Shirley C. Gordon

Shared Vulnerability: A Theory of Caring for Children With Persistent Head Lice

Head lice infestation is a worldwide phenomenon that affects persons of all ages. For reasons that are not entirely clear, a number of children experience persistent head lice infestations lasting weeks, months, or years. Little is known about the impact of caring for children with persistent head lice on parents/caregivers. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to explore how parents and caregivers manage caring for children with persistent head lice. Data were obtained through participant observation and in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 20 parents/caregivers of school-age children with persistent head lice. The researcher identified a 4-stage process of shared vulnerability used by parents/caregivers to manage caregiver strain associated with caring for children with persistent head lice. The four stages included (a) being ostracized, (b) losing integrity of the self, (c) struggling with persistence, and (d) managing strain.

Delegation Guided by School Nursing Values: Comprehensive Knowledge, Trust, and Empowerment.

As health care institutions in the United States respond to shrinking budgets and nursing shortages by increasing the use of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), school nursing practice is changing from providing direct care to supervising activities delegated to UAP. Therefore, delegation is a critical area of concern for school nurses. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore values guiding the delegation of health care tasks to UAP in school settings from the perspective of the school nurse. An inquiry focus group was conducted with 64 Florida school nurses. Values guiding delegation were comprehensive knowledge, trust, and empowerment. These values provided a framework for guiding the delegation process.

Development of a School Nursing Research Agenda in Florida: A Delphi Study.

Research is important to the image, visibility, and viability of school nursing. Each state school nursing association should evaluate member commitment to school nursing research based on their unique set of financial, educational, and organizational resources. A 3-round Delphi study was conducted in which Florida school nurses identified research priorities. The 10 priority research topics were (a) obesity/nutrition, (b) role of the school nurse, (c) legal/ethical issues, (d) emergencies, (e) health education, (f) absenteeism/attendance, (g) diabetes and insulin, (h) injuries, (i) health services, and (j) asthma. These topics form the state research agenda and will be used to guide the development of multisite school nursing studies.

Caring Behaviors of Nurse Preceptors: BSN Student Perceptions

Nurse caring in hospital settings may be demonstrated without direct intention and without the language to express caring actions. Therefore, nursing students educated in a curriculum grounded in caring may not recognize the transformation of theory to the practice environment. This manuscript describes the baccalaureate student perspective of caring behaviors of nurse preceptors. Athematic analysis of unstructured, qualitative interview data revealed six themes: welcoming presence, demonstrating empathy, encouraging growth, patience and time as compassionate care, building relationships, and communicating therapeutically. In addition, students as role models and caring for each other emerged as themes related to student-student caring behaviors.

Clarifying a vision for health literacy: A holistic school-based community approach

Health literacy has come to the forefront as an emerging health issue. Processes are needed to incorporate health literacy across community-wide settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the process used to assist community partners in a school health program in clarifying their vision of health literacy from which a more holistic approach to the care of school-aged children and the community was cocreated.

The usefulness of the community nursing practice model in grounding practice and research: narratives from the United States and Africa.

A community nursing practice (CNP) model is presented as the synthesis of a decade of experience of caring for persons and communities. Values form the basis of the model and provide the grounding for practice. Transcendent values of respect, caring, and wholeness are explicated in the actualizing values of primary health care: access, essentiality, empowerment, intersectoral collaboration, and community participation. Usefulness of the CNPM in providing a framework for community nursing practice at school-based community wellness centers in both the United States and Africa is described. Narratives of practice and research presented in the unique voice of three faculty members illuminate the model’s values and paradigmatic view of person, nursing, community, and environment. These narratives provide insight into how the CNPM has served as a heuristic in the design of creative responses to calls for nursing in community nursing practice, education, and research.

Bell’s Palsy in Children: Role of the School Nurse in Early Recognition and Referral

Bell’s palsy is the most common condition affecting facial nerves. It is an acute, rapidly progressing, idiopathic, unilateral facial paralysis that is generally self-limiting and non–life threatening that occurs in all age groups (Okuwobi, Omole, & Griffith, 2003). The school nurse may be the first person to assess facial palsy and muscle weakness in children. Because facial palsy and muscle weakness may be an indicator of a serious or life threatening condition, the school nurse plays a critical role in early recognition and referral. The Gordon Facial Muscle Weakness Assessment Form is presented as a tool designed to assist school nurses in recognizing children with facial muscle weakness and in determining whether a primary health care provider referral should be considered immediate or urgent.

Suffering in Silence: Managing the Fear Trajectory of Genital Herpes

Genital herpes is an incurable, highly stigmatized, sexually transmitted disease. The purpose of this article, which represents a portion of a larger study by Gordon (1998), is to describe pervasive fear as the basic social psychological problem identified by low income women with genital herpes. Categories included fear of pain, passing the disease, and telling others. When nurses recognize the individual variability of pervasive fear associated with living with genital herpes, they validate suffering. Knowing what matters most to low income women as they suffer in silence with genital herpes encourages the nurse to develop meaningful responses to their cries for caring.

Building a Caring-Based Hyperglycemic Crisis Prevention Model for Patients With Diabetes Mellitus, Thailand

The purpose of this study was to understand patient experiences of hyperglycemic crisis (HC) and develop a caring-based, interdisciplinary model for preventing HC in Thailand. A 2-Phase approach was used. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 in-patients with diabetes mellitus who had experienced a HC. Four themes emerged: not knowing, depending on others for care, experiencing stress, and seeking help for self-care. In Phase 2, interdisciplinary, participatory team focus groups were conducted using data from Phase 1 to develop a model of hyperglycemic crisis prevention.

Town & Gown: Building Successful University-Community Partnerships

Innovative approaches for building “town and gown” relationships between practicing school nurses, community partners, and universities/colleges are presented through exemplars relating to research, education, policy, and practice. The exemplars demonstrate the critical factors of successful partnerships as validated by their outcomes.