Brief Motivational Intervention to Increase Self-reported Safety Belt Use among Emergency Department Patients

Objectives:  Brief motivational interventions have shown promise in reducing harmful behaviors. The authors tested an intervention to increase safety belt use (SBU) among emergency department (ED) patients.
Methods:  From February 2006 to May 2006, the authors conducted a randomized trial of adult ED patients at a teaching hospital in Boston. ED patients were systematically sampled for self-reported SBU. Those with SBU other than "always" were asked to participate. At baseline, participants answered a 9-item series of situational SBU questions, each scored on a 5-point Likert scale. SBU was defined as a continuous variable (9-item average) and as a dichotomous variable (response of "always" across all items). Participants were randomized to an intervention or a control group. The intervention group received a 5- to 7-minute intervention, adapted from classic motivational interviewing techniques, by a trained interventionist. Participants completed a 3-month follow-up phone survey to determine changes from baseline SBU. Continuous and dichotomous SBU were analyzed via analysis of covariance and chi-square testing.
Results:  Of 432 eligible patients, 292 enrolled (mean age 35 years, standard deviation [SD] ±11 years; 61% male). At baseline, the intervention and control groups had similar mean (±SD) SBU scores (2.8 [±1.1] vs. 2.6 [±1.1], p = 0.31) and SBU prevalence (each 0%). At 3 months, 81% completed follow-up. The intervention group had significantly greater improvement in mean (±SD) SBU scores than controls (0.76 [±0.91] vs. 0.34 [±0.88], p < 0.001). Also, SBU prevalence of "always" was higher for the intervention group than controls (14.4% vs. 5.9%, p = 0.03).
Conclusions:  Participants receiving a brief motivational intervention reported higher SBU at follow-up compared to controls. An ED-based intervention may be useful to increase SBU.     

Improving care for orthopaedic patients undergoing surgery for hip fracture and total knee replacement through best practice

As one of Canada’s largest community hospitals with several renowned regional and ambulatory programs, Trillium Health Centre is a leading health care facility in the country. The following article reports the way in which nurses, allied health professionals, managers, and physicians successfully challenged their working practices and achieved greater outcomes for orthopaedic patients, staff and the organization. Two practice improvement studies concerning surgery for hip fracture and total knee replacement are described in essence.     

An Analysis of the Nursing Diagnosis Ineffective Management of Therapeutic Regimen Compared to Noncompliance and Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing

The authors compare the nursing diagnosis ineffective management of therapeutic regimen with that of noncompliance and with Orem's concept of self-care deficit. The article describes how the diagnosis of ineffective management of therapeutic regimen is more comprehensive than noncompliance. A question of patient autonomy is raised considering how the patient manages his or her therapeutic regimen. The major conclusion is that the nursing diagnosis of ineffective management of therapeutic regimen is based on continuous interaction between patient and nurse. The authors recommend that noncompliance be eliminated as a nursing diagnosis.     

Accuracy of arrhythmia recognition in paramedic treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia: : A ten-year review

Objectives

To examine trends in paramedic rhythm misidentification rates in the use of adenosine for presumed paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) over a ten-year period, and to determine variables associated with rhythm misidentification.

Methods

The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of all cases in which paramedics treated presumed PSVT with adenosine from 1993 to 2002. Rhythm strips were categorized as narrow or wide-complex and regular or irregular. Appropriate use of adenosine was defined as narrow-complex regular tachycardia with no visible P waves and rate greater than 140 beats/min.

Results

The authors studied 224 patients with a mean age of 60 years (range, 15-94 years); 157 (70%) were female and predominantly white. The majority (54%) of patients had initial heart rates of 161-200 beats/min. Forty-nine percent of the patients had a previous history of PSVT. Inappropriate use of adenosine occurred in 45 (20%) cases. Misidentification rates per year ranged from 9% to 31% with the lowest rate occurring after a targeted education program on tachydysrhythmias. An initial heart rate of <160 beats/min (χ² = 14.81, p<0.001) and absence of a medical history of either fast heart rate or palpitations (χ² = 11.35, p = 0.001) were associated with inappropriate use of adenosine.

Conclusion

Paramedics in this emergency medical services system are more likely to use adenosine appropriately for patients with initial heart rates of >160 beats/min and a history of rapid heart rate or palpitations. Further studies are required to identify factors associated with rhythm interpretation errors in the prehospital setting as well as to evaluate error reduction strategies.     

An Eating Disorders Prevention Program

PROBLEM. To develop, implement, and evaluate a school personnel training program on eating disorders.
METHODS. The pretest-posttest control group design zuas used to examine effects of this training with 117 high school personnel. Both experimental ( n = 85) and control ( n = 32) groups were given a pretest and a posttest on knowledge and attitudes. The experimental group participated in a training program. Both groups zuere asked to keep a 3-month count of students at risk for eating disorders.
FINDINGS. Results included a significant difference in knowledge between the experimental and control groups. School personnel in the experimental group were more likely to identify students at risk for developing eating disorders.
CONCLUSIONS. Training school personnel to identify students at risk for eating disorders holds promise as a strategy for dealing with this disease. All at-risk students for eating disorders should be further evaluated and additional treatment initiated as needed.