Browsing by Author "Tanner, Andrea L."

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    Adolescents’ Perceptions of Functional Seizure Self-Management Strategies, Facilitators, and Barriers in the School Environment
    (Slack, 2023) Tanner, Andrea L.; von Gaudecker, Jane R.; Buelow, Janice M.; Oruche, Ukamaka M.; Miller, Wendy R.; School of Nursing
    Adolescents with functional (psychogenic nonepileptic) seizures encounter many struggles within the school environment, including stress, bullying, stigmatization, and accusations of faking seizure events. Mental health nurses and school personnel are poised to support school-based self-management; unfortunately, to date, no evidence exists to detail effective school-based self-management strategies for adolescents with functional seizures. Therefore, in the current qualitative study, we examined adolescents' functional seizure self-management, perceived effectiveness, and facilitators and barriers using semi-structured interviews analyzed using content analysis. We interviewed 10 adolescent females aged 12 to 19 years. Themes of proactive (prior to seizure warning symptoms) and reactive (after seizure warning symptoms) self-management, involving protection, perseverance, and progress monitoring, emerged. Adolescents perceived proactive strategies as primarily effective, whereas reactive strategies were less effective. Adolescents identified school nurses and personnel, family, and peers as facilitators and barriers to self-management. Mental health nurses are positioned to provide care, co-create plans, and advocate for adolescents with functional seizures in collaboration with school nurses and personnel.
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    Better together: Coalitions committed to advancing health equity
    (Elsevier, 2022-11) Crowder, Sharron J.; Tanner, Andrea L.; Dawson, Martha A.; Felsman, Irene C.; Hassmiller , Susan B.; Miller, Lisa C.; Reinhard, Susan C.; Toney, Debra A.; School of Nursing
    The Future of Nursing 2020–2030 report identifies coalitions as a driving force for advancing health equity. Five coalitions provided insight into their accomplishments, lessons learned, and role in advancing health equity. The exemplar coalitions included Latinx Advocacy Team and Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19, Black Coalition Against COVID, Camden Coalition, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations, and The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. While all exemplar coalitions, credited relationship building and partnerships to their success, they used unique strategies for striving to meet their populations’ needs, whether the needs arose from COVID-19, racial and/or ethnic disparities, socioeconomic disparities, or other barriers to health. Research and policy implications for coalitions are discussed. Nurses play a critical role in every highlighted coalition and in the national effort to make health and health care more equitable.
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    “It’s hard!”: Adolescents’ experience attending school with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures
    (Elsevier, 2022) Tanner, Andrea L.; von Gaudecker, Jane R.; Buelow, Janice M.; Oruche, Ukamaka M.; Miller, Wendy R.; School of Nursing
    Adolescents with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) face many challenges in the school setting. Researchers have identified school stressors as potential predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors for PNES. However, few researchers have explored the perspectives of adolescents with PNES regarding their experiences of attending school, where they spend much of their time. Therefore, this qualitative study employed content analysis to explore the experience of attending school as an adolescent with PNES. Ten adolescents (100% female, 80% White) were interviewed. With an overwhelming response of “It’s hard!” from respondents, five themes regarding the school experience emerged: stress, bullying, accusations of “faking” seizure events, feeling left out because of the condition, and school-management of PNES. Underlying these themes were expressions of the need for increased understanding from and collaboration among peers, as well as the need for increased understanding from families, healthcare providers, and school personnel including school nurses. Study findings should inform future adolescent PNES research, practice decisions made by healthcare providers in the health and education sectors, education of healthcare and school professionals, and policy development and implementation.