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ABSTRACT: Current strategies for combating obesity include recent federal legislation mandating calorie count postings in chain restaurants. This study describes the current practice of menu board calorie postings in a low-income urban neighborhood, identifies the extent to which current practice complies with existing policy, and evaluates the practical utility of menu boards to consumers. We conclude that although most postings were legally compliant, they did not demonstrate utility. Menu postings for individual servings are easily understood, but complex math skills are needed to interpret meals designed to serve more than one person. In some items, calories doubled depending on flavor and the calorie posting did not give enough information to make healthier selections. We identified specific strategies to improve practical utility and provide recommendations for policy implementation.
Journal of Urban Health 02/2012; 89(4):587-97. · 2.13 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To develop and assess the reliability and validity of an observational instrument, the Process and Quality of Informed Consent (P-QIC).
A pilot study of the psychometrics of a tool designed to measure the quality and process of the informed consent encounter in clinical research. The study used professionally filmed, simulated consent encounters designed to vary in process and quality.
A major urban teaching hospital in the northeastern region of the United States.
63 students enrolled in health-related programs participated in psychometric testing, 16 students participated in test-retest reliability, and 5 investigator-participant dyads were observed for the actual consent encounters.
For reliability and validity testing, students watched and rated videotaped simulations of four consent encounters intentionally varied in process and content and rated them with the proposed instrument. Test-retest reliability was established by raters watching the videotaped simulations twice. Inter-rater reliability was demonstrated by two simultaneous but independent raters observing an actual consent encounter.
The essential elements of information and communication for informed consent.
The initial testing of the P-QIC demonstrated reliable and valid psychometric properties in both the simulated standardized consent encounters and actual consent encounters in the hospital setting.
The P-QIC is an easy-to-use observational tool that provides a quick assessment of the areas of strength and areas that need improvement in a consent encounter. It can be used in the initial trainings of new investigators or consent administrators and in ongoing programs of improvement for informed consent.
The development of a validated observational instrument will allow investigators to assess the consent process more accurately and evaluate strategies designed to improve it.
Oncology Nursing Forum 07/2011; 38(4):417-22. · 1.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The purposes of this study were to (a) develop a tool to assess statistical methods and (b) use the tool to evaluate recently published quantitative research. We rated the statistical approaches used in 152 studies published in the 5 top impact-factor nursing research journals from September 2005 to August 2007. Studies were generally of high quality; 45% scored between 80% and 100%, and 22% achieved a score of 100%. Predictors of high scores were interdisciplinary authorship, a statistician coauthor, and the number of aims. The authors conclude that studies published in high impact-factor nursing journals are statistically sound and provide a solid foundation for evidence-based practice.
Clinical Nursing Research 06/2009; 18(3):223-41. · 0.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The aims for this paper are to summarize the current state of disparities in clinical research participation, discuss regulatory and interpersonal causes for these disparities, and to suggest an approach to address this problem by standardized training for consent administrators.
A program based on the Precede-Proceed model for training consent administrators is proposed and described.
The current process for informed consent for research is unstandardized and inadequate, and may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities. Researchers are urged to consider a formal training program for members of their research teams who will be obtaining participants' consent.
An educational program for consent administrators may help to reduce disparities in research participation by improving communication between research staff and potential participants.
Journal of Nursing Scholarship 04/2009; 41(1):95-103. · 1.49 Impact Factor
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Elizabeth Gross Cohn
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ABSTRACT: This article proposes a new paradigm for nurse-researchers to strengthen communication with participants, investigators, and the community in clinical trials. The author reviews the current state of HIV vaccine development in response to the human and fiscal cost of the HIV epidemic, both in the United States and globally. A translational model is proposed for restructuring the process by which participants in HIV trials are recruited and the results disseminated. Finally, it is proposed that nurses should play a unique and essential role in implementing this new model, advocating for individuals, strengthening societal trust, and fostering equity.
Policy Politics & Nursing Practice 12/2007; 8(4):271-5.
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ABSTRACT: Although collaborative research across sites is essential to increase the statistical power and generalizability of research findings, the need to undergo multiple institutional review board (IRB) reviews is a challenge. The purposes of this paper are to describe changes in the IRB submission process in 2 national multisite studies before and after the implementation of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy rule (2002 and 2008) and to discuss implications for policy and practice related to human subjects research. In the second study, there was a shorter mean approval time and reduced variability in the decision about the level of review, the mean number of pages per application doubled, and an increased proportion of IRBs required conflict of interest and data use agreements. Possible approaches to further enhance the efficiency and streamlining of the research review process are suggested.
Nursing outlook 58(4):181-7. · 1.54 Impact Factor
