The self-care of chronic illness inventory is adequate in reliability and validity. We suggest further testing in diverse populations of patients with chronic illnesses.

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Background Heart failure (HF) is a costly and growing health problem that is routinely complicated by chronic pain and depression. The purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of pain and pain management in depressed HF patients. Design/Participants In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from 62 participants with depression and Class II–IV HF. Study variables of interest were collected from the Brief Pain Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and Rand-36. Results Almost all participants (98%) had some pain in the past month and most had pain in the last 24 hours (66%). The median pain score was 4 (0–10 scale) with the majority reporting moderate to severe pain. The median pain interference score was 4.42 (0–10 scale) with the majority reporting moderate to extreme interference. Medication to treat pain was used by all participants who reported pain with only 5% also using non-pharmacologic treatment. Conclusion The majority of participants reported moderate or severe pain while also having moderate to extreme pain interference. Non- pharmacologic pain treatments were severely underutilized. Women were more likely to have higher levels of pain intensity and more pain interference than men suggesting that, additional screening for the impact of pain is especially important in women. The wide variety of body areas affected along with moderate to high intensity pain and considerable interference scores reported, indicate that pain was ineffectively treated. Non-pharmacologic treatments should be considered to decrease the impact of pain.

Background Activity monitoring devices are currently being tested to facilitate and monitor physical activity. No prior reviews have examined adherence to the use of activity monitoring devices amongst adults with cardiovascular disease. Methods Literature from June 2012 to October 2017 was evaluated to examine the extent of adherence to any activity monitoring device used to collect objective physical activity data. RCTs comparing usual care against an activity monitoring device in a community intervention for adults from any cardiovascular diagnostic group were included. A systematic search of databases and clinical trials registers was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Results Of the ten eligible studies, two studies reported on pedometer use, and eight on accelerometers. Six studies addressed our primary outcome with a mean adherence of 59.1% at last follow up; range 39.6% to 85.7% at six months. Studies lacked equal representation by gender (28.6% female) and age (range 42 to 82 years). Conclusion The results of this review have demonstrated we may be over stating results from current research due to adherence issues. Results showed physical activity tracking in women and young adults have been understudied.

Late-life depression is common among nursing home residents, but often is not addressed by nurses. Using a self-directed, CD-based depression training program, this pilot study used mixed methods to assess feasibility issues, determine nurse perceptions of training, and evaluate depression-related outcomes among residents in usual care and training conditions. Of 58 nurses enrolled, 24 completed the training and gave it high ratings. Outcomes for 50 residents include statistically significant reductions in depression severity over time (p<0.001) among all groups. Depression training is an important vehicle to improve depression recognition and daily nursing care, but diverse factors must be addressed to assure optimal outcomes.