Recent Research Publications and Funding

 Purpose/Objectives: To examine the relationship between women’s reported social support and their adherence to recommended breast cancer screening guidelines. Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional survey. Setting: Community women’s organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Sample: 833 mostly low-income women with a mean age of 46.2 years from three racial or ethnic groups (i.e., Latina, Caucasian, and African American) who were not breast cancer survivors. Methods: Social support was measured with a five-item, four-point, Likert scale developed for the study (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.7248). Adherence to screening guidelines was measured by asking frequency of performing breast self-examination (BSE) and frequency of obtaining a clinical breast examination (CBE) and a mammogram. Research assistants and leaders of women’s organizations conducted the survey in work and community settings. Main Research Variables: Social support, performance of BSE, obtaining a CBE and a mammogram, income, education, spoken language, and level of acculturation. Findings: Higher levels of social support were related to higher income and higher education. Lower levels of social support were associated with being Latina, completing the survey in Spanish, and being born abroad. Women who did not adhere to screening guidelines (for BSE or CBE) reported less social support. Conclusions: Social support is associated with adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines. Implications for Nursing: Nurses should assess women’s levels of social support as a factor when evaluating adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines.

 A preterm infant, whose course was complicated by sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis with jejunal perforation, intraventricular hemorrhage and cerebellar hemorrhage, suffered permanent and total paralysis below the neck from extravasation of parenteral nutrition fluids through a femoral venous catheter. MRI imaging revealed extravasation of fluid into the paraspinus musculature with extension into the spinal canal. This fluid was identified as hyperalimentation and intralipid. Postmortem examination found evidence of necrosis of the spinal cord as well as perforation of the right iliac vein.

 Sleep problems (i.e., insomnia) affect midlife women as they approach and pass through menopause at rates higher than at most other stages of life. The purpose of this article is to critically review what is known about insomnia (perceived poor sleep) and physiologically assessed sleep, as well as sleep-related disordered breathing (SDB), in women according to menopausal status and the role of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) hormones. Self-report evidence that sleep difficulties are related to the hormonal changes of menopause is mixed. Data from studies in which sleep was physiologically measured reveal that sleep problems appear corequisite with hot flashes and sweats. Results are difficult to compare across studies because of varying methodologies in how sleep quality and patterns were assessed and how age cohorts and menopausal status were defined. The risk of SDB increases with age, although women are less susceptible at any age than men. As with men, snoring, obesity, and high blood pressure are clear risk factors. Some women may be underdiagnosed for SDB, as they have somewhat different symptom manifestations than men. Usually, frank apnea is not as evident. Primary care clinicians should be mindful of the potential for SDB in women who are obese, have high blood pressure, are cognizant of snoring, and report morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness. Improved care will result from consistently incorporating sleep insomnia assessments into practice as a basis for referring to sleep centers as necessary or prescribing sleep-enhancing behavioral and pharmacological treatments

 This article seeks to describe the current efforts of public health nurses involved in family violence prevention while on home visits, participating in community groups, working on special projects, and developing innovative policies. Despite a dearth of outcomes research and data regarding public health nursing practice in this area, both strengths and weakness in public health nursing practice are evident. Improvements in nursing education related to family violence, an increase in multidisciplinary collaboration by public health nurses, and improvements in the utilization of public health nurses in the public health infrastructure and in primary prevention efforts would remove many barriers to effective family violence prevention strategies.