Background Most gay men experience difficulty in coming to terms with their sexual orientation, with their health, wellbeing, and quality of life potentially affected by unpleasant experiences often associated with the formation of their gay identity. It is therefore important for nurses to understand the needs of gay men so that they can accompany them and provide quality care during and after the identity formation process. Objective The aim of the study was to explore and describe the identity formation and coming out experiences of gay men. Methods A qualitative design with a constructivist naturalist approach was used. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with five gay men with experience of the gay identity formation process, and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method. Results The results show that the men needed support, as they reported feeling different and alone during the identity formation and coming out process, and that their mental health was affected. Fear of rejection, negative reactions, and disappointing people were the reasons that led the men not to disclose their sexual orientation to family, while those who had come out defined a feeling of liberation. Conclusions The gay identity formation process has potential impacts on health, wellbeing, and quality of life. Nurses need cultural competence training to be able to understand the needs of gay men, accompany them in the identity formation process, and provide individualized and non-heteronormative care. Nurses also need to participate in dismantling a heterosexist social structure.

Service learning is a teaching methodology that combines learning and service to the community in the same well-articulated project, where the participants are trained to improve and work on the real needs of the environment. This paper aimed to explore learning about healthy habits and standards of nursing professional practice through a service learning activity between nursing students and high school students. Data of participants (N = 127 high school students and N = 12 nursing students) were collected by the high school students’ healthy habits mind map and with the help of the nursing students’ reflective journals. A generic qualitative design using content analysis was performed. After the activity, high school students identified which habits they should improve, such as diet, physical activity, resting time, and emotional health. By performing the activity, nursing students increased their knowledge about health habits, as well as their communication skills, confidence in public speaking, and awareness about community nurses’ tasks. Service learning activity on health habits conducted by nursing students in a high school has a positive effect on the knowledge of healthy habits for both participants, nursing and high school students. Participating in an activity of service learning improves communication skills among first-year nursing students and narrows the gap between university theory and nursing practice.

Maintaining therapeutic levels of anticoagulation is essential to avoid health complications in people who take vitamin K antagonists. This study aimed to analyze the influence of people’s characteristics and the presence of changes in their lives in the control of therapeutic levels of anticoagulation. A longitudinal multicenter study with a 1-year follow-up of a cohort of 199 people receiving anticoagulant therapy was performed. The effect of biological, clinical, social, lifestyle, and changes in life on the international normalized ratio (INR) was analyzed. During the follow-up, 46.7% of participants presented good INR control. At baseline, a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation ( P = .00), the lack of comorbidities ( P = .03), absence of depression ( P = .04), and not following a pharmacological treatment with hypoglycemia drugs ( P = .01) were associated with good INR control. During the follow-up, the variable of making changes to the usual diet was associated with poor INR control ( P = .05). In the binary multiple regression model, factors associated with poor control were taking hypoglycemia drugs ( P = .02) and the presence of depression ( P = .04), and only the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation was associated with good control ( P = .03). People with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation had good INR control. Having comorbidities, suffering depression, taking hypoglycemia drugs, and making changes to the diet have a negative effect on INR control.