Stress and the City

Living in a large, busy city can really take its toll on your stress levels. With long commutes, overcrowding, polluted air and as much pressure to socialize as there is to work long hours, it’s no wonder that the stress levels of those living in big cities is so much higher than those in smaller municipalities.

We all know that tension negatively affects our health, our beauty and our life expectancy, so what can we do to reduce our stress levels if we chose to live in the big smoke?

As with most health issues, exercise is a key tool in combating stress. Proven to lower the stress hormone cortisol, regular exercise not only keeps you slim, healthy and more alert but also helps you relax and unwind. If you can, finding green outside spaces, such as parks, in which to exercise maximizes the stress relieving effect.

Healthy Living Through Prevention

The benefits of healthy living are obvious, but for many, healthy habits don’t start until it’s too late and the body is already on the decline.  Instead of combating healthissues once they’ve begun to negatively impact one’s life, it’s important to prevent illness and unhealthy lifestyles before they start.  The following tips offer some tried-and-true methods for staying healthy, which will keep you living longer and feeling great.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Healthy eating doesn’t mean a diet of bland foods, and it certainly doesn’t require going hungry.  Lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy are all available to healthy eaters. 

Are You Addicted to Coffee?

As far as blood sugarproblems are concerned, on the right, you have sugar and on the left, stimulants and stress. When your blood sugar dips, there are two ways to raise it. The first is to eat more glucose and the other is to increase the level of the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol. There are, in turn, two ways in which you can raise adrenalin and cortisol.

The first is to consume a stimulant like tea, coffee and chocolate or smoke a cigarette (yes, athletes, bodybuilders and serious fitness enthusiasts have been known to smoke too) and the second is to react stressful, causing a jolt in your own production of adrenalin.

Knowing this, you can see how easy it is to be caught in the vicious cycle of stress, stimulants and sugar, which will leave you fatigued, depressed and stressed most of the time.

How Does This Vicious Cycle Work?

Through excess stress, sugar and stimulants you lose your ability to control your blood sugar and wake up each morning with low blood sugar levels and too little adrenalin to kick-start your day. You do one of two things:

1. You reluctantly crawl out of bed and head to the kitchen to brew a superstrong cup of tea or coffee, light up a Marlboro or have some fast releasing sugar in the form of toast, butter and jam. Up goes your blood sugar and adrenalin level and you start to feel like a champion again. Alternatively …

6 Ways Coffee Can Be Good for You!

Those of us who are coffee drinkers get tired of people telling us, “You shouldn’tdrink so much coffee!” and “That stuff will kill you!” The simple truth of the matter is while an excess of anything is never good, in moderation,coffee can actually be good for you. Here are a few of the ways your body benefits from your coffee habit.

1. Coffee may protect against heart disease.

Coffee isn’t just your liquid wake-up call in the morning. It is actually full of powerful antioxidants called flavonoids, which help to prevent LDL cholesterol (the kind that’s bad for your heart) from oxidizing and causing heart disease.

2. Coffee may lower the risk of stroke.

Probably related to the lower risk of heart disease, is a lower risk of stroke associated with drinking coffee. This is especially important for women, who have a higher risk of having a stroke. According to studies, women who drink a couple cups of coffee a day reduce their risk by about 20 percent.

7 Ways to be Healthy on the Cheap

Being healthy doesn’t always have to mean hiring a personal trainer. (Although, there are tremendous benefits to it). Healthy living can start now with some loose change in your pocket and these tips:

1. Clear the brainstorm:For a little Zen in your life, breathe deeply for conscious relaxation and stress reduction. Meditation allows your body to tune itself up. Learn some basic techniques, find a meditation podcast and breathe into relaxation.

2. Switch to water: Remember the days from biology class? Water is essential for life, as it makes up over 70 percent of our bodies. Water is a solvent for nutrients and delivers those nutrients to cells. Use the 8×8 rule: Eight 8-ounce glasses per day. Make water your choice; it’s healthier (and cheaper) than soda.

How to RELAX and Fall Asleep?

Exercise can be a sleep aid or can make it more difficult to fall sleep.  It all depends on what type of exercise you do and when you do it.

Just Relax, You’re Feeling Sleepy

Aerobic exercise is a great way to release stress from the body.  Since stress can hinder sleep, you can fall asleep more quickly by getting 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three days a week.

Some examples of mild to moderate aerobic exercise are:  mowing the lawn, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, active playtime with children, and taking a short walk around the block.

Forms of high intensity aerobic exercise include:  jogging, skating, swimming, biking, walking on a treadmill, and taking a brisk walk.

Children Snoring- A Health Alarm Bell?

While many may consider a child’s snore to be cute, or even funny, habitual snoring in children should be a serious cause for concern to parents. This is because children with sleep disorders associated with snoring can be misdiagnosed (with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, for example).

Snoring by children is fairly common. As a matter of fact, on average between 3% and 12% of children of preschool age, snore.  Most of these children, however, are perfectly healthy, having nothing more than a mild case of primary snoring.

Primary Snoring or Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome?

3 Top Reasons Fad Diets Don’t Work

There isn’t a person on Earth who hasn’t been seduced at one time or another by the fad diet. The thought of losing a lot of weight immediately, with hardly any effort, always sounds appealing. Sadly the truth is that if it doesn’t take any effort at all, it probably won’t work, and here’s why;

1. No Pain No Gain

In reality, if you want to lose weight you are going to have to be hungry. There are ways you can reduce this hunger, and there are plenty of ways you can distract yourself from it, but if any diet promises to allow you to lose a lot of weight without even being hungry it is definitely a lie. For your body to begin to burn up its own fat supply it literally has to be hungry, so if you’ve ever tried to follow a diet that promised remarkable weight loss without any unpleasant sensations then that’s probably why. You just weren’t hungry.

Study Reveals Why Brain Shrinks With Age

Our brains tend to shrink as we age. This can’t be entirely prevented. However, there are a few things that clearly affect brain atrophy.

A new study at the University of California at Davis made new headway in determining the factors that affected brain degeneration. The study concluded that individuals who made certain life decisions or suffered from medical conditions were more likely to suffer from degeneration. The study concluded that individuals most at risk of suffering from atrophy were those who smoked, suffered from diabetes, had high blood pressure or were overweight.

Individuals with any of these health complications in midlife were more likely to develop dementia later on in life. The study revealed that individuals with hypertension in their fifties could experience dementia in less than a decade. Many physicians have not taken the impact of hypertension as seriously as they should. Many have taken the position that they should watch a patient’s blood pressure if it seems too high. Dr. Charles DeCarli of UC Davis says these attitudes can have serious repercussions to patients down the road.

The Davis study included over 1300 adult subjects. The results showed that every part of the brain changed with age. Although these factors were inevitable, the study emphasizes the need for patients to make major life changes to reduce the rate of degeneration.

Many of the findings did not come as a total surprise. The biggest surprise was that the effects of brain degeneration started at a much earlier age than originally thought. Although these findings were concerning to researchers, they shed light on what needs to be done to fight brain atrophy and possible dementia.Unfortunately, the study is only the first of its kind. Much more research needs to be done to understand the effects of many health problems and the effect they have on patients’ brains. For example, the study offered limited insight into the effect diabetes has on brain degeneration. This is largely because only a small number of the participants had diabetes in the study.

Unfortunately, the study is only the first of its kind. Much more research needs to be done to understand the effects of many health problems and the effect they have on patients’ brains. For example, the study offered limited insight into the effect diabetes has on brain degeneration. This is largely because only a small number of the participants had diabetes in the study.

Yoga Poses that Boost Fertility

Yoga is one of the best ways to strengthen the body and release tension from the mind. Through yoga, it is possible to positively impact nearly any part of the body. When your mind and body are healthy, it positively impacts your odds of getting pregnant, so any good is good for women trying to conceive. But there are also yoga poses that specifically target your fertility.
Here are a few yoga poses that encourage hormone production, increase blood flow to the right organs, and make the mind more receptive. In combination with a healthy and balanced diet, and making sure you do the days during your most fertility days (try an ovulation calendar, together with ovulation predictor kits), these yoga poses will put you on the right road to conceiving a baby.

• The lotus pose is a famous yoga position, that I am sure everyone has seen. It is simple to do, and is a wonderful meditating position. The lotus position forces the mind release its control over the body and can be liberating, especially when maintained for some time. This yoga position does not just exercise the mind, but the body too – the abdomen, groin and spine, are positively influenced by this position.

New Study Finds Association Between Genetic Variant and Eating Disorders

Genetic variations within the DNA structure of an individual has recently been associated with the long-term eating disorders of patients, as revealed by a new study carried forth by an internationally acclaimed team of researchers from the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) in La Jolla, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and the University of California. The results were announced in the Neuropsychopharmcology journal, few days back.

The Genetics of Eating Disorders

DNA analysis of 1,878 women with one or more eating disorders was conducted to reveal an association between eating disorders, like anorexia and bulimia, with the genetic variation or SNPs (single-nucleotide plolymorphisms) of individual women who took part in the study.

New Study Finds Sleepwalking is Shockingly More Common than Previously Thought

Sleepwalking or somnambulism has long considered to be a fairly rare disorder for many years. Researchers have been studying the disorder for many years in an attempt to give clinicians more feedback on what to do to treat patients suffering from it. However, that research may fail to help many patients as doctors have likely failed to identify the disorder among many of them.

According to a study conducted in Europe a decade ago, only 2% of the adult population suffered from the disorder. New research suggests that rate is much higher.

that more people are at risk than previously thought.

Household Chores That Burn Calories

With today’s busy lifestyles, many people are finding it hard to keep up with their exercise routines. For the most part, they find themselves working their body as they perform household chores. The good news is that household chores actually can aid you in burning those excess calories. The rigorous work that you subject your body in the form of housework is actually a cheap and productive way to get rid of unwanted body fat.

Any sort of physical activity can actually be a good workout, you do not need to have a gym membership and use extensive equipment. This is exactly why normal household chores can also do their share in giving you a sound body. Keep in mind that the number of calories burned will depend on the level of exertion of the activity along with your weight.

A Brighter Future with Straight Teeth

Every day all over the world there are hundreds of not only children but also many adults who avoid braces even though their familiar with the fact that by doing so they will have to live their lives with misaligned teeth and a crooked smile.

That’s not all, this also leads to lack of confidence in one and thus a person may have trouble trying to excel at school or in their professional life, they would be the odd one out, an outcast. Even the teachers give more preference to the students who are more presentable ignoring the fact that your child may be more talented or intelligent and in your professional life your boss would definitely like someone who is well dressed and gives a more pleasant look more.

How to Attack Anxiety Disorders with Diet and Exercise?

Anxiety is a potentially debilitating condition that affects at least 40 million Americans and tens of millions of others around the world.  There are many reasons why people experience mild anxiety, ranging from meeting new people to starting a new job.  The nervousness or worry associated with a new endeavor is normal and tends to dissipate over a short period of time.
Moderate or severe anxiety, also known as general anxiety disorder (GAD), may be a more significant issue; especially if it interferes with major life functions, including eating, sleeping, hygiene or other normal life functions.  Fortunately, there are several treatment options for anxiety; these range from medication to therapy.  Recently, several studies have demonstrated that a healthy diet and exercise program may be among the most effective treatments for anxiety.

4 Tips on How to Unwind and Relax

Why is it so hard for a caregiver to switch into “me” mode?

Caregivers are constantly being told that they need to find time for themselves, whether that be looking for respite care, taking their loved ones to an adult day center, or just going for a short walk to get out of the house.

But, for a person who is used to taking care of someone else, finding the time to relax is often easier than actually being able to relax.

Cindy Laverty, caregiver coach, radio talk show host, and author of Caregiving: Eldercare Made Clear and Simple, experienced this dilemma first-hand when she became the primary caregiver for her ex-husband’s father and mother. Laverty says that she was so consumed with the need to remain in control and take care of everything in her in-laws’ lives; that she neglected to take care of herself in the beginning stages of her caregiving journey. This led to a brush with extreme caregiver burnout and a resolve to re-think her approach to caregiving.

Laverty says there are certain thoughts that may prevent a caregiver from truly relaxing:

1. “I need to be in charge of everything that has to do with my loved one’s care.”

10 Things Your Bladder Says About Your Health

Bladder problems are often associated with the very old and infirm. But guess what? Adults of all ages, including many who are seemingly healthy, can have unusual bladder symptoms — and they can be warning signs of problematic health conditions.

“The urinary system can be a real canary in the coal mine,” says Jill Rabin, chief of ambulatory care and urogynecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Hyde Park, New York, and coauthor of Mind Over Bladder. “If you have a significant change in your bladder habits, you may have a problem with the bladder itself or the pelvic organs, or it may be a sign of a larger systemic problem.”

Here are ten problems that unusual bladder symptoms may signal:

1. Possible bladder message: Sleep apnea

What it is: Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder in which abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep can last a minute or longer, causing the person to abruptly wake up. (Apnea is a Greek word “meaning without breath.”) “Untreated sleep apnea is becoming more and more commonly diagnosed by urologists,” says Adam Tierney, a urologist with Dean Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. That’s because regular doctors can’t see it during checkups; it’s the night urination that’s noticed first.

More than 12 million people have sleep apnea, and many more are thought to have it but not know it. In March 2011, Israeli researchers reported that in a group of men aged 55 to 75 who had benign prostate enlargement (BPE) and reported nocturia — the need to get up at night to urinate — more than half of their night wakings were probably actually attributable to sleep apnea.

An Article: Boredom A Talk by Ines Freedman (IMC, January 2, 2011)

Boredom

The speaker today was supposed to be Lee Lipp, who’s also one of the teachers in the online course, and unfortunately she wrote that she is ill with the flu, and so Gil asked me to give the talk today.  He sent me an email yesterday.

So, this time of year, many people begin the year with resolutions for their new year.  I’m curious, how many people made resolutions?  So, a number of you; okay, well, you know, we start out excited and determined by them, but according to most surveys they’ve done, it’s been found that only about ten percent of people ever keep their resolutions.  In fact, only about fifty percent keep them through to the end of January.  And one of the causes of this is the subject of the talk I’m going to give today, which is on boredom.

Boredom is such a prevalent condition that there’s even a medical term for when boredom becomes obsessive, and that’s called, “Thaasophobia,” not that you need to know that.  So, we often get excited by the idea of our resolutions; we think, ‘okay, I’m going to run a marathon this year.  It’s going to be so great!  I’m going to finally do this.’  The excitement might get us going, but on a day-in and day-out, the actual practice of jogging every day, miles every day; there’s a tedium to it.  That excitement no longer carries us through, and often we call that, “boredom,” you know, “boy, this is boring.”  Okay, so you put on your iPod and listen to some music, or maybe even better, a dharma talk, as you jog, and so you keep yourself going that way.  But this is something that happens with almost everything we do in our lives that’s done on a regular basis.

Female Impotence

Female impotence, or female sexual dysfunction, is a catchall term used to describe difficulties in having sexual desire, enjoying sex, being adequately aroused or having an orgasm. A woman may experience decreased sexual desire for a number of reasons including stress and exhaustion. She may be unable to enjoy sex because she has one of several sex pain disorders, which in turn may be caused by an underlying condition. Women with breast cancer or gynecologic disorders may experience sexual dysfunction.

One type of female impotence is analogous to male impotence and may be caused by decreased blood flow to the clitoris during sexual intercourse. Psychosocial factors such as previous or ongoing sexual or physical abuse or an unresolved conflict over sexual identity may also play a role in female sexual dysfunction.

How Smoking in Your 20′s and 30′s Can Lead to Erectile Dysfunction

How Smoking in Your 20′s and 30′s Can Lead to Erectile Dysfunction Later in Life

Most young people who begin smoking will start as teenagers or begin the habit during their 20′s or 30′s.  They don’t think of the health implications smoking can cause later in life, such as erectile dysfunction.

Health effects of smoking  have been well documented over the last two decades by the American Heart Association and other groups promoting abstinence from smoking , due to the effects of lung damage caused from inhaling the toxic smoke from cigarettes, the increased chances of developing heart disease and arterial sclerosis or hardening of the arteries, lung cancer, emphysema and other health related issues due to prolonged exposure to smoking.

How to Improve Your Memory

TIPS AND EXERCISES TO SHARPEN YOUR MIND AND BOOST BRAINPOWER

Harnessing the power of your brain

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain, scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isn’t true. The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change—even into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways.

The brain’s incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new information, and improve your memory.

Arthritis Diet

There are two kinds of arthritis.

Osteoarthritis – A degenerative condition that often occurs with age. Osteoarthritis causes stiffness and pain in the affected joints. Being overweight can sometimes worsen symptoms due to the greater load on the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis – an inflammatory condition involving multiple joints. The joints often swell and cause pain. Sometimes the sufferer (typically adult women) will go through periods of remission.

Nutrition to Relieve Arthritis Symptoms

Unfortunately there is conflicting advice regarding diet for arthritis. Despite some clinical trials taking place, many results are considered to be a placebo affect. However there are some guidelines that may help.

• Oily fish – such as cod liver oil supplements, tuna, salmon, and sardines.
• Vitamin C – found in many foods such as kiwifruit, peaches, oranges.
• Vitamin E – Unsalted nuts
• Turmeric and ginger – anti-inflammatory foods (use in curries, soups, or stews).
• Some report that a vegetarian or vegan diet has helped.

Conquering Arthritis: What Doctors Don’t Tell You Because They Don’t Know by Barbara D. Allan, has many helpful tips for sufferers based on Barbara’s years of experience working with RA patients in her medical practice.

Music Therapy

WHAT IS MUSIC THERAPY?

Music therapy is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facets-physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual-to help clients to improve or maintain their health. In some instances, the client's needs are addressed directly through music; in others they are addressed through the relationships that develop between the client and therapist.

WITH WHOM IS MUSIC THERAPY USED?

Music therapy is used with individuals of all ages and with a variety of conditions, including: psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical handicaps, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging. It is also used to: improve learning, build self-esteem, reduce stress, support physical exercise, and facilitate a host of other health-related activities.

Effective Habits for Effective Study

You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies.
Try to develop and appreciate the following habits:

• Take responsibility for yourself
  Recognize that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your priorities,
  your time, and your resources
• Center yourself around your values and principles
  Don't let friends and acquaintances dictate what you consider important
• Put first things first
  Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself, and don't let others, or other interests, distract you from your goals

Healthy Eating

EASY TIPS FOR PLANNING A HEALTHY DIET AND STICKING TO IT

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible– all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you. You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.

For a healthy Back

What is good posture?

Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities. Proper posture:

• Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly.
• Helps decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis.
• Decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together.
• Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions.
• Prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy.
• Prevents strain or overuse problems.
• Prevents backache and muscular pain.
• Contributes to a good appearance.

Smoking Dangerous To Your Health

SMOKING is a leading preventable cause of death all over the world. If you are a regular smoker, you are probably losing about 5½ minutes of life expectancy for each cigarette you smoke. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer. Yet, despite the vast medical evidence supporting such statistics, most heavy smokers continue to smoke.

How smoking damages your health:

7 things that are stopping you from getting enough sex

Partying

We all like a drink after a long, hard day, but did you ever consider that your evening beverage is affecting that other long, hard thing in your life? Drinking too much reduces your sex drive, so if you want more loving it’s time to put down your glass. For the guys, you shouldn’t be having more than three to four units a day. That’s the equivalent of two pints of 4% lager.  For the girls, you should have no more than two to three units in a day. That’s the equivalent of two small 125ml glasses of wine.

How to avoid postpartum depression

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so find out how to reduce your chances of suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).

Although there's no proven way to avoid developing postpartum depression, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and reduce your risk. 

First of all, you should be proactive and find out if you are at risk. In addition to scrutinizing the risk factors we decribe, set up an appointment with a qualified health-care professional to discuss your situation. He or she can help you minimize any risk factors within your control and help you come up with a plan to deal with PPD if it does occur. Diane G. was evaluated before getting pregnant, because she gave up a baby for adoption at age 16 and felt that she needed to resolve her past in order to move forward. She has three kids now and did not develop postpartum depression after any of the births. Here are 10 tips for reducing your risk:

1. Educate yourself
Learn everything you can about postpartum depression. This will enable you to recognize the condition if it occurs and get help for it quickly. You will also be able to give your health-care practitioners the information they need to help you recover.

10 surprising things that age you

Watching TV

While we all know that spending hours in front of the television is bad for your waistline, you may not know that it can also shorten your lifespan. Researchers from the University of Queensland found that for every hour you watch TV you may shorten your life by as much 22 minutes. Furthermore, research has suggested that watching TV could increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The True Essence of Being a Nurse

The True Essence of Being a Nurse

“Slave”, “maid”, “assistant”---these are the labels that most people designate to a nurse. But what really a nurse is? What makes this profession stand out from other careers nowadays?

A nurse is the one who treats patients, educates patients and the public about various medical conditions, and provides advice and emotional support to patients’ family members. RNs (Registered Nurses) or others refer to ‘Real Nice’ teach patients and their families how to manage their illness or injury, explaining post-treatment home care needs; diet, nutrition, and exercise programs; and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. Some RNs work to promote general health by educating the public on warning signs and symptoms of disease. They also might run general health screening or immunization clinics, blood drives, and public seminars on various conditions. It requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter’s or sculptor’s work, for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body.

An Absence of Tender Loving Care: The Nursing Home Dilemma

When an aging individual can no longer manage on his or her own and cannot afford home health care, which usually is paid for out-of-pocket, entering a nursing home is often the only solution. Acknowledging the need to enter such a facility is a decision that people put off for as long as possible for a number of reasons. Moving into a nursing home means accepting a loss of independence and recognizing that one is probably nearing the end of one’s life, but perhaps most frightening is the fear of the kind of insufficient, even harmful and abusive care some of those homes provide.

A report released by the Government Accountability Office this week gives credence to those fears. It confirms that “little seems to have changed at the worst-performing homes. The Bush administration rarely uses its authority to deny payment to homes with a history of compliance problems and typically imposes fines far less than the maximum of $10,000 a day.”

In defense of the failure to impose the full penalties for noncompliance, federal health officials warn that some homes might close if they were to face stiffer penalties. That is not a reason a civilized nation can accept for allowing the inhumane treatment of the most fragile of its citizens.

Looking at the demographics indicates the problems could grow worse. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 1.6 million people aged 65 and older live in nursing homes in the United States. Of those, 15 percent are aged 65 to 74, 37 percent are 75 to 84, and 45 percent are over 85. Moreover, the group over 85 is the fastest growing segment of the population: in 2010, it will make up 2 percent of the population, but by 2050, 5 percent of the population will be over 85—increasing the size of the group needing care.

Nursing Informatics

~ as defined by the American Nurse Association (ANA),is a specialty that integrates nursing science,computer science and information science to manage and communicate data,information and knowledge in nursing practice. Nursing informatics facilitates the integration of data,  information and knowledge to support patients, nurses and other providers in their decision-making in all roles and settings. This support is accomplished through the use of information technology and information structures, which organize data, information and knowledge for processing by computers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Nursing Informatics

  Advantages:

• shared data;
• centralized control;
• disadvantages of redundancy control;
• improved data integrity;
• improved data security,and database systems; and,
• flexible conceptual design. 

Disadvantages:

• a complex conceptual design process;
• the need for multiple external databases;
• the need to hire database-related employees;
• high DBMS acquisition costs;
• a more complex programmer environment;
• potentially catastrophic program failures;
• a longer running time for individual applications; and,
• highly dependent DBMS operations.