A caring professional attitude, Griffiths, J

BACKGROUND: Nearly a quarter of people with intellectual disability (ID) have epilepsy with large numbers experiencing drug-resistant epilepsy, and premature mortality. To mitigate epilepsy risks the environment and social care needs, particularly in professional care settings, need to be met. PURPOSE: To compare professional care groups as regards their subjective confidence and perceived responsibility when managing the need of people with ID and epilepsy. METHOD: A multi-agency expert panel developed a questionnaire with embedded case vignettes with quantitative and qualitative elements to understand training and confidence in the health and social determinants of people with ID and epilepsy...

BACKGROUND: Developmental care consists of a range of clinical, infant-focused, and family-focused interventions designed to modify the neonatal intensive care environment and caregiving practices to reduce stressors on the developing brain. Since the inception of developmental care in the early 1980s, it has been recommended and adopted globally as a component of routine practice for neonatal care. Despite its application for almost 40 y, little is known of the attitude of neonatal nurses in Australia towards the intervention...

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is associated with significant comorbidity. Excess alcohol use, smoking and higher body mass index are all associated with psoriasis and may contribute to its onset and/or exacerbation. Lifestyle behaviour change (LBC) can be beneficial in the prevention of psoriasis and/or reduction of its severity. LBC techniques are effective when used properly by healthcare professionals. OBJECTIVES: It is unknown whether clinicians managing patients with psoriasis are familiar with LBC techniques or are confident to deliver LBC support in routine consultations...

INTRODUCTION: Interprofessional education (IPE) purports to improve team working through improved knowledge of the roles of others, and by engendering mutual respect. This case study aimed to determine the impact of an IPE curriculum on knowledge and attitudes of dentistry and dental technology students undertaking these curricula in the new School of Dentistry and Oral Health at Griffith University. All dental technology students and third- and final- (fifth) year dentistry students were invited to participate...

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OBJECTIVE: To determine women's experience and knowledge of the 2 most common non-sexually transmitted vaginal infections, vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and bacterial vaginosis (BV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online omnibus was conducted on 6,010 women aged 16 to 55 years to determine the incidence and awareness of VVC and BV in Europe (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and the United States, followed by an in-depth questionnaire on 1,945 women about experience and attitudes to VVC and BV...

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the clinical effectiveness of active management (AM) in general practice versus AM plus a group-based, professionally led cognitive behavioural approach (CBA) for subacute and chronic low back pain (LBP) and to measure the cost of each strategy over a period of 12 months and estimate cost-effectiveness. DESIGN: Pragmatic multicentred randomised controlled trial with investigator-blinded assessment of outcomes. SETTING: Fifty-six general practices from seven English regions...

BACKGROUND: There is a need to identify interventions that increase help seeking for depression among young adults. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate a brief depression information intervention employing health e-cards (personalized emails containing links to health information presented on a Web page). METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out with 348 19- to 24-year-olds drawn from the community. Participants were randomized to receive one of three conditions, all of which delivered a short series of health e-cards...

OBJECTIVE: More than two-thirds of health expenditure is attributable to chronic conditions, of which a significant proportion are related to cardiovascular disease. This paper identifies and explores the factors cited by practice nurses as impacting on the development of their role in cardiovascular disease management. METHODS: Sequential mixed methods design combining postal survey (n = 284) and telephone interviews (n = 10) with general practice nurses. RESULTS: The most commonly cited barriers to role extension were legal implications (51...

This study examined the nurse practitioner (NP) role in three long-term care facilities in Ontario, Canada, to identify factors that facilitate or impede the implementation of this role. Facility staff were surveyed about their perceptions of the NP role, and the NP assigned to the facilities was interviewed. Findings indicated the NP had a positive impact on practice activities and staff assessment skills. Ratings of effectiveness and satisfaction with the role were high, although they varied by facility and the frequency of staff interaction with the NP...

In the UK, Europe and the USA conceptual models of nursing are features of many undergraduate nursing curricula [Alligood MR. The nature of knowledge needed for nursing practice. In Alligood MR, Marriner-Tomey A, editors. Nursing theory utilisation and application. London: Mosby, 2002, Tierney AJ. Nursing models extant or extinct? J Adv Nurs 1998;8(1):77-85] and commonly used in practice. However, UK nurses in practice continue to be dissatisfied with conceptual model use [Griffiths P. An investigation into the description of patients' problems by nurses using two different needs-based nursing models...

STUDY BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fifth leading cause of mortality worldwide and is a burden on healthcare resources. Therefore, implementing the right care model(s) for patients with COPD is a priority. Nurses, particularly those with specialist roles, are often the principal health professionals involved in new service models. NEW SERVICES: for patients in the community with COPD are increasing in many countries. Two main types of initiatives have been evaluated; those designed to transfer acute care out of hospital and into the community, and those offering chronic disease management...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the opinions of participants in family meetings to improve the quality of this important rehabilitation tool. DESIGN: Qualitative exploration of opinions and experience from staff, patients and families. SETTING: Tertiary teaching geriatric rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Staff, families and patients who had recently participated in family meetings. METHODS: Focus groups, written surveys and individual semi-structured interviews...

To address the shortage of nurses experienced by a healthcare system, faculty from a baccalaureate nursing program collaborated with the affiliated healthcare system members to offer a refresher course to facilitate the return of inactive nurses to the workforce. The program included didactic content, simulated laboratory experiences, and precepted clinical experiences on the employing units. This article describes the scope of the program and focuses on recommendations for future course implementation, including implementing a systematic evaluation of each participant's knowledge base at the beginning of the course and an extended course time frame to allow for greater integration of content...

OBJECTIVE: To explore reasons for increased risk of hospital admission among south Asian patients with asthma. DESIGN: Qualitative interview study using modified critical incident technique and framework analysis. SETTING: Newham, east London, a deprived area with a large mixed south Asian population. PARTICIPANTS: 58 south Asian and white adults with asthma (49 admitted to hospital with asthma, 9 not admitted); 17 general practitioners; 5 accident and emergency doctors; 2 out of hours general practitioners; 1 asthma specialist nurse...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the attitudes and practices of pediatric critical care attending physicians and pediatric critical care nurses on end-of-life care. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: A random sample of clinicians at 31 pediatric hospitals in the United States. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The survey was completed by 110/130 (85%) physicians and 92/130 (71%) nurses. The statement that withholding and withdrawing life support is unethical was not endorsed by any of the physicians or nurses...

A self-completion satisfaction questionnaire evaluating the standard of care of HIV outpatient services was developed as part of the National Prospective Monitoring System on the Use, Cost and Outcome of HIV Service Provision in English Hospitals (NPMS). The questionnaire was designed in conjunction with service users and health care professionals, and piloted in three London and three non-London HIV clinics. In addition to testing alternative methods of administering the questionnaire, the pilot provided satisfaction scores on a variety of aspects of service provision for participating clinics...

OBJECTIVES: To explore the importance of and satisfaction with clinical responsibilities, teaching, research and interpersonal issues among general internists; to understand the barriers to satisfaction in these domains and the usefulness of potential solutions to these problems. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey conducted from November 1992 to June 1994. SETTING: Ontario. PARTICIPANTS: General internists who were fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and members of the Ontario Medical Association...

A sample of patients allocated to receive either community psychiatric nursing or out-patient psychiatrist follow-up was interviewed at 6-month intervals for a total period of 18 months. Two dimensions of patient satisfaction are discussed: a cross-sectional analysis of the quality of the perceived therapeutic relationship and an analysis over time of attitudes to aspects of the mental health care received. The satisfaction expressed with elements of the therapeutic relationship revealed that patients find nurses more approachable and more sympathetic...