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Selected AbstractsSilenced voices: hearing the stories of parents bereaved through the suicide death of a young adult childHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2010Myfanwy Maple PhD Abstract The current paper reports findings from a qualitative research project that aimed to explore parents' experiences following the suicide death of their young adult child. Twenty-two Australian parents told of the suicide death of their son or daughter during the data collection period (2003 to late 2004). One narrative theme drawn from the interview data is reported here: the way in which suicide-bereaved parents feel unable to talk about their child's life and death, their experience of suicide and their resultant bereavement. Parents reported being silenced by others and silencing themselves in relation to talking about their bereavement. Parents' private stories are used to explain the difficulties they faced given the contemporary social and cultural context of grief and suicide. Then follows an examination of the impact these difficulties had on their ongoing grief narrative and availability of social support. Implications for health and social care intervention are presented to assist in better preparing support workers in their interactions with parents bereaved in this manner. [source] Adult Emergency Department Patients with Sickle Cell Pain Crisis: A Learning Collaborative Model to Improve Analgesic ManagementACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2010Paula Tanabe PhD Abstract Objectives:, The objectives were to report the baseline (prior to quality improvement interventions) patient and visit characteristics and analgesic management practices for each site participating in an emergency department (ED) sickle cell learning collaborative. Methods:, A prospective, multisite longitudinal cohort study in the context of a learning-collaborative model was performed in three midwestern EDs. Each site formed a multidisciplinary team charged with improving analgesic management for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Each team developed a nurse-initiated analgesic protocol for SCD patients (implemented after a baseline data collection period of 3.5 months at one site and 10 months at the other two sites). All sites prospectively enrolled adults with an acute pain crisis and SCD. All medical records for patients meeting study criteria were reviewed. Demographic, health services, and analgesic management data were abstracted, including ED visit frequency data, ED disposition, arrival and discharge pain score, and name and route of initial analgesic administered. Ten interviews per quarter per site were conducted with patients within 14 days of their ED discharge, and subjects were queried about the highest level of pain acceptable at discharge. The primary outcome variable was the time to initial analgesic administration. Variable data were described as means and standard deviations (SDs) or medians and interquartile ranges (IQR) for nonnormal data. Results:, A total of 155 patients met study criteria (median age = 32 years, IQR = 24,40 years) with a total of 701 ED visits. Eighty-six interviews were conducted. Most patients (71.6%) had between one and three visits to the ED during the study period. However, after removing Site 3 from the analysis because of the short data enrollment period (3.5 months), which influenced the mean number of visits for the entire cohort, 52% of patients had between one and three ED visits over 10 months, 21% had four to nine visits, and 27% had between 10 and 67 visits. Fifty-nine percent of patients were discharged home. The median time to initial analgesic for the cohort was 74 minutes (IQR = 48,135 minutes). Differences between choice of analgesic agent and route selected were evident between sites. For the cohort, 680 initial analgesic doses were given (morphine sulfate, 42%; hydromorphone, 46%; meperidine, 4%; morphine sulfate and ibuprofen or ketorolac, 7%) using the following routes: oral (2%), intravenous (67%), subcutaneous (3%), and intramuscular (28%). Patients reported a significantly lower targeted discharge pain score (mean ± SD = 4.19 ± 1.18) compared to the actual documented discharge pain score within 45 minutes of discharge (mean ± SD = 5.77 ± 2.45; mean difference = 1.58, 95% confidence interval = .723 to 2.44, n = 43). Conclusions:, While half of the patients had one to three ED visits during the study period, many patients had more frequent visits. Delays to receiving an initial analgesic were common, and post-ED interviews reveal that sickle cell pain patients are discharged from the ED with higher pain scores than what they perceive as desirable. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:399,407 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine [source] Nursing-Sensitive Outcome Reliability Testing in a Tertiary Care SettingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 1 2005Julia G. Behrenbeck MS purpose., To describe nursing outcomes classification (NOC) that are most relevant for, specialty acute care nursing practice, and to assess the adequacy of measures. methods., Data were collected on 434 patients during the 14-month data collection period at a tertiary care center: cardiac surgery intensive care (n = 76), cardiac transplant unit (n = 153), and medical unit (n = 205). findings., Thirty-six NOC outcomes were used 10 or more times during the study. Of those, 16 had an inter-rater reliability of 75% or higher. conclusions., NOC outcomes show promise for accurately documenting the effectiveness of nursing interventions. Further study is needed to develop meaningful analysis of the documented NOC outcomes and efficiently integrate NOC into electronic documentation systems. practice implications., Increased familiarity with NOC allowed nursing staff to determine which outcomes comprise core nursing-sensitive outcomes for their clinical setting. [source] Nursing-Sensitive Outcome Implementation and Reliability Testing in a Tertiary Care SettingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 2003Julia G. Behrenbeck PURPOSE To describe the NOC outcomes most relevant for specialty nursing practice and in selected field sites representing the continuum of care; to assess the adequacy of measures (reliability, validity, sensitivity, specificity, practicality); and to describe the linkages among nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes in clinical decision making. METHODS Data were collected on 434 patients during the 12-month data collection period at a tertiary care center: cardiac surgery intensive care (n= 76), cardiac transplant unit (n= 153), and medical unit (n= 205). Medical diagnoses of patients on the two cardiac units were related to cardiac disease. Medical diagnoses of patients on the medical unit were extremely varied (ranging from e.g., gout to pneumonia). Data were collected on 65 separate outcome labels for a total of 633 ratings. FINDINGS In the cardiac transplant ICU, data were collected on 42 outcomes: 30 had an average interrater reliability of ,85%, and 16 had an absolute agreement interrater reliability of ,85%. In the cardiac surgery ICU, data were collected on 30 outcomes: 25 had an average interrater reliabilty of ,85%, 6 had an absolute agreement interrater of ,85%. In the medical unit, data were collected on 45 outcomes: 41 had an average interrater reliability of ,85%, 14 had an absolute agreement interrater reliability of ,85%. Four outcomes have been implemented into the documentation system for all patients: Tissue Integrity: Skin and Mucous Membranes, Mobility Level, Knowledge: Disease Process, and Coping. CONCLUSIONS Overall, nursing staff were very positive about having the opportunity to participate in nursing research. Staff were able to think about the relative status of their patient and how nursing care contributes to the patient's recovery. They appreciated the opportunity to discuss this with a colleague during the interrater exercise. Increased familiarity with NOC allows staff members to determine which outcomes comprise core nursing-sensitive outcomes for their clinical setting. [source] Nutritional status and patient characteristics for hospitalised older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 13 2008Sigrid Odencrants MSc Aim. The aim of the study was to describe and compare nutritional status and social and medical characteristics among older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease admitted to an acute care hospital ward for respiratory medicine. Background. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a condition associated with risk of developing malnutrition. A body mass index <20 is predictive of hospitalisation for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Knowledge about patient characteristics is crucial for the identification of malnourished patients and the development of nursing care for these patients. Design. Quantitative descriptive study. Methods. Thirty-three hospitalised women and 17 men with a mean age of 75·7 years (SD 6·9) were consecutively included. A very severe case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was indicated in 28 out of 39 patients who underwent a lung function test. Data were collected with measurement of nutritional status using Mini Nutritional Assessment, anthropometry and lung function. Results. Nearly half of the patients (48%) were identified as malnourished, an equal part as at risk for malnutrition and two patients as well nourished. The mean Mini Nutritional Assessment score of 17·2 (SD 3·99) for all patients was near the Mini Nutritional Assessment cut-off score (i.e. 17) for malnutrition. Patients identified as malnourished had a mean body mass index of 18·9 and those at risk for malnutrition had a mean of 23·4. It was more common for those identified as malnourished to live singly, to not live in own property and to be dependent on daily community service. Seven patients identified as malnourished died during the data collection period. Conclusions. This study provides important knowledge about further risks of impaired nutritional status among older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Relevance to clinical practice. This knowledge can provide registered nurses with the necessary knowledge to make them aware of certain patients needing particular kinds of attention. [source] Prevalence of Cysticercus bovis in Australian cattleAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 7 2010BHG Pearse Objective The first national abattoir survey of Cysticercus bovis (,beef measles') in cattle was conducted in February 2008. Methods During the data collection period, 493,316 cattle were subjected to standard postmortem procedures, including incision of the masseter and heart muscles. On-site veterinarians were asked to record the location of any C. bovis cysts, as well as the National Livestock Identification System ear tag numbers of infected animals. Veterinarians were asked to submit samples for laboratory confirmation by histology and polymerase chain reaction testing. Results Of the 23 samples submitted, none was positive for C. bovis by either diagnostic method. Conclusions Occasional, isolated diagnoses of beef measles are still made in most states of Australia, but since the last regional surveys were conducted 30 years ago, when the estimated prevalence was 50 to 200 per 100,000 cattle slaughtered, the parasite has become extremely rare. [source] |