PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Mikki Meadows-Oliver

Publications and source records attributed to Mikki Meadows-Oliver.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Nurses' response to pain communication from patients: a post-test experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate communication about pain can result in increased pain for patients. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the current pilot study was to test how nurses respond when patients use their own words, a pain intensity scale, or both to communicate pain. DESIGN: A post-test only experimental design was used with three pain description conditions, personal and numeric; personal only; numeric only. SETTING: The setting included six hospitals and one school of nursing located in the northeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS included 122 registered medical surgical nurses. METHODS: Nurses were randomly assigned to condition, and read a vignette about a trauma patient with moderately severe pain. The vignettes were identical except for the patient's pain description and age. The nurses then wrote how they would respond to the patient's pain. Two blind raters content analyzed the responses, giving nurses one point for including each of six a priori criteria derived from the Acute Pain Management Panel [1992. Acute Pain Management: operative or medical procedures and trauma. Clinical practice guideline (AHCPR Publication No. 92-0032)., Rockville, MD, USA] and the American Pain Society [2003. Principles of analgesic use in the treatment of acute pain and cancer pain, Glenville, IL, USA]. RESULTS: Nurses planned similar numbers of pain management strategies across the three conditions, with a mean of 2.1 (SD=1.14) strategies out of the recommended six. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses did not respond with more pain management strategies when patients describe pain in their own words, or in their own words and a pain intensity scale. The relatively small number of pain management strategies planned by the nurses suggests that nurses use few strategies to respond to moderately severe pain problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Homeless adolescent mothers: a metasynthesis of their life experiences.

The purpose of this article was to synthesize the findings of six qualitative studies on homeless adolescent mothers. Metasynthesis was conducted using the meta-ethnographic approach of Noblit and Hare [Noblit, G., & Hare, R. (1988). Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications]. Six reciprocal translations illuminating the experiences of homeless adolescent mothers emerged: being homeless, enduring abuse, lamenting lost years, searching for support, recreating self, and seeking a better life. The findings may be used by nurses working with this population as the basis for a framework of intervention strategies directed toward helping these mothers cope with their dual transitions into motherhood and adulthood while simultaneously being homeless.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Social support among homeless and housed mothers: an integrative review.

Homelessness has been associated with levels of stress beyond the normal strain of living in poverty. For mothers who are homeless, support from their social networks may provide a buffer from some of the stresses associated with being homeless. To better understand the relationship between social support and female-headed homeless families, an integrative review was conducted of 12 research articles that compare social support among low-income housed mothers and homeless mothers, using guidelines set forth by Ganong. The included studies revealed four significant attributes of social support among housed and homeless mothers: size of the social support network; composition of the social support network; contacts with members of the social support network; and perceived support from members of the social support network. Nurses who work with homeless families are in a position to help develop ways for these families to cultivate and maintain their social support networks while homeless. Nurses can be available to offer support, including the necessary mental health services or referrals.

Ill-Housed Persons↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Barriers to effective pediatric asthma care.

Although progress has been made in understanding the pathophysiology of asthma and identifying key features of quality asthma care, the prevalence of childhood asthma remains high. Barriers to effective asthma care that currently exist include the persistence of environmental risk factors, disparities in care that stem from poverty and cultural differences, and inconsistencies in the quality of asthma care provided by clinicians. Pediatric nurse practitioners at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital have actively implemented the recommended guidelines for asthma care and addressed causes for some of the disparities in asthma health care. Two major initiatives are described: the Asthma Care Coordination Project at Yale New Haven Hospital Pediatric Primary Care Center, and the establishment of an Asthma Outreach Program. Recommended resources and Web sites for the practitioner are also provided.

Anti-Asthmatic Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mothering in public: a meta-synthesis of homeless women with children living in shelters.

ISSUES AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the current qualitative literature on homeless women with children living in shelters. METHODS: Eighteen qualitative studies on homeless women with children living in shelters were included in the synthesis. The meta-synthesis was conducted using the meta-ethnographic approach of Noblit and Hare (1988). RESULTS: Six reciprocal translations (themes) of homeless mothers caring for their children in shelters emerged: On becoming homeless, protective mothering, loss, stressed and depressed, survival strategies, and strategies for resolution. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The results may be used by healthcare workers as a framework for developing intervention strategies directed toward helping mothers find new solutions to dealing with shelter living and innovative ways to resolve their homelessness.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inpatient asthma clinical pathways for the pediatric patient: an integrative review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is one of the most prevalent childhood chronic illnesses in the United States leading to nearly 190,000 pediatric hospitalizations yearly. In response to the increasing number of children with asthma being hospitalized, some institutions have developed and implemented clinical pathways and are now reporting their findings in the literature. The purpose of this paper was to conduct an integrative literature review of studies using an inpatient clinical pathway for the management of pediatric asthma. METHOD: Five research-based articles evaluating clinical pathways for the management of inpatient pediatric asthma were included in this review. The integrative review was conducted using the guidelines set forth by Ganong (1987). RESULTS: The results revealed that clinical pathways appear to be effective in reducing length of stay and hospital costs associated with inpatient pediatric asthma. The pathways were not as effective in reducing readmission rates or affecting clinical outcomes for patients such as increasing asthma education, the use of controller medications, spacers, and peak flow meters. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Although the pathways are effective in reducing hospitalization costs associated with asthma, there was little reported improvement in clinical outcomes. Nurses should ensure that each pediatric asthma hospitalization provides an opportunity to promote education about asthma. This approach may lead to decreased asthma admissions and increased self and family management of pediatric asthma. Future research should focus on the clinical outcomes of patients using the inpatient pathways and also on the development of pathways to be used in outpatient settings that manage pediatric asthma.

Asthma↗