The Australian journal of advanced nursing : a quarterly publication of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation
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Comparative Study
Nurses' knowledge and attitudes concerning pain management in an Australian hospital.
Pain management is widely acknowledged as being a significant concern for many health professionals. Effective management of patients' pain is a crucial nursing activity dependent on accurate pain knowledge, attitudes, and assessment. ⋯ When this questionnaire was applied to registered nurses working in four different hospital departments within an Australian hospital, the results showed that many nurses have inadequate knowledge and attitudinal barriers that may hamper effective pain management decisions. These results demonstrate that Australian registered nurses may have knowledge deficiencies and attitudinal barriers similar to their overseas counterparts.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Venepuncture versus heel prick for the collection of the Newborn Screening Test.
This study compared the heel prick with venepuncture of a superficial vein on the dorsum of the hand to collect the Newborn Screening Test. Midwives at two different maternity centres collected the blood samples, with midwives at each centre using only one of the two blood collecting approaches being studied. ⋯ Analysis of the results found a shorter sample collection time, length of crying, duration of the first cry, a lower percentage of crying, and increased cry latency for the venepuncture group; all significant at the P < 0.05 level. These findings suggest that venepuncture should be the preferred technique for midwives to collect the Newborn Screening Test.