Nursing News and Research

Latest Nursing News and Research

AIDS nursing homes to get better Medicare deal

Nursing homes treating patients with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome—AIDS—will see an increase in their Medicare payment rates this fall, according to Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees the program.

6 May 2004

Almost half of the heart failure outpatients given standard questionnaires scored as being depressed

Almost half of the heart failure outpatients given standard questionnaires scored as being depressed, according to a new study in the May 5, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2004

Medicare drug discount cards now available

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today that seniors and people with disabilities who receive Medicare can now begin to compare and choose the Medicare-approved drug discount card that best fits their needs in providing savings on their prescription medicines.

3 May 2004

Dean of Columbia's dental school has issued a "call to action" on geriatric oral health

America's seniors suffer a disproportionate burden of oral disease while having fewer resources for appropriate care -- and these issues will be exacerbated as the elderly population grows.

1 May 2004

Counseling eases the depression of people caring for a loved one with the devastating brain disease

The spouses of Alzheimer's patients often experience extraordinary psychological stress, but a new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers shows that a six-session counseling and long-term support program substantially eases the depression of people caring for a loved one with the devastating brain disease, and that the mental health benefits apparently are long lasting.

1 May 2004

Adult height loss could suggest future osteoporosis problems

The loss of 2 or more inches in height during adulthood serves as a powerful predictor of osteoporosis in the hip, and thus the risk for hip fractures, in elderly women, according to a new study at The Ohio State University Medical Center. The finding has led researchers to recommend that primary care physicians routinely screen aging patients for height loss. Seth Kantor

1 May 2004

Researchers to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors

Researchers at the University of Birmingham are investigating how to improve the quality of life for stroke survivors in nursing and residential homes, by helping them to become more active.

30 Apr 2004

New bladder control device for women

An estimated one-third of all women experience it at some point and few are willing to talk about it, but urinary incontinence affects more than 15 million Americans and 1.5 million Canadians. Now, thanks to the innovative patent of a pelvic floor muscle trainer for at-home use, women can take control of the problem.

29 Apr 2004

Medicare triples customer phone support

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. today announced that Medicare has more than tripled the number of customer service representatives available through its toll-free information line, 1-800-MEDICARE, which also received a record number of calls on Monday.

28 Apr 2004

Serious allergic reactions in cancer patients require expert intervention

Studies show that up to 35 percent of cancer patients are at risk for an allergic reaction to their cancer therapy. Yet, the same drug causing the reaction could be the drug that best helps to control the disease.

28 Apr 2004

Children don't understand physical activity and health messages

Parents who want their children to be fit and active should be encouraging them to go out and play rather than telling them to exercise, a study of more than 200 children aged 4-12 years shows.

28 Apr 2004

Menopause often wrongly blamed for poor sleep

Middle-aged women often complain that they sleep poorly, and both women and their health care providers point to menopause as the cause. But University of Michigan researchers Jane Lukacs and Nancy Reame say it may be time to put that assumption to rest.

27 Apr 2004

McGreevey signs landmark legislation designed to improve patient safety

Governor James E. McGreevey today signed landmark legislation designed to improve patient safety and save lives through comprehensive reporting of medical errors by hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.

27 Apr 2004

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) overview

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an atypical form of pneumonia that first appeared in November 2002 in Guangdong Province, China.

24 Apr 2004

First pancreatic islet cell transplant in Alabama

A lifelong dependency on insulin shots and pumps may be over for a 24-year old Troy, Alabama, woman who is the first in the state to receive a pancreatic islet cell transplant. Within 24 hours after the procedure, performed at UAB Hospital on April 15, her new cells were beginning to function, doctors said.

24 Apr 2004

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit lowest heart attack rates in the state of Texas

That’s because the CICU he runs has the lowest myocardial infarction (heart attack) mortality in the entire South Texas region. It has one of the lowest rates in the state of Texas.

23 Apr 2004

7,000 U.S. hospital patients die each year and more than 750,000 are injured as a result of avoidable medication mistakes

Some 7,000 U.S. hospital patients die each year and more than 750,000 are injured as a result of medication mistakes. These errors have many causes, and many potential solutions, according to a Rutgers-Camden nursing scholar who has studied the topic extensively.

23 Apr 2004

Palliative care improvements needed in Australia

While Australian expertise in palliative care to ease the suffering of dying people has developed rapidly over the past 20 years, there is still a long way to go, writes Professor Margaret O'Connor, who holds the inaugural Vivian Bullwinkel chair in palliative care nursing at Monash.

23 Apr 2004

Some mental health and learning disability nurses are too ready to restrain patients

Some mental health and learning disability nurses are too ready to restrain patients, according to speakers at the NMC's national conference on the management of violence in health care.

22 Apr 2004