Changes, challenges and choices for the primary health care workforce: looking to the future

AIMS: The main aim of this paper is to draw attention to problems facing the primary health care workforce in terms of demand for treatment of minor illness over the next two decades. These predictions have implications for the community nursing workforce in particular and the flexibility of primary health care teams in general. BACKGROUND: Care delivered in the primary care sector influences, and is influenced by, the characteristics of the health care workforce. These characteristics fall into two main groups: firstly, the shape of the present medical and nursing workforce and manpower trends; and secondly, the changes in doctors' and nurses' workloads. DESIGN: This paper draws on two studies, both commissioned by the Department of Health; the first study focusing on skill mix and delegation in primary health care teams and the second addressing the implications of skill mix for medical workforce scenarios in the changing policy environment. FINDINGS: From the first study, general practitioners across ten general practices were prepared to delegate at least one topic from over a third of 836 consultations and a further 17% of entire consultations. This potential delegation fell mainly to practice nurses and nurse practitioners. The second study used data extracted from the National Morbidity Surveys of 1981 and 1991 predicting that minor consultations are set to increase by 11 million from the 1990s to 2020--a minimal estimate. The authors argue that many of these extra predicted consultations will find their way onto practice nurses' and nurse practitioners' caseloads. CONCLUSIONS: Workforce issues and questions of professional roles and boundaries, in the context of the "greying" community nursing workforce, demand solutions if patient/client demand is to be met over the next two decades.     

The effect of a skipped dose (placebo) of methylphenidate on the learning and retention of a motor skill in adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have difficulties in achieving optimal performance in many everyday and academic tasks, deficits attributed to impaired skill acquisition and procedural memory consolidation. We tested the effect of a skipped dose of methylphenidate (MPH) on learning a movement sequence and its subsequent consolidation into procedural memory in adolescents with ADHD. A crossover double-blind design with placebo was used. Sixteen male adolescents, 16–18 years-old, with ADHD and taking MPH formulations on a daily basis, were trained on performing a 5-element sequence of finger-to-thumb opposition movements. Participants took part in two study conditions, 2 months apart. In each condition a different movement sequence was trained and tested. Participants trained on the task either with active medication or placebo on the day of training, crossed-over between study conditions. Learning effects, speed and accuracy, were assessed within-session, during a 24-h memory consolidation phase. Retention was tested by 2 weeks post-training. There were robust gains in performance both within-session and during the 24-h consolidation phase, in both conditions. However, the discontinuation of MPH on the day of training significantly reduced performance speed, with no loss of accuracy. By 2 weeks, post-training performance was comparable. Adolescents with ADHD who are treated daily but skip a dose of MPH show significant slowing of performance relative to their own performance on medication. However, on a background of daily treatment a skipped dose has no deleterious effect on memory consolidation and retention.     

Planning and managing a complex multisite study in the age of technology

A 2‐year long, multisite research study that evaluated cardiopulmonary resuscitation skill decay among nursing students was conducted at 10 schools of nursing across the United States. The study was conducted in two phases and required carefully timed sessions for skill performance. Multisite studies in nursing education need to be carefully planned. Time delays should be anticipated with processes and Institutional Review Board protocols across sites. All team members were trained and consistently supported during the entire study. While challenges and obstacles were identified, innovative solutions were implemented that assisted the research team to successfully complete the study. The use of new and existing technology allowed the team to surmount many of the challenges encountered in this study. The purpose of this article is to describe the logistics, processes, challenges, and lessons learned related to conducting a complex multisite study.     

护患沟通技巧在脑卒中防治中的应用

目的探讨通过提高护患沟通技巧,实现护士与脑卒中患者的有效沟通,从而提高护士在脑卒中防治工作中的服务能力。方法结合脑卒中患者的心理特征,护士遵守沟通原则,运用多种沟通技巧,把＂以病人为中心＂作为沟通的指导思想,通过塑造温馨的护士形象、赢得患者的信任、换位思考、提高语言沟通能力以及注重非语言沟通技巧等方法 ,加强与脑卒中患者的有效沟通。结果护士掌握了沟通技巧,有助于与脑卒中患者的有效沟通,提高了护理工作的质量。结论提高护患沟通技巧是护理工作中的重要内容,有利于建设和谐的护患关系,提高护理工作质量,在脑卒中防治中起到积极作用。     

Motor skill assessment in children with Down Syndrome: Relationship between performance-based and teacher-report measures

Resultsof previous studies show a large interindividual variability with regard to motor skills and motor abilities in children with Down Syndrome (DS). In order to provide detailed information for intervention, adequate assessment methods seem to be necessary to address the child's unique motor profile. Typically, children are either examined using a bottom-up (performance-based assessment of motor skills) or a top-down approach (e.g. client-report measure), but rarely both approaches. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between standardized performance-based, and teacher-report measures of children's motor performance. The performance- and process-based assessment Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2), and the teacher-based Movement Assessment Battery – Checklist (MABC-C) for young children were used to assess the motor performance of 18 children with DS (11 boys, 7 girls) aged 7–11 years (M = 9.06, SD = 0.96) and an age- and sex-matched sample of typically developing (TD) 18 children (11 boys, 7 girls; M = 8.99, SD = 0.93). TD children achieve consistently better results compared to children with DS, both in the TGMD-2 and MABC-C, which differ significantly in most cases. When gender differences were examined for the TGMD-2 scores, boys with DS were better performers of the run, gallop, leap, and catch, as well as the locomotor and object-control skill sum scores, whereas girls of the TD group were more proficient in these areas. TD children achieve significantly better results in 21 out of 28 items of Section A + B of the MABC-C, compared to the children with DS; whereas there are no significant differences for Section C (non-motor factors). Our results show more significant relationships between TGMD-2 and MABC-C sub- and overall scores for the TD sample compared to the children with DS. The correlations range between r = −.21 and −.65 for TD children and between r = −.15 and −.65 for the children with DS. The correlations between both approaches show that the combination of both methods could be useful in getting a more detailed picture of the child's individual motor profile in order to create tailor-made therapies and interventions, both for children with DS and TD children.     

The role of emotion identification skill in the formation of male and female friendships: A longitudinal study

The present study explored the relationship between emotion identification skill (EIS) and friendships in adolescence. Students from five Australian high schools completed questionnaires annually from Grade 8 to Grade 12 including subjective measures of EIS and a peer-based objective measure of social functioning (e.g., friendship nominations). The total sample of participants was 795 (406 males; 389 females) with 468 (225 males; 243 females) completing questionnaires in Grade 12. EIS in early adolescence was predictive of friendships for females in late adolescence. Specifically, girls starting out with low EIS in Grade 8 tended to have fewer female friendships and more male friendships in Grade 12. There were no effects for males. Lower initial EIS was associated with significant improvements in awareness over time, but these improvements had no effect on friendships in Grade 12. The EIS that girls enter high school with may influence their friendship composition into late adolescence.     

中医护理技术临床实践保障管理模式探讨

目的探索保障中医护理技术临床实践的有效管理模式。方法在护理部、质控办及护士长三级管理模式下,实施护士分层次培训,完善25项中医护理技术项目及其实践制度,动态督导,以保障中医护理技术的实施。连续实施6个月后评价效果。结果中医护理操作项目服务由实施第1个月的12 996例次上升到第6个月的17 329例次,经济收入从195 938元上升到262 798元,实施前后患者对中医护理技术的接受程度及护士的认可度比较,差异有统计学意义(均P0.01)。结论本保障管理模式有利于中医护理技术在临床规范性的推广应用。     

2013年襄阳市城区健康知识知晓率、健康行为形成率和健康技能掌握率调查

目的 了解2013年襄阳市城区不同人群健康知识知晓、行为形成情况及社区居民健康技能掌握情况,为制定健康教育干预方案提供科学依据.方法 采用分层抽样和简单随机抽样方法,于2013年11月对本市城区内不同人群进行问卷调查.结果 健康知识总知晓率为86.3％,从高到低依次为中小学生（90.7％）、住院病人（90.1％）、行业职工（84.6％）及社区居民（82.5％）;健康行为总形成率为86.3％,从高到低依次为住院病人（88.6％）、中小学生（87.0％）、行业职工（79.5％）及社区居民（73.5％）,差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;社区居民健康技能掌握率为79.0％.结论 襄阳市城区健康知识知晓率、行为形成率及技能掌握率总体上达到国家卫生城市标准要求,但仍不客松懈,需进一步制定相应的健康教育干预措施.