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Background The transition to home for infants who require complex care can be overwhelming for caregivers. Infants with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) require advanced care management, so their caregivers must acquire extensive training before the infants are discharged home. Rooming-in programs have improved patient outcomes in other settings, such as the postpartum period. However, little research has examined a rooming-in program in a pediatric cardiac acute care setting. Objective To describe nurses’ perceptions of a novel rooming-in program implemented in a pediatric cardiac acute care unit. Methods A qualitative descriptive research design was used to describe nurses’ perceptions of the rooming-in program for infants with CCHD. Three focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample of 13 registered nurses who cared for infants with CCHD during the rooming-in program. Four trained independent coders performed qualitative thematic analysis. Results Nurses provided critical insight into the rooming-in program. Three themes were identified: improved nursing and family outcomes, leading the way through collaboration, and room for improvement. Conclusions Infants with CCHD have complex needs, and caregivers must acquire advanced skills to adequately care for these infants. This study is the first to explore nurses’ perceptions of a rooming-in program for infants with CCHD. The findings could improve rooming-in programs in the pediatric acute care setting, which can translate to better patient outcomes.

Nursing faculty are challenged to integrate immunization content in prelicensure nursing curricula. Historically, most immunization content has been delivered in pediatrics courses, with less emphasis on other populations across the lifespan. Skills related to vaccine administration may be prioritized over the most current immunization science, such as pathophysiology, immunology, and epidemiology. As the most trusted profession rated by the public (Saad, 2020), nurses are ideally suited to address vaccine hesitancy and promote vaccination in the communities they serve. Nurses apply active listening, problem solving, and communication skills with patients and their families, contributing to a person's confidence in their decision to be vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research collaborated to develop a framework for immunization content and teaching resources, Immunization Resources for Undergraduate Nursing (IRUN), for faculty to use in designing the nursing curricula. Content includes a curriculum framework, curriculum mapping tool, multiple teaching resources, and a dedicated website (IRUNursing.org). The framework provides guidance for faculty on integrating immunization content into a curriculum. Teaching resources include case studies, simulation scenarios, and PowerPoint slide decks. Although primarily focused on prelicensure nursing education, resources are also relevant to advanced professional nursing education.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) directly contribute to health inequities among populations and communities. These structural and social forces impact health and health outcomes. Nurses play a vital role in addressing the SDOH and closing gaps relative to disparate outcomes. Integration of SDOH in nursing curriculums has become highly prioritized in nursing education as marginalized communities continue to experience inequities in health, which have been highlighted during the COVID pandemic. Many schools of nursing have embedded SDOH in course content throughout curricula but lack a structured approach to appraise the effectiveness of incorporating these concepts. This paper describes a framework used to evaluate SDOH integration in pre-and post-licensure curriculum.

Background As expert clinicians are recruited to academic positions in response to nursing faculty shortages, comprehensive plans are needed for transitioning and role development. Problem Schools of nursing often lack infrastructures to support and develop new faculty. Approach Team members from an academic-clinical partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs created a competency-based faculty development plan. Outcomes A comprehensive self-directed faculty development plan was established that included a needs assessment, competency-based guide, and online modular resources. Conclusion The faculty development plan provides a tailored approach to support the transition of clinicians to the academic role. This strategy is a potential solution to addressing the faculty shortage, retention, and role strain issues and builds capacity in schools of nursing. This innovative plan is a first step in establishing a mechanism to measure faculty competencies and professional growth.

Background Research shows that the number of loving words children hear in their first 3 years of life has a tremendous impact on their health, developmental, and literacy outcomes. Early language transactions should be rich in engagement, quantity, quality, and context-a term called language nutrition. Problem The curriculum in most nursing programs does not emphasize the importance of early language exposure and ways to empower families to talk with their babies. Approach The Talk With Me Baby Curriculum for Nurses, which includes techniques to empower families to better engage conversationally with their babies, was integrated into the prelicensure nursing curriculum. Outcomes More than 1,300 nursing students have received knowledge and skills on early language exposure and ways nurses can promote parent-child interactions. Conclusion Nurses have the opportunity to empower families to engage with their babies socially, emotionally, and linguistically as a means of promoting healthy brain development.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital defect. Infants with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) require complex medical care, and their caregivers need extensive training before being discharged home to safely care for their child. The rooming-in process provides caregivers with an opportunity to learn, practice, and manage the skills required for discharge to home during hospitalization. Although the literature reflects positive implications for the use of the rooming-in process in other populations (e.g., neonatal abstinence syndrome), literature about the rooming-in process in a pediatric cardiac care setting is limited. There remains a gap in the literature pertaining to the viewpoints of nurses, specifically as it relates to implementing a rooming-in process. Therefore, a qualitative study design was chosen to explore the nurses' perceptions of the rooming-in process using focus groups. The purpose of this study was to gain insight from nurses as to strategies to enhance the rooming-in process for caregivers of infants with CCHD. Additionally, we explored potential education and interventions to improve outcomes for infants with CCHD preparing to be discharged home.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a lifelong condition that usually appears in late infancy or early childhood, and is characterized by social and communication deficits that impede optimal functioning. Despite widespread research and greater public awareness, ASD has an unclear etiology and no known cure, making it difficult to acquire accurate and timely diagnoses. In addition, once an ASD diagnosis is made, parents find it challenging to navigate the healthcare system and determine which interventions are most effective and appropriate for their child. A growing body of evidence supports the value of early diagnosis and treatment with evidence-based interventions, which can significantly improve the quality of life of individuals with ASD as well as of their carers and families. Particularly noteworthy are early interventions that occur in natural surroundings and can be modified to address age-related goals throughout the lifespan. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to: 1) provide readers with a brief background related to ASD; 2) describe commonly used screening instruments and tools for early diagnosis; 3) describe early interventions that have empirical support; and 4) discuss how the parent–child and family relationships can be affected through this process. This information can provide professionals with information they can use to assist families who make critical and potentially life-changing decisions for children with ASD., Video abstract

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are complex neurodevelopmental disorders with symptoms presenting in early childhood. Although a reliable diagnosis can be made by age 2, most children with ASD are not diagnosed until age 4. Delayed diagnosis subsequently leads to delayed treatments, thus impacting long-term outcomes for children with ASD. Additionally, alternative therapy use in ASD is common but lacks empirical evidence. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe the use of a modified Delphi method to construct an Internet survey for healthcare providers to identify perceived barriers to early diagnosis and intervention, as well as alternative therapy use in children with ASD. Methods/Findings: Survey questions were developed based on an extensive literature review. Preliminary survey questions were presented to an interdisciplinary Community Advisory Board (CAB) of ASD professionals (n=10) to obtain feedback. A modified Delphi method elicited group feedback regarding the survey content. Three independent rounds and analyses were performed during the process. The final survey was constructed online using REDcap (Research Electronic Data Capture) and disseminated to healthcare professionals via the Internet. Limitations include the preliminary nature of this instrument development study and small sample size. Conclusion: The researchers used the Delphi method’s structured communication process to collect, group, sort, and rank data in a series of sequential questionnaires distributed to individuals with expertise on the topic. This was an effective method of establishing consensus among providers regarding clinical questions. This work provided insight to the clinical problem of barriers to early diagnosis and intervention in children with ASD, as well as alternative therapy use. Subsequent research should further characterize these barriers in order to reduce or eliminate them, empirically evaluate the most common alternative treatments, and improve long-term outcomes of children with ASD.