FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/March 27, 1998

CONTACT: Michael Stewart [202/651-7048]; Sara Foer [202/651-7023]; http://www.nursingworld.org

EMBARGO NOTE: All ANA convention presentations are embargoed until the date and local time of the presentation.

"Uniting Nurses: One Strong Voice" is Theme of ANA's 1998 Biennial Convention

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) will hold its 1998 Biennial Convention and Exposition in San Diego, CA, June 26 - July 1, at the San Diego Convention Center. Of special interest are the one-day Council of Nurse Researchers pre-conference presentations and American Nurses Foundation (ANF) poster presentations (Fri., 6/26, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.).

The pre-conference and convention together are expected to draw thousands of registrants. A few of the topic areas to be covered include pain management, neonatal care, women's health issues, geriatric and long-term care, telehealth, the effects of cultural differences on nursing care outcomes, and nursing's response to the dramatic shifts resulting from changes in America's health care delivery system.

This year's theme will be reflected in many of the presentations, including the ANA presidential keynote address and honorary awards and Nursing Hall of Fame ceremony (Sat., 6/27, 1:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.). Two convention plenary sessions (detailed among the highlights that follow) will focus on shifts in health care delivery and their effects on patient safety and quality outcomes, as well as their impact on the nursing profession.

Selected Sessions and Topics from the Council of Nurse Researchers (CNR) Pre-Conference and American Nurses Foundation (ANF) Poster Presentations (Fri., 6/26):

• A Randomized Clinical Trial of Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Prenatal Home Care to Women With High-Risk Pregnancies: The purpose of this randomized clinical trial was to compare maternal and infant outcomes between two groups of women at high risk for delivering low birth-weight infants. The control group received routine prenatal care; half of the intervention groups' prenatal care was substituted by APRNs who delivered care in the women's homes. The group receiving APRN home care had lower pregnancy loss and infant death, fewer preterm infants, fewer days and fewer combined maternal and infant hospital days following birth (Fri., 6/26, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., "Family and Maternal/Child Nursing Research," Session Code [SC] 208).
• Febrile Symptom Management: An Integrative Review: Care of fever symptoms has changed little over the last century, despite nearly three decades of scientific clarification of mechanisms. Fever, a controlled elevation of body temperature, is a systemic host response. Most fever symptomatology is linked to proinflammatory cytokines, not to elevated body temperature. Study findings related to febrile symptoms include measures to assess and prevent febrile shivering, fatigue, thermal distress, fluid deficit, and responses to aggressive cooling. Guidelines are offered for incorporating evolving discoveries into fever care (Fri., 6/26, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., "Other Nursing Research, SC210).
• Effect of Relaxation on Post-Operative Pain: Findings from studies indicate that many patients report moderate to severe pain after surgery, despite new analgesic administration modalities including patient-controlled analgesia. Adjunct pain relief measures, such as modified progressive muscle relaxation, when used with analgesics, may enhance pain relief (Fri., 6/26, 11:00 a.m. - 12 noon, "Pain Management Research," SC203).
• Implementing Pressure Ulcer Guidelines in Long-Term Care:This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of implementing a pressure ulcer (bedsore) prevention and treatment program based on Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research guidelines. Patients treated using the AHCPR protocol gained in ulcer-free days. The findings also indicate that consistently implemented prevention can be cost-effective (Fri., 6/26, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., "Other Nursing Research," SC210).
• Integrative Review and Meta-Analysis of Kangaroo Care Effects: Kangaroo Care (KC), or skin-to-skin holding, is practiced by very few nurses because of the belief that infants will get cold and suffer concommitant extremes in cardiorespiratory values. While KC does effect skin temperature, body heat loss does not occur. Implementation of KC can proceed with monitoring of vital signs (Fri., 6/26, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., "Family and Maternal/Child Nursing Research," SC208).
• Effects of Separation on Families During Hospitalization: When hospitalization involves relocation or travel to a treatment facility in a different state or country, the families must also deal with separation from existing support systems and the increased burden from the travel involved. The purpose of this study was to identify the stressors associated with family separations during medical evaluation or treatment, the coping mechanisms and resources used by families to mediate these stressors, and the effects of the separation on family functioning (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• Effect of Postmenopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy on Heart Rate Variability: Study explores whether hormone replacement therapy may lower the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in postmenopausal women (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• Managing Asthma at School: What Knowledge and Skills Do Staff Possess?: Asthma is the most common childhood disease and the leading cause of school absenteeism. School teachers and staff, as "primary caregivers" in the school setting, should possess asthma knowledge and skills (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• Dyspnea Self-Care in African-Americans With Chronic Respiratory Disease: Dyspnea relief in African-Americans with chronic respiratory disease may be helped through promotion of spiritual resources (prayer and meditation) and individualized breathing strategies based on the underlying pulmonary disorder (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• The Meaning of Being Healthy:The differing meanings of "health" from the perspectives of older Anglo and Hispanic women, as well as the implications for care (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• The Effectiveness of a Pain Program on Patient Outcomes: Pain research has documented undertreatment of pain for children. Three pediatric units participate in a study of pain management (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• Hyperlipidemia Among Adults: Some adults forgo further cholesterol/lipid screening tests once they have been told they have hyperlipidemia and their low-fat diets and exercise programs have not been successful in improving the condition. This study offers implications for treatment of these individuals (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).
• Outcomes of Therapeutic Massage for Hospitalized Cancer Patients: Study explores the effects of therapeutic massage on perceptions of pain, sleep patterns, symptom distress, and anxiety (Fri., 6/26, ANF Poster Presentation).

Selected Sessions from the Convention Education Program (6/26 - 7/1):

• Death and Dying in Long-Term Care: Socio-cultural systems, organization factors and patient perspectives influence terminal care. Development of "hospice households" in long-term care facilities is a mechanism for fostering comfort, quality of life, and human dignity for people with end-stage dementia (Sat., 6/27, 10:45 - noon, SC002).
• Transcultural Nursing: An Imperative Worldwide: This course presents trends in the use of transcultural nursing concepts, principles, and theory related to culture-care diversity and universality. The latest research findings will be explored to assist the nurse in providing culturally congruent nursing care of Hispanics, South East Asians, Anglo-Americans, and African-Americans (Sun., 6/28, 8 a.m. - noon, SC105).
• HIV and Adolescents: School Nursing Initiatives: Three successful school nurse-initiated projects have motivated school communities and the general public to support, develop, and implement appropriate HIV services for adolescents as part of a comprehensive school health program (Sun., 6/28, 8 a.m. - 10 a.m., SC006).
• Strategies for Building Successful Rehabilitation Programs developed by the Association of Rehabilitation Nursing: In the "cost-effective" health care environment of today, alternate delivery site programs that offer quality rehabilitation services are at a premium. This course focuses on home care restorative nursing and describes how programs are successfully established that provide effective treatment and rehabilitation (Sun., 6/28, 8 a.m. - noon, SC107).
• Why Should U.S. RNs Care About an International Treaty Against Gender Discrimation?: This session provides the background of and rationale for U.S. ratification of an international treaty to eliminate discrimination against females and relates goals of the treaty for U.S. nurses, women, children and communities, as well as the relationship between gender discrimination and health status (Sun., 6/28, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., SC015).
• Telehealth: Nursing Challenges and Solutions: Successful care of patients in remote sites depends on nurses' abilities to appropriately use technology and modify nursing interventions to capitalize on electronic technologies. This session will present the new opportunities and challenges that telehealth presents to the nursing profession (Sun., 6/28, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., SC019).
• Nurse-Managed Centers for Vulnerable Populations in a Managed Care Environment: Nurse-managed centers may be the answer to addressing the needs of uninsured and underinsured children. The speakers will present an in-depth case study of a nursing center in an urban San Francisco high school and how the center successfully served the needs of this often underrepresented population (Sun., 6/28, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., SC018).
• Osteoporosis: New Models of Nursing Practice and Patient Care: Preventing and providing care for osteoporosis has become a hot topic among aging baby boomers and has presented a great challenge to health care providers. This session will introduce several models for providing osteoporosis care developed by the National Osteoporosis Foundation and will summarize national and state legislative initiatives addressing the disease (SC031, Mon. 6/29, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.).
• The Trauma of Transformation in the 90s: This plenary session provides a comprehensive perspective on the current status of the health care industry; the changing nature of work; newly evolving opportunities for nursing; and, lessons to be drawn from the sea change in the health care industry (Mon., 6/29, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Plenary #1).
• The Future of For-Profit Health Care: Privatization, mergers, acquisitions, conversions to for-profit organizations and the changing venues for managed care signal the trend toward a for-profit business philosophy, where the bottom line and dividends to stockholders are at stake. Implications of this trend for the consumer, nurses, and other health care professionals will be examined by internationally known health policy and economics experts (Tue., 6/30, 2 p.m. - 3:50 p.m., Plenary II).
• Assessing and Addressing Health Care Workplace Violence: Health Care workers suffer the highest number of non-fatal workplace injuries of any occupational sector. This session will provide guidelines to applying violence reduction strategies for specific workplaces and dealing with problems such as a hostage situations and the prevention of infant abductions (Tue., 6/30, 8 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., SC036).
• Forensic Nursing Clinical Investigation of Injury and Death: The forensic nurse investigates cases of injury and abuse. Medical-legal roles and responsibilities are outlined, including principles of evidence collection/presentation, forensic documentation, and evidence protection. The role of the forensic nurse as an expert witness also will be discussed (Wed., 7/1, 8 a.m. - noon SC117).

Note to Media: ANA convention press room hours of operation will be the following:

• Fri., 6/26, 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., 6/27 through Tue., 6/30, 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
• Wed., 7/1, 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Please contact Michael Stewart or Sara Foer for a media registration packet (see contact information at the beginning of this release). The packet will include a preliminary program and other background materials. (Please note: Media needing housing should call toll-free 888-813-2749. Due to lodging limitations, we encourage media registrants to make their housing reservations as early as possible.) Journalists unable to attend the convention are encouraged to register to cover it from off-site. They, too, will be supplied with advance background materials and supported through telephone contact with ANA staff working in the press room during the convention.

The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.6 million Registered Nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the work place, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

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