Gordon, Shirley C.

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between mental, physical, and social activity, and episodic memory (EM) of cognitively intact older persons. The specific aims were (a) to describe the relationship between EM and mental, physical, and social activity, (b) to describe the role of gender, marital status, and race on EM, (c) to describe the moderating effects of each activity on the relationship between each of the remaining two activities and EM, and (d) to describe the moderating effects of gender, marital status, and race on the relationship between each activity and EM. Two theoretical frameworks: Cognitive Reserve Theory (Stern, 2002) and Theory of Nursing as Caring (Boykin & Schoenhofer, 1993) guided the study.
This study was designed as a correlational and retrospective secondary analysis of data sets from the Health and Retirement Study. The sample consisted of 3,903 cognitively intact persons who were 50 years and older and completed immediate and delayed recall tests in the 2016 HRS and the 2015 Consumptions and Activities Mail Survey. Descriptive statistics included the means for age: 67 (SD 9.54), education:13.85 (SD 5.89), and total cognition 16.86 (SD 3.11). The sample was predominantly Caucasian (78.3%), female (59.8%), and married (60.9%).

Low back pain (LBP) can be debilitating and result in decreased mobility and reduced quality of life. This paper describes a quality improvement project focusing on managing LBP using an evidenced-based, multimodal approach. The multimodal approach included physical therapy combined with an analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory medication for pain that provide different mechanisms of action. The selected population were patients who presented with low back pain in a primary care setting. The participants attended physical therapy for four weeks while taking an individualized, prescribed medication regimen based on pain rating scores and LBP physical assessment. On the follow-up evaluation, all participants reported reduced pain and 67% demonstrated a decrease of three or more points on the Wong FACES Pain Rating Scale, an increase of five or more points on the Quality of Life Scale, and an increase of five or more points on the Back Pain Function Scale from pre to post intervention. The primary goal of this quality improvement project was to implement and evaluate an evidence-based, multimodal treatment approach to improve health outcomes for persons experiencing LBP. Multimodal LBP management lead to decreased pain, increased mobility, and an increase in the overall quality of life for patients.

The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), quality improvement project was to assist participants in the management of their type 2 diabetes through the use an evidencebased Whole-Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) diet approach. The project described the effectiveness of individual WFPB instruction and counseling. Following recruitment, the participant attended weekly dietary counseling sessions focused on incorporating a WFPB diet over a 6-week period. The participant completed the 16-item food intake questionnaire (16-FIQ) pre- and post-dietary counseling along with HgbA1c measurements during the project period. Post dietary counseling resulted in an increase in the participant’s HgbA1c from 8.1% to 8.9%, but the participants showed significant health behavior change as measured in the pre- and post-intervention 16 FIQ. The participant chose less animal-based products and substituted plant-based food choices post dietary counseling. Even though the participant’s HgbA1c showed no improvement, the participant demonstrated increase awareness regarding daily dietary decisions resulting in an increase in plant-based food consumption. Knowledge gained will be used to improve treatment recommendations for persons receiving care for type 2 diabetes at a volunteer primary care clinic in Southeast Florida.

Introduction: Organ transplant recipients experience a tumultuous range of emotions and
feelings post transplant. Expressing these feelings and seeking support is an important aspect of
the healing journey. The power of story as a healing modality is well documented in the nursing
literature. Social media sites provide one such avenue for healing and support. Purpose: To
address the void in nursing literature regarding how social media sites are used by transplant
recipients for support and healing, and discover if internet postings provide rich qualitative data.
Method: A descriptive qualitative methodology was used for this pilot. The six-step method of
thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to identify and analyze detailed themes and
patterns within the data using NVivo 10 (©QSR) software. Results: Four major themes were
explicated from the data: Sharing Overwhelming Gratitude, Revealing Intimate Connections,
Finding Sanctuary, and Yearning To Be Heard. Discussion: Knowledge generated by this pilot
study contributes to what is known about the emotional and psychological needs of this growing
patient population. Postings to the transplant-related website revealed an openness to share
experiences and a true sense of community where members reached out for and gave support to
each other. Implications for Nursing Research and Practice: Community websites offer a source
of rich qualitative data to support nursing research. Holistic patient support programs that
recognize the physical and emotional aspects of post-transplant living and care are warranted.

An increasing number of individuals are looking for health information,
interacting with health care providers, and participating in health-related online support
groups The virtual landscape of the internet offers the opportunity for individuals to
establish contact and relationships with persons having similar health concerns anywhere,
anytime The phenomenon of health-related social media use generated an interest in why
persons in the transplant journey chose to participate in an online support community,
how they interacted and made use of the online community, and how this knowledge
could assist nursing in improving care for this growing population A six month sample
of internet postings from an international transplant-related social media site was
analyzed using an inductive qualitative content analysis adapted from Graneheim and
Lundman (2003) within the theoretical lens of Unitary Caring Science (Smith, 1999) The
study provided a unique perspective of how members used the social media support group The synthesis of four pandimensional interconnected patterns, expressing
emotions, sharing experiences, exchanging information, and offering reciprocal support
lead to a theme of being known and understood Healing transcendence emerged as a
unitary transformative metatheme that reflected the holistic nature of the member
interaction in the online support experience

Little is known about breast health behaviors in Afro-Caribbean women (ACW) residing in the United States, as they are often included in the collective group of African American women (AAW). The objective of this study was to determine the influence of a spiritually-guided intervention on breast health self-care (BHSC) attitudes in ACW residing in southeastern Florida using a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design. One hundred and seventeen women were recruited from three local south Florida Caribbean churches. Inclusion criteria included: (a) self-identification as Afro-Caribbean, (b) female aged 30 years or older, (c) living in the United States for at least 1 year, (d) able to provide informed consent, (e) able to speak and read English at the 8th grade level, and (f) no previous history of breast cancer.