The American journal of nursing
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What we know now about this emerging global threat.
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Review Meta Analysis
CE: Original Research: End-of-Life Care Behind Bars: A Systematic Review.
: To conduct a systematic review of the published research literature on end-of-life (EOL) care in prisons in order to determine the current state of the science and suggest implications for nursing practice and areas for future research. Applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we performed a comprehensive search of the literature using the following databases: CINAHL, Criminal Justice Abstracts, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Sociological Abstracts. All databases were searched from the time of their inception through June 2014. ⋯ Likewise, prison administrators and health care staff viewed inmate participation positively. This literature review reveals the challenges of providing EOL care to prisoners and may inspire nurses to consider steps they can take individually or within nursing organizations to improve this care and address the unique challenges faced by dying inmates. By being aware of these issues and advocating for best practices, nurses can help inmates at the end of life to have a dignified death.
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Research is needed to determine the feasibility of implementing a dedicated ICU mobility team in community hospital settings. The purpose of this study was to assess, in one such hospital, four nurse-sensitive quality-of-care outcomes (falls, ventilator-associated events, pressure ulcers, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections [CAUTIs]), as well as hospital costs, sedation and delirium measures, and functional outcomes by comparing ICU patients who received physical therapy from a dedicated mobility team with ICU patients who received routine care. ⋯ It is feasible for a community hospital to create and implement a dedicated ICU mobility team. Early mobilization of ICU patients contributed to fewer delirium days and improved patient outcomes, sedation levels, and functional status.