Jennifer Cook

Enhancing resilience, empowerment, and conflict management among baccalaureate students: outcomes of a pilot study.

To manage interpersonal conflict, nursing students need evidence-based interventions to strengthen stress resiliency, psychological empowerment, and conflict management skills. A pilot 1-group, pre-post–design, 2-semester intervention used simulated experiences to enhance these skills with 60 undergraduate nursing students. Findings suggest that integration of conflict resolution skills throughout the curriculum, with repeated opportunities to practice using a variety of styles of conflict management in relation to situational factors, may be beneficial to prepare students for the challenges of today’s healthcare environment.

Workplace Health Promotion—Strategies for Low-Income Hispanic Immigrant Women

Addressing health disparities for vulnerable populations in the United States is a national goal. Immigrant Hispanic women, at increased risk for heart disease, face obstacles in receiving adequate health care. Health promotion, especially for Hispanic women, is hindered by language, access to care, lack of insurance, and cultural factors. Innovative health education approaches are needed to reach this population. This article describes the development and evaluation of a culturally sensitive cardiac health education program based on findings from a study of 21 older immigrant Hispanic women employed as housekeepers at a small university in south Texas. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures had decreased 17 months after the intervention.

Cardiovascular Risk among Older Hispanic Women A Pilot Study

This study used a descriptive correlational design to describe the relationship between cardiovascular risk and anxiety, spirituality, acculturation, and the objective indices of cardiac risk among a sample of 21 adult Hispanic women. Objective indices of risk included weight, blood pressure, blood lipids, and glucose. Four survey instruments were used to assess anxiety, spirituality, acculturation, and perceived risk. Findings revealed that all study participants had 3 or more risk factors, placing them in the moderate risk category for developing heart disease or having a heart attack within 10 years. State and trait anxiety scores were lower than the normative samples for adult women. Spirituality scores were higher than average; individuals with higher anxiety scores had lower spirituality scores. More research is needed to determine the health needs of unskilled workers with limited education in employment settings.

Developing Nurse Educator Competency in the Pedagogy of Simulation

Faculty development is needed for nurse educators to effectively use simulation as a learning tool. A synthesis of research evidence regarding current practices in preparing educators to use simulation provided a foundation for faculty development. Implementation of a two-pronged approach within a regional collaboration of four schools of nursing is described; results of the evaluation of the approaches are presented. Use of the National League for Nursing Core Competencies of Nurse Educators as the organizing framework and Rogers Diffusion of Innovations Model as the theoretical framework is discussed. An overview is provided of the two prongs: (a) a short course for novice educators, and (b) examples of continuing education programming for experienced faculty members new to simulation to enhance effective application of this pedagogy. Recommendations include designing faculty development for simulation within a framework for systems change, maintaining flexibility to meet diverse needs, and using existing online resources.

An exploratory study of cardiac health in college athletes

A common assumption is that college athletes are healthy based on their age and level of physical activity. This study used a descriptive correlational design to explore relationships and predictors of physical fitness levels among an ethnically diverse sample of 135 college athletes from a National College Athletic Association Division II university. Both subjective and objective indices of cardiac health and physical fitness level (blood pressure [BP], body mass index [BMI], waist-to-hip ratio, waist circumference, hip circumference, blood lipids, glucose, and VO(2max)) were collected. Minimal research exists with this population or with such an array of subjective and objective measures. More than one fourth of the athletes had a BMI in the overweight range, one fifth was prehypertensive, and one fourth had lower-than-recommended high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. Waist circumference accounted for 21% of the variance in systolic BP level. These factors may predispose the college athletes to cardiac risk in the future when exercise regimens are reduced. Gender differences were found in all physical size variables and in physical fitness levels, with physical fitness level alone predicting gender correctly 98.5% of the time. Differences support the need to account for gender and fitness levels in cardiac risk assessment of young populations.

Hispanic and Female College Students: Evidence for Increased Risk for Cardiac Disease.

This article describes subjective and objective risks for cardiovascular disease and the relationship to anger and spirituality among 104 predominately Hispanic college freshman women. Findings indicated a population at risk for metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and diabetes and identified students requiring medical and anger management interventions. Associations between anger, spirituality, and weight suggest a need for further study. University health services are strategically positioned to reach students with lifestyle modification information for cardiac risk reduction.

Remembering Wartime Experiences: The Role of Spirituality Among Retired Military Nurses

Little is known about whether spirituality and religious beliefs were mechanisms of coping and support for nurses serving in the military during a war and if and how these beliefs changed over time. A qualitative study using a phenomenological approach yielded four distinct themes for military nurses serving during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. These themes were caring, connections, compartmentalization, and adaptability. Although religious ritual was not important to the nurses who were interviewed, spirituality, as defined by a connections model, played an important part in helping military nurses cope with the stressors of active duty during war.

Family History Value-Added Information in Assessing Cardiac Health

The purpose of this study was to describe family health history profiles and objective indices of cardiac health among ethnically diverse working adults. Family history of disease is an important predictor of individual health, yet is underused by clinicians. Participants were staff in an elder-care facility and completed a web-enabled program capturing family history, objective cardiovascular measures (blood lipids, blood pressure, height, weight, and waist-to-hip ratio), and subjective measures (anxiety, spirituality, and health status appraisal). Of the 44 participants, 89% were unable to provide complete information about their family health and mortality for the three-generation genogram; 25% had one or more first-degree relatives with cardiac disease; and more than two thirds had first-degree relatives with diabetes. More than 80% of the sample exhibited objective indices of risk including body mass indexes in the overweight or obese categories. Family history information was incorporated into health screening and enabled more appropriate health counseling for these employees.