Jakimowicz, S., Perry, L., & Lewis, J. (2020). Bowen Family Systems Theory: Mapping a framework to support critical care nurses’ well‐being and care quality. Nursing Philosophy, 22(2). Web.
The study is dedicated to applying Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) to intensive care nursing to improve nurses’ mental health and care quality. Working in the intensive care unit can be exhausting and emotionally challenging, negatively impacting nurse practitioners’ (NPs’) mental health and performance. As a way out, the researchers suggest applying the BFST to gauge and alleviate the level of anxiety in intensive care units. In previous medical studies, the BFST was generally used in relation to caring for patients or their families, but little research was conducted to assess its effect on the anxiety rate among healthcare personnel. The present study filled this gap and demonstrated a framework for intensive care nursing based on the BFST. It comprises a positive workplace culture, nurses’ expectations of themselves and their management team, and differentiation that implies intellectual rather than emotional reactions to a situation. There are also two other interdependent components: delivering patient-centered nursing and compassion satisfaction.
As the study is focused on nurses, it has major implications for their practice. Firstly, it highlights the importance of nurses’ mental health in providing high-quality, compassionate patient care. Secondly, it has organizational and management implications for nurse leaders. If there is a surge of anxiety among nurses in the intensive care unit, it is necessary to address this issue on the team level first and then concentrate on the individuals. The nurse leaders should assess cohesion between colleagues (horizontal) and with leaders (vertical) and identify patterns of anxiety and dysfunction within intensive care unit personnel.
Lee, L. T., Jung, S. E., Bowen, P. G., Clay, O. J., Locher, J. L., & Cherrington, A. L. (2019). Understanding the dietary habits of black men with diabetes. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15(5), 365-369. Web.
The article is focused on the dietary habits of black men with diabetes. The researchers utilized the Social Cognitive Theory to examine black men’s perceptions of their dietary health needs and diabetes self-management. Several personal, behavioral, and environmental barriers to effective diabetes self-care among black men were revealed during the study. They include financial constraints, lack of affordable and available healthy food, the negative impact of the family members’ unhealthy nutritional habits, and insufficient or absent informal psychosocial support. The study results emphasize the significance of nurse practitioners’ (NPs’) awareness of the barriers to efficient diabetes self-management among black male patients for building suitable practice strategies.
NPs in primary and outpatient care settings provide the majority of diabetes care. Therefore, the study has important implications for the nursing practice. To identify the obstacles, facilitators, and the most suitable strategy for diabetes management, NPs should know the factors affecting diabetes health and their patients’ perceived needs for diabetes self-care. It is also important to consider specific barriers impeding diabetes self-management in minority groups, such as black men. For instance, NPs should include the importance of family support in their health education programs. Thus, they would raise awareness of emotional and psychosocial factors in diabetes self-management. In case the patient lacks informal support, NPs and healthcare professionals are responsible for providing it. As for the financial constraints that many black male patients have, healthcare providers should establish a system of income-based vouchers for affordable healthy food. NPs should inform their patients if such programs are available in the area and encourage healthier dietary habits.
Misto, K. (2018). Nurse perceptions of family nursing during acute hospitalizations of older adult patients. Applied Nursing Research, 41, 80–85. Web.
The article is dedicated to nurses’ critical evaluation of their family nursing practice and experience of interaction and reciprocity within the nurse-family relationship during acute hospitalizations of older adult patients. The researchers utilized the Family Nursing Practice Scale (FNPS), which comprises two subscales: the practice appraisal (PA) subscale and the nurse–family relationship (NFR) subscale. Additionally, the nurses’ were asked open-ended questions about the challenges, advantages, and examples of their family nursing practices. The FNPS was developed on the basis of the integrative Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Model. The study results showed that, on average, nurses’ positively evaluated their family nursing practices and the experiences of interaction with patients’ families. However, they also emphasized a number of challenges impeding their work.
The study reveals relevant issues in family nursing that future nurse practitioners (NPs) should be aware of. For instance, nurses who participated in the research frequently reported decreased family involvement in patient care and the negative impact of their misconceptions and cultural beliefs. The nurses also noted that family members might have difficulties understanding plans of care. Finally, another challenge is balancing high-quality family nursing care with the rest of the nurses’ workload. In brief, NPs should know of these problems and find ways to address them in their practice.
Okayama, T., Kinouchi, K., & Watanabe, H. (2019). The impact of mother-child dyad dietary intervention using the transtheoretical model on bone mineral density in Japanese female adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 50, 39-47. Web.
The article studies the effect of the dietary education program based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) on bone mineral density among Japanese female adolescents. The previous research revealed the efficiency of the TTM for dietary interventions but lacked data on the impact on bone mineral density. Insufficient bone mineral density can signal a high osteoporosis risk. As the peak bone mass (PBM) is reached by 18 years, it is important to conduct timely interventions among teenagers, including dietary ones. The researchers also emphasized the role of mothers in children’s nutritional habits and included them in their study. The intervention duration amounted to six months, an average bone remodeling period. The study’s results demonstrated the efficiency of dietary intervention based on the TTM for enhancing the bone mineral density in female adolescents and reducing the osteoporosis risk.
The major implication for nurse practitioners (NPs) is that the TTM is a suitable model for dietary interventions aimed at maintaining adequate bone mineral density. One should also note that mothers and other relatives in charge of children’s diet significantly promote healthy behaviors and habits. Thus, NPs should raise their consciousness of healthy diets and include them in dietary interventions as supporters of their children.
Wang, M.-Y., Shen, M.-J., Wan, L.-H., Mo, M.-M., Wu, Z., Li, L.-L., & Neidlinger, S. H. (2020). Effects of a comprehensive reminder system based on the Health Belief Model for patients who have had a stroke on health behaviors, blood pressure, disability, and recurrence from baseline to 6 months. The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 35(2), 156-164. Web.
The article studies the impact of a comprehensive reminder system based on the Health Belief Model (CRS-HBM) for maintaining and improving health behaviors and blood pressure among patients with hypertension after a stroke. CRS-HBM is a continuous and multi-intervention health education program that comprises telephone technology. It includes follow-up short message reminders, interviews, and calendar self-management. The previous research demonstrated CRS-HBM’s superiority in promoting health behavior in patients after three months from the discharge compared to general stroke education, and the present study extended the efficiency period to 6 months. The results demonstrated that CRS-HBM positively affects patients’ health behaviors and medication adherence and reduces blood pressure and disability. Moreover, CRS-HBM showed more positive trends than usual health education both in short- and long-term perspectives.
The article highlights the shortcomings of the usual health education compared to the CRS-HBM program, which has several implications for nurse practitioners (NPs). Firstly, health education often stops after discharge, and patients have no support in maintaining healthy behaviors. It is important to reconsider existing health education practices and adopt those that have a long-term effect. Secondly, NPs should not rely on patients’ recent experiences and fears to promote healthy habits, as it was proven ineffective in the long-term perspective. Contrastingly, programs based on the Health Belief Model imply establishing positive health beliefs that better impact the patients. Thus, NPs should promote follow-up interventions based on positive health beliefs, such as the CRS-HBM health education program.