No abstract

Aging has a degenerative effect on hand function, including declines in hand and finger strength and ability to control submaximal pinch force and maintain a steady precision pinch posture, manual speed, and hand sensation.

This study provides evidence for the validity of "6-Clicks" scores for assessing patients' activity limitations in acute care settings.

This study provides evidence of the accuracy of "6-Clicks" scores for predicting destination after discharge from an acute care hospital.

Registered nurses (RNs) play a critical role in health care delivery. With an aging US population, health care demand is growing at an unprecedented pace. Using projected changes in population size and age, the authors developed demand and supply models to forecast the RN job shortage in each of the 50 states. Letter grades were assigned based on projected RN job shortage ratios. The number of states receiving a grade of "D" or "F" for their RN shortage ratio will increase from 5 in 2009 to 30 by 2030, for a total national deficit of 918 232 (725,619 - 1,112,112) RN jobs. There will be significant RN workforce shortages throughout the country in 2030; the western region will have the largest shortage ratio of 389 RN jobs per 100,000. Increased efforts to understand shortage dynamics are warranted.