| Factors Influencing Work Productivity and Intent of Nurses to Stay in Nursing |
Posted
08/04/2008
"There continues to be a
shortage of registered nurses
(RNs) with a possible predicted
short fall of 36% by 2020 (U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services [DHHS], 2006). Despite
recent improvements in the
hospital nursing short age, the
average hospital vacancy rate
for RNs in the United States is
8.5% to 14% with vacancy rates
of over 14% in medical-surgical
and critical care areas
(American Hospital Association
[AHA], 2004, 2006). Much of the
employment growth of RNs
employed in hospitals has been
in nurses over age 50 (Buerhaus,
Auerbach, & Staiger, 2007). How
ever, 49% of hospitals surveyed
stated it was more difficult to
recruit RNs in 2005 than it was
in 2004 (AHA, 2006). Hospital
nurse staffing is a concern
because of the effects a
shortage has on patient safety
and quality of care (Buerhaus,
Donelan, Ulrich, Norman, &
Dittus, 2005; Ulrich, Buerhaus,
Donelan, Norman, & Dittus,
2005).
An aging workforce has
contributed to the nursing
shortage in the United States.
The average age of a practicing
RN is currently 46.8 years
(Health Resources and Services
Administration [HRSA], 2004) and
it is predicted that by 2010
over 40% of the RN workforce
will be over age 50.
Nursing retention is directly
associated with job satisfaction
and workplace variables (Coomber
& Barriball, 2007; Ulrich et
al., 2005). Nursing is
inherently stressful. Job stress
can adversely affect employee
health and well-being as well as
worker turnover (Greiner,
Krause, Ragland, & Fisher, 2004;
Hall)
According to one estimate,
because of job stress, one in
five nurses plan to leave the
profession within the next 5
years, and almost 50% often
think about leaving (Federation
of Nurses and Health
Professionals, 2001). Job stress
is felt more severely by nurses
employed in the hospital setting
than in nurses employed outside
of hospital settings (Sveinsdottir,
Biering, & Ramel, 2006). The
effect of job stress on the
health of nurses is
under-appreciated."
For More
on This Study, Click Here:
Source: Medscape Nurses
______________________________
Is Parkinson's Disease affecting your life? Find information and resources on Parkinson's Disease:
Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
_______________________
Eye Exams-
What To Expect |
Even
if
you
have
perfect
sight,
you
need
regular
eye
exams
to
check
for
diseases
of
the
eye
and
changes
in
vision.
Here's
what
to
expect.
Source:
Mayo
Clinic
______________________________
| Lasik Eye Surgery: Alternative to Corrective Lenses |
Source: Mayo Clinic
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| The Importance of Keeping a Personal Medical Record |
Medical information is usually scattered in many different places. This video Web program tells you what you need to know to keep a personal health record.
View now>>>
|
| Coronary Disease Dulls Cognitive Skills |
July 23, 2008 (HealthDay News) --
"Men and women suffering from coronary heart disease seem to fare worse on measures of cognitive function.
And the longer the person had had heart disease, the worse the performance in such mental processes as reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency, according to a study in the July 23 issue of the European Heart Journal.
The research, however, had some limitations that may affect its value.
"It's a very well-designed study with a very large number of individuals, so they were able to appreciate small differences in cognitive function," said Dr. Kathryn J. Kotrla, chairwoman of psychiatry and behavioral science for the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "But they didn't control for some key variables such as alcohol and tobacco, which are well-known to impact blood vessel disease. Also depression, which is linked to both coronary heart disease and cognitive functioning."
"This makes the study tantalizing but incomplete," Kotrla added.
Previous studies have given conflicting results regarding the relationship between heart disease and cognitive function. Some have found coronary heart disease (CHD) to be a risk factor, while others have not.
According to the researchers, from University Hospital London and INSERM in France, this is the first large study to look at the association. And, previously, research had focused more on cerebrovascular disease (which includes stroke) rather than just CHD, even though CHD is responsible for most cardiovascular disease. That prior research had found a strong relationship between cerebrovascular disease and cognitive deficit and dementia.
The researchers looked at almost 6,000 British civil servants, aged 35 to 55 at the beginning of the project, taking part in a long-term study.
Both men and women with a history of CHD turned up lower scores for reasoning, vocabulary and overall cognitive function when compared with people who did not have CHD. Women had added problems in verbal fluency.
Men who experienced their first CHD more than a decade prior had even lower scores for reasoning, vocabulary and semantic fluency (categorizing words).
The risk of declining performance in the realm of reasoning went down by about 30 percent for every five years after a diagnosis of CHD.
Women with a longer history of CHD showed a trend for lower scores in semantic fluency, but the data here was based on a smaller number of people.
The authors don't yet know what the biological mechanisms behind this connection might be.
Also unclear from the study was how these changes in cognitive performance affected actual day-to-day function and quality of life, Kotrla said.
But the take-home message is still a familiar one: People should focus on preventing CHD by not smoking and avoiding or controlling diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. And the focus should start early, before it's too late."
SOURCES: Kathryn J. Kotrla, M.D., chairwoman, psychiatry and behavioral science, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and associate dean, health science center, Round Rock campus; European Heart Journal
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Are you or a loved one considering weight loss surgery? If so, make sure you know what not one, but four different experts have to say about the procedure.
|
| Soy Protein Doesn't Lower Cholesterol |
August 8, 2008
(HealthDay News) -- Eating foods with soy protein has been promoted as a way to lower cholesterol, but a new study finds it has no significant effect on cholesterol levels.
The findings "do not support the current health claims for soy protein in a general population," said study author Peter R.C. Howe, director of the Nutritional Physiology Research Centre at the Sansom Institute for Health Research at the University of South Australia in Adelaide.
He's referring to the health claims approved for soy foods in both the United States and the United Kingdom that link daily consumption of 25 grams of soy protein to a reduction in heart disease risk through a lowering of LDL, or "bad," cholesterol.
Howe's team studied 35 men and 58 women, average age 52, who had mildly high cholesterol levels. He assigned each participant to rotate through one of three diets for six weeks each. Each diet had varying amounts of soy protein and isoflavones, substances in soy that some experts say may have cholesterol-lowering powers.
One diet contributed 24 grams of soy protein and 71 milligrams of isoflavone equivalents, one had 12 grams of dairy protein and 12 of soy protein, with 76 milligrams of isoflavones. The dairy diet, which served as the control, had 24 grams of dairy protein without isoflavones.
Howe's team measured each person's blood cholesterol -- LDL, HDL and triglycerides -- at the start of the study and after each six-week diet.
They found no significant effect of the diets with either 24 grams or 12 grams of soy protein on LDL levels.
In his research, Howe also looked closely at whether a person's ability to maximize the body's response to soy protein had a better cholesterol-lowering effect. These people are termed "equol producers" because of their above-average ability to make equol, a substance produced in the intestines as a metabolite of a potent soy isoflavone called daidzen. Equol is thought to inhibit LDL.
When Howe compared the cholesterol-lowering effects of those who were equol producers with those who were not, he found no differences.
Howe's study was confined to those with mildly high cholesterol; he said it may have an effect on those with higher cholesterol levels. And the soy diets did lower triglycerides, a blood fat, by 4 percent.
The findings were published in the August issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Even though the study found no effect of the soy protein on LDL cholesterol, Dr. Frank Sacks, a professor of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, called the research interesting. One facet he finds especially intriguing, he said, is the finding that equol producers have no benefit either.
After a series of studies on soy and its effect on cholesterol, the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee, of which Sacks is vice-chairman, reviewed the evidence and issued an advisory, saying there is "nothing special" about soy or isoflavones for improving cholesterol and that the heart association doesn't recommend isoflavone supplements.
However, "there are other benefits to soy foods," Sacks said. They are healthy due to high levels of polyunsaturated fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals. But, he added, "forget soy protein for lowering LDL."
SOURCES: Frank Sacks, M.D., vice chairman, American Heart Association Nutrition committee, and professor, nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston; Peter R.C. Howe, professor, and director, Nutritional Physiology Research Centre, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide; August 2008, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
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