Journal of advanced nursing
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This paper is a description of a protocol for studying the impact of a patient/family-centered, evidence-based practice change on the quality, cost and use of services for critically ill patients at the end of life. ⋯ The study represents translational research in that interventions are brought to the bedside to reach the people for whom the interventions were designed. The practice change is likely to endure after the study because our research team is composed of both clinicians and scientists. Also, direct care clinicians endorse and are responsible for the practice change.
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This paper is a report of a study to illuminate the experience of family members whose relatives survived the resuscitation in an accident and emergency department, and their preferences with regard to being present. ⋯ Variations among the contributing determinants to each family member's preference to be present were revealed. Appropriate nursing interventions, policy and guidelines should be developed to meet individualized needs during such critical and life-threatening moments in accident and emergency departments.
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This paper is a report of a review conducted to identify (a) best practice in information transfer from the emergency department for multi-trauma patients; (b) conduits and barriers to information transfer in trauma care and related settings; and (c) interventions that have an impact on information communication at handover and beyond. ⋯ Many factors influence information transfer but are poorly identified in relation to trauma care. The measurement of information transfer, which is integral to patient handover, has not been the focus of research to date. Nonetheless, documented patient information is considered evidence of care and a resource that affects continuing care.
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Comparative Study
Risk assessment following self-harm: comparison of mental health nurses and psychiatrists.
This paper is a report of a study conducted to compare risk assessments by psychiatrists and mental health nurses following an episode of self-harm. ⋯ Our finding that risk assessments were comparable by profession supports the provision of nurse-led assessment services. However, inpatient admission was influenced largely by assessor type rather than patient characteristics. This has important implications for equity of care and may reflect professional differences in referral practices.
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This is a report of a study investigating processes used by final-year nursing students to recognize and act on clinical cues of deterioration in a simulated environment. ⋯ Nursing skills training should emphasize the importance of trends in identifying and acting on deterioration and the need for systematic assessment in stressful situations. Nursing curricula should focus on enhancing the ability to piece information together, including linking pathophysiology with patient assessment, and identify trends, rather than seeing observations as parallel to each other.