Claudia J. Beverly

NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF RURAL COMMUNITIES: A FOCUS ON OLDER ADULTS

High-quality community needs assessments can help focus limited resources on the needs of a rapidly expanding population—older Americans. Based on such assessments, organizations and communities can effectively plan and deliver cost-effective, appropriate health promotion/wellness programs and health/social services to targeted populations. This article, which describes the Arkansas Aging Initiative’s (AAI) use of a community needs assessment to identify its constituents’ top health needs, provides specific background information for communities with demographics similar to those in Arkansas and offers assessment strategies for communities throughout the US. The AAI used two complementary methodologies to obtain critical input from Arkansas providers and their communities: focus groups of healthcare providers and community members and surveys administered to older adults. The assessment confirmed that health problems in the communities were consistent with leading causes of morbidity and mortality at state and national levels. It indicated that respondents’ top three health needs related to affordability, including affordability of prescription medications, medical care, and health insurance, and that needs varied inversely with age. In other findings, married individuals rated their own health as better than their single counterparts; whites rated their health better than non-whites; and more than half of respondents reported leaving their counties to receive healthcare. This community needs assessment has enabled the AAI to address respondents’ needs by developing specific educational and interdisciplinary healthcare initiatives, such as increasing access to a prescription drug assistance program.

Absenteeism Due to Functional Limitations Caused by Seven Common Chronic Diseases in US Workers

Objective: The study examined the relationship between functional limitation due to chronic diseases and absenteeism among full-time workers. The studied chronic diseases include arthritis/rheumatism, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, and stroke. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2011 to 2013 National Health Interview Survey. Economic impact was determined by workdays lost and lost income. Results: Increase in absenteeism was observed for each studied condition. Employees with multiple conditions also saw increase absenteeism. Employers lose 28.2 million workdays annually (

Aging issues: nursing imperatives for healthcare reform

4.95 billion in lost income) due to functional limitation caused by chronic diseases. Conclusions: The results show a burden on society due to functional limitation caused by studied chronic diseases. Employers should look into implementing intervention/prevention programs, such as the Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs, to help reduce the cost associated with absenteeism.

Early exposure to geriatric nursing through an externship program.

The people of the United States sent a clear message in November 2008 that they wanted a change in the nations priorities, including healthcare. The question is whether healthcare reform will extend to the care of older adults, especially in the face of complex needs in the last years of their lives. This article addresses this question by examining the demographics of the older adult population, the eldercare workforce, and the current inadequate patchwork of financing. Some aging issues, such as chronic care, are being addressed in the broad context of healthcare reform, whereas health information technology and others remain marginal. The window of opportunity for a clear and coherent voice in a reformed/reshaped healthcare system is narrow. Now is the time for the “trusted” profession to advocate for meaningful change that will meet the current and future needs of older adults. The article concludes with strategies and Web-based resources for nurses to bring aging issues to the healthcare reform debate at both the national and local levels.

Gerontological Nursing Leadership in the Advancing Excellence Campaign: Moving interdisciplinary collaboration forward

&NA; The Summer Geriatric Extern Program was developed in 2004 to provide nursing students between the junior and senior year an opportunity to learn more about careers in geriatric nursing. This full‐time, eight‐week commitment provides students with a stipend and a faculty mentor in their area of interest. Of the 24 externs since the inception of the program, seven have enrolled in graduate programs. The findings suggest that the summer geriatric externship program is effective in developing interest in a geriatric nursing career and providing exposure to nursing research and other aspects of the faculty role.

A method for analyzing the financial viability of a rural provider-based geriatric clinic.

Nursing was not a part of the coalition of multiple nursing home stakeholders at the roll out of the Advancing Excellence Campaign (AEC). In January 2007, several nurse organizations proactively approached the AEC leadership, were welcomed and immediately began to volunteer for leadership positions such as committee chairs and conference coordinators. This paper presents an exemplar of how a proactive stance, even when not initially included, allowed nurses to secure chairs at the decision making table of this quality campaign and contribute to improved resident outcomes.

Nursing perception of risk in common nursing practice situations: Risk Management

Little is known about the financial impact of rural provider-based geriatric outpatient clinics on their parent hospitals since the implementation of the outpatient prospective payment system. In this study, systems theory was used to develop a methodology for determining the financial viability of one such clinic in a rural hospital using data commonly found in rural hospital financial systems. Formulas were developed to identify the overall financial viability and a case-study model was utilized to test the formulas; however, this hospital did not track a key data element, resulting in an incomplete analysis.

Psychometric Properties of the Authentic Leadership Inventory in the Nursing Profession

As health care organizations seek to be highly reliable, systems that include layers of redundancy have been created to protect patients from harm. Many of these layers of protection are dependent on nurses making a decision to follow or adhere to the human aspects of the process. Because these decisions begin with a perception and identification of risk, understanding what nurses perceive to be a risk to patients is an essential part of designing safer health care systems. The purposes of this qualitative study were to (1) describe what nurses perceive as risky to patients in common nursing practice situations, (2) describe the effects of the perceptions of risk on clinical decision making and behavior, and (3) identify what factors nurses perceive as increasing or decreasing risk.

Policy agenda for nurse-led care coordination.

Background and Purpose: A valid and reliable Authentic Leadership (AL) measurement instrument is paramount as nursing leadership research grows. The purpose of this study was to analyze the reliability and construct validity of the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI) among nurses. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, prospective design that explored the relationship between registered nurses’ (RNs) perceptions of AL qualities in nurse managers in a random sample of RNs working in an acute care setting. Results: A Cronbach α 0.96 confirmed reliability. Exploratory factor analysis determined a one-factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis utilized the one-factor structure for a final best-fit model (χ2 = 107.3, df = 70, p = .003; TLI = 0.95, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.08). Conclusions: This study gives support to using the ALI with the nursing profession.