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Posts from the ‘Featured Articles’ Category

Oct 3

Revisioning Obesity


The current ANS featured article is titled “Revisioning Obesity in Health Care Practice and Research: New Perspectives on the Role of Body Temperature” authored by Mary Madeline Rogge, PhD, RN, FNP, BC; and Bibha Gautam, PhD, RN, CNE. While it is featured you can download the article at no cost! Here is some background that Dr. Rogge shared for ANS readers:

Mary Madeline Rogge

Our area of interest is obesity, especially the problem of obesity recidivism.  Intensive efforts to promote healthy eating and higher physical activity, alone or in conjunction with pharmacologic agents or surgical interventions, have failed to quell obesity prevalence. Furthermore, decades of research have shown weight loss produced by a negative energy balance, or caloric intake below energy expenditure, is attended by a reduction in the basal metabolic rate that suppresses further weight loss and promotes fat recovery.  This annoying but consistent outcome suggests to us that obesity may serve a functional, protective function.  Furthermore, if excess fat serves a functional purpose, losing weight in obesity that does not resolve the underlying environmental stimulus may exacerbate the biological drive to gain more fat.  Based on this framework, we surveyed the literature in search of antecedents or precursors of weight gain, adipogenesis, or increased fat mass that could explain intractable obesity.

Our research revealed that a major function of adipose tissue is maintenance of core body temperature, and the body’s temperature regulation is highly integrated with body mass and energy expenditure.  White adipose tissue reduces heat loss through the skin, while brown adipose tissue dissipates or disperses heat.  Increasing body temperature activates temperature-sensitive hypothalamic receptors to reduce food intake and simultaneously stimulates brown adipose tissue energy dispersal.  Hypothalamic detection of cooler body temperature stimulates food consumption and lowers energy expenditure.

Other research shows normal body temperature in Americans has declined in men and women over the past century, which could explain the concomitant rise in the population’s adiposity.  Increased exposure to air-conditioning also corresponds to the acceleration of obesity rates during the same time frame.  We also found research that demonstrates exposure to whole-body warm ambient temperature is associated with fat loss in human subjects.

We conclude declining core body temperature and lower ambient temperature may be an important contributor to intractable obesity.  Revisioning clinical obesity as a problem of adaptation to pervasive low ambient temperature offers a new perspective for obesity research and management. 

Sep 24

Prenatal Primary Nursing Care in a Context of Vulnerability


Our current featured ANS article is titled “The Prenatal Primary Nursing Care Experience of Pregnant
Women in Contexts of Vulnerability: A Systematic Review With Thematic Synthesis” authored by Émilie Hudon, MSc, RN; Catherine Hudon, MD, PhD; Maud-Christine Chouinard, PhD, RN; Sarah Lafontaine, PhD, RN; Louise Catherine de Jordy, MSc, RN; and Édith Ellefsen, PhD, RN. The article is “open access” and available to download on the ANS website. Émilie Hudon shares this background about her work:

Émilie Hudon

My research interests focus primarily on pregnant women in vulnerable contexts and prenatal nursing care. Soon, I will be submitting my doctoral dissertation, a descriptive and interpretative qualitative study aimed at better understanding the prenatal nursing care experience of pregnant women in vulnerable contexts. The experience of prenatal nursing follow-up has a significant influence on women’s use of health services. The nurse’s pregnancy follow-up can contribute to preventing health complications for both the mother and the fetus. In my doctoral project, I identified the factors influencing the experience of prenatal nursing care for these women, the way in which the relationship between the pregnant women and the nurse influences the experience of prenatal nursing care, as well as avenues for improving the prenatal nursing care experience of pregnant women in vulnerable contexts.

Sep 15

Living with HIV/AIDS & Diabetes during COVID-19


The current ANS featured article is titled “Self-management of the Dual Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and Diabetes During COVID-19: A Qualitative Study” by Julie A. Zuñiga, PhD; Heather E. Cuevas, PhD; Kristian Jones, PhD; Kristine Adiele; Lauren Cebulske; Livia Frost; Siddhaparna Sannigrahi, BS; Alexandra A. García, PhD, RN, FAAN; and Elizabeth M. Heitkemper, PhD, RN. The article is free to download while it is featured and we welcome your comments and responses here! Dr. Zuñiga sent this message about her work for ANS readers:

Julie A. Zuñiga

My area of research is HIV self-management and HIV prevention in under-represented communities. I recently completed an NIH-funded mixed methods study of people with the dual diagnosis of HIV and diabetes to explore self-management barriers and facilitators for both conditions.  From the findings, we extrapolated that social determinants of health were more influential in this population than in people living with HIV only. In the context of Covid, it became easier for some people to engage in some diabetes management behaviors during the lock down period. With the stigma of blood and HIV, it can be uncomfortable for people with the dual diagnosis of HIV and diabetes to test blood sugar outside of their homes or around others. My current study continues the stigma and discrimination research umbrella with a focus on barriers, facilitators, and preferences for HIV prevention in the transgender and gender expansive community.

Sep 3

Coaching for Childbearing Health


The current ANS featured article is titled “Coaching for Childbearing Health: A Theory Synthesis” authored by Jennifer M. Ohlendorf, PhD, RN and Lisa Anders, PhD, RN, IBCLC. This article is available at no cost from the ANS website while it is featured! Here is a message from Dr. Ohlendorf about the importance of this work:

One of the highest priorities of nursing and advanced nursing practice is health promotion, specifically health behavior change.  Over the past 20 years, the science of health behavior change has developed into the science of self-management—because most of the actual “doing” of health promotion is comprised of daily choices made by people in the midst of their complicated lives.   What this means is that providers must find effective ways to use the limited time they have with patients to influence health behaviors people may engage in in their daily lives.

In my work, I am interested in patient-centric approaches to making physical activity and nourishing eating behaviors part of the perinatal transition.   Transitions are periods of disorganization, followed by a process of engagement in the life change, and then a period of reorganization.  The way the transition unfolds results in a person having achieved a new identity.  Nursing interventions aimed at key timepoints–taking into account the context of the person’s life–to promote positive self-management can result in the person having incorporated health behaviors as part of this new identity. 

This article presents a model that can be used during perinatal care visits to engage in goal setting and planning with pregnant people to promote physical activity and nourishing eating behaviors.   The Coaching for Childbearing Health (CoaCH) Model incorporates salient concepts from Ryan and Sawin’s Individual and Family Self Management Theory (2009) and from Meleis’s Transitions Theory (2000), along with qualitative data women shared as part of a goal-setting intervention during pregnancy.  The qualitative data was keyThe resulting model can be used to design context-appropriate interventions nurses could use in prenatal practice to promote healthy behaviors across the perinatal transition.

This model has already been used to design a coaching intervention and feasibility testing is complete for the intervention. Next steps are to work with our clinical partners to begin a full-scale trial so that, in the future, this coaching can be implemented by nurses in perinatal practice to partner with people who are pregnant or postpartum to develop sustainable, healthy behaviors.

Aug 26

2 Comments

Power and Privilege in Interpersonal Communication


The current ANS featured article, available to download at no cost, is titled “Power and Privilege: A Critical Analysis of Interpersonal Communication in Health Care as a Guide for Oncology Patient Navigation in Breast Cancer Care“, authored by Sarah F. Gallups, PhD, MPH, RN; Deborah Ejem, PhD, MA; and Margaret Q. Rosenzweig, PhD, CRNP-C, AOC,NP, FAAN. The following is a message from Dr. Gallups about this work:

Sarah Frazier Gallups

Communication is a core competency in oncology care and a heavily discussed topic for healthcare professionals. Additionally, much of this information and research is applied broadly and in many different contexts. During my PhD program, I started taking classes and learning more about Critical Race Theory and Feminist theories. It made me start to question whether important voices were being left out of oncology care conversations, particularly those related to interpersonal communication. When I started this critical concept analysis, I intended to focus solely on looking at interpersonal communication through a critical lens specific to oncology care. However, the lack of literature analyzing the intersections of race, class and gender in health communication is vast. I hope that this article not only highlights that gap but also emphasizes the many areas and opportunities that exist for enhancing our communication to promote more equity in oncology care and considering a wider frame in our traditional conceptualizations related to health communication.

Aug 10

Exploring the Accuracy of Cited References


The current featured ANS article is titled “Exploring the Accuracy of Cited References in a Selected Data Set of Nursing Journal Articles” authored by Leslie H. Nicoll, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN; Marilyn H. Oermann, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN; Heather Carter-Templeton, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN; Jordan Wrigley, MSLS, MA; and Jacqueline K. Owens, PhD, RN, CNE. Head on over to the ANS website and download this article while it is featured and share your comments here. Dr. Nicoll shared this message about this project:

Leslie H. Nicoll

I heard Karin Kirchhoff speak at a conference almost 40 years ago on the topic of accuracy of reference in nursing journals. This topic has been on my mind ever since and I have always used her original research as a benchmark for accuracy. Our study shows that accuracy has improved dramatically over the past four decades. We found low error rates overall and only 1.3% of references (8 out of 666) could not be retrieved at all. I attribute much of this change to electronic resources for searching, retrieval, and reference management, at both the local and global level. This is a very positive finding.

One thing that struck me, as I sorted through and carefully looked at actual citations, is how little the format has changed, even though the type and location of sources has changed dramatically. APA style was first introduced in 1929 and at that time they asked for the author name(s), article title, journal title, year, volume, and page numbers. At that time, those guidelines probably sufficed for the vast majority of citations, except for maybe the occasional dissertation or reference to a legal citation. Now, almost 100 years later we are basically using the same format, with the addition of the DOI. However, how and where we retrieve information is vastly different. Print journals are no longer the norm; in fact, it is probably safe to say that journal articles are no longer the primary source for information. They share the stage with reports, white papers, policy briefs, legislative documents, blogs, dissertations, fugitive literature and more. Does this 100 year old APA format really work to provide accurate and concise information to retrieve a citation anymore? Maybe it is time to rethink what exactly needs to be included in a citation and make it as streamlined and versatile as possible. Scholars, authors, and students need to be able to move beyond styling references as part of their authorial activity. It’s tedious and time consuming and at this point, provides very little added value. Time to call for a reference citation revolution!

Aug 5

1 Comment

Defining Characteristics of Reviews of Literature


ANS 45:3 has just been published, and the first featured article is titled “Reviews of Literature in Nursing Research: Methodological Considerations and Defining Characteristics” authored by Amina Regina Silva, MN; Maria Itayra Padilha, PhD; Stefany Petry, MN; Vanessa Silva E Silva, PhD; Kevin Woo, PhD; Jacqueline Galica, PhD; Rosemary Wilson, PhD; and Marian Luctkar-Flude, PhD. This article is free to download while it is featured, and leave your comments here for what can be a lively discussion! Here is a message from lead author Amina Silva:

Amina Regina Silva

Literature reviews have been increasing in popularity among nurse researchers. Still, despite the availability of guidelines about the different types of reviews, the identification of the best approach is not always clear for scholars. In this paper we add to the existing literature through providing a comprehensive guide to be used by healthcare and nursing researchers while choosing among four popular types of reviews (narrative, integrative, scoping and systematic), including a descriptive discussion, philosophical underpinnings, critical analysis and decision map tree.

Jun 27

Promoting Cancer Screening


The current ANS featured article is titled “A Critique of the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Cancer
Screening Domain” authored by Jinghua An, MSN, RN and Catherine Vincent, PhD, RN, both at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. The article is available for download at no cost while it is featured. Here is a message that Jinghua An provided about this work.

Jinghua An

As a nurse, are you involved in promoting cancer screening participation in your community? Early cancer detection is key to improving patients’ chance of survival. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), one of the most frequently applied behavioral theories, has been used to understand, predict, and change cancer screening–related behaviors. In this paper, we applied Fawcett and DeSanto-Madeya’s 2013 framework for analysis and evaluation of nursing theory to critique the TPB from a nursing perspective.

We systematically analyzed and evaluated the TPB to identify its contributions to and usefulness in cancer screening research and practice. The TPB is philosophically congruent with the nursing metaparadigm. The logical congruence between the TPB and the nursing discipline provides the basis for nurses to consider the TPB as a shared theory. The propositions of the TPB could provide information about the individual, interpersonal, social, and environmental determinants of health behavior. Thus, the TPB is applicable in diverse nursing practice situations and settings. It could have profound theoretical significance on nursing if researchers better integrated research findings within the nursing discipline.
The predictive validity of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control for intention and behavior has generally been supported in empirical studies. Nevertheless, inconsistencies and gaps exist between empirical data and the theory, particularly with respect to the multiplicative combination rule, intention as a mediator of the effects of attitude and subjective norm on behavior, and the moderation effects of perceived behavioral control. Methodologically sound empirical studies are called for to test these theory propositions.

In addition, the TPB’s utility for developing interventions to promote behavioral change in the cancer screening domain requires further empirical testing. Specifically, future research should provide details of the mechanism of change, the intervention characteristics, and the corresponding theory elements (either from the current TPB or an expanded TPB that integrates other theories). Finally, we believe that translational studies are needed to evaluate the theory’s pragmatic adequacy for promoting cancer screening in nursing practice. 

Jun 17

The Collision of Caring and Carceral Institutions


Our current ANS featured article is titled “Gender Influences in the Intersection of Acute Care: Registered Nurses and Law Enforcement – The Collision of Caring and Carceral Institutions” authored by Danisha Jenkins, PhD, RN; Candace Burton, PhD, RN and Dave Holmes, PhD, RN, FAAN, FCAN. We invite you to download the article while it is featured, and share your comments here! Dr. Jenkins shared this information about this work:

Danisha Jenkins

Over a decade ago, when working as a nurse in a detention center for children and adolescents, I was first introduced to my position in the intersection of nursing and law enforcement. I saw the ways in which nursing practice and ethics were deformed and often made impossible, when working within carceral walls. My heart was broken. I committed at that point to study and make visible this terrifying phenomenon I was participating in; one in which nurses became tentacles of a system causing unfathomable harm. As I continued my work in trauma and critical care, I continued to witness the carceral influence that pervaded in the acute care setting, particularly in the care of some of our most marginalized and at-risk communities. Today, as legislation is introduced such as requiring nurses to report patients and families for seeking such medical services as gender affirming and reproductive care, nurses increasingly must grapple with their role and interactions with law enforcement and the prison industry. This manuscript is one in a series that reports on a study titled “Care Incarcerated: The Intersection of Nurses and Law Enforcement in the Acute Care Setting”. We hope to strengthen insight and understanding as to the complexities, challenges, and dangers inherent to the intersection of these “caring” and “carceral” institutions.

Jun 7

Art Making as Health Intervention


The current ANS featured article is titled “Art Making as a Health Intervention: Concept Analysis and Implications for Nursing Interventions” by Kyung Soo Kim, PhD, RN and Maichou Lor, PhD, RN. You can download this article at no cost while it is featured! Here is a message sent by D. Kim about this work:

Kyung Soo Kim

Hello, my name is Kyung Soo Kim, a junior nurse researcher at the University of Iowa, College of Nursing. My program of research focuses on chronic pain in older persons and chronic pain management using art making intervention. I am currently designing an art making intervention using visual art making activities for older persons with chronic pain. If you want to know more about and/or you are interested in my research, please contact me (kyungsoo-kim@uiowa.edu)! I am delighted to introduce my recent article entitled, “Art Making as a Health Intervention: Concept Analysis and Implications for Nursing Interventions”.

Art making has been adopted across multiple disciplines as a health intervention. However, our understanding of art making as a health intervention and how it differs from art therapy is limited. Therefore, we conducted a concept analysis to better understand art making as a health intervention guided by Walker and Avant’s approach. In this article, we reviewed 85 studies and found four defining attributes, four antecedents, and physical and psychological consequences. In addition to these findings, we provided several nursing research and practical implications for nurse researchers and clinicians to aid in designing and implementing art making as a health intervention.

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