Nursing research
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Correctional nurses function in a high stress environment due to the nature of their clients and the primacy of environmental security. Job stress and satisfaction are theorized relational concepts that influence intent to stay and turnover as described in the anticipated turnover model. An increased understanding of the nature and sources of stress and satisfaction provides necessary information about correctional nursing. ⋯ Stress levels and the top two sources of stress were essentially the same for both groups of correctional nurses. Sources of satisfaction are ranked similarly but subscale and overall scores indicate that the nurses in the replication study were more dissatisfied. Findings validate the theoretical proposition in the anticipated turnover model that job stress is a major predictor variable in explaining job satisfaction.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of a computer intervention on the psychological status of chronically ill rural women: preliminary results.
Adaptation to chronic illness is a lifelong process presenting numerous psychological challenges. It has been shown to be influenced by participating in support groups. Rural women with chronic illness face additional burdens as access to information, healthcare resources, and sources of support are often limited. Developing virtual support groups and testing the effects on psychosocial indicators associated with adaptation to chronic illness may help remove barriers to adaptation. ⋯ The computer-based intervention tested appears to result in improved self-esteem, social support, and empowerment among rural women with chronic illness. Descriptive but nonsignificant differences were found for other psychosocial variables (depression, loneliness, self-efficacy, and stress); women who participated in the intervention appeared to improve more than women in the control group.
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Fatigue is a common symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but little is known about the specific nature of COPD-related fatigue and its impact on daily life. ⋯ Fatigue is an important problem that affects performance of daily activities in people with COPD. The relationships or interactions that exist among fatigue and other symptoms are complex.
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Several studies have described the work environment of nurses from magnet and nonmagnet hospitals, but there have been no studies of nurses from hospitals in the magnet application process. ⋯ Nurses from magnet hospitals had a positive perception of nursing competence in their work environment. Further research is necessary to examine the nurse work environment and to determine if the characteristics of magnet hospitals have changed.
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Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important outcome in patients with heart failure. One of the most commonly used instruments to measure HRQOL in this population is the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (LHFQ). Although the psychometric properties of the LHFQ have been tested, the results do not definitively support the psychometric soundness of the instrument. ⋯ The initial results provided additional support for the reliability and substantial evidence for the validity of the LHFQ. However, the results of item and factor analyses did not fully support the psychometric soundness of several items. The psychometric properties of the LHFQ after deleting these items were improved. These results could provide researchers and clinicians a more useful measure of HRQOL.