Recent uci_nursing_spp items

Effects of sex education on sexual function and sexual assertiveness in South Asian women: A quality improvement project

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: Orgasm is a significant indicator of fulfillment or the centerpiece of sex. Even though women are physiologically capable of experiencing multiple orgasms due to no refractory period, research has repeatedly shown that, in heterosexual sexual interactions, men experience orgasms more frequently than women. In many cultures, the talk of sex, orgasms, masturbation, self-exploration, or sexual pleasure is still outlawed or frowned upon. Sexual pleasure and satisfaction are inherent components of the human sexual experience; nevertheless, these fundamental aspects of sexuality are rarely highlighted in sexual education programs. Consequently, sexual dysfunction and sexual health are not addressed in clinical, educational, social, cultural, or personal settings. Aim: The purpose of this project was to create orgasm awareness and to improve female sexual function and sexual assertiveness in women of reproductive, premenopausal, and menopausal age within a South-Asian women's...

Unraveling the Self: A Scoping Review of Moral Injury and Professional Nursing Identity

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Moral injury increasingly describes the distress nurses experience when systemic constraints prevent them from practicing in alignment with their professional values. Moral injury has been theoretically presented as an injury to one’s identity. Professional identity in nursing is “a sense of oneself in relationship to others” which results in an individual “thinking, acting, and feeling like a nurse.” This scoping literature review explores contemporary understandings of nursing professional or moral identity and the association between moral injury and identity among nurses in the United States.

Values conflicts, burnout, and moral injury among U.S. nurses: A scoping review

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Occupational burnout and moral injury are related, but distinct, processes with operational and relational drivers. This scoping literature review examines one key relational driver of burnout and moral injury: values conflicts between nurses and their organizational leadership. This review included a five-database search, which produced 346 citations for full-text review. Preliminary results have identified 11 relevant citations: 8 journal articles, 2 journal-published expert opinions, and 1 qualitative dissertation study. All references examined some aspect of leadership in relation to burnout and discussed values conflicts; only one investigated moral injury in relation to leadership structures and values conflicts. Six sources explicitly found that perceived differences in values between administrators and clinicians may contribute to burnout. One article discussed the betrayal of nurses' moral values by leadership in connection with moral injury. Implications suggest a potential...

Occupational moral injury in healthcare: A concept analysis

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This project seeks to: (1) better understand the concept of occupational moral injury (MI) as it relates to moral distress (MD) and burnout (BO), and (2) improve the understanding of occupational MI in healthcare settings, such that healthcare systems may better develop strategies for MI assessment, prevention, and mitigation. Based on Walker and Avant's (2019) methodology, this concept analysis of occupational MI in healthcare describes the antecedents, defining attributes, and consequences of MI in relation to MD and to the oft associated phenomenon of BO. Our findings reveal a highly interconnected network of related concepts that can intensify each other and that are not mutually exclusive. MI, MD, and BO have shared antecedents and overlapping consequences that can render their delineation challenging. MI, MD, and BO in healthcare contexts all share the attribute of capturing experiences of clinician distress with varying sources, intensity, and chronicity. MI and MD introduce...

Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Family Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer's Disease or Other Dementias

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Dementia, a progressive cognitive impairment, is the fifth leading cause of death in California with no effective treatments. This disease not only affects those diagnosed but also affects their family caregivers who experience intense emotional and physical strain. Despite this immense stress, there is an insufficient number of interventions focused on the well-being of these family caregivers. The purpose of this pilot study is to provide a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention to family caregivers. Trained research assistants visited participants’ homes weekly for a month and introduced mindfulness techniques (i.e., deep breathing exercises, caregiving education). A modified version of the Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) Scale was used to measure caregivers’ emotions before and after the intervention. Twenty participants were recruited from Vietnamese and Korean communities, an Alzheimer’s research center, and an academic medical center. The mean age...

Examining the Lasting Effects of the Nurse Family Partnership on Children Born to High-Risk Families

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: The Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) attempts to combat the lack of resources and knowledge in high-risk families and women who are pregnant for the first time. This paper assesses the effect of the NFP on child development.

Methods: Google Scholar, CINAHL, PubMed, and Trip were used to conduct a literature review. Articles chosen were randomized control trials and involved implementation of the NFP with a longitudinal follow-up of the children.

Results: Two out of three studies demonstrated that the NFP positively affected academic success of the children; two out of three studies demonstrated that children who received the intervention had less emotional/behavior issues.

Discussion: All studies were randomized control trials without dropout. Studies utilizing objective data had more accurate results than those utilizing self-report. There was a discontinuity of care in one study and no way to measure visit content and conduct...

The Effects of Group Based Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs on Hemoglobin A1c in Type 2 Diabetic Adults: A Review of Experimental Studies

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem across the world. Diabetes leads to increased levels of hemoglobin A1c (A1C), and if left untreated, can lead to further chronic disease. This review examines the effectiveness of group-based diabetes self-management education (DSME) on lowering A1C levels and increasing diabetes knowledge.

Methods: Databases used for this review include PubMed, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The three studies chosen for this review include two randomized controlled trials (RCT's) and one quasi-experimental study, which were peer-reviewed and published in the past 5 years.

Results: All studies demonstrated a slight decrease in A1C levels; however, one study found a significant decrease between pre-and-post intervention (p<0.0001). The two RCT's also reported a significant increase in diabetes knowledge.

Discussion: The strengths found across all studies were the study design used, fidelity of the intervention,...

The Effects of Staff Education on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in the Intensive Care Unit: A Literature Review

Fri, 5 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU are at a high risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and the rate of this hospital-acquired infection (HAI) is problematic. Nursing interventions utilize evidence-based practice (EBP) VAP prevention guidelines to decrease the incidence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of staff education on the reduction of VAP in the critical care setting.

Methods: Literature search was performed on two databases, CINAHL and PubMed. Search results were narrowed based on type of research article, relevance, and publication date, and eventually three studies were chosen.

Results: In two of the studies, VAP incidence was shown to have decreased after staff education and one study had insignificant results, although there was a trend towards decreased VAP incidence. Length of stay significantly decreased post-intervention in two studies. Nurse adherence/concordance...

The Effectiveness of Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Fri, 5 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed in early childhood and affects 1 in 68 children in the United States. ASD often creates deficits in social functioning making it difficult for children with ASD to socialize and communicate with others.

Purpose: The purpose of this review paper is to examine the effectiveness of therapeutic horseback riding (THR) on communication and social skills in children with ASD.

Methods: Articles were selected from the databases CINAHL and PubMed and were published within the last 10 years in the United States and Europe. Search terms included ASD, children, and THR. Studies with samples sizes of ten or less were excluded.

Results: Inconsistent results were found for two of the studies that used the Social Responsiveness Scale; one study found statistically significant results for improved social motivation when compared to the control group (p = .038)...

Effect of Kangaroo Care on Cardiopulmonary Events in Neonates in the NICU

Thu, 22 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction: Infants in the NICU often suffer from physiologic stress related to bradycardia, apneic spells, and oxygen desaturations. This review analyzes the effect of KC on the frequency of cardiopulmonary events.

Methods: Databases utilized include PubMed, Google Scholar, and CINAHL. These papers were selected based on their publication in the last ten years, and focus on examining effects of skin-to-skin care on the NICU infant as measured by the infant’s physiological stability.

Results: All three studies showed that infants in the treatment groups had a significantly decrease in bradycardic events compared to control group. Two studies found that infants in the treatment group had significantly fewer oxygen desaturations while being held skin-to-skin versus the time they spent in the warmer.

Discussion: The studies used high fidelity of intervention, and two of the three used randomized...

Parent-Infant Attachment: Chillin’ with the Chilluns

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Parent-infant attachment is the bond between a child and a parent with its purpose being to make the child feel safe, secure, and protected. The environment of the NICU is not optimal for developing this attachment as the parents and baby have to be separated. Much research has been done on methods to improve the issue. Two interventions that can improve attachment include: Better nurse-parent communication and teaching, and skin-to-skin contact.

Special Call: Improving Care for Women Facing the End of a Desired Pregnancy: Nurses' Perceptions and Care of Women on a Labor & Delivery Unit

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Approximately 3% of all pregnancies are affected by fetal anomalies; consequently, mothers face the difficult decision of whether to continue or terminate their pregnancy. An estimated 47% – 90% of women choose to terminate these pregnancies. Induction of labor in cases of fetal demise is thought of as less controversial than induction termination, but nurses may resist and even refuse to care for women in these cases.

Effect of Noise Reduction Methods in the ICU on Sleep Quality

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Sleep deprivation is a common problem in the intensive care unit because it can increase rates of delirium, impede proper recovery, lead to longer hospital stays, and increase health care costs. This study aims to review three randomized controlled trials that observe the effect of noise reduction methods in improving sleep quality among intensive care patients. One study compared rates of delirium among those use earplugs and those who do not. Two other studies found that interventions such as earplugs, eye masks, and melatonin have proven to improve sleep quality. While interventions such as earplugs may be uncomfortable for some patients, it is reasonable it to at least offer these products to those who may want it. This can in turn improve patient satisfaction rates, decrease hospital length of stays and reduce healthcare costs. Moreover, these interventions are safe, cost effective, and easy to implement.

Faculty advisor: Jill P Berg, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus (jpberg@uci.edu)...

Management of Neonatal Pain Levels with Sucrose

Fri, 17 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Interpretation of pain in infants - especially in the NICU - is difficult to assess due to their inabilities to communicate verbally or demonstrate their pain. Most often, healthcare providers rely on indicators such as facial activity, changes in muscle tone, and duration of sleep/wake states to assess the presence of pain. With the high incidence of painful procedures occurring in the NICU, it is essential to find effective methods to decrease the associated discomfort and assist infants in gaining short and long term benefits. While there are a variety of methods to treat and manage pain levels in the NICU, the focus of this paper will be on one: the administration of oral sucrose.

Faculty advisor: Yuqing Guo, Ph.D. (gyuqing@uci.edu) - Program in Nursing Science

Yoga to decrease depression among depressed pregnant patients

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Depression is a prominent cause of global morbidity, and one of the most common medical conditions during pregnancy. Prenatal depression can lead to detrimental outcomes including preterm birth, low birth weight, and postpartum depression. Screening for depression is recommended at least once during the perinatal period. However, even after a diagnosis of depression, several barriers to treatment exist, including cost and patient opposition to treatment. This literature review examines the effectiveness of yoga practice in pregnant women who are depressed or have depressive symptoms. Five research articles published within the last five years were selected that support a yoga practice innovation for prenatal depression management. The utility of yoga is demonstrated in these articles in clinically depressed pregnant women and pregnant women with symptoms of depression or anxiety. A yoga practice protocol shown to be effective in prenatal depression was replicated, and based...