address this situation by recommending steps to improve infection prevention and control, safety procedures, and the quality of life of residents in nursing homes. The authors of this paper respond to the Final Report of the Commission and put forth additional recommendations to federal policymakers for meaningful nursing home reform: 1) ensuring 24/7 registered nurse (RN) coverage and adequate compensation to maintain total staffing levels that are based on residents' care needs; 2) ensuring RNs have geriatric nursing and leadership competencies; 3) increasing efforts to recruit and retain the NH workforce, particularly RNs; and 4) supporting care delivery models that strengthen the role of the RN for quality resident-centered care.

A Call to the CMS: Mandate Adequate Professional Nurse Staffing in Nursing Homes.

Editor's note: This article is by 22 nursing gerontology experts who are all advocates of nursing home reform. They are listed at the end of this article.

An Empirical Typology of Nursing Home Culture Change Implementation.

Culture change in nursing homes (NHs) is a broad-based effort to transform NHs from impersonal institutions to genuine person-centered homes. Culture change practices have been implemented increasingly with varying levels of success. This study (a) generated an empirical typology of culture change implementation across Minnesota NHs using latent profile analysis based on the survey data from administrators in 102 NHs and (b) examined variations in NH characteristics and quality outcomes associated with the typology. Three types of culture change implementation were identified: high performers, average performers, and low performers. The distributions of culture change scores were distinct across the three types, with low performers lagging far behind others in family and community engagement, and end-of-life care. High performers were distinguished through demonstrating better resident quality of life and higher family satisfaction. The findings provide empirical support for policymakers, providers, and advocates to direct culture change expansion and resource allocation.

Can a Nursing Home Psychotropic Reduction Project be Successfully Implemented in Assisted Living?

The objective of this study was to compare implementation of a psychotropic medication reduction project across two types of residential long-term care settings: nursing homes (NH) and assisted living (AL) facilities. Fifteen NHs and 14 AL facilities from within a single corporate chain participated in the psychotropic medication reduction project. Using a comparative case study approach, we conducted in-person and telephone interviews with 62 staff members from participating NH and AL facilities to investigate the experience of project implementation. Project implementation within the more institutional NH model produced dramatic changes in residents' lives and medication use. Conversely, changes made in the AL environment appeared to have less impact on resident medication use and resident-centric narratives, and AL staff identified numerous barriers to implementation. Identifying methods to monitor processes and outcomes of care without increasing the regulatory burden of AL facilities may increase transferability of quality improvement efforts across settings.

FDA orphan products clinical trial grants: assessment of outcomes and impact on rare disease product development.

BACKGROUND: The Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) of the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded over 700 grants to conduct clinical trials of medicals products for rare diseases since 1983, leading to over 70 marketing approvals. However, despite recent progress in rare disease product development, thousands of rare diseases still have no approved treatments. An assessment of this clinical trial grants program was undertaken to provide an in-depth analysis of the characteristics and outcomes of the program. Results of this analysis will be used to inform future goals of the program, as well as internal data collection to continue to maximize the program's impact in supporting rare disease product development. RESULTS: Between fiscal years 2007-2011, OOPD funded 85 clinical trial grants. These grants spanned 18 therapeutic areas, included all pre-approval phases (Phases 1-3), and approximately 75% of the grants studied small molecule drugs. Nine (11%) product approvals, of seven drugs and two devices, were at least partially supported by grants funded within this 5-year timeframe. Four of the seven drugs approved were new molecular entities (NMEs). The average time from funding to approval was seven years. We also found a suggested association between collaboration with multiple types of stakeholders and the success of grants, where we defined success as either positive or negative study findings or a future marketing approval. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical trials funded by OOPD provided valuable information for future product development, and there were a notable number of approvals that occurred using the support of the grants program. There was a suggested association between collaboration and successful outcomes. Efficient and innovative trial designs and collaboration among stakeholders appear vital to continue to effectively bring products to rare disease patients. Ongoing program assessments will ensure that the funding continues to be used to optimally meet the treatment needs of the rare disease community.