Nursing Research

Nurse-Led Interventions May Cut Children's Fear of Needles
Two new nurse-led interventions to reduce negative impacts of vaccinations in children -- divided attention (DA) and positive memory reframing (PMR) -- were feasible and may reduce needle-related fear, according to a study published in European Journal of Pain.

Obstacles, Helpful Behaviors Explored at Critical Access Hospitals
Obstacles and helpful behavior items unique to critical access hospitals, created to bring health care to rural populations, rank below the top 10 items for nurses, according to a study published in the American Journal of Critical Care. The researchers found that seven of the top 10 obstacles were directly related to behaviors and attitudes of family, including lack of understanding about what lifesaving measures entail and internal disagreement relating to life support. Interventions that were controlled by nurses and items that affected the nurses having adequate time to deliver end-of-life care were included as helpful behaviors ranked in the top 10.
 
Smart Socks May Cut Hospital Fall Rates in At-Risk Patients
Use of the Smart Sock system may reduce hospital fall rates among fall-risk patients, according to a study published in the Journal of Nursing Care Quality. Smart Socks consist of socks with built-in pressure sensors that detect when a patient is trying to stand, in combination with interrelated devices with sensors and a notification device worn by nurses. The researchers found that patients wearing Smart Socks had a lower fall rate compared with the historical rate (zero versus four per 1,000 patient-days).

Multidisciplinary Effort Key in Hip Fracture Care for Elders
A collaborative care initiative may expedite care for hip fractures among elderly patients, according to research published in Geriatric Nursing. The Returning Seniors to Orthopedic Excellence (RESTORE) service focused on prioritizing early pain management and reducing time to surgery for geriatric patients with hip fractures, which was integrated with the Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) program. The NICHE program standardizes early ambulation, delirium assessment and management, and hospital room protocols for better orientation and healing and improves follow-up visit adherence.
 
Protocol Helps Increase Direct Breastfeeding for Preemies in NICU
Standardizing direct breastfeeding (DBF) practices increases DBF during hospitalization for infants less than 37 weeks of gestation at birth, according to a study published in Advances in Neonatal Care. The Encourage, Assess, Transition (EAT) protocol was developed and implemented for infants less than 37 weeks of gestation at birth using quality improvement methods.
 

Guidelines & Recommendations

Consensus Developed on Managing Hypertension in Children
In a consensus document published in the European Heart Journal, recommendations are presented for the management of hypertension among children aged 6 to 16 years. The authors recommend implementing the development of appropriate multiethnic normative tables for office blood pressure, ambulatory blood pressure, and home blood pressure measurements through the organization of longitudinal registries, with the potential to link to adult cardiovascular risk. They also recommend the development of randomized clinical trials to document the specific benefits and potential harms of blood pressure-lowering agents and behavioral lifestyle strategies. Hypertension management should include a stepped approach for management, starting with lifestyle modifications, followed by a low-dose single drug, full-dose single drug or low-dose combination, and full-dose combination, as appropriate.
 
USPSTF Continues to Recommend Against Genital Herpes Screening
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) did not find new evidence that could result in a change to the 2016 recommendation on screening for genital herpes and consequently continues to recommend against routine serologic screening.
 

More Research Highlights

Blood Biomarker Linked to Incident VTE in COVID-19 Patients
Higher levels of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) are associated with incident venous thromboembolism (VTE) among patients hospitalized for COVID-19, regardless of D-dimer levels, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
 
EHR-Based Food Insecurity Screening Process Feasible
An electronic health record (EHR)-based food insecurity screening process can be implemented and increases screening and identification of food-insecure patients, according to a study published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality.