Transmission of family health information within families

Background and Aims: A comprehensive family health history still offers the best data for calculating risk of most complex diseases, but lack of informant accuracy hinders its use. Young adults transitioning from the parental home to more independent university life may be poor historians. The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of family health information acquired by young university students and to characterize the process by which they learn family health facts. Methods: Thematic content analysis was applied to interviews with undergraduate students enrolled in diverse classes across disciplines at a public US university. Results: Two processes, hanging around and trickling down, described the ways young adults learned family health information. The majority of respondents described both empowerment and a sense of vulnerability that resulted from having their family health information. Conclusions: Family health history provided by young adult students is characterized by inaccuracies related to lack of information and misunderstanding of information that is available. Young students are typically transitioning from the care of local primary care physicians into relationships with new healthcare providers, and are interested in family health history. Thus, this transition is an opportunity for nurses to construct an organized family health history with them.

Comparison of Dwell-Times of Two Commonly Placed Peripheral Intravenous Catheters: Traditional vs. Ultrasound-Guided

Introduction: Because establishing venous access in patients can be difficult and time consuming, the use of ultrasound to guide the insertion of peripheral intravenous catheters has become more common. Anecdotal evidence indicates ultrasound-guided catheter insertion may result in decreased catheter survival in the vein (dwell-time), but there is little evidence to support this observation. The purpose of this study was to compare dwell-times for peripheral intravenous catheters placed with ultrasound guidance with intravenous catheters placed by means of traditional anatomic insertion in patients in an acute care hospital. Methods: This secondary data analysis examined outcomes of 298 patients who received ultrasound-guided catheter insertion and 299 patients who received traditionally placed intravenous catheters. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify significant predictors of dwell-time for both the traditional and US-guided catheters. Results: The average dwell-times for ultrasound-guided and traditionally placed catheters were significantly different (p 2 = 0.22). Discussion: Dwell-times of catheters placed with ultrasound guidance are shorter than traditionally placed catheters. Ultrasound-guided catheters should be monitored closely for inadvertent removal or infiltration. A plan to place a more permanent type of intravenous access should be considered for patients admitted for patients longer than 24 hours.