Screening and Interventions in Elderly Abuse

Abuse in the elderly is a more recent phenomenon than other types of abuse, as directed against women or children, both documented for a long time, even if they are not recognized as social or health problem until a few decadesago.

Elderly Abuse

This has to do, no doubt, with social changes and particularly with the change of status of the elderly. Elderly enjoyed social recognition, respect and power, and was the guarantee of transmission of knowledge and traditions in a society where age-related experience was considered a value. Changes in the social structure, in the family context, attitudes and values in our society, are probably in the background of the problem. Youth, productivity, health, individual achievement and power are raising stars; the old, unproductive and often dependent, it is undervalued and is sometimes a burden, a nuisance to nuclear families struggling to care for the elderly. Demographic and social changes have not been accompanied by the necessary adaptation resources to respond to new needs that have been created without longing for the past, but looking to the future. At the origin of abuse we can find many causes, because not only social factors are involved, but also cultural, individual and family factors too. Read more>>>>>>>>>>

Effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on Pain among Patients with Cancer

Pain is one of the main symptoms reported in cancer patients which is directly associated with the disease itself or while undergoing treatment. Non-pharmacological interventionsare necessary to be included in treatment modalities for pain related to cancer.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation

Wherein a variety of options can be used to reduce pain and improve the quality of life Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is widely used, despite lacking evidence to confirm effectiveness in any type of chronic pain, including cancer-related pain Purpose: There are limited studies that discussed the uses of TENS. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the effectiveness of TENS on cancer-related pain. Methodology: Literature review was conducted by searching in PubMed, Science Direct, EBSCO, CINAHL, and google science. 36 articles were found; the review utilized 9 articles despite extensive research which met the selection criteria. The articles regarding TENS is limited, thus the author extends the search for more than five years published articles, which extend between 1997-2013. Read more>>>>>>>>>>> 

The Paradox of Obesity in Graduate level Advance Practice Nurses and Nurse Educators

Obesity has become a national epidemic, which currently consumes a large segment of the United States' population; according to the CDC more than 72 million adults are obese. “In 2009, about, 4 million more adults were obese than in 2007.

Obesity Paradox

In every state, more than 15% of adults are obese and in nine states, over 30% of adults are obese”. Obesity is defined as having excess of adipose tissue (Body fat). Body fat can be calculated by using a height to weight ratio a value known as Body Mass Index (BMI). Obesity can lead to numerous co-morbid conditions. Obesity reduction is a health initiative that should be a priority to health care providers and society. Obesity is now categorized as a disease. Though this classification has been delineated by the CDC many providers do not manage Obesity as a disease. Obesity and cardiovascular conditions significantly impact the quality of life of society. In Healthy People 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS] lists both cardiovascular disease and obesity as health initiatives in the population (DHHS). Read more>>>>>>>

Needle Stick and Sharp Injuries among Nurses

A needle-stick injury (NSI) is defined as “a penetrating wound with an instrument that is potentially contaminated with the body fluid of another person”. NSIsrepresent a major occupational hazard in the health care industry, with professional nurses incurring a large proportion of the total burden particularly with items that have been previously used on patients.Needle-stick and other percutaneous injuries pose the greatest risk of occupational transmission of serious blood borne infections such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to health care workers (HCW) and patients.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 16000 HCV, 66000 HBV and 1000 cases of HIV may have occurred worldwide in the year 2000 among health care workers through their exposure, to NSIs. In Turkey, about four million people are estimated to be carriers of chronic HBV between 0% and 2% of the blood donor population were found to be HCV antibody positive. The numbers of patients with HIV reported is relatively low, rates have been increasing steadily in recent years, whereas this number reached a total of 1325 in 2001. WHO reports that the number of sharp and needle stick injuries per person among health care staff are 4 per year in Africa, Western Mediterranean and Asia.(Read more)

The Person Centered Care in Dementia.

The model of person-centred dementia care (PCDC) offers a new paradigm of care for older people with dementia in order to increase their quality of life by customizing, respect for their autonomy and participation of the person in decisions that affect their lives. This model is consistent with the AdvancedPractices in Nursing in geriatrics. Although the biomedical model has been predominant in the care of elderly people with neurodegenerative diseases, many authors have advocated in recent years to supplement it with other perspectives that take into account the point of view of the person with dementia, what it is known as models of care focused on the person (PCC). Since the models of PCC, participation and respect for the autonomy of the person with dementia as central elements of care in order to generate well-being and satisfaction in the patient and increase the quality of care.

The PCC models involve the implementation of care practices based on those principles, which can be tricky in residential environments where elements such as standardization, organizing schedules or cost reduction limit their possibilities. Nevertheless, they have been tested numerous intervention strategies based on the principles of the PCC, among which are the use of biographical information, sessions of reminiscence and the approach of meaningful activities from the perspective of resident, customizing environments or the resident inclusion in the decision on its activities. In residents with advanced dementia, the implementation of PCC interventions able to reduce some behavioral symptoms of dementia, such as agitation or aggression, and reduces the use of neuroleptics.(Read more)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children of Kashmir and Role of Nurse.

Kashmir the paradise on earth has become a scapegoat due to sociopolitical unrest from last 2½ decades. This altercation has outrageously affected different aspects of Kashmir’s society. Undoubtedly there has been an immense damage to infrastructure; however its wallop can be felt and seen nowhere more than on the mental health of people of Kashmir. In other words, in Kashmir, mentalhealth has emerged as one of the most distressing public health concerns. The long standing controversy has caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among up to 90% people of the valley. And the worst part of this conflict is that it equally affected the psyche of children which are considered to be the future of every society. A Study conducted by Firdous found, that the most common horrifying events experienced by children are witnessing the killing of a close relative (49%), followed by witnessing the arrest and torture of a close relative (15%). Loss of parents, frequent dislocation and exposure to violence has led to an increase in pediatric psychopathology. 

As the children lack the cognitive capacities than that of adults and find it difficult to talk upon their traumatic experiences. They are unable to transform their internal conflicts and feelings into words, and are expressed in repetitive reduplications, interfering visual images, trauma specific fears, aggressive and regressive activities and other behavioral states. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), also called as a railway spine, nightmare, stress syndrome, shell shock, and the battle of fatigue and traumatic war that can develop after a person has sustained a traumatic event or has been subjected to or threatened with some serious physical harm. Children could be a victim of PTSD if they have lived through an event that could have caused them or someone else to be killed or badly hurt. Such events include assault, physical abuse, disasters such as floods, school shootings, car crashes, fires, a friend's suicide, violence or crimes in the area they live.(Read more)

Hierarchical Logic Models as a Tool to Evaluate Programmatic Initiatives: Practical Solutions to Identified Problems.

Program planners, evaluators and other stakeholders use logic models to clearly articulate the links between proposed program goals, resources, activities, outcomes, and impacts of their initiatives. This systemic approach to programplanning and evaluation provides a road map for the program and assistsprograms to define strategies that will lead to success. In building logic models, stakeholders must define a program theory to provide a rationale for how the activities will lead to outcomes. Involving stakeholders in the development of program logic models instills a shared understanding of the program theory. When working with a large, multi-component program, the integration of logic models can provide further clarification about the program, as a whole, as well as individual program components.

Logic models can provide a productive framework for effective planning and a depiction of the process of change of an intervention. Most often presented as sequenced diagrams or flow charts, logic models demonstrate relationships among the following components: Statement of a problem, various causal and mitigating factors related to that problem, available resources to address the problem, intervention goals and planned activities, and anticipated short and long-term outcomes. This traditional logic model framework may be augmented to include consideration of key factors that may hinder and/or enhance the well-being of the target population, or attainment of the goal set, and may affect the program at the individual, family, programmatic/ organizational or policy level.(Read more)

Assessment of Opinions of Nursing Students in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia on Legislation on Admissibility of Abortion.

Today in various countries around the world, there is a dispute on the acceptability and legality of abortion .InPoland in October 2016, contestations between the proponents of so-calledpro-choice and pro-life attitudes took the form of mass street protests. Understanding the causes of such violent reaction of women facilitates comprehension of the essence of the dispute. Data on these social changes can be helpful in analyzing and subduing similar controversies in other countries.

In our opinion, understanding the causes of the ongoing culture war requires at least a brief review of the historical development of views on the acceptability of abortion and a review of current legislation and social circumstances in different countries of the world. It is important to outline the historical development of legislation in Eastern Europe countries. It is necessary also to characterize the reasoning of proponents of pro-life and pro-choice attitudes as well as their main philosophical arguments. We present such considerations in another paper.(Read More)

Does Timing of Aerobic Walking Impact Blood Glucose Control and Personal Preference in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes?

Aerobic exercise has two primary benefits for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D): 1) It temporarily reduces insulin resistance up to 48 hours, and 2) It lowers blood glucose (BG) even in the absence of effective insulin action. Therefore, a dose of exercise shouldindirectly lower BG by reducing insulin resistance. Exercising after meals while BG is rising should directly lower postprandial glucose (PPG), a primary contributor to glycosylated hemoglobin and a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.The only exercise guidelines given in the ADA’s 2012 Position Statement on the management of T2D were, “As much physical activity as possible should be promoted, ideally aiming for at least 150 min/week of moderate activity including aerobic, resistance, and flexibility training”.

DiPietro demonstrated that 45 minutes of aerobic walking, whether done in three 15-minute bouts after meals or in a single dose, similarly and significantly lowered 24-hour BG among adults at risk for developing T2D. Aerobic walking performed after meals, however, led to significantly lower postprandial BG. Not only is the type and timing of exercise important, but compliance among individuals with T2D is also critical. It may be that doing several 15-minute bouts of postprandial exercise is preferable to a single 45-minute block.(Read more)

Prevalence of Dysmenorrhea and its Effects on School Performance: A Crosssectional Study.

Menstruation is a normal physiological process that occurs approximately once a month in women of reproductive age as a result of the breakdown of the endometrial tissue. But dysmenorrhearefers to the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin. It is the most common gynecologic complaints in adolescence and young women, occurring in 60% to 93% of school girls and young women.

Major symptoms, including pain, adversely affect daily life and school performance, causing recurrent short-term school absenteeism among female adolescents. Previous epidemiologic investigations have reported the magnitudes of dysmenorrhea ranged from 43% to 91% in school girls. There are a limited number of studies conducted on university female students with the problem of dysmenorrhea in Ethiopia. Likewise, as far as our knowledge is concerned such study is the first to deal with dysmenorrhea and academic performance in our study area. However, some studies reported different prevalence; for instance, at Bahir Dar University the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome were 85.1% and 72.8%, respectively.(Read More)

Hope for Autism.

We all love nothing more than our children, and the thought of having an autistic child is frightening. Autism's behavioral, social, verbal and non-verbaldisturbances affect children in major ways. Autism is a mysterious disorder; there is little understanding of its cause. What causes Autism? A short time ago, the only sentence that we can say “we have no idea.” Fortunately, the researchers are recently starting to deliver the answers. We now understand that there isn't a single cause for autism, we also know that there are multiple types of autism. Recently, researchers have reported a scale of gene polymorphisms linked to autism. However, only some of these polymorphisms are capable of causing autism directly. Both of gene polymorphisms and environmental factors affecting brain growth appear to be the cause of major cases of autism.

If the genetic risk factor for autism is present, a number of nongenetic, or “environmental,” factors are also having a role in increasing a child’s chance for becoming autistic. The risk factors for autism include what happened before and through birth, for example old parental age at time of pregnancy - both mother and father, not just the mother; maternal diseases; and some complications during birth, especially fetus’ brain oxygen deprivation. It is very important note that autism risk factors do not cause autism by themselves. But, in addition to genetic factors, they can increase the risk. Recent growing research reports that a mother can decrease her risk of delivering an autistic baby by taking folic acid tablets and/or eating meals rich in folic acid (500 mcg per day) during the months before and after pregnancy.(Read more)

Experimental Results of Phoebe Framework: Optimal Formulas for Estimating Fetus Weight and Age

Fetal age and weight estimation is to predict the birth weight or birth age before delivery. It is very important for doctors to diagnose abnormal or diseased cases so that she/he can decide treatments on such cases. This research is relevant to apply regression model into the birthestimation. Fetal ultrasound measures such as bi-parietal diameter (bpd), head circumference (hc), abdominal circumference (ac), fetal length (fl), arm volume (arm_vol), and thigh volume (thigh_vol) are recorded and considered as input sample for regression analysis which results in a regression function.

This function is formula for estimating fetal age and weight according to these ultrasound measures. Note, some terminologies such as regression function, function, regression model, estimate function, estimate model and estimate formula have the same meaning.(Read more)

Patients’ Level of Satisfaction with the Health Care Services Received at Outpatient Departments in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

Traditionally, quality of health care services has been measured by means of professional standards ignoring the importance of patient’s satisfaction. The level of patients’ satisfaction isimportant for improving the quality of care provided. Based on different studies, there is a high variation of patients’ level of satisfaction between countries and within country.

In developed countries, patients are highly satisfied (90-95%) with the basic services provided at outpatient departments (OPD, while in developing countries it has been shown that, the range of patients’ satisfaction vary between 95% to <50%. In Nigeria 84% are satisfied while in Ethiopia 77% are satisfied with the health services rendered at the OPD. In Tanzania, at Muhimbili National Hospital satisfaction level was found to be high (90%-95%) while in Morogoro (Kilosa District Hospital) satisfaction level was moderate (70%) but at Mwananyamala Referral Hospital, satisfaction level was found to be low (<50%).If patient’s level of satisfaction on quality of care does not meet their standards, patients may decide to seek treatment somewhere else out of the formal health system that may lead to poor health seeking behaviors resulting in poor initial uptake of services, poor adherence, poor retention of services and at the end this may contribute to high morbidity and mortality.(Read more)

Patient Safety Culture: The Key to Sustained Quality Improvement

Research conducted in industries outside of medicine demonstrates a strong association between safety culture and outcomes. In surgery, however, few studies have assessed this important relationship. Safety culture is defined as “the product of the individual and group values, attitudes, competencies and patterns of behavior that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organization’s healthand safety management”.

Historically, analysis of surgical safety culture proved difficult to quantify with solid methodology and scientific rigor. The landscape surrounding patient safety culture changed with the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System”. The IOM found a significant level of morbidity and mortality related to medical errors and concluded that healthcare organizational leaders have a mandate to work to create a patientcentered culture of safety.(Read More)

A Forensic Psychological Research Question of Whether or Not High Profile Cross-Racial Police Incidents Compromise Officer Safety: A Dissenting Voice on Bias Training.

Research to date has offered few insights when examining the forensic psychological impact that assessed bias (i.e., explicit-implicit) may have on police officer safety as a consequence of high profile cross-racial police incidents. This editorial reflects on 21st Century law enforcement complexities as noted by the stressful in-the-street policing work performed through using a multilayered public safety framework. From a forensic psychological perspective, by default, the lawful execution of police duties means that the calculated creation of a culture of safety is a critical psychosocial trust factor in diverse communities. 

Most informed police departments fully understand that public safety is an immediate product signaled by community markers like ethnoracial values, attitudes, perceptions, officer cross-cultural competencies, trust and historical patterns of procedural justice. However, high profile cross-racial police incidents are actually more known for reactivating unresolved residual affect that stems largely from the trans-generational communication of the perceptions from previous law enforcement offenses.(Read more)

Socio-Demographic Determinants of Satisfaction with Training Process among Final Year Nursing Students at Kenya Medical Training College

Satisfaction is the good feeling that one has when she/he achieves something or when something she/he wanted to happen does happen. Jaradeen et al. defined satisfaction as a psychological state which results from confirmation of expectations with reality. Studies point out that certain factors exert positive and significant influences on student satisfaction. 

These factors include, student background characteristics, participation in the community, access to and use of college facilities and services, faculty style of instruction, academic and social integration, learning activities, courses, quality and usefulness of education. A study done by Rognstad, found that Norwegian nursing students were motivated to join a nursing career by the need for human contact and need for helping others. They viewed nursing as a vocation and felt compelled to do it.(Read more)

Influence of Nurse Education on Healthy Lifestyle Habits of Students: A Literature Review

Health-promoting habits assisting the good health and healthy lifestyles as well as strengthening and promoting practices that foster the achievement of full and total health situation from all known perspectives have been terms irretrievably linked to the profession of nurse for many years. Nursing professionals are a fundamental part of the patient teaching process, as well as of the adoption or support of health promoting behaviour. 

 It is essential for the Nursing students to receive adequate training throughout the university years, since they will transmit the knowledge and skills learned in order to improve the quality of people’s lives in the future. Nursing professionals spend more time with the patients than any other professional; therefore patients take the nurses as a reference or a model of healthy habits.(Read more)