faculty – Page 3 – GW Nursing Magazine

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Funds Study on State Laws Discouraging Tobacco Control Measures

Some state laws that preemptively prohibit tobacco control measures may be at odds with common public health efforts. A new study, awarded $149,600 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Policies for Action program and led by GW Nursing’s Dr. Y. Tony Yang, will examine the impact these state laws have had on public health in the United States. Specifically, the study will examine laws enacted or repealed between 1997 and 2017.

Effective tobacco control efforts include restrictions on marketing and promoting tobacco products, licensing tobacco, whether young people have access to tobacco products and where smoking is allowed. Preemptive laws block local governments from taking these steps to protect public health.

“Although a consensus exists among tobacco control practitioners that preemption adversely impacts tobacco control efforts, there is limited empirical evidence to quantify its effects on adolescent health and health disparities,” said Dr. Yang, professor and health services and policy researcher at GW Nursing.

Tobacco kills more than 480,000 people annually—more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. Tobacco costs the U.S. approximately $170 billion in health care expenditures and more than $150 billion in lost productivity each year.

Each day, more than 3,200 people under 18 years old become daily cigarette smokers in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), making youths’ access to tobacco products a key public health issue.

Dr. Yang’s team will also examine whether majority-minority counties are disproportionately impacted by state preemption laws, potentially exacerbating health disparities between racial and ethnic groups.

Although African Americans usually smoke fewer cigarettes and start smoking cigarettes at an older age, they are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases than white Americans, according to the CDC. Cigarette smoking among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) individuals in the U.S. is higher than among heterosexual individuals, with about 1 in 5 LGBTQ adults smoking cigarettes compared with about 1 in 6 heterosexual/straight adults, according to the CDC.

by erin julius

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Creating Care Protocol for Kidney Patients

spring 2019 bY erin julius

A study titled the Pathways Project may ultimately impact as many as 100,000 kidney patients in the United States.

GW Nursing’s Dale Lupu is co-principal investigator on a $2.4 million grant aimed at improving the quality of care for seriously ill patients who have kidney disease.

“This project will find ways they can have better support and care through the entire course of illness. It’s not only about dying; it’s about making the care more patient-centered from the moment of diagnosis,” said Dr. Lupu, an associate research professor.

Kidney patients in the U.S. face a deficit in supportive care, also known as palliative care. They are rarely offered alternatives to dialysis, which may not extend life for patients already frail from other conditions. Instead, they often face obstacles if they say that they value quality of life or wish for a peaceful death rather than multiple trips to the hospital and ICU at the end of life. Families of dialysis patients rate the quality of their loved ones’ end-of-life care worse than families of those with cancer and other chronic conditions. The Pathways Project seeks to change that.

While other countries offer disease management for end-of-life renal patients without dialysis, treatment in the U.S. has typically been more aggressive.

The second phase of the Pathways Project, based at GW Nursing in collaboration with West Virginia University, began in November 2018 and focuses on the implementation of best practices. This phase will address the project’s central research question of whether a quality improvement approach to spreading supportive care best practices at dialysis centers and affiliated clinics will measurably increase the provision of supportive care best practices.

“We are so pleased that the Pathways Project has found a home here at GW Nursing. This important research will make a positive impact on kidney patients and their families,” said Dean Pamela Jeffries.

Experts have put out a number of guidelines and articles calling for more supportive kidney care, Dr. Lupu said. Now health care providers will figure out how to implement them, she said.

“It’s about the nitty-gritty details of making new models of care and of figuring out what actually works to deliver more patient-centered care,” Dr. Lupu said.

“We are working with the leading dialysis centers and teams in their communities,” said Dr. Lupu. “These are centers that are willing to innovate, to risk trying something new.”

Findings from the Pathways Project will also be relevant for other specialties, such as cardiology, that seek to include more primary palliative care into their care models.

The Pathways Project is the first attempt to implement supportive care at multiple sites in the United States. Other countries including Canada, Australia and Great Britain are implementing supportive care.

In the first phase, the Pathways Project developed 14 evidence-based best practice recommendations designed to improve supportive care delivery for patients with kidney disease. A technical expert panel defined the ideal care system for seriously ill patients with kidney disease.

In this ideal patient-centered system, patient preferences, goals and values are discussed and respected, patients receive treatment in keeping with their goals, and patients and families receive support, resources and assistance to help them prepare for end-of-life care.

The Pathways Project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

May 11, 2019October 12, 2020

Why Should You Join a Professional Organization and Get Involved?

AUTHOR Richard Ricciardi

Participation in professional organizations has substantially shaped my career and has provided me with opportunities to not only become a more productive, informed and engaged nurse, but also a more thoughtful and globally connected individual. I encourage everyone, both those who are new to the profession and those who are already established, to engage deeply in the transformative and healing power of our nursing profession through membership in a professional organization.

Active membership brings with it the joy and privilege of helping others beyond those in your immediate workplace and provides access to limitless possibilities for professional achievement and fulfillment, both locally and globally. The nursing profession offers a number of valuable organizations you might consider joining. Some are nursing focused, whereas others are interprofessional or specialty focused.

Regardless of your professional experience or career phase, being an active member in one or more professional organizations has tangible benefits. Obvious benefits include access to local, regional and national conferences, journals and other resources to ensure continuous learning and support licensure or specialty certification. Participation in conferences and other programming, whether in person or virtually, provides the added benefit of an opportunity to interact with scientists and subject-matter experts to share ideas about how to implement new evidence to improve practice and care delivery. Some professional organizations also partner to offer reduced fees for malpractice insurance and continuing education credits.

Exposure to fresh ideas and innovations in care delivery stimulates our creativity and provides an opportunity to tackle complex issues in practice, education, research and policy. Professional organizations offer a rich and unparalleled venue to engage with and learn from talented and successful leaders. The opportunity to network with a diverse group of colleagues, to strengthen your leadership, writing and public speaking skills, and to develop a broader understanding of organizational systems are key benefits. Participating in organizational initiatives such as guideline development, conference planning or policy statement preparation, or serving on a journal editorial board stretches your skills, confidence and scholarship.

In my own career, the opportunity to work alongside a diverse group of colleagues on committees or work groups has nudged me to take on new roles and progressively greater responsibility while also providing mentorship and support. Taking on active roles in professional organizations has also allowed me to give back to the profession that has given much to me. We all stand on the shoulders of the giants that have come before us, and professional organizations provide a venue for us to pay that legacy forward, both individually and collectively. These organizations play a critical role in capacity building, career development and succession planning for the profession through scholarships, academic awards, leadership development workshops, formal mentoring programs and research funding.

Contemporary health care is demanding, fast-paced, complex and dynamic. Day-to-day stressors can lead to a loss of purpose and joy in our work. Professional organizations provide programming and networking opportunities that allow us to share our joys and challenges and evolve our careers through meaningful opportunities.

Nurses represent the largest segment of the health care workforce. As such, nursing organizations play an important role in representing and strengthening the capabilities and value that nurses bring to improving health for individuals, families and communities. Ensure your unique voice is included through active participation as we move our profession forward.