Using a smartphone app to identify signs of pre-eclampsia and/or worsening blood pressure

Background Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy complicate 10% of pregnancies and can have serious consequences. Aims To explore the experiences of pregnant women with a history of hypertension using an innovative home blood pressure monitoring device. Methods A qualitative study using a grounded theory approach was undertaken. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Women were given a blood pressure machine to monitor their blood pressure daily. They inserted their blood pressure results on a smartphone app and answered questions for signs of pre-eclampsia. Participants were followed up every 2 weeks. Findings The results suggested that women wanted a holistic care pathway for the management of hypertension in pregnancy. Three subcategories (‘empowerment’, ‘comparison of care pathways’ and ‘continuity of care’) were also identified. Conclusions The traditional management of hypertension in pregnancy is not holistic. The home blood pressure service was accepted by women and incorporated elements of holistic care but more is required to meet the standard of care that women need

Spirituality in nursing practice

Spirituality is an important aspect of holistic care which is frequently overlooked owing to difficulty conceptualising spirituality and confusion about how to integrate it into nursing care. This article seeks to understand what is meant by spirituality and spiritually competent practice, it explores some of the attitudes towards spirituality and describes some of issues affecting integration of spirituality into nursing care

A Literature Review: Current Trends in Holistic Nursing

There is scarcity of documentation that seeks to define spirituality relating to holistic nursing; consequently, a literature review was formulated to define spirituality and guide nursing practice towards recognizing the importance of and implementation of spiritual care. By researching the current trends in peer-reviewed journals from the past three years and analyzing associated articles, this paper addresses the need for a comprehensive definition of spirituality. Key concepts such as belief, values, interconnectedness with self, others and God, energy, hope and transcendence will be analyzed, and the accumulated data will be complied into a framework that is easy for a nurse to understand and use. This thesis strives to validate the necessity of spiritual care through the mechanism of holistic nursing and equip nurses to assess and implement care for the ever-present spiritual needs of one’s patients

Wake up, wake up! It's me! It's my life! patient narratives on person-centeredness in the integrated care context: a qualitative study

Person-centered care emphasizes a holistic, humanistic approach that puts patients first, at the center of medical care. Person-centeredness is also considered a core element of integrated care. Yet typologies of integrated care mainly describe how patients fit within integrated services, rather than how services fit into the patient's world. Patient-centeredness has been commonly defined through physician's behaviors aimed at delivering patient-centered care. Yet, it is unclear how 'person-centeredness' is realized in integrated care through the patient voice. We aimed to explore patient narratives of person-centeredness in the integrated care context

Holistic Care for Leprosy Patients in Lembata District, East Nusa Tenggara

Background: Lembata is a district in East Nusa Tenggara with various infectious and non-infectious diseases, including leprosy. The monthly incidence of leprosy increase by 1-2 new cases of leprosy per village. In Lembata there is Lembata Damian Hospital, a leprosy hospital established in 1959. Lembata District has a population of 157,265 people, most of than have low education level. The local government implemented a new approach of leprosy treatment emphasizing holistic treatment including medical, psychological, social, and spiritual treatment with the objective to cure and to improve the quality of life of leprosy patients. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the holistic leprosy treatment in Lembata District, East Nusa Tenggara. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study with problem solving approach. The holistic treatment applied to leprosy patients consisted of some components. In order to develop immune system in the body, the patients received local food nutritional intake, including maize, tubers, papaya fruit and leaf, and kelor leaf. To heal ulcers and wounds, the patients received blended topical herbal treatment, consisting of local papaya leaf, kelor leaf, turmeric tuber, and salt. The psychological component of holistic treatment aimed to prevent stress, feeling of despair, feeling of isolation, and lack of self confidence. The social component of holistic treatment empowered patients to be accepted by the surrounding community members. The spiritual component of holistic treatment attempted to enhance motivation by practicing prayer. The holistic treatment was developed by Porat Antonius. The data were collected by in-depth interview and direct observation. Results: As many as 76 cases of leprosy cases were identified through laboratory examination conducted at Damian hospital. As many as 33 leprosy cases received the holistic treatment in addition to anti-leprosy medical drugs. 19 of all 33 leprosy patients treated with the holistic treatment were cured. 14 patients refused to participate in the holistic treatment. Conclusion: Delving in local wisdom, the holistic treatment in complementary with modern anti-leprosy drugs can be used to cure leprosy patients and to improve their quality of life. Further studies, however, need to be carried out to provide rigorous scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the holistic treatment. Keywords: Leprosy, holistic treatment, herbal medicine, quality of lif

Why palliative care? : encountering challenging issues

Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced disease. Management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is important. Palliative care is multidisciplinary and aims to achieve the best quality of life for patients and their families. In this article, the concepts of palliative care and the current issues of particular interest including the debates about physician assisted suicide, end of life issues and the importance of raising awareness of these issues and the need for further development of palliative care skills with doctors are discussed.peer-reviewe

First national survey of anthroposophic nurses in NZ

Anthroposophic health care although listed as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) – approach according to the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Complementary and Alternative Health (MACCAH, 2002;2004) in New Zealand (NZ), is an integrated healing system that has been practiced and widely used in Europe. Based on foundations developed by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman, anthroposophic medicine is a holistic healing approach considering the whole human being, namely body, soul and spirit (Evans & Rogers, 1992; Steiner & Wegman, 1991; Therkleson, 2005). Instead of focusing on individual symptoms, anthroposophic therapeutic approaches will aim not only at the physical complaint but target the whole person, inclusive of emotional, psycho-social and spiritual aspects. Diagnosis and therapies are therefore based on assessing the individual with a holistic framework and rather than aiming for a cure, the emphasis is on salutogenic strategies, supporting the person to find equilibrium by stimulating innate healing abilities (Evans & Rogers, 1992; Mittelmark & Bauer, 2017; Therkleson & Sherwood, 2004). Health care professionals practicing with anthroposophic principles use orthodox, scientific foundations and extend their practice with the holistic foundations of anthroposophic health care. In NZ anthroposophic nurses (ANs) work in a variety of clinical settings, e.g. in anthroposophic health centers (e.g. Helios Integrative Medical Center), primary health practices (Manchester, 2009), in therapeutic communities (Freeman Rock, 2014), hospice and some as independent practitioners in the community. AN therapies support the human being through rhythmical massage/embrocation, hydrotherapy, poultices, compresses and biography work (Therkleson, 2004). In the past education to gain registration as an anthroposophic nurse was offered through the Taruna College in Hawkes Bay (Certificate and Diploma in Holistic Healthcare). The diploma qualification is a requisite for inclusion on the ANANZ Register of Anthroposophic Nurses (AN). Some of the ANs currently practicing in NZ have gained registration overseas at an Anthroposophic Hospital (Germany or Switzerland)

Proceeding: 3rd Java International Nursing Conference 2015 “Harmony of Caring and Healing Inquiry for Holistic Nursing Practice; Enhancing Quality of Care”, Semarang, 20-21 August 2015

This is the proceeding of the 3rd Java International Nursing Conference 2015 organized by School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University, in collaboration with STIKES Kendal. The conference was held on 20-21 August 2015 in Semarang, Indonesia. The conference aims to enable educators, students, practitioners and researchers from nursing, medicine, midwifery and other health sciences to disseminate and discuss evidence of nursing education, research, and practices to improve the quality of care. This conference also provides participants opportunities to develop their professional networks, learn from other colleagues and meet leading personalities in nursing and health sciences. The 3rd JINC 2015 was comprised of keynote lectures and concurrent submitted oral presentations and poster sessions. The following themes have been chosen to be the focus of the conference: (a) Multicenter Science: Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, etc. in Holistic Nursing Practice, (b) Complementary Therapy in Nursing and Complementary, Alternative Medicine: Alternative Medicine (Herbal Medicine), Complementary Therapy (Cupping, Acupuncture, Yoga, Aromatherapy, Music Therapy, etc.), (c) Application of Inter-professional Collaboration and Education: Education Development in Holistic Nursing, Competencies of Holistic Nursing, Learning Methods and Assessments, and (d) Application of Holistic Nursing: Leadership & Management, Entrepreneurship in Holistic Nursing, Application of Holistic Nursing in Clinical and Community Settings

Addressing the Spiritual Needs of People Aging with Dementia and/or Lifelong Disabilities

Educational Objectives 1. Present the need for spiritual care as part of holistic care for people living with dementia and/or lifelong disabilities. 2. Distinguish the difference between spirituality and religion. 3. Discuss how to assess the spiritual needs of people living with dementia and/or lifelong disabilities. 4. Show through case study examples specific ways to address the spiritual needs of people living with dementia and/or lifelong disabilities

Attitudes and Beliefs of Registered Retired and Registry Nurses Regarding Holistic Spiritual Care

The purpose of holistic spiritual care is to assess and provide for the spiritual needs of patients. Current literature indicates that holistic spiritual care is important to the healthcare of patients. Researchers suggest that nurses who practice holistic spiritual care are more aware of the attributes of caring, respect, and emotional support. This project study addressed a problem at the research site reported by local community nurses and holistic spiritual care experts of nurses not practicing holistic spiritual care. Mezirow\u27s transformational learning theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this qualitative study, which was designed to examine the attitudes and beliefs of nurses about practicing holistic spiritual care. The study\u27s participants were comprised of a mixed-gender convenience sample of 21 local registered nurses, aged 22 to 64, who were retired or who worked for a registry, and were recruited on Facebook to participate in a qualitative online questionnaire. Hand and computerized open coding and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data. Participants indicated that they believed practicing spiritual care nursing was beneficial as it could improve patient outcomes. The themes that emerged from the data included personal insecurities of nurses, little support, and lack of training in practicing spiritual holistic care. These findings were used to develop a 3-day workshop series designed to increase awareness and improve understanding of the benefits of holistic spiritual care of nurses, nurse educators, nurse leaders, and administrators. This study promotes positive social change by providing healthcare stakeholders at the local site with better understandings of the benefits of holistic spiritual care programs