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Mental health concerns among parents of children with heart problems
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareDealing with sick children can be challenging for parents. Usually, parents can handle common short-lived colds, viruses and other childhood illnesses. But parents of children born with serious conditions, such as heart defects, are particularly vulnerable to ongoing stress. A study evaluating emotional distress, depression and quality of life in parents of infants with severe congenital heart defects revealed that parents of these newborns, especially mothers, need psychological support during their children’s hospitalizations.
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The future of expedited drug approvals
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalThe Trump administration is poised to select a head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who intends change the current process of drug approvals in the U.S. This new process will possibly change the current drug development model that has been used by the FDA for many years. At the prospective forefront of this change are the two candidates vying for the head of the FDA.
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More informatics experience means more money for nurses
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareOne of the great things about the HIMSS Annual Conference and Expo is the amount of research and revelations to come from the organization each February or so. For those who track the day-to-day happenings of healthcare, HIMSS provides a cornucopia of information and an Easter basket full of goodies in regard to data that’s ready for consumption. New research from HIMSS' analytics arm shows a bit more insight into the working world of caregivers throughout the world’s health systems.
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Are fitness trackers doing more harm than good?
Noelle Talmon Sports & FitnessFitness trackers from Fitbit, Garmin, and other manufacturers are big business. Millions of the devices are sold each year to help people monitor their physical activities and their number of calories burned. But how effective are they in actually improving an individual's health? According to Dr. Greg Hager, an expert in computer science at Johns Hopkins University, users should be particularly aware of devices that track people’s steps and advise them to walk 10,000 steps a day, which equals about five miles.
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Protect your nursing brand on social media
Keith Carlson Healthcare AdministrationNurses use social media just like any other members of the workforce. As a nurse, how you use social media can have an impact on personal branding, so it's important to maintain awareness of your virtual presence and your position within the online world of professional nursing.
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America’s sleep deficiency: When you can’t snooze, you lose
Bob Kowalski Mental HealthcareAmericans seem to be closing their eyes to a problem that's growing, despite exhaustive research into the ramifications. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee: We don't get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep has been declared a "public health problem" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which attributed an increased risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes, depression, cancer and reduced productivity to a shortage of shut-eye.
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Patient engagement on the rise: Is this just a nice story to tell?
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationCDW Healthcare's 2017 Patient Engagement Perspectives Study builds on last year's research to explore the drivers, challenges and influences for patient engagement. The results show providers are motivated to find new ways to promote effective patient engagement — and both patients and providers are taking action, or at least would like to do so.
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Battling heart failure: Study provides new insight
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareHeart failure (HF) is a major public health problem associated with significant mortality and morbidity, especially for those over age 65. Worldwide, more than 23 million adults ages 25 and older have HF. One in nine deaths in 2009 included HF as a contributing cause.
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Collaboration in Texas: Ensuring patient access to virtual visits
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationThe Texas Medical Board has wrangled with telemedicine companies on policy covering virtual patient and practitioner visits. It came to a showdown in 2015 after the Medical Board adopted a policy requiring physicians to meet with patients in person prior to providing virtual medical care.
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How killer cells organize troops in fight against infection
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareWithin days of a viral infection, an army of cytotoxic T cells spreads out to track and kill infected body cells to prevent the further spread of pathogens. Cytotoxic T cells only become active and multiply upon evidence of a pathogen, somewhat like a police dog that springs into action only after it sniffs a piece of the perpetrator's property.
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