Childhood obesity is an escalating crisis in the United States. Health policy may impact this epidemic which disproportionally affects underserved populations.
The aim was to use the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to assess health policy impact on preventing or treating school-aged children (5 > 18 years) with obesity in underserved populations.
A scoping review of 842 articles was conducted. Twenty-four articles met the inclusion criteria and underwent data extraction.
Twelve studies included subgroup analysis, with four suggesting an impact of policy on at-risk groups. None of the 24 studies fully applied the RE-AIM framework. Policies positively impacted childhood obesity in 12 studies across the sample.
Our review revealed inconsistent evidence for the effectiveness of policy on childhood obesity, perhaps due to the lack of focus on the social determinants of health. In addition, many studies did not evaluate the outcomes for underserved populations. Therefore, we propose more attention to social determinants in future legislation and evaluation of policy effectiveness on underserved populations. Findings identify an urgent need for the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies specifically directed to address the inequities of racism, social injustices, and social determinants of health that impact childhood obesity in the United States. Future work needs to identify who was reached by the policy, who benefitted from the policy, and how policies were implemented to address obesity-related health disparities. Nurses should advocate for the evaluation of childhood obesity policies, particularly in underserved populations, to determine effectiveness. Nurses, particularly those trained in population and community health and research, should advocate for policy research that considers inequities rather than controls for these variables. Multi-layered interventions can then be tailored to sub-populations and evaluated more effectively.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC's) Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP) establishes standards for nurse residency programs to elevate and optimize the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of new nurses participating in nurse residency programs. Evidence-based practice (EBP) is foundational to providing safe nursing care. One of the National Academy of Medicine's (NAM's) 2020 goals stated that 90% of clinical decisions would be supported by the best available evidence to attain the best patient outcomes. Nurse residency programs can benefit from evidence-based strategies to develop EBP competencies in new nurses.
The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize the literature around strategies for incorporating EBP into nurse residency programs across the United States.
This scoping review was informed by the JBI (formerly known as the Joanna Briggs Institute) methodology for scoping reviews. Searches were conducted by a health science librarian in PubMed and CINAHL with Full Text. Keywords and their synonyms, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH; PubMed), and Subject Headings (CINAHL with Full Text) were used. Covidence, a literature review management program, was used to organize the literature and manage the review. Title, abstract, and full-text reviews were completed within Covidence using three teams of two independent reviewers.
Four hundred and thirty-eight citations were imported into Covidence. Ten articles were retained for the final review. Three strategies for incorporating EBP into nurse residency programs emerged from the literature: (1) exposure of nurse residents to existing organizational resources, (2) completion of online EBP modules, and (3) completion of an EBP project.
The incorporation of EBP competencies in nurse residency programs aligns with NAM's and ANCC's goals, yet a paucity of evidence exists to guide curriculum development in nurse residency programs. This scoping review corroborates the need for further research to inform best practices for implementing EBP into nurse residency programs.
Non-pharmacological interventions have been used in the rehabilitation of stroke survivors, but their effects on stroke survivors' quality of life (QoL) are unknown.
This review aimed to summarize the existing evidence regarding non-pharmacological interventions for QoL in stroke survivors and to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of interventions.
We systematically searched databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang data from the earliest available records to March 2023. Randomized controlled trials which explored the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on QoL in stroke patients were included. The meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions on QoL. The Review Manager 5.3 was used to conduct the meta-analysis and the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of trials.
A total of 93,245 records were identified, and 34 articles were reviewed and summarized, of which 20 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The summary of the findings of the included studies revealed fitness training, constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), physical exercise, music therapy (MT), and art-based interventions may have positive effects on QoL. The fitness training improved total QoL, especially in physical domains including physical functioning (mean difference [MD] = 10.90; 95% CI [7.20, 14.59]), role physical (MD = 10.63; 95% CI [6.71, 14.55]), and global health (MD = 8.76; 95% CI [5.14, 12.38]). The CIMT had a slight effect on general QoL (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.48, 95% CI [0.16, 0.80]), whereas significantly improved strength (MD = 8.84; 95% CI [1.31, 16.38]), activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL; MD = 10.42; 95% CI [2.98, 17.87]), and mobility (MD = 8.02; 95% CI [1.21, 14.83]). MT had a positive effect on the mental health domain (SMD = 0.54; 95% CI [0.14, 0.94]).
Our findings suggest that fitness training and CIMT have a significant effect on improving physical QoL, while MT has a positive effect on improving psychological QoL. Future studies may use comprehensive and multicomponent interventions to simultaneously improve the patients' physical, psychological, and social QoL.
Missed nursing care is defined as care that is delayed, partially completed, or not completed at all. The scenario created by the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced multifactorial determinants related to the care environment, nursing processes, internal processes, and decision-making processes, increasing missed nursing care.
This scoping review aimed to establish the quantity and type of research undertaken on missed nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. We searched CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, two national and regional databases, two dissertations and theses databases, a gray literature database, two study registers, and a search engine from November 1, 2019, to March 23, 2023. We included quantitative, qualitative, and mixed studies carried out in all healthcare settings that examined missed nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Language restrictions were not applied. Two independent reviewers conducted study selection and data extraction. Disagreements between the reviewers were resolved through discussion or with an additional reviewer.
We included 25 studies with different designs, the most common being acute care cross-sectional survey designs. Studies focused on determining the frequency and reasons for missed nursing care and its influence on nurses and organizational outcomes.
Missed nursing care studies during the COVID-19 pandemic were essentially nurses-based prevalence surveys. There is an urgent need to advance the design and development of longitudinal and intervention studies, as well as to broaden the focus of research beyond acute care. Further research is needed to determine the impact of missed nursing care on nursing-sensitive outcomes and from the patient's perspective.
Continuity of patient care ensures timely and appropriate care and is associated with better patient outcomes among cancer patients. However, the impact of nurse staffing grade changes on patient outcomes remains unknown.
This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the effect of fragmented care and changes in nurse staffing grade on the survival of colorectal cancer patients who underwent surgery.
This study included 2228 newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients. Fragmented care was defined as the receipt of treatment in multiple hospitals and was divided into three categories based on changes in nurse staffing grade. Five-year survival rates were used to evaluate the effect of fragmented care and nurse staffing grade on outcomes of cancer patients. Survival analysis was performed by adjusting for covariates using the Cox proportional hazards model for 5-year mortality.
Approximately 18.5% of patients died within 5 years; the mortality rate during cancer treatment was higher in patients who received fragmented care, especially in those transferred to hospitals with fewer nurses. Patients who received fragmented care had shorter survival times, and those transferred to hospitals with fewer nurses had higher risks of 5-year mortality (hazard ratio: 1.625; 95% CI: [1.095, 2.412]). Transfers to hospitals with fewer nurses were associated with increased mortality rates in low-income patients, hospitals located in metropolitan and rural areas, and high-severity groups.
Receipt of fragmented care and change in nurse staffing grade due to patients' transfer to different hospitals were associated with increased mortality rates in cancer patients, thus underlining the importance of ensuring continuity and quality of care. Patients from rural areas, from low-income families, and with high disease severity may have better outcomes if they receive treatment in well-staffed hospitals.
Individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at an increased risk for stroke. Early detection of undiagnosed AF by screening is recommended. Single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most widely used technology in AF detection. Several systematic reviews on the diagnostic accuracy of single-lead ECG devices for AF detection have been performed but have yielded inconclusive results.
The aim of this study was to synthesize the available evidence on the effectiveness of single-lead ECG devices in detecting AF.
An overview of systematic reviews was conducted. Five English databases (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PubMed, Embase, Ovid, and Web of Science) and two Chinese databases (Wanfang and CNKI) were searched from inception to July 31, 2021. Systematic reviews that examined the accuracy of tools based on single-lead ECG technology for detecting AF were included. A narrative data synthesis was performed.
Eight systematic reviews were finally included. Systematic reviews with meta-analysis showed that single-lead ECG-based devices had good sensitivity and specificity (both ≥90%) in detecting AF. According to subgroup analysis, the sensitivities of tools used in populations with a history of AF were all >90%. However, among handheld and thoracic placed single-lead ECG devices, large variations in diagnostic performance were observed.
Single-lead ECG devices can potentially be used for AF detection. Due to the heterogeneity in the study population and tools, future studies are warranted to explore the suitable circumstances in which each tool could be applied for AF screening in an effective and cost-effective manner.
Current studies have revealed that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can alleviate the adverse effects of cancer; however, its effectiveness on the psychological flexibility, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and quality of life of patients with cancer remains unclear.
The aims of this study were to identify the effectiveness of ACT on psychological flexibility, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and quality of life of patients with cancer, and to explore moderators.
PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, CINAHL, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang electronic databases were searched from inception to September 29, 2022. The Cochrane Collaboration's risk-of-bias assessment tool II and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach were used to evaluate evidence certainty. The data were analyzed using R Studio. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022361185).
The study included 19 relevant studies (1643 patients) published between 2012 and 2022. The pooled results showed that ACT significantly improved psychological flexibility (mean difference [MD] = −4.22, 95% CI [−7.86, −0.58], p = .02) and quality of life (Hedges' g = 0.94, 95% CI [0.59, 1.29], Z = 5.31, p < .01) but did not significantly improve fatigue (Hedges' g = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.24, 0.18], p = .75) or sleep disturbance (Hedges' g = −0.26, 95% CI [−0.82, 0.30], p = .37) in patients with cancer. Additional analyses revealed a 3-month sustainable effect on psychological flexibility (MD = −4.36, 95% CI [−8.67, −0.05], p < .05), and moderation analysis showed that intervention duration (β = −1.39, p < .01) and age (β = 0.15, p = .04) moderated the effects of ACT on psychological flexibility and sleep disturbance, respectively.
Acceptance and commitment therapy demonstrates effectiveness for psychological flexibility and quality of life of patients with cancer, but there is a lack of evidence regarding its effects on fatigue and sleep disturbance. In clinical practice, ACT should be designed in more detail and rounded to achieve better results.
Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a global public health concern affecting women's health and quality of life, leading to productivity loss and increased medical expenses. As a non-pharmacological intervention, auricular acupoint therapy (AAT) has been increasingly applied to treat PD, but the overall effectiveness remains unclear.
The aim of this review was to synthesize the effects of AAT targeting menstrual pain among females with PD.
Eight databases (PubMed, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Data) and three registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN Registry and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry) were searched to identify existing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to 21 August 2022. Two reviewers independently screened, extracted the data, and appraised the methodological quality and the evidence strength using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) and the GRADE approach.
A total of 793 participants from 11 RCTs were included. Despite substantial heterogeneity, AAT was more effective in reducing menstrual pain and related symptoms than placebo and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs). No significant subgroup differences were found between study locations as well as invasiveness, duration, type, acupoints number, ear selection and provider of AAT. Only minor adverse effects of AAT were reported.
AAT can help women with PD, particularly those who are refrained from pharmaceuticals. Primary healthcare professionals, including nurses, can be well-equipped to provide evidence-based and effective AAT for people with PD. AAT can be used in a broader global clinical community. To provide an optimal effect and have wider usability, a unified practice standard is required, which would necessitate further adaptation of clinical care of people with PD. AAT effectively decreased menstrual pain and other accompanying symptoms of PD. More research is needed to identify effective AAT features and explore optimal therapy regimes for PD.