Journal of holistic nursing : official journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association
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The last week of life represents an important time for people dying of cancer and their families. To explore the needs and wishes of patients and their caregivers during the last week of life at home, a descriptive phenomenological study was undertaken in a home care facility located in the northeast of Italy. A purposeful sample of participants affected by advanced cancer was included. ⋯ The last interview conducted before the patient died was selected and considered for the analysis performed by researchers independently, who then worked closely together for theme triangulations. Needs and wishes in the last week of life were focused on four main themes: (a) Remaining attached to my life ("I wish I was doing things like I used to"); (b) Detaching myself from life, immediately ("I wish this Calvary were over"); (c) Dealing with the dying process ("Waiting in fear"); and (d) Starting to think of life without each other ("Unshared worries"). In order to improve personalized care in the last week of life, nurses are encouraged to assess both patient and caregiver needs and wishes, as well as their reciprocal influence and correspondence, to identify each patient-caregiver unit's unique holistic care priorities.
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Although health care providers often play music via radio, or play television, to calm and soothe patients, limited research is available to guide practice. ⋯ The use of music and TV is a common intervention in the neurocritical care unit but lacks a strong scientific foundation and is associated with a high practice variance.
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To examine nurses' attitudes to holistic and biomedical approaches to health care and the correlation between the two and to explore the extent of recommending and using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by nurses and its correlation with attitudes toward the holistic approach to care. ⋯ Biomedical and holistic approaches are perceived by nurses to coexist within nursing professional boundaries and form a broad basis for optimal health care. Nurses' attitudes to the holistic approach appear to promote recommendation and/or use of CAM in practice. More training in CAM should be offered in nursing educational frameworks and research should continue to establish evidence for CAM's effectiveness.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of training nurses in Jin Shin Jyutsu® self-care methods and to correlate the training with measurement of the nurses' personal and organizational stress and their perceptions of their caring efficacy for patients. ⋯ This small study suggests that Jin Shin Jyutsu self-care may be a valuable tool for nurses, to decrease stress, both emotional and physical, and increase caring efficacy. Administrators may wish to invest in such a program, which may improve quality of care delivered. The Watson caring model, which reminds us that nurses who care for themselves and feel good about their work can better care for others, proved an accurate framework for this study.
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The purposes of this pilot study were to measure pain associated with dressing changes, assess the presence of infection, and document healing times of burn-injured Amish in central Ohio using an herbal therapy consisting of Burns and Wounds™ ointment (B&W) and burdock (Arctium ssp.) leaves. B&W contains honey, lanolin, olive oil, wheat germ oil, marshmallow root, Aloe vera gel, wormwood, comfrey root, white oak bark, lobelia inflata, vegetable glycerin, bees wax, and myrrh. ⋯ The use of this herbal remedy appears to be an acceptable alternative to conventional burn care for these types of burns. The trauma of dressing changes was virtually nonexistent. Nurses working in communities with Amish residents should be aware of this herbal-based method of burn care and monitor its use when feasible.