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Biomedical subjects

B L Brush

Publications and source records attributed to B L Brush.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Historical analysis of siderail use in American hospitals.

PURPOSE: To explore the social, economic, and legal influences on siderail use in 20th century American hospitals and how use of siderails became embedded in nursing practice. DESIGN: Social historical research. METHODS: Numerous primary and secondary sources were collected and interpreted to illustrate the pattern of siderail use, the value attached to siderails, and attitudes about using siderails. FINDINGS: The persistent use of siderails in American hospitals indicates a gradual consensus between law and medicine rather than an empirically driven nursing intervention. Use of siderails became embedded in nursing practice as nurses assumed increasing responsibility for their actions as institutional employees. CONCLUSIONS: New federal guidelines, based on reports of adverse consequences associated with siderails, are limiting siderail use in hospitals and nursing homes across the United States. Lowering siderails and using alternatives will depend on new norms among health care providers, hospital administrators, bed manufacturers, insurers, attorneys, regulators, and patients and their families.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Forgiveness. A concept analysis.

This article provides an operational definition of forgiveness as a first step in the systematic analysis of the concept. Using the method described by Walker and Avant (1995), the authors identify the attributes and characteristics of forgiveness and its theoretical and practical implications for nursing. Sample cases from clinical practice help illustrate the concept further. Further nursing research needs to test the theoretical relationships between forgiveness and nursing practice outcomes.

Attitude↗
PubMed2001

Health and service utilization patterns among homeless men in transition: exploring the need for on-site, shelter-based nursing care.

Between September 1999 and May 2000, as part of a larger faculty/student teaching project, data describing the demographic, health problem and service utilization patterns of 183 newly sheltered homeless men (mean age = 42) seeking on-site nursing clinic services were collected and analyzed. Upon arrival to the transitional shelter, 46% of the study participants were medically uninsured or received state subsidized health benefits (49%). Almost all (99%) were in recovery from substance addiction. Despite numerous self-reported health problems, 44% had no primary care provider and 35% were seen only sporadically in local hospital clinics or in emergency departments. During the study period, nurse practitioner students and faculty managed most of the residents' episodic illnesses on-site, while assisting them to secure insurance coverage and medical appointments as a prelude to independent living. This was an attempt to curtail residents' previous pattern of waiting until medical problems became serious before seeking treatment. These findings mirrored those in studies of similar populations equating on-site delivery of health care to cost reduction. Unfortunately, many nurse-managed clinics, like our study site, fail to generate data supporting nurses' clinical efficiency and cost effectiveness in caring for homeless individuals. As such, nurses' work remains invisible and underappreciated. This article argues that future studies examining nurses' work and worth in caring for homeless individuals are necessary in determining future health care service planning with this vulnerable population.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Evaluating the spiritual perspectives of homeless men in recovery.

The purpose of this study was to describe the self-reported spiritual perspectives of 100 homeless male residents living in a communal shelter. The residents, in recovery from substance addiction, were asked to complete Reed's 10-item Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS) as part of their initial health database. Their responses were described within the context of their participation in 12-Step recovery programs, demographic characteristics, and perceived health status. Findings suggest that spirituality is an important health component for this population.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Assessing spirituality in primary care practice: is there time?

Over the past decade, increased attention has centered on the connection between spirituality and health. While there is general agreement that a balance of mind, body, and soul is necessary for the maintenance of health, many providers express discomfort in spiritual assessment and caregiving, citing lack of time, education, and spiritual self-awareness as key reasons. In response to these identified barriers to spiritual caregiving, faculty at the Boston College School of Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner Program designed a faculty-student practice whose focus is to integrate spiritual care into primary care practice. This article discusses the practice model and the process of preparing nurse practitioner (NP) students to assess patient spirituality within the context of a shifting care environment. It encourages all NPs to include spiritual assessment and care in daily practice.

Education, Nursing, Graduate↗
PubMed1999

The Expanded Care for Healthy Outcomes (ECHO) Project: addressing the spiritual care needs of homeless men in recovery.

As the nation's homeless population continues to rise, new practice models will need to address the specific health care needs of the homeless while providing cost-effective wellness-oriented quality care. This article describes the early development of one such model. The Expanded Care for Healthy Outcomes (ECHO) Project is an interdisciplinary curriculum/practice model that explores the vital intersection of spiritual and primary care in promoting health among homeless guests at the Pine Street Inn Nurses Clinics in Boston, Massachusetts. The authors describe the incorporation of spiritual assessment and care in clinical practice with homeless men to maximize patients' physical, psychosocial, and spiritual wellness.

Boston↗
PubMed1997

Professional autonomy: essential for nurse practitioner survival in the 21st century.

This article examines nurse practitioners' (NPs) professional autonomy as a critical component of future practice success and survival. Professional autonomy provides the basis for defining and negotiating NPs' work and worth in primary care. Outcome data and analyses that delineate the unique and overlapping practice roles and responsibilities of physicians and NPs will help determine the relative value of their work. Nurse practitioners practicing as physician "substitutes" risk professional survival. Nurse practitioners need to identify nursing as their practice paradigm and nurses as their professional identity.

Forecasting↗
PubMed1997

Reporting elder mistreatment.

Elder mistreatment, defined as the abuse and neglect of older persons, includes physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, caregiver and self-neglect, and financial exploitation. Fifty states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to establish adult protective service (APS) programs. State APS statutes authorize APS agencies to investigate cases of elder mistreatment. Some status fund services to alleviate the abusive or neglectful situation. This article analyzes the critical aspects of state-specific APS legislation affecting nursing practice with older adults and the nurse's role in reporting cases of elder mistreatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

The Rockefeller agenda for American/Philippines nursing relations.

The Philippines leads all countries in global nurse emigration. Today, Filipino nurses represent over 75% of the foreign nurse labor force recruited to and working in American hospitals, most of which are inner-city municipally operated institutions with reported shortages of nursing personnel. This article examines the historical roots of the American/Philippines nursing relationship more generally and the particular role of the Rockefeller Foundation in the 20th-century emigration patterns and work practices of Filipino nurses. Examination of one group of nurse workers enhances an understanding of the ways in which social, cultural, economic, and political factors influence broader health care decisions.

Emigration and Immigration↗
PubMed1995

Conflict and consensus in the International Council of Nurses.

In this article we argue that the International Council of Nurses' (ICN) identity changed in response to external pressure that took the form of particular moments of crisis. We address one of these crises, the expulsion of the South African Nurses' Association (SANA), as a case study in the politics of identity and consider its implications for the historical evolution of the ICN as an international organisation more generally.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The ICN story--1899-1999.

Despite wars, political and economic chaos and racial and religious strife the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has been held together for 100 years by a "special glue" concocted by dedicated nurses. Its ingredients: friendship, collegial support and enthusiasm. Today ICN is still thriving, leading and representing nurses from all over the world. Below, a part of its fascinating history based on Nurses of all Nations: A History of the International Council of Nurses, 1899-1999 to be published this Spring by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

History, 19th Century↗