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Language Barriers in School Health: Addressing Health Equity in the U.S. Educational System
McCabe, Ellen M; Bennett, Sheryl; Lowrey, Kerri McGowan; Squires, Allison
Federal law requires school health leaders to ensure meaningful access to language resources to promote optimal health and education outcomes. This paper aims to inform all stakeholders, including decision-makers, about the importance of developing language access plans and policies. Multiple sources and legal guidelines provide a comprehensive overview of the issue. Including an examination of current practices and challenges that school nurses encounter, specifically regarding language resources, guidance is offered to elucidate meaningful language access policies that ensure equitable access to school health services. Supporting meaningful language access includes providing school nurses with qualified interpretation and translation services to care for those who do not speak, read, or write in English or have limitations with the English language. Additionally, local and state agencies may implement language access services requirements and enforce compliance with a language access plan to meet federal funding requirements.
PMID: 39051602
ISSN: 1546-8364
CID: 5754422
Limited English Proficiency Is an Overlooked Research Demographic
Sliwinski, Kathy; Squires, Allison P
Excluding this population perpetuates health inequities.
PMID: 38780321
ISSN: 1538-7488
CID: 5658842
"We have met the enemy and it is us": Healthcare professionals as the barrier to health equity for people with intellectual and developmental disability [Editorial]
Miner, Dianne C; Ailey, Sarah H; Thompson, Roy A; Squires, Allison; Adarlo, Amyela; Brown, Holly
PMID: 38415432
ISSN: 1098-240x
CID: 5694472
Voice, silence, perceived impact, psychological safety, and burnout among nurses: A structural equation modeling analysis
Lee, Seung Eun; Seo, Ja-Kyung; Squires, Allison
BACKGROUND:The organizational studies' literature suggests that employees' expressions of voice and silence may be distinct concepts with different predictors. Organizational researchers also argue that both employees' voice and silence are related to burnout; however, these relationships have not been adequately examined in the healthcare context. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to investigate the relationships among nurses' perceived impact, psychological safety, voice behaviors, and burnout using a theoretical model. Voice behaviors were conceptualized as voice and silence. DESIGN/METHODS:A cross-sectional, correlational study design was employed. SETTINGS/METHODS:Study data were collected in 34 general hospitals in South Korea. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:A total of 1255 registered nurses providing direct care to patients were included in this study. METHODS:Using a convenience sampling method, a web-based survey was conducted to obtain data. All variables were measured using standardized instruments. A structural equation modeling analysis was employed to test a hypothesized model positing that perceived impact and psychological safety have both direct and indirect effects on nurse burnout through voice and silence. The response rate was 72.8 %. RESULTS:The findings supported the hypothesized model. Both perceived impact and psychological safety were positively related to expressions of voice, but both were negatively associated with silence. We also found that perceived impact was more strongly associated with voice than with silence, while psychological safety had a stronger impact on silence than on voice. Furthermore, voice reduced burnout, while silence increased it. Finally, perceived impact reduced burnout through voice (β = -0.10, 95 % confidence interval [-0.143, -0.059]) and silence (β = -0.04, 95 % confidence interval [-0.058, -0.014]), and psychological safety also decreased burnout through voice (β = -0.04, 95 % confidence interval [-0.057, -0.016]) and silence (β = -0.07, 95 % confidence interval [-0.101, -0.033]). Additional analyses revealed that prohibitive voice and silence significantly mediated the associations between psychological safety and burnout and perceived impact and burnout, but the mediating role of promotive voice was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS:It is important to recognize that voice and silence are distinct concepts. Moreover, to reduce nurse burnout, nurse managers and hospital administrators should develop separate strategies for promoting nurses' perceived impact and psychological safety, as their influences on voice and silence differ. REGISTRATION/BACKGROUND:Not applicable. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT/CONCLUSIONS:Voice and silence both influence nurse burnout. Separate strategies should be applied to voice and silence, as they are different concepts.
PMID: 38160639
ISSN: 1873-491x
CID: 5635082
Influence of the work environment of nurses on the 30-day mortality of patients hospitalized in Polish hospitals. cross-sectional studies
Malinowska-Lipień, Iwona; Put, Dariusz; Maluchnik, Michał; Gabryś, Teresa; Kózka, Maria; Gajda, Krzysztof; Gniadek, Agnieszka; Brzostek, Tomasz; Squires, Allison
BACKGROUND:An optimal work environment for nurses is characterized primarily by appropriate staffing, good team relations, and support from the management staff. These factors are consistently associated with a positive assessment of patient safety by a hospital's employees and a reduction in hospital mortality rates. AIM/OBJECTIVE:To understand the relationships between the work environment as perceived by nurses on the 30-day mortality of patients treated in Polish hospitals. BACKGROUND:An optimal work environment for nurses is characterized primarily by appropriate staffing, good team relations, and support from the management staff. These factors are consistently associated with a positive assessment of patient safety by a hospital's employees and a reduction in hospital mortality rates. MATERIAL AND METHODS/METHODS:The analysis used discharge data from 108,284 patients hospitalized in internal medicine and surgery departments in 21 hospitals (with 24/7 operations) in Poland. Administrative data included coded data to estimate 30-day mortality. A Nurses' satisfaction questionnaire, including the PES-NWI scale and the SAQ questionnaire, was used to assess the work environment of nurses (n = 1,929). Correlations between variables were assessed using the Pearson coefficient. The analysis used a Poisson regression model, which belongs to the class of generalized linear models. RESULTS:A lower 30-day mortality rate amongst patients was found among those treated in hospitals where the personnel feel that they may question the decisions or actions of their superiors regarding the care provided (r = - 0.50); nurses are informed about changes introduced on the basis of reports about negligence and mistakes (r = - 0.50); the ward nurse is a good manager (r = - 0.41); nurses receive timely information from the head of the department that may have an impact on their work (r = - 0.41). CONCLUSIONS:Factors related to care during hospital stay such as the organization of care at the ward level, analysis of care errors, the number of staff providing direct patient care, informing nurses about mistakes without punishment, and the possibility of nurses challenging the decisions or actions of superiors, which concerns care providing, affect the 30-day mortality of patients after the end of hospitalization in Polish hospitals.
PMCID:10870652
PMID: 38360713
ISSN: 1472-6955
CID: 5756082
Moral Distress, Burnout, Turnover Intention, and Coping Strategies among Korean Nurses during the Late Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Method Study
Lee, Jae Jun; Ji, Hyunju; Lee, Sanga; Lee, Seung Eun; Squires, Allison
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties nurses face, resulting in higher turnover rates and workforce shortages. This study investigated the relationships between nurses' moral distress, burnout, and turnover intention during the last stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explored the coping strategies nurses use to mitigate moral distress. Utilizing a mixed-method approach, this study analyzed data from 307 nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in acute care hospitals through an online survey conducted in November 2022. Our data analysis encompassed quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics and path analysis, using a generalized structural equation model. For the qualitative aspect, we examined open-ended responses from 246 nurses using inductive content analysis. The quantitative findings revealed that nurses' moral distress had a significant direct effect on turnover intention. In addition, burnout significantly mediated the relationship between moral distress and turnover intention. Qualitative analyses contextualized the relationships uncovered in the quantitative analyses. The qualitative analysis identified various positive and negative coping strategies. Positive strategies included a commitment to minimize COVID-19 transmission risks, adopting a holistic approach amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, voicing concerns for patient safety, engaging in continuous learning, and prioritizing self-care. Conversely, negative strategies involved adopting avoidance behaviors stemming from feelings of powerlessness and adopting a passive approach to one's role. Notably, some participants shifted from positive to negative coping strategies because of institutional barriers and challenges. The findings underscore the importance for hospital administrators and nurse managers to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic-related challenges encountered by nurses and recognize the link among moral distress, burnout, and turnover intention. It highlights the essential role of organizational and managerial support in fostering effective coping strategies among nurses to address moral distress.
PMCID:11919054
PMID: 40224793
ISSN: 1365-2834
CID: 5832422
Impact of Patient-Clinician Relationships on Pain and Objective Functional Measures for Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain: An Experimental Study
Vorensky, Mark; Squires, Allison; Jones, Simon; Sajnani, Nisha; Castillo, Elijah; Rao, Smita
PURPOSE:To compare the effects of enhanced and limited patient-clinician relationships during patient history taking on objective functional measures and pain appraisals for individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP). METHODS:Fifty-two (52) participants with CLBP, unaware of the two groups, were randomized using concealed allocation to an enhanced (n=26) or limited (n=26) patient-clinician relationship condition. Participants shared their history of CLBP with a clinician who enacted either enhanced or limited communication strategies. Fingertip-to-floor, one-minute lift, and Biering-Sorensen tests, and visual analogue scale for pain at rest were assessed before and after the patient-clinician relationship conditions. FINDINGS:The enhanced condition resulted in significantly greater improvements in the one-minute lift test (F(1,49)=7.47, p<.01, ηp2=0.13) and pain at rest (F(1,46)=4.63, p=.04, ηp2=0.09), but not the fingertip-to-floor or Biering-Sorensen tests, compared with the limited group. CONCLUSIONS:Even without physical treatment, differences in patient-clinician relationships acutely affected lifting performance and pain among individuals with CLBP.
PMID: 39584210
ISSN: 1548-6869
CID: 5779832
Perceptions of healthcare workers on linkage between depression and hypertension in northern Ghana: a qualitative study
Adu-Amankwah, Dorothy; Babagoli, Masih A; Aborigo, Raymond A; Squires, Allison P; Nonterah, Engelbert; Jones, Khadija R; Alvarez, Evan; Anyorikeya, Maria; Horowitz, Carol R; Weobong, Benedict; Heller, David J
Hypertension and depression are increasingly common noncommunicable diseases in Ghana and worldwide, yet both are poorly controlled. We sought to understand how healthcare workers in rural Ghana conceptualize the interaction between hypertension and depression, and how care for these two conditions might best be integrated. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study involving in-depth interviews with 34 healthcare workers in the Kassena-Nankana districts of the Upper East Region of Ghana. We used conventional content analysis to systematically review interview transcripts, code the data content and analyze codes for salient themes. Respondents detailed three discrete conceptual models. Most emphasized depression as causing hypertension: through both emotional distress and unhealthy behavior. Others posited a bidirectional relationship, where cardiovascular morbidity worsened mood, or described a single set of underlying causes for both conditions. Nearly all proposed health interventions targeted their favored root cause of these disorders. In this representative rural Ghanaian community, healthcare workers widely agreed that cardiovascular disease and mental illness are physiologically linked and warrant an integrated care response, but held diverse views regarding precisely how and why. There was widespread support for a single primary care intervention to treat both conditions through counseling and medication.
PMCID:11504924
PMID: 39464567
ISSN: 2054-4251
CID: 5741432
A multi-language qualitative study of limited English proficiency patient experiences in the United States
Squires, Allison; Gerchow, Lauren; Ma, Chenjuan; Liang, Eva; Trachtenberg, Melissa; Miner, Sarah
Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the limited English proficiency patient experience with health care services in an urban setting in the United States. Methods: Through a narrative analysis approach, 71 individuals who spoke either Spanish, Russian, Cantonese, Mandarin, or Korean shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews between 2016 and 2018. Analyses used monolingual and multilingual open coding approaches to generate themes. Results: Six themes illustrated patient experiences and identified sources of structural inequities perpetuating language barriers at the point of care. An important thread throughout all interviews was the sense that the language barrier with clinicians posed a threat to their safety when receiving healthcare, citing an acute awareness of additional risk for harm they might experience. Participants also consistently identified factors they felt would improve their sense of security that were specific to clinician interactions. Differences in experiences were specific to culture and heritage. Conclusions: The findings highlight the ongoing challenges spoken language barriers pose across multiple points of care in the United States' health care system. Innovation: The multi-language nature of this study and its methodological insights are innovative as most studies have focused on clinicians or patient experiences in a single language.
SCOPUS:85163774732
ISSN: 2772-6282
CID: 5548152
Making the invisible visible: The importance of applying a lens of Intersectionality for researching Internationally Educated Nurses
Thompson, Roy A; Lewis, Kaleea R; Curtis, Cedonnie A; Olanrewaju, Sherif A; Squires, Allison
PMID: 37984020
ISSN: 1528-3968
CID: 5608262