Nursing staffing, nursing workload, the work environment and patient outcomes

Nurse staffing (fewer RNs), increased workload, and unstable nursing unit environments were linked to negative patient outcomes including falls and medication errors on medical/surgical units in a mixed method study combining longitudinal data (5 years) and primary data collection.

Website: https://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-nursing/

Compassion fatigue in nurses

Compassion fatigue, trigger situations, and coping strategies were investigated in hospital and home care nurses. The Professional Quality of Life Scale measured compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout. Narrative questions elicited trigger situations and coping strategies. Compassion fatigue scores were significantly different between nurses who worked 8- or 12-hour shifts. Fifteen percent of the participants had scores indicating risk of the compassion fatigue. There were significant differences in compassion satisfaction, depending on the unit worked and time as a nurse. The most common category of trigger situations was caring for the patient. Work-related and personal coping strategies were identified.

Website: https://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-nursing/

Posttraumatic stress among mothers of very low birthweight infants at 6 months after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit

This correlational study examined how mother's posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are related to characteristics of the mother and her infant, as well as to mother-infant interaction and infant development, in 21 mothers of very low birthweight infants. Twenty-three percent of mothers scored in the clinical range on a measure of PTSD. How ill the infant was during the NICU hospitalization was related to mothers' PTSD symptoms. Mothers with greater PTSD symptoms were less sensitive and effective at structuring interaction with their infant. © 2011.

Website: https://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-nursing/

The “Big 5” and beyond: Nurses, paid carers, and adults with developmental disability discuss communication needs in hospital

Adults with developmental disability and little or no speech need to communicate with nurses in hospital to (a) express physical needs, (b) discuss health, (c) convey intelligence and emotions, (d) connect socially, and (e) control the environment. All stakeholders need access to a variety of communication strategies to support communication of these needs.

Website:https://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-nursing/ 

Influence of exercise mode on pregnancy outcomes: ENHANCED by mom project

In the ENHANCED by Mom study authors aim to determine the effects of different modes of exercise training (aerobic, circuit, and resistance) throughout pregnancy on childhood health by controlling individual exercise programs and assessing the effects of each on fetal and neonatal health adaptations. A better understanding on the effects of exercise training during pregnancy on fetal and neonatal health could have a profound impact on the prevention and development of chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

ENHANCED by mom is a cross sectional comparison study utilizing 3 intervention groups in comparison to a control group.

Participants will complete three 5 min warmup + 45 min sessions weekly from 16 weeks to 36 weeks gestation of aerobic, resistance, or circuit training, in comparison to non–exercising controls.

Maternal physical measurements will occur every 4 weeks throughout the intervention period.

Fetal morphometric and heart measurements will occur at 34 weeks gestation.

Neonatal measurements will be acquired at birth and at 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months.

Website: http://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-gynecology/

Outcomes of transobturator tape surgery with safyre T slings for female stress urinary incontinence after 96 months of follow-up

Authors conducted a clinical follow–up study of 153 patients diagnosed with SUI between January 2005 and December 2014.

Patients were provided with detailed a priori information pertaining to the TOT procedure and were invited to attend follow–up visits at 1, 3, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 months.

Follow–up visits included physical examination involving sling palpation, checking of the vaginal mucosa for erosion, cough test, as well as validated Urinary Distress Inventory–6 (UDI–6) and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire–7 (IIQ–7) questionnaires.

Website: http://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-gynecology/

Pregnancy complications and birth outcomes among women experiencing nausea only or nausea and vomiting during pregnancy in the norwegian mother and child cohort study

Pregnancies from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (n = 51675), a population–based prospective cohort study, were examined.

Data on nausea and/or vomiting during gestation and birth outcomes were collected from three questionnaires answered between gestation weeks 15 and 30, and linked with data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.Chi–squared tests, one way analysis of variance, multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were used.

Website: http://www.arjonline.org/medicine-and-health-care/american-research-journal-of-gynecology/