Nursing Assistant (nursing + assistant)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Predictors of shoulder and back injuries in nursing home workers: A prospective study

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2002
Douglas Myers MA
Abstract Background Nursing assistants (NAs) working in nursing homes have among the highest back and shoulder injury rates in the US. Incidence, severity, and cost of non-traumatic soft tissue musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing home industry in Washington State are quite high. Methods To determine whether resident characteristics data reported on the Health Care Financing Administration Minimum Data Set (MDS) could be used as a surrogate measure of cumulative exposure to physical loads, we conducted an 18-month prospective study in one nursing home. Results The combined NA injury incidence rate (IR) was 45.8 self-reported back and shoulder injuries per 100 [FTE] workers per year. In general, MDS reported resident characteristics failed to predict risk with the exception of exposure to loss of voluntary leg mobility (OR,=,1.11 per person-shifts of exposure, 95% CI [0.97,1.27]), with the highest risk on the day shift (OR,=,1.15, 95% CI [0.95,1.40]). Conclusions These findings suggest social integration and work organization issues may be more important predictors of back and shoulder injuries in nursing assistants than reported resident characteristics as measured by the MDS. Am. J. Ind. Med. 41:466,476, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Estimated Time and Educational Requirements to Perform NIC Interventions

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 2003
Gloria M. Bulechek
PURPOSE To estimate the time to perform and type of personnel to deliver each of the 486 interventions listed and described in the third edition of NIC. METHODS Small groups of research team members rated selected interventions in their area of expertise on education and time needed for each intervention. Education needed was defined as the minimal educational level necessary to perform the intervention in most cases in most states. Rating categories were (a) nursing assistant (NA/LPN/LVN/technician), (b) RN (basic education whether baccalaureate, associate degree, or diploma), or (c) RN with post-basic education or certification. Time needed was defined as the average time needed to perform the intervention. Raters selected one of five possible time estimates: (a) <15 minutes, (b) 16,30 minutes, (c) 31,45 minutes, (d) 46,60 minutes, or (e) >1 hour. All ratings were reviewed across groups to ensure overall consistency. FINDINGS Results of this exercise provide beginning estimates of the time and education needed for 486 NIC interventions. Twenty percent required <15 minutes, 30% required 16,30 minutes, 17% required 31,45 minutes, 12% required 46,60 minutes, and 21% required >1 hour. More than 70% of the interventions were judged as needing basic RN education to perform. Raters judged RN post-basic education to be required to performi 16% of the interventions, and 14% were deemed appropriate for personnel with NA/LPN education to perform. A monograph, Estimated Time and Educational Requirements to Perform 486 Nursing Interventions, available from http://www.nursing@uiowa.ed/cnc, includes lists of interventions appropriate for each time and education category, as well as time and education ratings according to NIC domains and classes. DISCUSSION The estimates of time and education provided by expert ratings provide a good beginning for cost estimates, resource planning, and reimbursement. The results of this study add to the small but growing body of literature that demonstrates that estimates of time to perform interventions by nurses who are familiar with the interventions is an accurate and efficient method to determine time values. A description of how this information can be used in a costing model is in the July/August 2001 issue of Nursing Economics. CONCLUSIONS NIC has identified the interventions that nurses perform. This study of time to perform and type of personnel to deliver each of the NIC interventions can help nurse leaders make better-informed decisions about cost-effective nursing care. [source]


Modification of the Risk of Mortality from Pneumonia with Oral Hygiene Care

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 9 2008
Carol W. Bassim DMD
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the associations between the assignment of an oral hygiene aide staff member and risk factors for mortality from pneumonia in a nursing home and to test the hypothesis that this care would affect the incidence of mortality from pneumonia. DESIGN: Electronic medical records. SETTING: Nursing home. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty-three residents of a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) nursing home. METHODS: The electronic medical records of 143 residents of a VAMC nursing home were analyzed for risk factors for pneumonia. A certified nursing assistant had been assigned to provide oral hygiene care for residents on two of four nursing home wards. Researchers performed a longitudinal analysis of resident's medical records to investigate the association between the assignment of an oral hygiene aide with the risk of mortality from pneumonia. RESULTS: Initially, the group that received oral care, an older and less functionally able group, showed approximately the same incidence of mortality from pneumonia as the group that did not receive oral care, but when the data were adjusted for the risk factors found to be significant for mortality from pneumonia, the odds of dying from pneumonia in the group that did not receive oral care was more than three times that of the group that did receive oral care (odds ratio=3.57, P=.03). Modified risk factors included age, functionality, cognitive function, and clinical concern about aspiration pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Oral hygiene nursing aide intervention may be an efficient risk factor modifier of mortality from nursing home,associated pneumonia. [source]


Nursing home care: whodunit?

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 11 2006
Aggie TG Paulus PhD
Aims and objectives., (1) To analyse and compare (changes and differences in) activity profiles of various types of nursing home care. (2) To assess the impact of integrated care on these activity profiles. Background., Because of an ongoing introduction of integrated nursing home care, caregivers increasingly have to co-ordinate their activities, engage into interprofessional relationships and take over each other's tasks. Consequently, activity profiles [i.e. combinations of (contributions to) care activities and the roles that perform them] are expected to change. Design/methods., At three measurement points in the period 1999,2003, caregivers (in 18 different roles) recorded and listed direct and indirect care activities. A total of 41 335 lists were analysed to derive activity profiles of traditional, transitional and integrated nursing home care in the Netherlands. Results., Traditional, transitional and integrated care shared some comparable activity profiles. Integrated care differed from the other types with respect to the contribution of the geriatric nurse, recreational activities supervisor, nutrition assistant, household assistant and nursing assistant to activities such as extra care, handling food and club activities. Contrary to the other roles, the licensed practical nurse contributed to (almost) all activities in all types of care. Conclusions., Nursing home care has several recurring activity profiles. These profiles are the same in all types of nursing home care. The introduction of integrated care implies that particular profiles have to be added to these profiles. As a generalist, the licensed practical nurse seems to play a key role in all activity profiles. Relevance to clinical practice., Because of demographic and financial pressures, integrated care for older people becomes increasingly important. By addressing the impact of integrated care on activity profiles, this paper provides information on how new types of care can be delivered in the most effective manner. [source]


Effect of Person-Centered Showering and the Towel Bath on Bathing-Associated Aggression, Agitation, and Discomfort in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2004
Philip D. Sloane MD
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of two nonpharmacological techniques in reducing agitation, aggression, and discomfort in nursing home residents with dementia. The techniques evaluated were person-centered showering and the towel bath (a person-centered, in-bed bag-bath with no-rinse soap). Design: A randomized, controlled trial, with a usual-care control group and two experimental groups, with crossover. Setting: Nine skilled nursing facilities in Oregon and six in North Carolina. Participants: Seventy-three residents with agitation during bathing (69 completed the trial) and 37 nursing assistants who bathed them. Measurements: Agitation and aggression were measured using the Care Recipient Behavior Assessment; discomfort was measured using a modification of the Discomfort Scale for Dementia of the Alzheimer Type. Raters who were blinded to subject status coded both from videotaped baths. Secondary measures of effect included bath duration, bath completeness, skin condition, and skin microbial flora. Results: All measures of agitation and aggression declined significantly in both treatment groups but not in the control group, with aggressive incidents declining 53% in the person-centered shower group (P<.001) and 60% in the towel-bath group (P<.001). Discomfort scores also declined significantly in both intervention groups (P<.001) but not in the control group. The two interventions did not differ in agitation/aggression reduction, but discomfort was less with the towel bath (P=.003). Average bath duration increased significantly (by a mean of 3.3 minutes) with person-centered showering but not with the towel bath. Neither intervention resulted in fewer body parts being bathed; both improved skin condition; and neither increased colonization with potentially pathogenic bacteria, corynebacteria, or Candida albicans. Conclusion: Person-centered showering and the towel bath constitute safe, effective methods of reducing agitation, aggression, and discomfort during bathing of persons with dementia. [source]


Working in and around the ,chain of command': power relations among nursing staff in an urban nursing home

NURSING INQUIRY, Issue 1 2002
Lori L. JervisArticle first published online: 3 APR 200
Working in and around the ,chain of command': power relations among nursing staff in an urban nursing home By most accounts, the discipline of nursing enjoys considerable hegemony in US nursing homes. Not surprisingly, the ethos of this setting is influenced, in large part, by nursing's value system. This ethos powerfully impacts both the residents who live in nursing homes and the staff who work there. Using ethnographic methods, this project explored power relations among nursing assistants and nurses in an urban nursing home in the United States. Factors contributing to tensions among nursing staff were the stigma attached to nursing homes and those who work in them, as well as the long history of class conflict and power struggles within the discipline of nursing. The latter struggles, in turn, reflected nursing's quest for professional status in the face of medicine's hegemony over health-care. Ultimately, these factors coalesced to produce a local work environment characterized by conflict , and by aides' resistance to nurses' domination. [source]


Racial and ethnic disparities in work-related injuries and socio-economic resources among nursing assistants employed in US nursing homes,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 10 2010
SangWoo Tak ScD
Abstract Background We aimed to estimate the proportion of nursing assistants (NAs) in the US with work-related injuries and insufficient socio-economic resources by race/ethnicity. Methods Data from the 2004 National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS), a nationally representative sample survey of NAs employed in United States nursing homes, were analyzed accounting for the complex survey design. Results Among 2,880 participants, 44% reported "scratch, open wounds, or cuts" followed by "back injuries" (17%), "black eyes or other types of bruising" (16%), and "human bites" (12%). When compared to non-Hispanic white NAs, the adjusted rate ratio (RR) for wound/cut was 0.74 for non-Hispanic black NAs (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65,0.85). RRs for black eyes/bruises were 0.18 for non-Hispanic black NAs (95% CI: 0.12,0.26), and 0.55 for Hispanic NAs (95% CI: 0.37,0.82). Conclusions Minority racial and ethnic groups were less likely to report having experienced injuries compared with non-Hispanic white NAs. Future research should focus on identifying preventable risk factors, such as differences by race and ethnicity in the nature of NA jobs and the extent of their engagement in assisting patients with activities of daily living. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:951,959, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]