Home healthcare nurse最新文献

To enhance compliance and achieve better outcomes, providers must actively engage their patients and caregivers in different ways than in the past. One strategy that has gained national attention is motivational interviewing through evidence-based health coaching. A closer look at this exciting new clinical skill reveals what it is, how it works, why it is so successful, and why our traditional patient approach has fallen short.

Home healthcare clinicians commonly provide care for individuals with heart failure (HF). Certain factors may influence the development of depressive symptoms in those with HF. This cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational pilot study (N = 50) examined interrelationships among HF symptoms, social support (actual and perceived), social problem-solving, and depressive symptoms. Findings indicated that increased HF symptoms were related to more depressive symptoms, whereas higher levels of social support were related to fewer depressive symptoms. The use of more maladaptive problem-solving strategies was also associated with more depressive symptoms. Study results have implications for home healthcare clinicians providing care for individuals with HF, indicating a need for programs that strengthen coping skills and resources (i.e., social support and problem solving) in an effort to decrease the risk of developing depressive symptomatology.

Each year, 5% to 20% of the U.S. population is infected with the influenza virus. The influenza season occurs annually between the months of October and May, with 3,000 to 49,000 influenza-related deaths each year. Since complications delay recuperation, those in high-risk groups need to be monitored carefully. High-risk groups are more vulnerable to severe illness and complications of the disease and include: people older than 65 years of age, children under 2 years of age, pregnant women, obese patients, and patients with other serious comorbid conditions. This article provides home healthcare clinicians with important information on influenza, how it is transmitted, influenza virus types and changes in the virus, signs and symptoms of complications, and measures to prevent the occurrence and transmission of influenza.

Electronic cigarettes have been marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes, and their use is expanding exponentially. However, there is a severe lack of scientific data about the ingredients in the liquid used in the device and the health consequences of using electronic cigarettes. As technology has outpaced regulations, the production and sale of electronic cigarettes are, as yet, unregulated and do not fall under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration. This article will review the mechanism of action and what is currently known about the safety of electronic cigarettes. The risk of poisoning for children will also be identified, as well as the implications for home healthcare clinicians.

The purpose of this study was to examine the number and types of discrepancy errors present after discharge from home healthcare in older adults at risk for medication management problems following an episode of home healthcare. More than half of the 414 participants had at least one medication discrepancy error (53.2%, n = 219) with the participant's omission of a prescribed medication (n = 118, 30.17%) occurring most frequently. The results of this study support the need for home healthcare clinicians to perform frequent assessments of medication regimens to ensure that the older adults are aware of the regimen they are prescribed, and have systems in place to support them in managing their medications.

A patient was readmitted two days after discharge with severe hypoglycemia. The treating team discharged the patient on a new insulin regimen without realizing that the patient also had insulin 70/30 at home. The patient continued to take her previous regimen as well as the new one, and was found unresponsive by her husband. The patient was in the ICU with the incident likely resulting in permanent neurological deficits. ()A patient was admitted to a hospital from a home health agency. The list of medications provided by the agency did not completely match the list provided by the patient's family physician (i.e., the antihypertensive agent metoprolol tartrate [Lopressor] was not listed by the agency as one of the medications that the patient was currently taking). Therefore, metoprolol tartrate was not initially ordered. The patient developed atrial fibrillation shortly after hospital admission and required a transfer to the ICU [intensive care unit]. A diltiazem (Cardizem) infusion was started and the patient's family physician became aware that the patient had not been receiving their antihypertensive medication and initiated an order for the metoprolol tartrate ().