Birth, Postpartum, and Home Experiences of Individuals With Lower Extremity Nerve Injury

OBJECTIVE

To explore birth and at-home postpartum experiences of individuals with lower extremity nerve injury (LENI) related to childbirth.

DESIGN

Mixed-methods, descriptive, cross-sectional survey with open-ended questions.

SETTING

Closed Facebook support group.

PARTICIPANTS

Two hundred-thirty individuals who experienced LENI during childbirth.

MEASUREMENTS

Two research team members developed the online LENI survey that incorporated suggestions from LENI support group leaders. We used descriptive statistics, linear regression, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves to summarize the quantitative data and used content analysis for open-ended items.

RESULTS

We described labor, birth, and postpartum characteristics in our sample, including immediate and long-term LENI symptoms. Falls resulting from LENI were common in the hospital (55.6%) and at home (75.6%). At discharge home, respondents reported low confidence in their ability to care for themselves and their infants as well as high levels of dependence on others. There was an 89.6% prevalence of depression in the first month at home. Approximately 80% of participants rated their degree of healing at 5 years as 80% to 100% healed. Content analysis yielded six themes: (a) Grieving Loss of Current and Future Life; (b) Caregiver Responses That Helped or Hindered; (c) Being in Danger; (d) Experiencing Emotional Turmoil; (e) Dealing With Family, Marital, and Financial Difficulties; and (f) Finding Strength, Overcoming Obstacles, and Experiencing Personal Growth.

CONCLUSION

Participants in our sample reported a very high rate of falls, anxiety, and depression at home. Nurses should recognize LENI symptoms, take action to prevent falls, and offer accurate information and referrals.

Exploring Meditation Profiles and Predictors in Nursing Students

Background: Nursing students face unique academic and clinical workloads linked to increased stress. Previous studies indicate formal and informal mindfulness meditation provide stress-reducing benefits. This practice aligns with holistic nursing core values of self-care and self-reflection; little is known about meditation practice in nursing students. Objectives: Our study aimed to describe meditation practice and predictors in pre-licensure nursing students. Design: Cross-sectional, multi-site. Methods: Qualtrics surveys queried individual demographics, personal meditation and exercise habits, and indicators of wellbeing. Results: Of 417 participants, 65% (n  =  271) reported at least one type of meditation practice. Prayer/spiritual activities were most prevalent (almost 70%), followed by breathing exercises (41%). Meditators reported good or excellent self-rated health status or engaged in exercise (p < .05). Meditators also reported more self-compassion, happiness, and satisfaction with life, and perceived less stress than non-meditators (p < .05). Of all factors studied, only engaging in exercise significantly predicted practicing meditation (OR = 2.05, 95%CI 1.10-3.82). Conclusion: Nursing students who engage in meditation report signs of health and well-being and utilize holistic methods such as prayer and breathing. The intrinsic motivation to engage in healthy habits such as exercise may also help students engage in mindfulness meditation and is an important finding for nursing educators.

Discontinuation and the Intention to Reenroll in Undergraduate Nursing Education

BACKGROUND

This study sought to identify demographic, personal, and emotional characteristics of undergraduate nursing students who have discontinued their program and determine predictors of their intention to reenroll.

METHOD

Students who discontinued from a prelicensure BSN or RN-to-BSN program were invited to participate in this study. Survey data collected included factors associated with the decision to discontinue, ratings of emotional distress, and intentions for the future.

RESULTS

Respondents reported moderate levels of emotional distress at the time of discontinuation and cited many factors as reasons. Most (53.5%) reported an intention to reenroll in the same program. Predictors of intention to reenroll were gender, race, state of residency, happiness, hopefulness, anger, financial status, and employment responsibilities.

CONCLUSION

Understanding factors that may contribute to discontinuing a nursing program can assist in developing strategies for student success. Identifying personal, emotional, and situational variables that influence undergraduate nursing education persistence requires further research. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(2):97-100.].

Tumor-immunotherapeutic efficacy of Serratia marcescens polyribosomes

The ability of polyribosomes, obtained from several bacterial species, to suppress the development of cutaneous SaD2 fibrosarcomas in DBA/2 mice were evaluated. Suppression of tumor appearance depended upon the tumor load at the time of treatment, dose of polyribosomes, and species source of polyribosomes, with Serratia marcescens being superior to Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycobacterium bovis (Pasteur), Mycobacterium smegmatis, and Propionibacterium acnes (formerly Corynebacterium parvum). A single injection of 5 or 50 microgram of Serratia polyribosomes at the tumor site 72 hr after the intradermal administration of 1.5 X 10(3) SaD2 cells resulted in 66 to 95% survival. All untreated animals expired within 50 days. Tumor suppression occurred at both flank and footpad sites. Presensitization with polyribosomes and incorporation of polyribosomes into adjuvant were not required for the tumor-suppressive effect. Treatment of Serratia polyribosomes with RNase or pronase reduced the number of survivors. Endotoxin was not detectable with the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay.