Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
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To review the concepts of reliability and validity, provide examples of how the concepts have been used in nursing research, provide guidance for improving the psychometric soundness of instruments, and report suggestions from editors of nursing journals for incorporating psychometric data into manuscripts. ⋯ Planning for psychometric testing through design and reducing nonrandom error in measurement will add to the reliability and validity of instruments and increase the strength of study findings. Underreporting of validity might occur because of small sample size, poor design, or lack of resources. Lack of information on psychometric properties and misapplication of psychometric testing is common in the literature.
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To provide an update on the representational approach to patient education. ⋯ The representational approach to patient education appears to be adequately flexible to guide interventions in different patient care situations, while also sufficiently structured to be replicable and testable.
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To assess the key variables used in research on nurse staffing and patient outcomes from the perspective of an international panel. ⋯ These results provide a snapshot of the state of the science on nurse-staffing and patient-outcomes research as of 2005. The results portray an area of nursing science in evolution and an understanding of the connections between human resource issues and healthcare quality based on both empirical findings and opinion.
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To examine perspectives of Japanese elderly people on advance directives (ADs) and factors related to positive attitudes toward ADs. ⋯ Most Japanese older adults in this study approved of ADs, and family structure was important to the acceptance of designating a proxy. Discussion about end-of-life care and respect for life-sustaining treatment preferences are important decisions, about the end of life.
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To examine the frequency and course of delirium in older adults admitted to a surgical intensive care unit (SICU). ⋯ Older adults admitted to SICUs were at high risk for developing delirium during hospitalization. Further research is needed to elucidate the risk factors for, and outcomes of, delirium in this uniquely vulnerable population.