Marina Boykova

Transition from hospital to home for parents of preterm infants.

Research on the phenomenon of transition spans several decades. This article discusses the transition from hospital to home and the challenges parents of preterm infants experience during a neonatal intensive care unit stay and after discharge. The article explores the link between parental problems and rehospitalizations and the need for accurate measures of transitional concerns. An example of a theoretical model and instrument is described.

Global Infant Mortality/Morbidity: a Clinical Issue, a Global Organizational Approach

This article posits that the burden and legacy of high neonatal morbidity and mortality rates are social and economic stresses at the local, national, regional, and international levels. Furthermore, if neonatal morbidity and mortality rates are not reduced through appropriate clinical and educational means, a significant local and global consequence will be the destabilization of workforces and economies in many parts of the world. Because coordinated clinical and education efforts are required if neonatal health outcomes are to improve, and it is essential that these endeavors be led by nurses, the labor sector most likely to provide the needed care and outreach to mothers and children, a globally respected specialty nursing organization must be at the center of developing and implementing the necessary clinical and educational interventions.

International education: developing site visit guidelines to enhance understanding.

International educational activities, whether organized as study tours or conferences, often include visits to various health care or educational facilities. These visits can provide a unique perspective on health care delivery, nursing education, and nursing practice. To maximize learning during such visits, a clear focus and guidelines are needed. The experience of conducting a conference in Russia is used as a basis for developing recommendations and creating guidelines for site visits that promote understanding of the nursing role and the health care system in another country. This article describes the process of developing educational objectives and guidelines for clinical and educational site visits. It is hoped the examples will be useful in planning site visits for other international educational activities.

Impact on neonatal nursing globally: exemplars of how US neonatal/perinatal nurses can get involved.

Neonatal and perinatal nurses are responding to the global call by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to decrease maternal, neonatal, and child mortality. But how does one get involved? This article describes the global needs with exemplars from Japan and Russia illustrating how nurses work globally.

Use of a professional organization (Council of International Neonatal Nurses) for global networking.

The article illustrates the need to belong to professional specialty organizations to foster collaborations across the globe. The Council of International Neonatal Nurses is the exemplar for this professional group. The personal journey of the author to the global community of neonatal nurses is presented.

Transition From Hospital to Home in Preterm Infants and Their Families.

When the day of discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) comes for the parents of newborn infants, they are filled with long-awaited joy and happiness. They go home feeling as parents, away from scheduled routines of the hospital, monitor alarms, clinical rounds, numerous tests, and so on. What do we know about what happens after these little patients and their families leave the NICU? What happens from the point of leaving the hospital until when things get settled and life becomes perceived as normal? This article presents a short summary of research conducted with the vulnerable population of high-risk and preterm infants and their families postdischarge. Available evidence suggests that transition to home after hospital discharge, a phenomenon that many families experience, is challenging and requires attention from clinicians and researchers if we are to provide effective, efficient, and high-quality care.

Global health and neonatal nursing: a personal journey.

The need for improvement of neonatal nursing care is a global issue. Neonatal nurses have an important role in optimizing these health outcomes for neonates and their families. This article describes the personal journey of one nurse and her mentee. It describes how a passion for neonates led to global policy work.

End-of-life nursing education in the Russian Federation

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium project is a comprehensive, national education program designed to improve end-of-life care. In the years 2006-2007, specific End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium modules were translated into Russian and presented to doctors and nurses from across the Russian Federation. This article discusses the experience of teaching the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium curriculum in Russia and some of the similarities and differences between teaching this content in the United States and the Russian Federation. This content was primarily taught in Saint Petersburg to diverse groups of Russian healthcare practitioners. This US/Russian collaborative is only 2 years old, but already some changes are occurring to institutionalize palliative care education into the Russian educational system.