Revising the critical care family needs inventory for the emergency department

Background: The Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) has been used widely over the last two decades for analysing the needs of family members in the intensive care unit. However, it has significant limitations as a needs assessment tool for use with families in the Emergency Department (ED). This paper discusses the methodological challenges encountered during the process of reviewing and adapting this tool for use in the ED. Aims: The purpose of this study was to revise and adapt the CCFNI for use with a population of family members of critically ill patients in an Australian Emergency Department. Instrument: The process of tool revision, adaptation and reconstruction included: critique of the CCFNI; concept definition; item review; content and structure revision; scale revision; and testing with a sample of the target population. Methods: Data collection methods were aimed at accessing a vulnerable population, while enhancing response rate and data quality. A sample of 84 relatives of critically ill patients from one Melbourne Metropolitan Emergency Department was used, 73% of whom returned questionnaires. Results: Pilot data were examined with the specific purpose of identifying elements of the tool that required refinement or modification. Methods used for establishing reliability and validity of the revised tool provided satisfactory results. Limitations: Limitations of this study include inadequate sample size for exploratory factor analysis, and an incomplete response set for some items, which influenced item analysis. Conclusion: The process used for addressing the identified methodological issues in reviewing and adapting the CCFNI for use in the ED provides a framework for adapting an established tool for a specific purpose.<br /

Consumer participation in acute care settings : an Australian experience

Consumer partnerships have been embraced as an important component of building high quality health care services. While nurses have the greatest contact with clients in hospital, little is known of their views about consumer participation or how they facilitate that participation at the bedside. Using focus group interviews and participant observation methods, this project explored nurses\u27 approaches to working with consumers to support their participation in health care delivery. Findings indicate a sharp contrast between the ideas that nurses expressed and the actions observed in practice. It was clear from the interviews that nurses had adopted the rhetoric surrounding consumer participation, yet observational data revealed nursing practices that excluded active participation by consumers. Factors influencing nurses\u27 facilitation of consumer participation were identified as the division of nursing labour in the setting, limited communication between nurses and patients and environmental constraints.<br /

Evaluation of a support worker role, within a nurse delegation and supervision model, for provision of medicines support for older people living at home: the Workforce Innovation for Safe and Effective (WISE) Medicines Care study

No grant i

Medicines Management, Medication Errors and Adverse Medication Events in Older People Referred to a Community Nursing Service:A Retrospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of older people are receiving support with medicines management from community nursing services (CNSs) to enable them to live in their own homes. Little is known about these people and the support they receive. OBJECTIVES: To explore the characteristics of older people referred for medicines management support, type of support provided, medication errors and adverse medication events (AMEs). METHODS: A retrospective observational study of a random sample of 100 older people referred to a large non-profit CNS for medicines management support over a 3-month period was conducted. Measures were: demographics, referral source, current medical problems, medicines, medication aids, types of medication authorisations used by nurses, frequency of nurse visits and type of support provided, medication errors, AMEs and interdisciplinary teamwork among community nurses, general practitioners and pharmacists. RESULTS: Older people (median 80 years) were referred for medicines support most often by hospitals (39 %). Other referrals were from families/carers, case-managers, palliative care services and general practitioners. Multiple health conditions (median 5) and medicines (median 10) were common; 66 % used ≥5 medicines; 48 % used ≥1 high-risk medicines—most commonly opiates, anticoagulants and insulin. Medication aids were frequently used, mostly multi-compartment dose administration aids (47 %). Most people received regular community nurse visits (≥4 per week) to administer medicines or monitor medicine-taking. Only 16 % had a medication administration chart; for other clients nurses used medicine lists or letters from doctors for medication authorisation. Medication errors occurred in 41 % of people and 13 % had ≥1 AME requiring medical consultation or hospitalisation; 9/13 (64 %) AMEs were potentially preventable. There was little evidence of interdisciplinary teamwork or medication review. CONCLUSION: CNS clients had multiple risk-factors for medication misadventure. Deficiencies in medicines management were identified, including low use of medication charts and interdisciplinary medication review. Strategies are needed to improve medicines management in the home-care setting. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40801-016-0065-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

ABFAB. Attachment to the breast and family attitudes to breastfeeding. The effect of breastfeeding education in the middle of pregnancy on the initiation and duration of breastfeeding: a randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN21556494]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has proven difficult to reach World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations that infants be exclusively breastfed from birth to six months of age <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr></abbrgrp>, yet there is limited knowledge about interventions that are effective in increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration. Particularly lacking is evidence about how to maintain breastfeeding rates in countries which already have a high initiation of breastfeeding. This study aims to determine whether mid-pregnancy breastfeeding education, with a focus on either attitudes to breastfeeding or on technical aspects of breastfeeding, has an effect on rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration. Secondary aims of the study are to: explore what factors might affect the duration of breastfeeding and evaluate the interventions from the participant and childbirth facilitator perspectives.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A randomised controlled trial (RCT) design will be used. Women having their first baby, and planning to give birth as public patients at the Royal Women's Hospital (RWH), Melbourne, will be approached at 18–20 weeks of pregnancy and invited to participate in the study. Participants will be randomly allocated to a control group or one of two group interventions: a previously designed and trialled tool to teach practical aspects of breastfeeding or an exploration of family attitudes to breastfeeding. The latter was developed and piloted by the investigators in conjunction with the group facilitators, prior to trial commencement. The interventions are planned to take place at 20–25 weeks. Data will be collected by questionnaire at recruitment, at interview in hospital after the birth and by telephone interview six months later. Medical/obstetric outcomes will be obtained from the medical record. The sample size (972) was calculated to identify an increase in breastfeeding initiation from 75 to 85% and an increase from 40 to 50% in breastfeeding at six months.</p