The State of Health and Intentions for Action to Advance Mental Health and Well-being for the Nursing Workforce.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to explore the health of nurse leaders and assess intentions to integrate workplace mental health/wellness practices. BACKGROUND: National efforts address high rates of poor mental health and lifestyle behaviors among nurses. Few studies describe the extent to which nurse leaders in academic and clinical environments can influence a strategic mission for health/well-being among the nursing workforce. METHODS: Two hundred seventeen email invitations were distributed to nurse leaders from 5 Kentucky nursing organizations to complete a 1-time 46-item online survey assessing individual health behaviors and intentions to build a culture of workplace health/well-being. RESULTS: Most respondents reported positive physical health (86%), positive mental health/intentions for action to change behaviors (80%), improved self-care practices (86%), integration of self-care practices in the workplace (79%), and commitment to integrate suicide prevention training (55%). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, nurse leaders reported positive healthy behaviors. The finding that the highest intentions were reported to integrate, sustain, and/or advance lifestyle behaviors for self-care practices as well as to integrate practices for mental health and well-being in the work environment is encouraging. Enhanced strategies and efforts are needed to prioritize workplace cultures of wellness to benefit nurses and further promote well-being among nurse leaders.

Sustained impact of an academic-practice partnership.

Academic-practice partnerships foster innovation and transition to nursing practice in healthcare systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact of a public-private academic-practice partnership for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education designed to transform a large healthcare system's nursing workforce and model of care. The conceptual framework is organized around Rogers's (2003) principles of diffusion of innovation in organizations. A logic model illuminates how inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes resulted in sustained impact for graduates, the college and the healthcare organization. Partnership outcomes include education of baccalaureate and master's-prepared employed nurses (n = 95) in a DNP program for advanced practice nursing (APN) roles in the healthcare system; dissemination of scholarship; and revision of the healthcare system's research approval process. Sustained impact includes advancement of DNP-prepared graduates to complex leadership and practice roles; development of new programs and advanced practice roles based on scholarly project findings; expansion of population-specific patient programs; and extension of continuum- and access-to-care models in the healthcare organization. Recommendations include continuing development of academic-practice partnerships for transition to practice and advancement of roles and levels of champions to achieve sustained impact of academic-practice partnerships in healthcare organizations.

Impact of Kamishibai Card Process on Compliance With the Central Venous Line Maintenance Bundle.

BACKGROUND: The Kamishibai Card (K-Card) process is a storytelling methodology designed to help identify barriers and remove or redesign them. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the K-Card process for central venous line (CVL) maintenance bundle compliance in a pediatric intensive care unit. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of the implementation of the K-Card process was performed using a pretest and posttest design. RESULTS: A total of 1003 central venous catheter maintenance observations were completed during the study period. A statistically significant change was noted in one element of the CVL maintenance bundle, tubing timed and dated. The most frequent cause for noncompliance with the CVL maintenance bundle was incomplete communication during handoff, followed by device associated factors (failure of device, use of device, and availability of device). CONCLUSIONS: The K-Card process had a positive impact on CVL maintenance bundle compliance in the study setting.