Adverse Drug Reactions, Nursing and Policy: A Narrative Review

Medicines' management is a priority in healthcare delivery, but weaknesses in the monitoring and management of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) cause unplanned hospital admissions, financial burdens on healthcare systems, patient discomfort, morbidity, and mortality. This paper suggests policies and strategies that would help nurses minimise and manage ADRs to prescription medicines. The literature was searched for strategies to promote nurses' engagement with monitoring patients for potential ADRs. This narrative review opens the discussion by exploring the potential for nurse policy makers to address this hiatus in care. Recognition, amelioration and reporting of ADRs are important components of safe care, areas where nurses could make important contributions through collaboration in policy development, healthcare reform and enhanced nursing practice. Minimising ADRs necessitates paying sufficient attention to their recognition and prevention. Healthcare providers, particularly nurse leaders, need to commit to strategies to identify and address any adverse consequences of treatments, including ADRs: the axiom primum non nocere (first, do no harm) should be applied to all healthcare delivery. The application of structured nurse-led medicines' monitoring in practice depends on the collaboration of all healthcare professionals, co-ordinated by nurses. Incorporation of strategies to identify and ameliorate preventable ADRs into routine work will require the support of policy makers

The Role of the Nurse in the Management of Medicines During Transitional Care: A Systematic Review

Purpose: To synthesise knowledge and to explore the role of the nurse in medicines management during transitional care. Methods: An integrative systematic review was conducted. Electronic databases such as PubMed [including Medline], Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and Cinahl from January 2010 to April 2020 were searched. Original qualitative and quantitative studies written in English that focused on the role of the nurse in medicines management during transitional care, which included movement between short-term, long-term, and community healthcare settings were included. Results: The search process led to the retrieval of 10 studies, which were published in English from 2014 to 2020. They focused on the role of the nurse in patients’ medicines management during transitional care in various healthcare settings. Given variations in the aims and methods of selected studies, the review findings were presented narratively utilizing three categories developed by the authors. In the first category as ‘medication reconciliation process’ the nurse participated in obtaining medication history, performing medication review, identifying medication discrepancies, joint medication reconciliation and adjustment. The second category as ‘collaboration with other healthcare providers’ highlighted the nurses’ role in clarifying medicines’ concerns, interdisciplinary communication and consultation, discharge planning and monitoring. In the third category as ‘provision of support to healthcare recipients’, the nurse was responsible for interpersonal communication with patients, education about medicines, and simplification of medication regimens, and symptoms management during transitional care. Conclusion: Nurses play a crucial role in the safety of medicines management during transitional care. Therefore, they should be empowered and more involved in medicines management initiatives in the healthcare system. Patient safety and avoidance of medication errors during transitional care require that medicines management becomes a multidisciplinary collaboration with effective communication between healthcare providers.publishedVersio

Psychometric properties of the Farsi version of Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire in Iranian older adults

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Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus and varicella zoster virus among pregnant women in Bradford: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein Barr virus (EBV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) among pregnant women in Bradford by ethnic group and country of birth. METHODS: A stratified random sample of 949 pregnant women enrolled in the Born in Bradford birth cohort was selected to ensure sufficient numbers of White UK born women, Asian UK born women and Asian women born in Asia. Serum samples taken at 24-28 weeks' gestation were tested for CMV IgG, EBV IgG and VZV IgG. Each woman completed a questionnaire which included socio-demographic information. RESULTS: CMV seroprevalence was 49% among the White British women, 89% among South Asian UK born women and 98% among South Asian women born in South Asia. These differences remained after adjusting for socio-demographic factors. In contrast, VZV seroprevalence was 95% among women born in the UK but significantly lower at 90% among South Asian women born in Asia. EBV seroprevalence was 94% overall and did not vary by ethnic group/country of birth. CONCLUSIONS: Although about half of White British women are at risk of primary CMV infection in pregnancy and the associated increased risk of congenital infection, most congenital CMV infections are likely to be in children born to South Asian women with non-primary infection during pregnancy. South Asian women born in South Asia are at risk of VZV infection during pregnancy which could produce congenital varicella syndrome or perinatal chickenpox. Differences in CMV and VZV seroprevalence by ethnic group and country of birth must be taken into account when universal immunisation against these viruses is contemplated

The effect of the emotional intelligence education programme on quality of life in haemodialysis patients

Author's accepted version (post-print).Available from 18/10/2018.acceptedVersio