Nurses in the therapeutic community

This article shows advantages of therapeutic communities in psychiatric hospitals over traditionally run institutions; it does not deal with the disadvantages of therapeutic communities when compared with treatment regimes such as family-centred therapy or community care. Advantages are considered in relation to both patients and nurses. Some generalizations are made and a number of pertinent questions are posed; answers are suggested where this was deemed possible, i.e. not very often.     

Nurses of NESB working in a multicultural community

Ensuring that the cultural composition of the nursing population reflects the multicultural mix of the general population assumes that culturally appropriate care will occur when people of non-English background (NESB) are encountered in nursing practice. In a feminist praxis study involving twenty-six nurse participants, seven of whom were of NESB, the nurses discovered that the structure of the health care institution not only overlooked the cultural and linguistic needs of children and NESB families, but also created a dominant Anglo-Australian health culture that taught NESB nurses to ignore the traditions and practices of their NESB culture. This paper will explore the nurses' discovery of their own collusion in sustaining an Anglo-Australian health care culture.     

Nurses caring for the terminally ill in the community: a review of the literature

The review considers the literature covering both general district nursing and specialist nursing provision for the terminally ill in the community over the last 10 years in the United Kingdom. It looks at the theoretical and methodological issues associated with research in this area and offers critiques of a number of individual studies in the light of these issues. Research findings are subject to limited comparative analysis and tentative conclusions are drawn regarding the model of care best suited to the needs of those dying at home. Recommendations for future areas of nursing research are made.     

护理应急系统在群体伤急救中的组织与实施

随着社会经济的快速发展，各种大型群体伤事故频繁发生。对群体伤伤员抢救成功与否，不仅检验医院的急救能力，更重要的足反映了医院群体伤员救护组织管理是否严密。2005年我院护理部建立了护理应急系统，并制定了一系列行之有效的措施。在2008年“4．28”胶济铁路特大交通事故群体伤救治中，护理应急系统卓有成效的运作，为55名伤员在最短时间内进行了救护，提高了伤员抢救成功率。     

Public Health Nurses and the delivery of quality nursing care in the community

Aim. The aim of the study was to explore factors which impact on quality nursing care in the community from the Public Health Nurse's (PHN) perspective. Background. Public Health Nursing has significantly evolved over the past few years with the delivery of quality nursing being a focus point. This study explores factors that impact upon the delivery of quality care in Public Health Nursing in Ireland. The findings provide an opportunity for an additional perspective to be included in the existing international findings and act as a starting point from which further research can be built. Method. A qualitative method using semi‐structured interviews were conducted. Interviews were taped and content analysed. Findings. Four main categories emefrged from the data, namely role change, components of quality nursing care, barriers to quality nursing care and the factors that facilitate the delivery of quality nursing care in the community. PHNs strive for evidence‐based practice; they acknowledged their inability to achieve this and referred to factors that inhibited them from reaching their goal. Conclusion. Enhanced education for PHNs will equip them in the delivery of a quality service and have a positive impact on patient care. Better communication is required between PHNs, line managers and the multidisciplinary team. The delivery of community services need to be reviewed and developed further in accordance with the health strategy policy. Relevance to clinical practice. This study has identified the evolution in clinical practice associated with the changing role and scope of Public Health Nursing. Clinical practice has evolved over time to incorporate societal change, technological advances and the delivery of an evidence‐based service responsive to identified need. This study identified the presence of an increase in the specialist clinical work being undertaken as a result of new technological advances entering the community working environment.     

Nurses and IT: a survey of use among community clinical staff

A survey investigated the use of information technology among community nurses and other staff in one primary care trust. Provision of IT was poor across all the staff studied, with health visitors and community nurses lagging slightly behind others. The reasons for the low levels of use need further research so that barriers to using IT can be overcome.     

Nurses working in primary and community care settings in England: problems and challenges in identifying numbers

BACKGROUND: One third of the primary care nursing workforce is aged 50 years and over. Workforce planning is essential if primary care is to ensure that there are appropriate numbers of nurses available to replace the loss of experienced nurses as they approach retirement. INTRODUCTION: As part of an ongoing study to explore the factors influencing retention of female nurses over the age of 50 years in the primary care nursing workforce, a questionnaire survey targeting all community nurses employed in five Primary Care Trusts was undertaken. Accurate statistics on the number and type of community nurse employed in the five Primary Care Trusts were sought to: (i) identify a denominator to accurately identify the response rates to questionnaires in the survey of Primary Care Trusts; and (ii) to compare the Primary Care Trust data with Department of Health statistics to investigate the accuracy of workforce data. A number of problems with locating accurate primary care nursing workforce statistics were identified. AIM: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the difficulties inherent in collating workforce data and the implications for future workforce planning, both locally and nationally. The impact on research is also highlighted. KEY ISSUES: An ageing nursing workforce indicates that primary care nursing will experience significant reductions in its workforce. Local and National workforce statistics for primary care are flawed. There are significant gaps in primary care data for school and practice nurses. There needs to be clarification and a consensus for the term 'community nurse'. The expansion of the public health role for school nurses is seriously challenged because of limited availability of appropriately qualified nurses and an urgent need for an investigation into school nursing statistics. Future workforce planning and development needs to be based on accurate and reliable statistics, to plan for an ageing nursing workforce. The quality of research in primary care is compromised because of the lack of availability of accurate nursing workforce data. CONCLUSIONS: Effective delivery of the NHS Plan requires a thorough understanding of the composition of the primary care nursing workforce and targets need to be based on accurate and reliable workforce statistics.     

Ethnography as narrative discourse: community integration of people with developmental disabilities.

Quality of life is recognized as a critical variable in community integration of people with developmental disabilities. A major concern expressed in the literature is to establish a measure of congruence between the perception and experiences of these people and their social environment. In response to this concern, this study presents a framework of analysis based on ethnography as narrative of the old and the new. The old narrative is that of segregation, leading to confined form of space and time. The new narrative is that of interdependence achieved through cyclical form of space and time. It is argued that community integration of people with developmental disabilities has taken place in relation to linear form of time and space, perpetuating the old narrative of isolation and segregation. The new narrative of interdependence requires the accommodation of differences by the non-disabled. The quality of life for people with disabilities is then a function of accommodation of differences.