Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Nurses' Proficiency And Confidence In The Use Of Aromatherapy For Patients In The Hospice Setting, Erika Bigwood-Keaton

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Institute of Medicine noted patient centered care as one of the six priority areas of improvement for the U.S. healthcare system. Recognizing that patients in hospice require specialized care to address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs that are associated with a terminal illness, the focus of this project is to improve the hospice nurses’ knowledge of and confidence in the use of aromatherapy for symptom management. There is recognition within the field of healthcare that patients are interested in having options for treatment. With little to no side effects, aromatherapy has been shown to be an effective alternative …

Individualized Glycemic Targets For The Elderly Residing In Long Term Care Facilities, Abegail Hubberd

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Of people age 65 and older residing in a long-term care facility, 1 in 4 has Type 2 diabetes (Smide & Nygren, 2013). Care and management of this population is a challenge for nurses and other providers. Results of a needs assessment in a local long-term care facility identified deficiencies in the provision of evidence-based Type 2 diabetes care for this target population. American Diabetes Association Guidelines (2017) recommend application of individualized HbA1c targets for the elderly residing in long-term care facilities, especially for those with compromises in clinical and functional status. This two prong quality improvement project strove to …

Factors That Influence Self-Reported Health Changes With Caregiving, Margaret Danilovich, Xiaoling Xiang, Daniel Pinto

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: This study examined factors associated with the self-reported change in health status as a result of caregiving. Method: Multinomial logistic regression were performed to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, care recipients’ characteristics, and caregiving experiences that affect caregivers’ perceptions of health affected by caregiving using data from 1,087 caregiver respondents in the Caregiving in the U.S. 2015 data set. Data were collected through an online or telephone survey of randomly selected adults in 50 states. Results: Worsened self-reported health with caregiving occurred for caregivers aged 50 to 64, racial/ethnic minorities, those who lived within 20 min of the care recipient’s …

The Need For Culturally-Based Palliative Care Programs For African American Patients At End-Of-Life, Ronit Elk

Journal of Family Strengths

Patients facing life-threatening illness often experience unnecessary and preventable suffering including extreme and prolonged pain, psychological distress, as well as unsatisfactory communication with doctors, all of which result in enormous strain on patients and caregivers (Chochinov et al., 2009; Kamal et al., 2011; Morrison & Meier, 2011). It is common for needs in the physical, psychosocial and spiritual domains to be unmet (Zhukovsky, 2000). As a result, the last few weeks and months of life, and that of their loved ones, may be additionally burdened with physical, emotional and spiritual suffering. Palliative care programs, interdisciplinary care focused on relief of …

Qualitative Exploration Of Undergraduate Nursing Student Perceptions Of End-Of-Life Care Of Families Of Dying Patients, Penny A. Alt-Gehrman

Biennial Convention (CONV)

Nurses spend the most time with dying patients and their families. Nursing school is an optimal place to provide this information, which is not well-developed. The purpose is to examine nursing students need to feel confident and competent in their ability to provide care to family of dying patients.

Student Characteristics To Assess In End-Of-Life Education Research, Megan E. Pfitzinger Lippe, Patricia A. Carter

Biennial Convention (CONV)

This poster will present the findings of a literature review identifying characteristics of student samples to measure when conducting research in end-of-life nursing education. Gaps in the extant literature will also be discussed.

Alma Link Resolver Title & Issn Report (Top 500) 2016-2017, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics for 2016-2017 on the total number of OpenURL requests by journal title and ISSN made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries. Includes only the top 500 journals.

Information provided includes journal Title, ISSN, EISSN, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, % Clicks from Requests.

Nurses And Spiritual Care: A Willingness To Go There, Brandon Michael Varilek, Shannon O'Connell-Persaud, Jessica Lee Stadick, Mary J. Isaacson, Mary Elizabeth Minton

Biennial Convention (CONV)

The purpose of this presentation is to share the qualitative findings specific to a nursing perspective on spiritual care based on a multi-method study conducted to explore nurse comfort with communication regarding palliative and end-of-life care. The study was guided by the COMFORT Communication Model.

Three Barriers To Vsed By Advance Directive: A Critical Assessment, Paul T. Menzel

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Alzheimer’S Disease And Written Directives To Withhold Oral Feedings: Clinical Challenges In New York State, Judith K. Schwarz

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Prisons As Learning Environments For Nursing And Public Health Practice, Mary Bouchaud, Phd, Rn, Madeline Brooks

College of Nursing Posters

Background:

Challenges in Securing Community Nursing Rotation Sites Eighteen years of providing clinical placement for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students has demonstrated that community-based educational opportunities are shrinking due to:

•Increased regulatory requirements

•Competing numbers of nursing schools

•Increasing student enrollment

•Decreasing availability of community resources capable and willing to precept students

These issues present challenges to preparing students for nursing practice. A college of nursing at an urban, academic health center found a solution by working with unexpected partners – maximum security prisons and juvenile detention centers.

A Novel Solution: Partnerships with Prisons

Several factors make prisons …

A New Understanding Of Palliative Care, Sarah Gale

The University Honors Program

The purpose of this paper is to discuss palliative care and how it is relates to chronic illness. It will include the current problems with palliative care as it is associated with chronic illness. The significance to nursing will be indicated and a review of literature follow and then by a synthesis of the literature. A project proposal will follow the synthesis followed by an evaluation of the implemented project and conclusion.

Importance Of Palliative Care In End-Stage Liver Disease: A Rising Global Issue, Renee Pozza, Bonita Huiskes, Anna Marie Hefner

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The disease and management of end stage liver disease is a complex issue requiring a multi-disciplinary team approach. Often these individuals seek care from a variety of providers with resulting fragmentation and variable outcomes. This presentation aims to identify applicability from heart failure guidelines for palliative care to ESLD.

Growing The Next Generation Of Nurse Leaders In Palliative Care: An International Case Study, Kathryn A. Pfaff, Linda J. Patrick, Laurie Freeman-Gibb

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

This session will report a case study evaluation of an innovative palliative care scholarship program that funds graduate nursing students from Canada and the UK to learn and translate evidence-based practices in palliative care. Positive outcomes for the participating scholars, universities, communities, and hospices are highlighted.

A Program Of Research: Cancer Symptom Management, Susan C. Mcmillan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Dr. McMillan will review her program of research in cancer symptom management. She will report her early descriptive studies that led to her later funded clinical trials.

Gaps In Palliative Care Provision In Saskatchewan, Canada: Learning From Palliative Care Management, Susan Eva Fowler-Kerry, Louise Racine

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: This study is part of an ongoing project to develop a working knowledge about the long-standing uneven development and delivery of palliative care in Saskatchewan, Canada; subsequently providing a foundation for continuing study and facilitating practical improvement of palliative care programs.

Methods: The results to be presented are based on the current stage of this project, the analysis of longitudinal survey data which were collected from the management personnel of palliative care in each health region in 1998, 1999 and 2002. The three surveys are composed of both close-ended and open-ended questions, therefore both quantitative and qualitative analysis are …

Health Professionals' Knowledge, Attitudes, Experiences, Confidence, And Behaviors Regarding Advance Directives, Shu-Fen Wu, Hong-Yi Tung, Yu-Hua Lin, Chao-Hsien Lee, Hsiu-Chen Liao, Ching-Yun Ching

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Advance directives (ADs) are one of the few means for people to indicate their end-of-life treatment decision preference. The purpose of this study was to determine the ADs compaction knowledge, attitudes, experiences, confidence, and behaviors of health professions.

Methods: This was a descriptive correlational research that targeted 765 subjects (included 43 physicians, 424 nurses, 85 other medical staffs, and 213 administration staffs) working in a regional hospital in southern Taiwan. The structured questionnaires gathered the knowledge, attitudes, experiential survey on advance directives (KAESAD) instrument and basic demographic data with regard to advance directives. Data were analyzed by using SPSS …

Unbefriended And Unrepresented: Better Medical Decision Making For Incapacitated Patients Without Healthcare Surrogates, Thaddeus Mason Pope

Georgia State University Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to help improve the quality of healthcare decision making for the unbefriended. I hope that this comprehensive and systematic explanation of both the problem and the available solutions will empower both public and clinical policymakers to develop more informed and more circumspect policies and procedures

Palliative Care And The Nurse's Role, Toby Bressler, Teresa L. Hagan, Jiayun Xu

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Palliative care refers to interdisciplinary patient and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and alleviating suffering across the continuum of a patient"s illness. Palliative care is crucial in clinical management and helps patients and families dealing with disease related symptoms and psychological implications. Given their focus on providing patient and family centered healthcare, nurses are often the first to recognize the need for palliative care that is consistent with nursing standards and code of ethics. The nurse"s role as a generalist in palliative care has been growing, and yet has not been fully defined. …

Gadgets And Grieving: A Chronological Analysis On The Ways In Which Advancements In Medical Technologies Have Altered The Grieving Process, Grace Mcnair

Dialogue & Nexus

Since the 1940s, both end-of-life care and advancements in medical technologies have expanded exponentially. This article explores the advancements in medical technologies and how these have altered the way that Western society grieves death. With the capabilities to prolong life, the family, the patient, and the medical team, all grieve the end of life in different ways. This article provides a chronological analysis of palliative care, hospice care, and various medical advancements. These changes in medicine are then paralleled with alterations in the bereavement process. This article explores historical narratives of Western society’s transformation of grief through the lens of …

Screening For Palliative Care Patients By Utilizing Clinical Decision Support Within The Electronic Health Record, Tanja Baum, Ruth A. Bush, Caroline Etland, Cynthia D. Connelly

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Purpose: Approximately $1.3 million annually can be saved when 500 palliative care consults are completed within the acute care setting. With 90 million Americans, of whom 20% are Medicare recipients that suffer from chronic medical conditions, 500 consults are not a distant number. The electronic clinical decision support and utilization of triggers to identify individuals who might benefit from palliative care using an algorithm within the electronic health record (EHR) can enable the multidisciplinary team to facilitate palliative care services.

The purpose of this feasibility study was to utilize variables available in the EHR of palliative care patients receiving palliative …

The Closing Composition: End-Of-Life Communication Strategies, Mary J. Isaacson, Mary Elizabeth Minton

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Globally, palliative care at end-of-life (EOL) is indicated for over 19 million adults (Connor & Bermedo, 2014). Palliative and EOL care encompasses physical, psychosocial, and spiritual changes which necessitate ongoing intervention and evaluation (Coyle, 2015). Both the World Health Organization (WHO, 2016) and the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC, 2016) identify the palliative care team"s interprofessional composition, of which nurses are an integral component. At the center of the interprofessional, palliative care team is the patient; who desires shared decision-making (Alston et al., 2012). Patients and families are best served when health care communication envelopes the …

2017 Undergraduate Research Conference Award Winners Announced, Kassidy Taylor

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Recommendations To Recruit And Retain Older Adults In Southern Maine, Hannah Ruhl

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

In retirement, older adults often decide to devote their time and skills to the needs of others. Much is known about who older volunteers are demographically, and what they can gain from the experience. At the same time many organizations who rely on volunteers, especially smaller ones with fewer resources, fail to attract committed older adult volunteers. This capstone presents insights found in the literature and collected from interviews with local volunteer managers, and offers a list of recommendations synthesized from those sources. The list of recommended strategies can be used by organizations to increase the number of older volunteers …

Preparing For The Merit-Based Incentive Payment Structure: A Value-Based Business Plan, Ali R. Saheb

Doctoral Projects

The notion of delivering value-based care while maintaining corporate vitality in health care is a multifaceted process. Shaping a business model to reflect this process requires the alignment of quality implications, reimbursement initiatives, a framework that takes into account stipulations on reimbursement for different types of clinicians, and an understanding and preparedness for emerging guidelines and nationally recognized structures for quality indicators. When organizations recognize the need for change, but are not yet prepared to implement it, a comprehensive business plan can help the organization visualize a path to success. In this project, the foundation of requirements for a value-based …

Sometimes Laughter Is The Best Medicine: Stand-Up Comedy, Humor, And Healthcare, Haran Mennillo

Senior Honors Projects

While for many healthcare is no laughing matter, humor can be a valuable tool for physicians. Hospitals and other healthcare environments can be very stressful places for patients, many of whom are having the worst day of their lives. Humor is an excellent medium through which doctors can connect with their patients, improving the doctor-patient relationship. Patients will often use humor as a way to cope with their stress, and doctors with a sense of humor are able to better connect with their patients. This use of humor has many applications across different fields of medicine, including pediatrics, oncology, palliative …

Understanding The Counselor Experience When Working With End Of Life Clients, Connie S. Ducaine

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This was a qualitative study exploring the experiences of counselors working with clients who are coping with an advanced illness and approaching end of life. The study focused on the risks and benefits of fostering relationships with end of life clients, with an emphasis on how these practitioners process their experiences. While supporting clients at end of life, these professionals often were impacted by the deaths of people who they had worked with for varying lengths of time.

The findings suggest that these counselors experienced many of the same issues that have been documented by other helping professions, and that …

End Of Life Care Practices For Patients Who Die In Intensive Care Units (Icu), Jila Ghabeljoo

Doctoral Projects

Today, one in five hospital deaths happens in the intensive care unit with the expectation of twice as many by 2030. Increasing, mortality has triggered a growing attention to end-of-life (EOL) care in the ICU. However, the lack of coveted EOL and palliative care skills creates a challenge for ICU nurses. The aim of this study was to assess the current practices of EOL care in the ICU. In this quantitative research, a retrospective chart review method was employed to analyze the collected data from a population 60 EOL patients who died in the ICU of a Southern California hospital. …

Gadgets And Grieving: A Chronological Analysis On The Ways In Which Advancements In Medical Technologies Have Altered The Grieving Process, Grace Elaine Mcnair

Honors College

Since the 1940s, both end-of-life care and advancements in medical technologies have expanded exponentially. This article explores the advancements in medical technologies and how it has altered the way that Western society grieves death. With the capabilities to prolong life, the family, the patient, and the medical team, all grieve the end of life in different ways. This article provides a chronological analysis of palliative care, hospice care, and various medical advancements. These changes in medicine are then paralleled with alterations in the bereavement process. Clinicians who have observed transitions in medical technologies were interviewed, and their experiences with the …

Growing Old In America, Where Do We Go From Here?, Holly Trevino

Integrated Studies

We at times find ourselves with an elderly grandparent, parent, sibling, partner or friend and we not sure what the next step is for them concerning their healthcare of everyday living and how to obtain it. This paper will help you explore the different options of care from home care to skilled nursing facilities and everything in-between. It will also give you information to help relieve stress worry if the decision you have made is the best fit for your loved one.