252 research outputs found
Florius Infortunatus, scribe and author
No full textFinlayson Charles-P. Florius Infortunatus, scribe and author. In: Scriptorium, Tome 19 n°1, 1965. pp. 108-109
Plural wife: the life story of Mabel Finlayson Allred
No full textEdited by Martha Bradley-Evans.Includes bibliographical references.Introduction -- Martha Bradley-Evans; Preface -- Mabel Finlayson Allred; My Life Story -- Mabel Finlayson Allred; Postlude: Dedication to their parents -- The Allred children; "My Darling Mabel": Letters and poetry -- From Rulon C. Allred to Mabel Allred
The impact of psychosocial factors on adherence to compression therapy to prevent recurrence of venous leg ulcers
No full textAims\ud
To identify self-care activities undertaken and determine relationships between self-efficacy, depression, quality of life, social support and adherence to compression therapy in a sample of patients with chronic venous insufficiency.\ud
Background\ud
Up to 70% of venous leg ulcers recur after healing. Compression hosiery is a primary strategy to prevent recurrence, however, problems with adherence to this strategy are well documented and an improved understanding of how psychosocial factors influence patients with chronic venous insufficiency will help guide effective preventive strategies.\ud
Design\ud
Cross-sectional survey and retrospective medical record review.\ud
Method\ud
All patients previously diagnosed with a venous leg ulcer which healed between 12–36 months prior to the study were invited to participate. Data on health, psychosocial variables and self-care activities were obtained from a self-report survey and data on medical and previous ulcer history were obtained from medical records. Multiple linear regression modelling was used to determine the independent influences of psychosocial factors on adherence to compression therapy.\ud
Results\ud
In a sample of 122 participants, the most frequently identified self-care activities were application of topical skin treatments, wearing compression hosiery and covering legs to prevent trauma. Compression hosiery was worn for a median of 4 days/week (range 0–7). After adjustment for all variables and potential confounders in a multivariable regression model, wearing compression hosiery was found to be significantly positively associated with participants’ knowledge of the cause of their condition (p=0.002), higher self-efficacy scores (p=0.026) and lower depression scores (p=0.009). \ud
Conclusion\ud
In this sample, depression, self-efficacy and knowledge were found to be significantly related to adherence to compression therapy. \ud
Relevance to clinical practice\ud
These findings support the need to screen for and treat depression in this population. In addition, strategies to improve patient knowledge and self-efficacy may positively influence adherence to compression therapy. \u
Factors influencing student nurses in their choice of a rural clinical placement site
No full textRural health and government bodies have identified the need for greater numbers of health professionals in rural and remote health care settings. Providing students with the opportunity to experience a rural clinical placement has been suggested as one strategy for future health professionals to gain familiarity with the rural workplace and an awareness of the employment opportunities available in these areas. Although substantial numbers of student nurses have participated in a rural undergraduate clinical placement program at Queensland University of Technology since 1996, available places remain unfilled. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing student nurses in their choice of a rural or metropolitan clinical placement.\ud
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This study utilised a descriptive survey design to collect pre-test data. The study was part of a larger project using a quasi-experimental pre-post test design. All final year Bachelor of Nursing students who were included in the sample subsequently undertook a clinical placement at a metropolitan or a rural clinical venue, with a 65% response rate for the pre-test (n = 137), and a 57% response rate post-test (n = 121). Findings demonstrated that possession of a rural background, previous work experience in a rural community and family, financial and/or employment commitments all influenced students’ choice of undertaking a rural clinical placement
A community nursing model of care for people with chronic leg ulcers
No full textChronic leg ulcers affect approximately 1 – 3% of the population aged over 60 years in the U.K., Europe, U.S.A. and Australia (Briggs & Closs, 2003; Margolis et al., 2002). Prevalence increases with age (Margolis et al., 2002), rising from around 0.6% of the general adult population up to 2% - 5.6% of those aged over 65 years (Bergqvist et al., 1999). With today’s ageing societies (Parker, 2005), this condition will become an increasing problem in the future. Leg ulcers often take months or years to heal and frequently recur, becoming a life long chronic condition associated with prolonged ill-health, pain, restricted mobility and decreased quality of life (Chase et al., 2000; Walshe, 1995).\ud
When planning care for people with chronic leg ulcers, a health care model is required which not only addresses the need for evidence based wound care, but also pain management, symptom management and quality of life issues associated with the condition. Prevalence of pain associated with leg ulcers is reported as ranging from around 50% (Nemeth et al., 2003) to 80% (Hareendran, 2005) and leg ulcer pain is reported to decrease energy levels (Persoon et al., 2004), interrupt sleep (Edwards et al., 2005a), affect mood (Edwards et al., 2005a) and restrict mobility (Brown, 2005) and ability to manage normal work (Edwards et al., 2005a). Mobility is often further constrained by the need to wear bulky, multilayered bandages, limiting the type of footwear and clothing able to be worn. Reduced mobility impacts on independence in activities of daily living and productivity. For example, Abbade et al. (2005) found 49.2% of patients had a functional disability impacting on daily activities and work and Persoon et al.’s (2004) review of 37 studies found restraints in work and leisure activities were one of the major limitations imposed by leg ulcers. \ud
Pain, limited mobility and embarrassment associated with leg ulcers often leads to social isolation (Ebbeskog & Ekman, 2001; Persoon et al., 2004). The combination of pain, restricted mobility and social isolation in turn contributes to a negative impact on psychological health (Ebbeskog & Ekman, 2001; Persoon et al., 2004); such as depression and anxiety (Jones et al., 2006). In addition, the long term nature of the disease can lead to uncertainty, disappointment, loss of hope, or despair (Ebbeskog & Ekman, 2001). Problems with poor understanding of the cause and treatment of the condition have been noted (Chase et al., 2000), leading to feelings of powerlessness, lack of ownership and apathy with regard to management strategies. Not surprisingly, measures of quality of life in people with chronic leg ulcers have generally found significantly lower quality of life scores than in the general population (Franks et al., 2003; Jull et al., 2004).\u
RETRACTED: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Aerosol Optical Properties
No full textThis article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors.It was prepared by Yan Li and Rui Xue, submitted by Yan Li, and published without the knowledge of the listed co-authors M.J. Ezell and B.J. Finlayson-Pitts. The experimental results are not interpretable as put forth in the published paper.The author Yan Li would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused to the co-authors and the readers
The impact of a rural clinical placement on student nurses employment intentions
No full textCommonwealth Government health policy and professional organisations have indicated that successful recruitment and retention strategies are crucial to address the shortage of health professionals in rural and remote areas. This research study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Clinical Placement Support Scheme for nursing students as a recruitment strategy for rural and remote health care services, and to develop an increased awareness of the employment opportunities available in these areas. The population consisted of final year Bachelor of Nursing students enrolled in either a rural or metropolitan clinical placement in 2000. A pre-post test survey design was used.\ud
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Analysis of pre and post test data found a 12% increase (to 89%) in the number of students intending to seek employment in a rural setting, compared to a 5% increase (to 46%) in students who undertook a metropolitan placement. One-third of the students who chose a rural placement had no previous experience of a rural lifestyle and over half of these students indicated their intention to work in a rural setting following their clinical placement. These results support the theory that undergraduate rural clinical experience can have a positive influence on the recruitment of health professionals to rural area
Experiences of the generalist nurse caring for adolescents with mental health problems
No full textMental healthcare for adolescents is currently provided in a range of settings, including general hospital wards and paediatric wards, although care of adolescents with mental health problems in general settings has not been evaluated. This descriptive study surveyed generalist nurses who provide care to adolescents with mental health problems in the general hospital setting to determine satisfaction with their abilities to provide care, challenges encountered in care provision and strategies to provide optimal care by these nurses. Participants included 30 generalist nurses (response rate of 73%) from two wards in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Queensland, Australia. The survey findings showed that 67 percent of the respondents felt inadequately prepared to care for this group and only 41 percent were satisfied with their ability to provide care. Strategies identified to improve nursing care included: enhancement of continuity of care and teamwork, provision of appropriate environmental facilities, greater support from specialist mental health nurses and further education on caring for adolescent mental health problems
Venous leg ulcer recurrence : deciphering long term patient adherence to preventive treatments and activities
No full textFree to read\ud
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To better understand long term adherence to self-care activities to prevent the recurrence of venous leg ulcers, participants (n=80) were recruited to a prospective longitudinal study after experiencing healing of a venous leg ulcer. Data on demographics, health, psychosocial measures and adherence to prevention strategies (compression therapy, leg elevation and lower leg exercise) were collected every three months for one year after healing. Multivariable regression modelling was used to identify the factors that were independently associated with adherence.\ud
Over the year, a significant decline in adherence to all three strategies was observed, predominantly between 6–12 months after healing (p<0.01). Several factors were associated with adherence to more than one preventive activity. Regular follow-up care and a history of multiple previous ulcers were related to improved adherence (p<0.05), while scoring at higher risk for depression and restricted mobility were related to decreasing adherence over time (p<0.05). Patients with osteoarthritis had significantly reduced adherence to compression hosiery (p=0.026). These results provide information to assist care providers plan strategies for prevention of recurrent venous leg ulcers; and suggest a need for regular follow-up care which addresses both the physical and mental health of this population
Factors associated with recurrence of venous leg ulcers : a survey and retrospective chart review
No full textBackground: Chronic venous leg ulcers have a significant impact on older individuals’ well-being and health care resources. Unfortunately after healing, up to 70% recur. ----- \ud
Objective: To examine the relationships between leg ulcer recurrence and physical activity, compression, nutrition, health, psychosocial indicators and self-care activities in order to provide information for preventive strategies. ----- \ud
Design: Survey and retrospective chart review \ud
Settings: Two metropolitan hospital and three community-based leg ulcer clinics. ----- \ud
Subjects: A sample of 122 community living patients with leg ulcer of venous aetiology which had healed between 12 and 36 months prior to the survey. ---- \ud
Methods: Data were collected from medical records on demographics, medical history and previous ulcer history and treatments; and from self-report questionnaires on physical activity, nutrition, psychosocial measures, ulcer recurrences and history, compression and other self-care activities. All variables significantly associated with recurrence at the bivariate level were entered into a logistic regression model to determine their independent influences on recurrence. -----\ud
Results: Median follow-up time was 24 months (range 12–40 months). Sixty-eight percent of participants had recurred. Bivariate analysis found recurrence was positively associated with ulcer duration, cardiac disease, a Body Mass Index ≤20, scoring as at-risk of malnutrition and depression; and negatively associated with increased physical activity, leg elevation, wearing Class 2 (20–25mmHg) or Class 3 (30–40mmHg) compression hosiery, and higher self-efficacy scores. After adjusting for all variables, an hour/day of leg elevation (OR=0.04, 95% CI=0.01–0.17), days/week in Class 2 or 3 compression hosiery (OR=0.53, 95% CI=0.34–0.81), Yale Physical Activity Survey score (OR=0.95, 95% CI=0.92–0.98), cardiac disease (OR=5.03, 95% CI=1.01–24.93) and General Self-Efficacy scores (OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.72–0.94) remained significantly associated (p<0.05) with recurrence. -----\ud
Conclusions: Results indicate a history of cardiac disease is a risk factor for recurrence; while leg elevation, physical activity, compression hosiery and strategies to improve self-efficacy are likely to prevent recurrence. \u
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