Western Journal of Nursing Research

This study described co-parenting motivations and quality of co-parenting features for parents of infants with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD), including differences over time by illness severity. Existing transcripts of parenting experience at infant age 1 and 12 months for 23 parent couples were analyzed using directed content analysis. Data were quantitized for additional description. Six co-parenting motivations and five co-parenting features were identified. Two co-parenting motivations had not been previously described: Developing the Co-Parenting Relationship and Maintaining the Couple Relationship. Variability in quality of co-parenting features was evident. However, the majority of parents showed high ratings. Motivations and quality of co-parenting features changed over time and were related to illness severity. Our findings increase the understanding of what parents are working on as a couple to parent an infant with CCHD and the quality of this co-parenting. Several questions for further study are presented.

This study purposed to determine the relationship between nurses’ personal health practices and their perceptions of themselves as role models for health promotion, and assess the relationship of personal and professional characteristics both on perception of self as role model and on the practice of healthy behaviors. In this study of 804 Tennessee registered nurses, 4% report smoking, 24.9% drink alcohol, 34% are overweight, and 30% are obese. Approximately 70% do not meet the weekly physical activity recommendations of 150 min, and 36.2% follow guidelines for a healthy diet only 50% of the time or less. There were significant correlations between following a healthy diet or physical activity and the Self as a Role Model of Health Promotion (SARMHEP) scores. Based on the regression analysis, working in an acute care or ambulatory setting negatively affected the SARMHEP, as opposed to age and sex having a positive effect on the SARMHEP score.

Promoting responsible sexual behavior (RSB) is a public health strategy to decrease unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Current definitions of RSB in the literature have been developed by providers and policy makers; little is known about adult women’s perspectives. Interventions inconsistent with women’s definitions of RSB may be less effective; therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand how a sample of college women defined RSB. Data was collected from interviews as part of a mixed methods study of college women and unintended pregnancy. Women defined beingsexually responsible as self-advocating through actions that are consistent with personal goals and values while being aware of consequences that could threaten those goals or values. Actions included mindful partner selection, communicating boundaries, and preventing pregnancy. Study findings were consistent with prior research that identified managing risk and purposeful decision making as crucial to acting responsibly.

Resourcefulness is a set of cognitive-behavioral self-control skills for coping with stress to maintain quality of life. However, research examining precursors in the development of resourcefulness in preadolescents is scant. A cross-sectional approach was used to investigate hypothesized predicting effects of intrinsic contextual factors (children’s age, gender, and school performance), extrinsic contextual factors (parents’ age, gender, education, income, and resourcefulness), and process regulators (academic stress and dispositional optimism) in a convenience sample of 361 preadolescent–parent dyads. Results show that preadolescents’ process regulators, academic stress, and dispositional optimism were significant predictors of resourcefulness. The findings suggest that preadolescents’ resourcefulness was greatly influenced by process regulators, which are cognitive perceptions intervening the use of resourcefulness. Further research with various study designs is needed to examine additional factors that may influence resourcefulness in large and more diverse child–parent samples.

Perceived insufficient milk (PIM) is the primary reason for breastfeeding discontinuation globally. This study evaluated the short-term impact of mother–infant interactions through home interventions designed to overcome PIM as a result of the infant’s behavior, delivered to 14 dyads of breastfeeding mothers and their full-term singleton infants. A single group, three-occasion prepost design was used. Mother–infant interactions were measured by the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS) at 6, 13, and 27 days postpartum. There were significantly increased mother–infant interactions during intervention. Specifically, significant growth over the intervention occurred for mother’s sensitivity to cues, cognitive growth fostering, infant’s clarity of cues, and responsiveness to caregiver. The NCAFS total score was also significantly improved. Although modifications are required, the three home intervention sessions showed promise in improving mother–infant interactions during breastfeeding. Further investigation using a randomized experimental design is warranted.

About 80% of African American (AA) women are overweight or obese. Accessible and effective weight management programs targeting weight loss, weight maintenance and the prevention of weight regain are needed to improve health of AA women. A feasibility study was conducted to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a 16-week intervention protocol for weight loss and management that combined daily text messages and biweekly peer group sessions. Modest but statistically significant reductions were detected in weight and body mass index from baseline to 16 weeks. At baseline, 36% of participants were in action and maintenance stages in measures of the stages of change for weight loss and management; this percent increased to 82% at 16 weeks. Findings of this feasibility study provide preliminary evidence of an educational intervention that could motivate women and lead to successful behavior change, and successful weight loss and management for AA women.

Antidepressant drugs represent the mainstay of treatment for depression; however, nonadherence is a major problem. Attitudes are predictors of long-term adherence and drive medication use. The Attitudes Toward Medication–Depression (ATM-D) Inventory was developed and tested with 131 patients in primary care settings who reported a diagnosis of depression. Content validity was assessed by experts with a 94.4% agreement on item relevancy. Exploratory factor analysis showed three factors (course of medication treatment, identity, and control) that accounted for 57% of the total variance in the final 17-item scale. The instrument demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (α = .76-.84) and test–retest reliability (α = .74-.83). Results support the construct validity and reliability of the instrument and revealed unique insights into patients’ cognitive representations of their antidepressants. This study supported that patients have cognitive representations related to depression and antidepressants that go beyond simple concerns about the effects of the medication.

The aim of this integrative review is to appraise grandparent caregiver interventions that are designed to improve their physical and mental health. A database search was performed to identify relevant studies published between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2014. Thirteen publications, including 11 studies, met all inclusion and exclusion criteria. All studies included grandparent mental health outcomes with fewer focusing on physical health and social relations. Improvements were found in all three areas with fewer improvements seen in physical health. However, small effect sizes were seen with most measures of these outcomes. Although the interventions led to positive grandparent caregiver outcomes, the studies were limited by their design, only one of which was a randomized controlled trial. Also, interventions did not consider variations in the grandchild’s or parent’s ages or if the grandparent provided primary or shared care. These gaps should be addressed in future research.