Online journal of issues in nursing (Online J Issues Nurs)

Publications in this journal

• Article: Andrews, L., (March, 2013) "Cochrane Review Brief: Cinnamon for Diabetes Mellitus" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 18 No. 2.

  Andrews L
  Online journal of issues in nursing 03/2013; 18(2).
• Article: Workplace violence prevention policies in home health and hospice care agencies.

  Nathan Gross, Corinne Peek-Asa, Maryalice Nocera, Carri Casteel
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  ABSTRACT: Workplace violence in the home health industry is a growing concern, but little is known about the content of existing workplace violence prevention programs. The authors present the methods for this study that examined workplace violence prevention programs in a sample of 40 California home health and hospice agencies. Data was collected through surveys that were completed by the branch managers of participating facilities. Programs were scored in six different areas, including general workplace violence prevention components; management commitment and employee involvement; worksite analysis; hazard prevention and control; safety and health training; and recordkeeping and program evaluation. The results and discussion sections consider these six areas and the important gaps that were found in existing programs. For example, although most agencies offered workplace violence training, not every worker performing patient care was required to receive the training. Similarly, not all programs were written or reviewed and updated regularly. Few program differences were observed between agency characteristics, but nonetheless several striking gaps were found.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(1):1.
• Article: Stressful incidents of physical violence against emergency nurses.

  Gordon Lee Gillespie, Donna M Gates, Peggy Berry
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  ABSTRACT: Physical violence against nurses has become an endemic problem affecting nurses in all settings. The purpose of this study was to describe acts of physical violence against emergency nurses perceived as stressful using a qualitative descriptive design with a national sample of emergency nurses. The guiding conceptual model for the study was the Ecological Occupational Health Model of Workplace Assault. Narrative accounts of physical violence were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis method. Key findings included risks related to employee, workplace, and aggressor factors, and descriptions of physical violence. Discussion of the study findings suggests that efforts to prevent violence and promote workplace safety need to focus on designing work environments that allow for the quick egress of employees, establishing and consistently enforcing policies aimed at violence prevention, and maintaining positive working relationships with security officers. While patients with mental health or substance use complaints are deemed most likely to commit physical violence, they are not the only patients to become violent. Risk reduction efforts should target all patients and visitors.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(1):2.
• Article: Hospital-based fall program measurement and improvement in high reliability organizations.

  Patricia A Quigley, Susan V White
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  ABSTRACT: Falls and fall injuries in hospitals are the most frequently reported adverse event among adults in the inpatient setting. Advancing measurement and improvement around falls prevention in the hospital is important as falls are a nurse sensitive measure and nurses play a key role in this component of patient care. A framework for applying the concepts of high reliability organizations to falls prevention programs is described, including discussion of the core characteristics of such a model and determining the impact at the patient, unit, and organizational level. This article showcases the components of a patient safety culture and the integration of these components with fall prevention, the role of nurses, and high reliability.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):5.
• Article: Subjective experiences of coping among caregivers in palliative care.

  Sarah A Uren, Tanya M Grahamm
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  ABSTRACT: Several research studies have sought to quantify the effects of formal caregiving on the caregivers; however, limited research has described the experiences of caregiving using a qualitative research design. In this study, we used an interpretative, phenomenological method to explore how coping operates as a central resource for trained caregivers and professional nurses in a palliative care setting. Eleven participants from a community-based, palliative care organisation in South Africa provided narrative accounts of coping within the caregiving process. Our findings identified seven themes related to the different dimensions of coping and the implications of these responses on individual caregivers. In this article, we discuss the cumulative effect of caregiver exposure to stressors, consider future directions to enhance caregiving, and conclude that effective caregiver coping plays a substantial role in caregiver and patient wellbeing and should therefore be a central component of enhancing palliative care interventions.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):8.
• Article: The impact of evidence-based practice in nursing and the next big ideas.

  Kathleen R Stevens
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  ABSTRACT: The impact of evidence-based practice (EBP) has echoed across nursing practice, education, and science. The call for evidence-based quality improvement and healthcare transformation underscores the need for redesigning care that is effective, safe, and efficient. In line with multiple direction-setting recommendations from national experts, nurses have responded to launch initiatives that maximize the valuable contributions that nurses have made, can make, and will make, to fully deliver on the promise of EBP. Such initiatives include practice adoption; education and curricular realignment; model and theory development; scientific engagement in the new fields of research; and development of a national research network to study improvement. This article briefly describes the EBP movement and considers some of the impact of EBP on nursing practice, models and frameworks, education, and research. The article concludes with discussion of the next big ideas in EBP, based on two federal initiatives, and considers opportunities and challenges as EBP continues to support other exciting new thinking in healthcare.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):4.
• Article: Workplace violence in healthcare: strategies for advocacy.

  Annmarie Papa, Jeanne Venella
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  ABSTRACT: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that over 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year. Violence can strike any workplace; no area is immune. But who may be more at risk? Commonly, violence occurs at work and refers to a broad spectrum of behaviors (e.g., violent acts by patients, visitors, and/or coworkers) that result in a concern for personal safety. This article provides a brief overview of workplace violence, and discusses the settings where it often occurs. The authors consider the direct and indirect financial impact of violent acts, such as jury awards for injuries; higher than average turnover; increased requests for medical leaves; unusually high time and attendance issues; and stress related illnesses. Advocacy strategies for nurses are offered to address workplace violence on several levels, such as legislative advocacy, workplace policy, and education.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(1):5.
• Article: Cochrane review brief: email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders.

  Janice Christie
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):13.
• Article: Informatics: The Standardized Nursing Terminologies: A National Survey of Nurses' Experience and Attitudes-SURVEY II: Participants' Perception of Comfort in the Use of Standardized Nursing Terminology 'Labels'.

  Linda Q Thede, Patricia M Schwirian
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):11.
• Article: Informatics: The Standardized Nursing Terminologies: A National Survey of Nurses' Experience and Attitudes-SURVEY II: Participants' Education for the Use of Standardized Nursing Terminology 'Labels'.

  Linda Q Thede, Patricia M Schwirian
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):10.
• Article: Simulation in nursing practice: the impact on patient care.

  Michelle Aebersold, Dana Tschannen
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  ABSTRACT: Simulation has a well-known history in the military, nuclear power, and aviation. It is also a recommended teaching and learning strategy supported by several landmark studies. Although in the past 20 years simulation has become more integrated into the education of nurses and physicians, it has not been as well integrated into the development of skills for practicing nurses. This article will provide an overview of simulation techniques and uses and review of selected simulation research. Despite recommendations for using simulation and growing integration of simulation into education, we still lack empirical evidence of its impact on patient outcomes. Our discussion provides a review of the current uses of simulation in the nursing practice environment with several exemplars and offers recommendations to develop a simulation program.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):6.
• Article: Nursing control over practice and teamwork.

  Jessica Castner, Diane J Ceravolo, Kelly Foltz-Ramos, Yow-Wu Wu
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  ABSTRACT: Nurses' control over practice is essential to nursing care quality and fosters teamwork at the point of care delivery. This article describes a study to measure the impact of nurses' control over their practice from the perspective of teamwork. The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship of control over practice to the five following dimensions of teamwork: team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication. The study method was a secondary analysis of 456 surveys from registered nurses working in a five-hospital system. Study results demonstrated that the global measure of teamwork correlated with control over practice and nursing experience, but not with teamwork training. All five individual dimensions of teamwork were perceived as better for those who had a high level of control over practice compared to those who did not. In the discussion section, we consider situation monitoring since this dimension demonstrated an interaction effect between teamwork training and control over practice. Nursing control over practice demonstrates a positive relationship with teamwork and should be considered in future education, policy, and research efforts. Further study is needed to understand control over practice as a potential moderator or mediator of other predecessors of effective teamwork.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):3.
• Article: Overview and summary: patient and visitor violence: what do we know? What can we do?

  Jonathan Rosen
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(1).
• Article: A framework for translating workplace violence intervention research into evidence-based programs.

  Kathleen M McPhaul, Matthew London, Jane A Lipscomb
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  ABSTRACT: Workplace violence, a dangerous and complex occupational hazard in the modern health care work environment, presents challenges for nurses, other health care employees, management, labor unions, and regulators. Violence from patients, visitors, and coworkers is often tolerated and explained as part of the job in the fast-paced, stressful health care delivery workplace. Addressing violence in health care requires very purposeful organizational processes conducted by very specific organizational structures. The strength of the scientific evidence for workplace violence prevention strategies is well past the "emerging" evidence stage but has not achieved the "unequivocal" stage. It is unlikely that workplace violence interventions will be tested using randomized controlled experimental conditions. Consequently, educated and aware nurses often provide key leadership for organizations undertaking the development of workplace violence prevention programs, but must do so using local evidence generated at the facility level. In some cases, tools such as state regulations and federal workplace safety policies provide important impetus and support for nurses and hospitals undertaking these transformational programs. This article provides background information about workplace violence and offers a framework for developing comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs built on the existing scientific evidence, regulatory guidance, and locally generated practice evidence.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(1):4.
• Article: Cochrane review brief: cinnamon for diabetes mellitus.

  Lesley Andrews
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):12.
• Article: Initiating Collaboration among Organ Transplant Professionals through Web Portals and Mobile Applications.

  Susan Alexander, Haley Hoy, Manil Maskey, Helen Conover, John Gamble, Anne Fraley
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  ABSTRACT: The knowledge base for healthcare providers working in the field of organ transplantation has grown exponentially. However, the field has no centralized 'space' dedicated to efficient access and sharing of information. The ease of use and portability of mobile applications (apps) make them ideal for subspecialists working in complex healthcare environments. In this article, the authors review the literature related to healthcare technology; describe the development of health-related technology; present their mobile app pilot project assessing the effects of a collaborative, mobile app based on a freely available content manage framework; and report their findings. They conclude by sharing both lessons learned while completing this project and future directions.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):7.
• Article: Nursing intellectual capital theory: implications for research and practice.

  Christine L Covell, Souraya Sidani
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  ABSTRACT: Due to rising costs of healthcare, determining how registered nurses and knowledge resources influence the quality of patient care is critical. Studies that have investigated the relationship between nursing knowledge and outcomes have been plagued with conceptual and methodological issues. This has resulted in limited empirical evidence of the impact of nursing knowledge on patient or organizational outcomes. The nursing intellectual capital theory was developed to assist with this area of inquiry. Nursing intellectual capital theory conceptualizes the sources of nursing knowledge available within an organization and delineates its relationship to patient and organizational outcomes. In this article, we review the nursing intellectual capital theory and discuss its implications for research and practice. We explain why the theory shows promise for guiding research on quality work environments and how it may assist with administrative decision-making related to nursing human resource management and continuing professional development.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):2.
• Article: The impact of emerging technology on nursing care: warp speed ahead.

  Carol Huston
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  ABSTRACT: While myriad forces are changing the face of contemporary healthcare, one could argue that nothing will change the way nursing is practiced more than current advances in technology. Indeed, technology is changing the world at warp speed and nowhere is this more evident than in healthcare settings. This article identifies seven emerging technologies that will change the practice of nursing; three skill sets nurses will need to develop to acquire, use, and integrate these emerging technologies; and four challenges nurse leaders will face in integrating this new technology.
  Online journal of issues in nursing 01/2013; 18(2):1.