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Biomedical subjects

B L Westra

Publications and source records attributed to B L Westra.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Testing the Uniform Needs Assessment Instrument for hospital discharge planning with older adults.

The Uniform Needs Assessment Instrument (UNAI) was developed to systematically assess the continuing care needs of high-risk older adults in response to the 1986 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Based on previous studies, a revised UNAI was tested with 103 hospitalized older adults, comparing usual discharge planning with the UNAI. High interrater reliability was obtained. The UNAI had high (> or = 85%) sensitivity and specificity when comparing needs identification on the UNAI with subjects' reported needs at 10 to 14 days after discharge. Overall, the UNAI was more effective (sensitive and specific).

Aftercare↗
PubMed1998

Implementation of a clinical information system in nurse-managed care.

The Penn Nursing Network Information System Project is a collaborative effort of practitioners, academic researchers, and a health-care software developer. The Penn Nursing Network, a group of nurse-managed practices owned and operated by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, has taken a leadership role in the project. PNN is developing an information system specific to the needs of nurse-managed care and creating a data warehouse for nursing centres in the Philadelphia region. Important components of this project include the identification of key data elements to represent the problems treated, interventions performed, and outcomes sensitive to the nursing care provided. The Omaha System provided a useful framework for capturing the necessary data elements. However, additional data were needed. In addition, attention was paid to the development of a software program that would complement the workflow of the practitioner while capturing data efficiently. The main goal of the project is development of a longitudinal database reflective of clinical practice, to be used for both research and evaluation.

Clinical Nursing Research↗
PubMed1996

Evaluating physical functional outcomes: one category of the NOC system.

All professional health care disciplines are now being held accountable to demonstrate the outcomes they produce. It is imperative that nurses demonstrate the difference they make in patient care to justify the cost of professional nursing. Standardized language is needed to aggregate data and report information on nursing interventions and associated outcomes. The Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) system is the first comprehensive classification of nursing-sensitive patient outcomes. In this review, the development of this classification system with specific results related to physical functional status and implications of NOC for nursing practice are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Development of the home care client satisfaction instrument.

Client (patient) satisfaction has been studied extensively in the health care sector, yet those receiving home health care services have been the focus of few studies. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Home Care Client Satisfaction Instrument (HCCSI). A total of 400 clients, randomly selected from 20 randomly chosen home care agencies in one state, completed the HCCSI and demographic form. Most respondents were older adults with multiple health problems and their families or informal support systems. Since data were skewed, item analysis was used. The revised instrument (HCCSI-R) is unidimensional and includes 12 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale measuring specific aspects of care. In addition, there are three global measures of satisfaction rated on a 10-point scale. All items except one had significant item-total correlations greater than .59. The total score correlates with likeliness to recommend the agency to others (.37, p = .0001), showing some evidence for criterion-related validity.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

The Nursing Minimum Data Set: abstraction tool for standardized, comparable, essential data.

The Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS) represents the first attempt to standardize the collection of essential nursing data. These minimum core data, used on a regular basis by the majority of nurses in the delivery of care across settings, can provide an accurate description of nursing diagnoses, nursing care, and nursing resources used. Collected on an ongoing basis, a standardized nursing data base will enable nurses to compare data across populations, settings, geographic areas, and time. Public health nurses will be able to evaluate and compare services. The purpose of this article is to discuss briefly the following aspects of the NMDS: background including definition, purposes, and elements; availability and reliability of the data; benefits; implications of the NMDS with emphasis on nursing research; and health policy decision making.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The concept of integration: a foundation for evaluating outcomes of nursing care.

Changes in the health care environment, an aging population, and an increase in chronic health conditions require consideration of the adequacy of concepts available for demonstrating the effectiveness of nursing care. One concept that has potential utility for nursing in this regard is the concept of integration. Analysis of the concept of integration was conducted to alleviate existing ambiguity and to explore ways in which this concept has been employed in diverse disciplines. The concept of integration is characterized primarily as a process of combination: two or more elements are merged with sufficient interaction so that unity of the newly formed entity is achieved. The attributes of the concept of integration, therefore, include process, combination, interaction, and unity. The concept of integration is useful in evaluation of reconciliation of past and present identities and altered role relationships within the environment.

Concept Formation↗