To assess author credentials of quantitative research in nursing, the composition of the research teams, and the disciplinary focus of the theories tested.

Nursing Research, Western Journal of Nursing Research, and Journal of Advanced Nursing were selected for this descriptive study; 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 were included. The final sample consisted of 484 quantitative research articles.

From 1990 to 2010, there was an increase in first authors holding doctoral degrees, research from other countries, and funding. Solo authorship decreased; multi-authorship and multidisciplinary teams increased. Theories tested were mostly from psychology; the testing of nursing theory was modest. Multidisciplinary research far outdistanced interdisciplinary research.

Quantitative nursing research can be characterized as multidisciplinary (distinct theories from different disciplines) rather than discipline-specific to nursing. Interdisciplinary (theories synthesized from different disciplines) research has been conducted minimally.

This study provides information about the growth of the scientific knowledge base of nursing, which has implications for practice.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a change in the oral care practices of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses for ventilated patients after a national effort to increase evidence-based oral care practices.

Descriptive comparison of ICU nurses in 2004–2005 and 2012.

Two convenience national surveys of ICU nurses were collected in 2004–2005 (n = 218) and 2012 (n = 233). After the results of the initial survey were reported, a national effort to increase awareness of evidence-based oral care practices was conducted that included in-service presentations; publication of an evidence-based protocol in a national nursing journal; publication of the survey findings in an international nursing journal; and reports to the local press. A repeat survey was conducted 7 to 8 years later. The same survey instrument was used for both periods of data collection. This questionnaire included questions about demographic and personal characteristics and a checklist of oral care practices. Nurses rated their perceived priority level concerning oral care on a scale from 0 to 100. An evidence-based practice (EBP)[O4] score was computed representing the sum of 14 items related to equipment, solutions, assessments, and techniques associated with the evidence. The EBP score, priority score, and oral care practices were compared between the two samples. A regression model was built based on those variables that were associated with the EBP score in 2012.

There was a statistically significant increase in the use of EBPs as shown by the EBP score and in the perceived priority level of oral care. Increased EBPs were found in the areas of teeth brushing and oral assessment. Decreases were found in the use of non–evidence-based practices, such as the use of gauze pads, tongue depressors, lemon water, and sodium bicarbonate. No differences were found in the use of chlorhexidine, toothpaste, or the nursing documentation of oral care practices. A multiple regression model was found to be significant with the time of participation (2004–2005 vs. 2012) and priority level of oral care significantly contributing to the regression model.

The national effort was partially successful in improving evidence-based oral care practices; however, increased awareness to EBP also might have come from other sources. Other strategies related to knowledge translation need to be attempted and researched in this clinical setting such as the use of opinion leaders, audits and feedback, small group consensus, provider reminder systems, incentives, clinical information systems, and computer decision support systems.

This national effort to improve EBP did reap some rewards; however, other knowledge translation strategies should be used to further improve clinical practice.

The purpose of this article is to describe a substantive theory that details how adolescents manage living with a parent experiencing chronic noncancer pain (CNCP).

Grounded theory methods were used to recruit 30 young adults, ages 18 through 21 years, from community settings.

During open-ended interviews, participants were asked to look back on their adolescence and talk about how they managed living with parental chronic pain. Interview transcripts and field notes were analyzed using constant comparative methods.

Participants who lived with heavily shrouded parents (a) endured hardships; (b) distanced themselves; (c) lamented losses; and (d) held back on revealing their authentic selves. Those who lived with minimally shrouded parents (a) received nurturance and parenting; (b) empathized with their parents’ pain situations; (c) lamented losses; and (d) revealed to their parents how parental pain affected them. Participants who connected with significant others “filled the gaps” created by parental pain disability, while those who did not connect with significant others “cooped up” their thoughts, feelings, and needs.

Findings shed light on psychosocial processes and behavior within families experiencing CNCP and serve as the basis for the development of personalized family interventions.

Nursing interventions should focus on helping adolescents and parents build interpersonal relationship and communication skills. Aggressive diagnosis and treatment of mood disturbance in the parent with CNCP should be part of a holistic treatment plan.

To examine the level of and factors influencing expectations regarding aging (ERA) among older Chinese adults, and to determine whether leisure-time exercise mediates the association between ERA and functional health status.

A population-based, cross-sectional design was utilized in this study. A total of 550 participants completed the face-to-face interview via a questionnaire addressing ERA, physical health conditions, personality and psychological factors, leisure-time exercise, and functional health status.

More than four fifths of the older adults felt that having more aches and pains (88.0%), lower levels of energy (82.7%), and being forgetful (82.5%) were an accepted part of aging, and 74.7% of participants reported it to be true that “being depressed is normal for older adults.” The regression model showed that depression and self-mastery were factors that influence ERA among older Chinese adults (β = −0.26, p = .000; β = 0.15, p = .000). The Instrument Activity of Daily Life and World Health Organization Disability Assessment scores were not associated with ERA. Leisure-time exercise mediated the relationship between ERA and functional health status.

Older adults generally consider body function decline to be an expected part of aging. Personality and psychological factors, rather than physical health conditions, were the factors that were considered to be most influential on ERA among Chinese older adults. These findings suggest that community interventions taking into account leisure-time exercise could be influential in improving the ERA and functional health status of older adults.

For community nurses and other primary care providers, the findings of the present study may facilitate the subsequent design of community-based participatory intervention to improve ERA, as well as potentially improve the functional health status of older adults.

The aim of this study was to understand how Thai families care for dependent older adults.

The methodology used for the study was grounded dimensional analysis. Participants were 30 adult family members from 15 families who were involved in caregiving. A total of 46 interviews were conducted. Data were collected and analyzed in three phases: (a) calling up dimensions, (b) assigning relative value to each of the dimension considers, and (c) inferring.

In Thai families, “natural caregiving” precedes care of dependent older persons (dependent caregiving). Dependent caregiving begins when dependency is first noticed and care needs are identified. Dependent caregiving is a dynamic process integrating three major processes: (a) mobilizing family members, (b) performing dependent care, and (c) maintaining continuity of care. The consequences of performing dependent care and unpredictable changes lead to care remobilizing.

Dependent care for older adults varies across and is influenced by many conditions. Health personnel need to assess and monitor these varying conditions in order to support Thai families caring for dependent older adults.

The conceptual model developed from the findings of this study provide a starting place for increasing our understanding of how to help Thai families care effectively and continuously for their older family members.

To review the evidence to determine if social networking sites (SNS) are effective tools for health research in the adolescent and young adult populations.

Systematic review of published research articles focused on use of SNS for youth health research.

Seventeen articles were selected that met the following criteria: used SNS at any stage of study, participants between 13 and 25 years of age, English language, and both international and national studies. Reviewers categorized selected studies based on the way SNS were used.

Utilization of SNS for effectively implementing research with adolescents and young adults include (a) recruitment, (b) intervention, and (c) measurement. Four findings about advantages of using SNS apparent in this review are (a) ease of access to youth, (b) cost effectiveness in recruitment, (c) ease of intervention, and (d) reliable screening venue of mental status and high-risk behaviors.

Although this literature review showed relatively minimal research to date on the use of SNS for research targeting adolescents and young adults, the impact of using SNS for health research is of considerable importance for researchers as well as participants. With careful focus, SNS can become a valuable platform to access, recruit, and deliver health interventions in a cost-effective manner to youth populations as well as hard-to-reach minority or underserved populations.

The evidence demonstrates the usefulness of SNS as innovative platforms for health promotion among adolescents and young adults.

Alcohol and illicit drug abuse is a serious public health issue facing college students. This study examined the impact of motivational interviewing (MI) as an intervention on the rate of blackouts among freshmen who engaged in high-risk drinking and illicit drug use.

A sample of 188 volunteer freshmen from a university were administered the Daily Drinking Questionnaire, the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index, and the Government Performance and Results Act at baseline and again at 6 months postintervention. MI was applied at baseline and then again at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months.

Generalized estimated equations and logistic regression models were used to determine associations between the rate of blackouts and time, ethnicity, gender, illicit drug use, and alcohol consumption.

At 6 months, the rate of blackouts decreased from 40% at baseline to 16% (p < .0001). The average number, time, and days of drinking and frequency of drug use also decreased significantly (p < .0001). An association between rate of blackouts and gender was observed, but not with ethnicity.

MI had an impact on reducing alcohol consumption and the rate of blackouts among college freshmen who were engaging in high-risk drinking and illicit drug use.

The findings support the importance of using MI with freshmen college students to decrease drinking and the associated negative consequences, including blackouts, which has particular relevance for advanced practice registered nurses, physicians, and community health nurses who conduct MI as an intervention with college students.

To assess the impact of the global financial crisis on the nursing workforce and identify appropriate policy responses.

This article draws from international data sources (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] and World Health Organization), from national data sources (nursing regulatory authorities), and the literature to provide a context in which to examine trends in labor market and health spending indicators, nurse employment, and nurse migration patterns.

A variable impact of the crisis at the country level was shown by different changes in unemployment rates and funding of the health sector. Some evidence was obtained of reductions in nurse staffing in a small number of countries. A significant and variable change in the patterns of nurse migration also was observed.

The crisis has had a variable impact; nursing shortages are likely to reappear in some OECD countries. Policy responses will have to take account of the changed economic reality in many countries.

This article highlights key trends and issues for the global nursing workforce; it then identifies policy interventions appropriate to the new economic realities in many OECD countries.

This study examined relationships between verbal abuse from nurse colleagues and demographic characteristics, work attributes, and work attitudes of early career registered nurses (RNs).

Data are from the fourth wave of a national panel survey of early career RNs begun in 2006. The final analytic sample included 1,407 RNs. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample, analysis of variance to compare means, and chi square to compare categorical variables.

RNs reporting higher levels of verbal abuse from nurse colleagues were more likely to be unmarried, work in a hospital setting, or work in a non-magnet hospital. They also had lower job satisfaction, and less organizational commitment, autonomy, and intent to stay. Lastly, they perceived their work environments unfavorably.

Data support the hypothesis that early career RNs are vulnerable to the effects of verbal abuse from nurse colleagues. Although more verbal abuse is seen in environments with unfavorable working conditions, and RNs working in such environments tend to have less favorable work attitudes, one cannot assume causality. It is unclear if poor working conditions create an environment where verbal abuse is tolerated or if verbal abuse creates an unfavorable work environment.

There is a need to develop and test evidence-based interventions to deal with the problems inherent with verbal abuse from nurse colleagues.

Several literature reviews have been published summarizing objective knowledge about older patients with heart failure (HF). Although of vital importance to the treatment and diagnosis of HF, these reviews fail to explicate and summarize older patients’ subjective and lived experience of the condition, which restrains us from providing a complete picture of the illness trajectory. The purpose of this integrative review was to explore and summarize the current literature examining self-reported symptoms, illness experience, and self-care management in older patients with HF.

Combinations of search terms related to illness experience, symptoms, and self-care management in HF were used to search three electronic databases. Inclusion criteria were empirical studies, published in English between 2001 and 2011, in populations of older patients (≥ 75 years) investigated in relation to a self-reported subjective experience of HF. The search initially yielded 279 results; 23 qualitative and qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria.

Older patients with HF have poor health-related quality of life compared with controls and experience severe and frequent symptoms of fatigue and dyspnea that limit several aspects of their life, making them dependent on others for survival. The variety of ways in which older patients cope with these consequences is determined by how they understand their illness, with the majority showing poor health literacy in relation to HF. Neither self-management nor symptom monitoring is ideal in older patients with HF, although person-centered interventions such as motivational interviewing show promising results in improving self-efficacy in this age group. Studies examining older patients’ personal experiences of HF and the relationships between symptoms, situational antecedents, and social ties will fill a gap in the literature.

Older patients have special care needs caused by their HF and other chronic conditions, coupled with those of great age. When symptoms of HF exacerbate, older patients are predominantly admitted to geriatric care rather than cardiac care units, implying restricted access to specialized treatment. Little is still known about the basis for self-care abilities from both healthcare provider and patient perspectives.

Behavioral change interventions using peer group leaders are effective and widely used, but few studies have examined how being a peer group leader affects the leaders. This study describes how participants felt being a peer group leader affected their lives.

This descriptive qualitative study interviewed 18 experienced peer group leaders who had conducted a multisession human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention peer group intervention in rural Malawi.

We used inductive content analysis and comparisons within and between cases.

Three major themes were identified. All leaders said they experienced personal changes in their knowledge, attitudes, or HIV prevention behaviors. They described interacting with family, neighbors, and friends, and speaking at church or community meetings, to discuss HIV prevention issues. They increased their self-efficacy to engage others in sensitive HIV prevention issues, developed a self-identity as a change agent, and came to be recognized in their community as trustworthy advisors about HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. These three themes, taken together, form the meta-theme of psychological empowerment.

Being a peer group leader empowered the leaders as change agents for HIV prevention and had impacts in the community after the intervention ended, potentially increasing the long-term effectiveness and cost effectiveness of peer group interventions.

Healthcare workers and community volunteers who led HIV prevention sessions continued HIV prevention activities in the community and workplace after the program ended. Training health workers as volunteer HIV prevention leaders offers a strategy to bring HIV prevention to limited-resource settings, despite health worker shortages.

This study investigated the suitability of using the Successful Aging Inventory (SAI) in an effort to describe successful aging among older adults currently living in assisted living communities (ALCs) and to further assess some of the characteristics of successful aging in this group.

This study used a cross-sectional descriptive quantitative research design. Recruitment garnered 200 participants 65 years of age or older from eight ALCs in North Carolina.

Screening was done using the Mini-Cog; instrumentation was composed of the SAI, Purpose in Life Test, Life Satisfaction Inventory-A, and Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

Among the differences were those influenced by gender, with females tending to score higher on successful aging (p < .004).

This research demonstrated that successful aging does exist in ALC residents.

The size of the older adult population will proliferate dramatically during the next two decades. Many of these individuals will find themselves living in ALCs; therefore, it is important to continue to strive to understand what successful aging looks like in these individuals in order to adopt meaningful practices and interventions aimed at eliciting successful aging responses in those living in these communities.

To investigate the association between patient safety culture (PSC) and the incidence and reporting rate of medical errors by Israeli nurses.

Self-administered structured questionnaires were distributed to a convenience sample of 247 registered nurses enrolled in training programs at Tel Aviv University (response rate = 91%).

The questionnaire's three sections examined the incidence of medication mistakes in clinical practice, the reporting rate for these errors, and the participants’ views and perceptions of the safety culture in their workplace at three levels (organizational, departmental, and individual performance). Pearson correlation coefficients, t tests, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

Most nurses encountered medical errors from a daily to a weekly basis. Six percent of the sample never reported their own errors, while half reported their own errors “rarely or sometimes.” The level of PSC was positively and significantly correlated with the error reporting rate. PSC, place of birth, error incidence, and not having an academic nursing degree were significant predictors of error reporting, together explaining 28% of variance.

This study confirms the influence of an organizational safety climate on readiness to report errors. Senior healthcare executives and managers can make a major impact on safety culture development by creating and promoting a vision and strategy for quality and safety and fostering their employees’ motivation to implement improvement programs at the departmental and individual level.

A positive, carefully designed organizational safety culture can encourage error reporting by staff and so improve patient safety.

This article is a descriptive analysis of rural nurses’ perceived readiness to manage disaster situations.

The 58-item Disaster Readiness Questionnaire was used to survey hospital-based nurses from rural communities in Texas during the summer of 2011. The data were collected by emailing a link through the various hospital intranet sites, resulting in a sample size of 620 nurses.

Findings revealed that most nurses are not confident in their abilities to respond to major disaster events. The nurses who were confident were more likely to have had actual prior experience in disasters or shelters. Self-regulation of behavior (motivation) was a significant predictor of perceived nurse competence to manage disasters only in regard to the nurse's willingness to assume the risk of involvement in a disaster situation. Healthcare climate (job satisfaction) was not a determinant of disaster preparedness.

Global increases in natural and human-induced disasters have called attention to the part that health providers play in mitigation and recovery. Since nurses are involved in planning, mitigation, response, and recovery aspects of disasters, they should actively seek opportunities to participate in actual disaster events, mock drills, and further educational opportunities specific to disaster preparedness. Administrators must support and encourage disaster preparedness education of nurses to promote hospital readiness to provide community care delivery in the event of a disaster situation.

Nursing comprises the largest healthcare workforce, and yet there is very little research examining nurses’ readiness for disaster.

In addition to a global shortage of nurses, there is also a shortage of academically qualified faculty available to teach in schools of nursing.

A systematic review examined proposed solutions to the global shortage of nursing faculty. Metasynthesis was used to compare and critically appraise strategies offered for solving or ameliorating the global nursing faculty shortage by premier nursing organizations.

181 recommendations in 62 publications were categorized into eight major themed solutions, including centralizing data management, international collaboration in nursing research, and increased funding for full-time faculty positions in nursing programs.

The nursing faculty shortage is due to a confluence of factors, including the global migration of nurses, a seeming persistent devaluation of faculty by academic programs, disincentives, and an overall reduction in full-time equivalent faculty positions.

Results point to a needed change in direction and approach to solving the nursing faculty shortage. By designing new education models that fit global healthcare needs and pooling teaching resources, designing and using the same databases across organizations to track and project faculty needs, and collaborating between schools and businesses to create mutually beneficial agreements for services, nursing faculty capacity can be enhanced, and nursing's capacity to meet global healthcare needs can be expanded.

The results of this systematic review can be used as a rubric for the design and development of strategies to end the nursing faculty shortage and expand global nursing capacity.

The study objective was to understand the meaning of evidence-based management for senior nurse leaders in accredited, public hospitals in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A phenomenological approach was used to analyze interviews conducted with 10 senior nurse leaders between August 2011 and March 2012. The analytic method was developed by the Brazilian phenomenologist, Martins.

Senior nurse leaders described how they critically appraise many sources of evidence when making managerial decisions. They emphasized the importance of working with their teams to locally adapt and evaluate best evidence associated with managerial decision making and organizational innovations. Their statements also demonstrated how they use evidence-based management to support the adoption of evidence-based practices. They did not, however, provide specific strategies for seeking out and obtaining evidence. Notable challenges were traditional cultures and rigid bureaucracies, while major facilitators included accreditation, teamwork, and shared decision making.

Evidence-based management necessitates a continuous process of locating, implementing, and evaluating evidence. In this study leaders provided multiple, concrete examples of all these processes except seeking out and locating evidence. They also gave examples of other leadership skills associated with successful adoption of evidence-based practice and management, particularly interdisciplinary teamwork and shared decision making.

This study demonstrates senior nurse leaders’ awareness and utilization of evidence-based management. The study also suggests what aspects of evidence-based management need further development, such as more active identification of potential, new organizational innovations.

Care for older patients in primary care is currently reactive, fragmented, and time consuming. An innovative structured and proactive primary care program (U-CARE) has been developed to preserve physical functioning and enhance quality of life of frail older people. This study describes in detail the development process of the U-CARE program to allow its replication.

The framework of the Medical Research Council (MRC) for the development and evaluation of complex interventions was used as a theoretical guide for the design of the U-CARE program. An extended stepwise multimethod procedure was used to develop U-CARE. A team of researchers, general practitioners, registered practice nurses, experts, and an independent panel of older persons was involved in the development process to increase its feasibility in clinical practice. A systematic review of the literature and of relevant guidelines, combined with clinical practice experience and expert opinion, was used for the development of the intervention.

Based on predefined potentially effective guiding components, the U-CARE program comprises three steps: a frailty assessment, a comprehensive geriatric assessment at home followed by a tailor-made care plan, and multiple follow-up visits. Evidence-based care plans were developed for 11 geriatric conditions. The feasibility in clinical practice was tested and approved by experienced registered practice nurses.

Using the MRC Framework, a detailed description of the development process of the innovative U-CARE program is provided, which is often missing in reports of complex intervention trials. Based on our feasibility-pilot study, the general practitioners and the registered practice nurses indicated that the U-CARE intervention is feasible in clinical practice.

The U-CARE program consists of promising components and has the potential to improve the care of older patients.

This Taiwan study investigated the effect of a visual art–based friendly environment on nursing home residents’ satisfaction with their living environment.

A pre-experimental design was used. Thirty-three residents in a nursing home were recruited in a one-group pre- and post-test study.

The four-floor living environment was integrated using visual art, reminiscence, and gardening based on the local culture and history. Each floor was given a different theme, one that was familiar to most of the residents on the floor. The Satisfaction with Living Environment at Nursing Home Scale (SLE-NHS) was developed to measure outcomes.

Of the 33 participants recruited, 27 (81.8%) were women and 6 (18.2%) were men. Their mean age was 79.24 ± 7.40 years, and 48.5% were severely dependent in activities of daily living. The SLE-NHS showed adequate reliability and validity. Its three domains were generated and defined using factor analysis. After the visual art–based intervention, the score on the “recalling old memories” subscale was significantly higher (t = −13.32, p < .001). However, there were no significant score changes on the “convenience” and “pretty and pleasurable” subscales. In general, the participants were satisfied with the redesigned environment and felt happy in the sunny rooms.

Visual art in a nursing home is a novel method for representing the local culture and stressing the spiritual value of the elderly residents who helped create it. Older adults’ aesthetic activities through visual art, including reminiscence and local culture, may enrich their spirits in later life.

Older adults’ aesthetic activities through visual art have been shown to improve their satisfaction with their living environment. The SLE-NHS is a useful tool for evaluating their satisfaction.

To identify the most effective interventions to treat nipple trauma in breastfeeding mothers.

Systematic literature review using the PICO strategy. The search was conducted on the electronic information systems Medline-PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), World Health Organization Library Information System (WHOLIS), Cochrane, ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Embase, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), using standardized and unstandardized descriptors. Studies were selected if they were controlled or uncontrolled randomized clinical trials written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Two reviewers evaluated the studies independently using a guide, and in case there were disagreements, a third reviewer was called on to reach a consensus. Of the 496 studies located, five were included.

The treatments investigated were lanolin, lanolin in association with breast protection shells, breast milk, hydrogel, adhesive polyethylene film dressings, a spray containing chlorhexidine with alcohol, and distilled water. All the groups in every study received breastfeeding education. The best outcomes for the treatment of nipple trauma used lanolin (recommendation B, evidence level 2) and breast milk (recommendation B, evidence level 2). Although one clinical study was found with positive outcomes resulting from treatment using a spray containing alcohol and chlorhexidine 0.2% (recommendation B, evidence level 2), this treatment modality should be further investigated since literature is not in favor of using antiseptic substances in skin wound treatment.

Considering the treatments investigated, the most favorable evidence indicates the use of lanolin alone or in association with breast protection shells and breast milk expressed and rubbed into the nipple and areola after each feeding session. However, the results obtained in this review are inconclusive, indicating the need for further studies in order to clarify the action of breast milk and lanolin on the damaged tissues, as well as studies involving samples representative of the number needed to treat.

This study provides evidence for nursing practice, thus contributing to the improvement of lactating mothers with nipple trauma care and, consequently, improving the rates of successful breastfeeding as well as the quality of life of breastfeeding mothers.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to examine women's beliefs about cervical cancer and the Pap test in Chilean women.

The questionnaire, developed following the guidelines by Robert de Vellis, is based on the Health Belief Model. The content validity index was 0.93 upon review by 10 Chilean experts. A cross-sectional design was implemented to validate the questionnaire. The sample included 333 women recruited from a women's healthcare center in Santiago, Chile. Exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate validity and coefficient α to evaluate reliability.

After six models were computed, the questionnaire was reduced from 53 to 28 items. The new questionnaire, CPC-28 (in Spanish, Creencias, Papanicolaou, Cancer -28), includes six domains: the barriers domain to take a Pap test, the cues to action domain, the severity domain, the need to have a Pap test domain, the susceptibility to cervical cancer domain, and the benefit domain. The unexpected salient factor “need to have a Pap test” was found as part of the susceptibility domain proposed in the initial questionnaire. This finding is an important topic for future research. The CPC-28 questionnaire explained 49% of the total variance, and the reliability was .735.

It was concluded that the CPC-28 questionnaire will have important implications on research, education, and administration across disciplines.

Nursing curricula and healthcare providers must stress the importance and reinforce the importance of prevention of cervical cancer and regular Pap test screenings.

The purpose of this study was to describe infertile women's psychosocial health problems and their infertility-related beliefs and examine the relationships between their beliefs about infertility and psychosocial health problems.

The study was a descriptive correlational cross-sectional survey. Women (N = 203) who were receiving treatment for fertility problems in two public hospitals in Ghana were recruited.

Participants completed a Fertility Belief Questionnaire; measures of infertility-related stress, anxiety, social isolation, perceived stigma, and depressive symptoms; and sociodemographic and infertility-related health questions. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlations, and hierarchical regression analyses were performed.

The women reported high levels of infertility-related stress, low levels of anxiety, some social isolation, low levels of perceived stigma, and high levels of depressive symptoms. Beliefs that infertility has negative consequences and that one has a poor understanding of infertility were significantly related to infertility-related stress, social isolation, and depressive symptoms. Belief that infertility could be managed by personal control was significantly related to lower levels of anxiety and perceived stigma. Beliefs about consequences, illness coherence, and personal control explained significant proportions of the variances in anxiety, stress, social isolation, perceived stigma, and depressive symptoms.

Infertile women in Ghana have psychosocial health problems that are associated with their beliefs about infertility.

Findings have implications for nursing care of infertile women in Ghana.

This study examined the influence of parental marital status, parent-child sexual communication, parent-child closeness on the HIV-related knowledge, safer-sex intentions, and behaviors of late adolescent urban African American males.

The study employed a cross-sectional design with retrospective recall of salient parental influences and behaviors.

Data were collected via paper-and-pencil questionnaire from 134 late adolescent African American males, 18 to 22 years of age, recruited from urban communities in and around Boston, Massachusetts. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations, paired t tests, and regression modeling.

Young men reported greater amounts of sexual communication with mothers than fathers (p < .001). Parent-child closeness was positively correlated with amount of parent-child sexual communication with both mothers and fathers (p < .001 for both). Parent-child closeness was, in turn, associated with greater condom use self-efficacy (p < .01), less permissive sexual attitudes (p < .001), fewer sexual partners (p < .01), and less unprotected sex (p < .01). Greater amounts of parent-child sexual communication were associated with fewer sexual risk behaviors, more consistent condom use, and greater intentions to use condoms in the future. There was evidence that parental influences on sexual risk behaviors and condom use intentions were mediated through young men's condom use self-efficacy, attitudes, and beliefs.

These findings highlight the importance of the parent-child relationship and the role of parent-child communication between parents and sons. Further studies are needed to better understand the nature of father-son communication and develop strategies to help parents communicate effectively with sons.

Evidence has shown that African American adolescent males are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors. Understanding the sexual risk communication between African American adolescent males and their parents is important to developing strategies in reducing sexual risk behavior.

To describe views and beliefs that Black nurses hold regarding several conceptual areas of genetic research and testing.

Data were generated using a descriptive, cross-sectional design. The sample consisted of 384 Black nurses attending the 2009 annual conference of the National Black Nurses Association in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The chi-squared test was used to evaluate group differences by education level, functional area, age, and gender.

One half of the Black nurses surveyed believed the potential for the discriminative misuse of genetic information against minority populations exists. However, 84% of these nurses believed the possibility of information misuse should not be used as a barrier to participation in genetic research and testing by the Black populace.

Black nurses expressed concerns about the potential for discriminatory use of genetic information gleaned from research and testing. Yet, Black nurses recognize the importance of racial-ethnic minority participation in genetic research and testing.

Participation in genetic research and testing by diverse populations will provide opportunities to improve the healthcare delivery system and aid the eradication of health disparities. More research is needed to clarify factors that contribute to the bifurcation of importance for participation, reluctance to participate, and what interventions might reduce reluctance.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between quality of work life (QWL) and nurses’ intention to leave their organization (ITLorg).

A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was conducted using purposive sampling of 1,283 nurses at seven hospitals in Taiwan. Data were collected from March to June 2012.

Three questionnaires, including the Chinese version of the Quality of Nursing Work Life scale (C-QNWL), a questionnaire of intention to leave the organization, and a demographic questionnaire, with two informed consent forms were delivered to the nurses at their workplaces. Descriptive data, Pearson's correlations, and the ordinal regression model were analyzed.

Over half (52.5%) of nurses had ITLorg. Seven QWL dimensions were significantly negatively correlated with ITLorg (r = −0.17 to −0.37, p < .01). Significant predictors (p < .05) of ITLorg (the pseudo R² = 0.282) were being single, having a diploma or lower educational level, working in a nonteaching hospital. Four of the QWL dimensions—supportive milieu with job security and professional recognition, work arrangement and workload, work or home life balance, and nursing staffing and patient care—were also predictors of ITLorg. Three QWL dimensions were not predictors of ITLorg.

This study showed that individual-related variables (being single, having a diploma or lower educational level), a work-related variable (working at a nonteaching hospital), and the four QWL dimensions play a significant role in nurses’ ITLorg. After the QWL dimensions were added to the regression, the variance explained by the model more than doubled.

To reduce nurses’ ITLorg, nursing administrators may offer more focused interventions to improve the supportive milieu with job security and professional recognition, work arrangement and workload, work or home life balance, and nursing staffing and patient care.

The purpose was to examine the relationship between job-related stress, emotional labor, and depressive symptoms among South Korean nurses in order to suggest practical methods for their management, prevention, and reduction.

A cross-sectional, descriptive study design was used to conduct the study. A convenience sample of 441 nurses who were employed in five general hospitals in four provinces of Korea was used in the study.

A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data, which included demographic and job characteristics, job-related stress, emotional labor, and depressive symptoms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared testing, and multivariate logistic regression.

Approximately 38% of South Korean nurses experience depressive symptoms, and young or single nurses in particular have high levels of depressive symptoms. Marital status (odds ratio [OR] = 2.88), surface acting (OR = 2.46), job insecurity (OR = 1.99), and lack of reward (OR = 1.60) are strongly related depressive symptoms that result from job-related stress.

Findings indicate that programs for nurses need to be created that will help reduce expectations for surface acting and control job-related stress, thus preventing the development of depressive symptoms.

This study has implications for human resources management in nursing organizations. If nursing administrators understand that nurses may suffer from depressive symptoms, they can strive to improve stressful work conditions, develop programs that ease job-related stress, and reduce the chances that depressive symptoms will occur.

The purpose of this study was the exploration of international travel experiences for the purpose of medical or dental care from the perspective of patients from Alaska and to develop insight and understanding of the essence of the phenomenon of medical tourism.

The study is conceptually oriented within a model of health-seeking behavior. Using a qualitative design, 15 Alaska medical tourists were individually interviewed. The data were analyzed using a hermeneutic process of inquiry to uncover the meaning of the experience.

Six themes reflecting the experiences of Alaska medical tourists emerged: “my motivation,” “I did the research,” “the medical care I need,” “follow-up care,” “the advice I give,” and “in the future.” Subthemes further categorized data for increased understanding of the phenomenon. The thematic analysis provides insight into the experience and reflects a modern approach to health-seeking behavior through international medical tourism.

The results of this study provide increased understanding of the experience of obtaining health care internationally from the patient perspective. Improved understanding of medical tourism provides additional information about a contemporary approach to health-seeking behavior.

Results of this study will aid nursing professionals in counseling regarding medical tourism options and providing follow-up health care after medical tourism. Nurses will be able to actively participate in global health policy discussions regarding medical tourism trends.

Although the inclusion of non-native-speaking participants in nursing research is important in every country where nursing research takes place, the literature contains little on the method of achieving quality translation while simultaneously addressing cost containment. We describe a process for evaluating translation adequacy and demonstrate its use in comparing procedures for translating data from non-native-speaking interviews.

This work demonstrates a process for establishing, evaluating, and achieving translation adequacy when conducting qualitative research for cross-cultural comparisons.

In an ethnographic investigation of disability in Mexican American women, we describe a process for obtaining translation adequacy, defined here as the methodological goal whereby the quality of the translated text meets the needs of the specified study. Using a subset of responses transcribed from Spanish audiotapes into Spanish text, the text was subjected to two separate translation processes, which were compared for adequacy based on error rates and accuracy of meaning, as well as for cost.

The process for discriminating translation adequacy was sensitive to differences in certified versus noncertified translators. While the noncertified translation initially appeared to be seven times less expensive than the certified process, auditing and correcting errors in noncertified translations substantially increased cost. No errors were found with the certified translations.

The level of translation adequacy needed for any qualitative study should be considered before beginning the study itself. Based on a predetermined level, translation choices can be assessed using specified methods, which can also lead to greater transparency in the research process.

An ongoing process to verify translation outcomes inclu-ding cost, a component minimally discussed in the current literature, is relevant to nurses worldwide. Awareness of expense and quality issues makes greater methodological transparency possible in the design of translation projects and research studies.

To learn how students experience clinical placements in a setting of diversity and how they cope with the emotional challenges involved.

This study is based on inductive, qualitative research undertaken with Israeli nursing students.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 students: 10 Arabs (5 men and 5 women), 9 Jews (2 men and 7 women), and 1 Circassian. The interviews were analyzed through coding and categorization.

The students’ experiences are characterized by emotional strains of various sorts—stress, ambivalence, disgust, frustration, and conflict—that arise in three types of relationships: relationships with patients, with the clinical instructors, and with other students who are on their teams. The data show that diversity has an impact on all these relationships. The data further show that the students cope with the emotional strains by using several strategies of emotional work: distancing, self-strengthening, self-motivation work, and minimizing significance.

(a) Nursing students’ experiences during their clinical placements should be understood in terms of emotional challenges, and their emotional work and coping strategies call for appropriate forms of support. (b) The diversity of the clinical placement environment should be considered as an important factor, both in understanding students’ experiences and learning processes and in designing the support that they need.

Culturally diverse settings entail distinct challenges that impact students’ emotional reaction to clinical work. Understanding the types of emotional work students do in the process of their clinical experience is critical for educators seeking to promote genuinely caring and effective nursing in culturally diverse settings. 

Advances in genomic research are improving our understanding of human diseases and evoking promise of an era of genomic medicine. It is unclear whether genomic medicine may exacerbate or attenuate extant racial group health disparities. We delineate how nurse scholars could engage in the configuration of an equitable genomic medicine paradigm.

We identify as legitimate subjects for nursing scholarship the scientific relevance, ethical, and public policy implications for employing racial categories in genomic research in the context of reducing extant health disparities.

Since genomic research is largely population specific, current classification of genomic data will center on racial and ethnic groups. Nurse scholars should be involved in clarifying how putative racial group differences should be elucidated in light of the current orthodoxy that genomic solutions may alleviate racial health disparities.

Nurse scholars are capable of employing their expertise in concept analysis to elucidate how race is used as a variable in scientific research, and to use knowledge brokering to delineate how race variables that imply human ancestry could be utilized in genomic research pragmatically in the context of health disparities.

In an era of genomic medicine, nurse scholars should recognize and understand the challenges and complexities of genomics and race and their relevance to health care and health disparities.

To examine important decision points that graduates should consider before applying for a postdoctoral fellowship.

A literature review was performed.

A synthesis of the present data on the postdoctoral fellowship, eligibility criteria, application process, and important considerations was provided. Experiential knowledge from four present postdoctoral fellows was included. The goals, advantages, and disadvantages of the fellowship were discussed. In conclusion, the postdoctoral fellowship was examined to offer important considerations in the decision to pursue this opportunity.

The clinical relevance of this article is related to the training and education of nurses to become the next generation of independent, successful scholars and scientists. Postdoctoral training adds valuable contributions and quality to the field of nursing.