In nursing homes, influenza spreads quickly. Even in facilities with separate wings, staff move throughout the home, caring for medically complex older adults who often share rooms. In this way, a single case of influenza can rapidly become a facility-wide outbreak. National guidelines recommend treating all eligible nursing home residents with antiviral medications at the … Read more
A new educational game simulates real breastfeeding complications, helping nurses learn how to spot and manage fungal nipple infections that can cause pain and early weaning. Study: Serious game prototype for nurses on nipple-areolar lesions resulting from fungal infections in breastfeeding. Image credit: Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock.com Pain during lactation forces many mothers to discontinue it prematurely, … Read more
Moral injury remains prevalent among critical care nurses, with newer nurses at the highest risk of developing symptoms, according to new research published in American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC). Moral resilience and a healthy work environment were found to serve as potential buffers against moral injury, providing a combination of personal and environmental protections. … Read more
Their job is to protect, promote, and restore human health and lives, but healthcare workers believe that their own use of alcohol and illegal drugs reduces the quality of care they provide to patients. A recent study suggests that more doctors and nurses struggle with substance use than we are aware of. There is a … Read more
Chronic pain is one of the most common health conditions worldwide. Back pain is the most frequently reported type, followed closely by head and face pain linked to the jaw joint, in the form of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. While not life-threatening like cancer or infectious disease, chronic pain can dramatically diminish quality of life … Read more
A researcher with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio has received a two-year, $402,500 grant award from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund to study how microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, paradoxically might contribute to the spread of toxic forms of tau protein in the disease. Sarah C. … Read more
Programs that match caregivers with patient navigators yield better outcomes than Alzheimer’s drug – but combining the two may be best. A Medicare-covered program that offers support and medical advice for caregivers of patients with dementia may bring more benefit than a costly Alzheimer’s medication, new research finds. UC San Francisco researchers compared outcomes for patients … Read more
Home service workers-those who provide care, inspections, or repairs inside private homes-can often lack paid sick leave, making illness a direct financial risk. New research from George Mason University College of Public Health suggests paid sick leave should be understood not only as an employee benefit, but as a preventive health intervention. In the study … Read more
An artificial intelligence (AI) tool accurately predicted which patients would need a skilled nursing facility after leaving the hospital, a new study shows. Led by researchers from NYU Langone Health, the study suggests that quickly identifying these patients would help hospitals plan earlier for complex care and avert stressful situations where patients are medically ready … Read more
In recent years, research into cannabis and its main psychoactive ingredient, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has unearthed medical benefits including anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. However, THC is also known to negatively affect learning and memory, limiting its potential clinical usefulness, particularly in disorders of the brain. Now, a new study led by Chu Chen, PhD, professor in … Read more