Nursing research
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With a national trend toward less aggressive treatment of hospitalized terminally ill patients, families increasingly participate in decisions to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. Although prior research indicates decision making is stressful for families, there have been no psychometric reports of actual stress levels and few discussions of the reasoning used by families compared to clinicians in reaching the decision. ⋯ Findings add compelling evidence for the power of advance directives, whether written or verbal, to reduce the stress associated with family decision-making.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Psychosocial nursing therapy following sudden cardiac arrest: impact on two-year survival.
Although psychosocial therapy has been shown to reduce mortality after myocardial infarction, it is unknown whether the benefits of psychosocial therapy on mortality reduction extend to out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, a main cause of cardiovascular mortality. ⋯ Psychosocial therapy significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death in sudden cardiac arrest survivors.
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The cognitive capacity to direct attention (CDA) is essential for self-care and independent functioning. Older women may be more vulnerable to fatigue-related losses in CDA following surgery for breast cancer. Normal functional variations in CDA associated with aging might affect attentional responses in older women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, and factors such as extent of surgery or symptom distress might influence CDA over time. ⋯ Reduced performance in a cognitive function was observed before treatment and found to persist over an extended interval in older women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Comparative Study
Attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration: a cross-cultural study of male and female physicians and nurses in the United States and Mexico.
Inter-professional collaboration between physicians and nurses, within and between cultures, can help contain cost and insure better patient outcomes. Attitude toward such collaboration is a function of the roles prescribed in the culture that guide professional behavior. ⋯ Collaborative education for medical and nursing students, particularly in cultures with a hierarchical model of inter-professional relationship, is needed to promote positive attitudes toward complementary roles of physicians and nurses. Faculty preparation for collaboration is necessary in such cultures before implementing collaborative education.