Cultural diversity between hospital and community nurses: implications for continuity of care

Introduction: Health care systems and nurses need to take into account the increasing number of people who need post-hospital nursing care in their homes. Nurses have taken a pivotal role in discharge planning for frail patients. Despite considerable effort and focus on how to undertake hospital discharge successfully, the problem of ensuring continuity of care remains. <br /><br />Challenges: In this paper, we highlight and discuss three challenges that seem to be insufficiently articulated when hospital and community nurses interact during discharge planning. These three challenges are: how local practices circumvent formal structures, how nurses' different perspectives influence their assessment of patients' need for post-hospital care, and how nurses have different understanding of what it means to be ‘ready to be discharged’. <br /><br />Discussion: We propose that nurses need to discuss these challenges and their implications for nursing care so as to be ready to face changing demands for health care in future

Интеллект-карта как средство оценивания качества знаний обучающихся: возможности и ограничения структурно-информационного подхода

Обсуждаются возможности и ограничения использования интеллект-карт как средства оценивания качества знаний обучающихся в рамках структурно-информационного подхода. Интеллект-карта рассматривается, с одной стороны, как логико-смысловая вербально-образная модель учебного материала, отображающая его содержание и структуру, с другой стороны – как модель индивидуальных знаний обучающихся. Для расчета структурных и информационных характеристик интеллект-карты предлагается использовать структурные формулы древовидных графов. Приведен алгоритм расчета структурных и информационных характеристик эталонной интеллект-карты и индивидуальных интеллект-карт, относительного показателя упорядоченности знаний обучающегося

Teknologi til fallforbygging – prosjektrapport Falltek.

Fallforebygging er høyt prioritert i kommunene og Falltek (www.falltek.no) hadde som mål å utvikle og bruke motiverende teknologi til fallforebyggende trening. Gjennom å kombinere følgeforskning og utvikling av teknologi kan vi • Bedre fange opp brukerbehov • Støtte innovative prosesser i kommunene og • Tilpasse teknologiutviklingen til brukerbehov og kommunens organiserin

Anaemia among women seeking sterilization in Mursan, India.

Abstract: Anaemia in women seeking sterilization in Mursan, India. Ragnhild F. Skagseth and May-Liss Hatleskog. Faculty of medicine, University of Oslo, autumn 2008. Background: Anaemia is a huge medical problem in the developing world. Getting pregnant at a young age combined with high parity, bad sanitary conditions and a bad diet, contributes to give women bad health. This thesis was undertaken to study the haemoglobin (Hb) level in women who were seeking surgical sterilization at the Methodist Public Health Centre (MPHC), Mursan, India. The aim of this investigation was to seek possible explanations why many fertile females end up anaemic and to examine what could be done to improve their condition. Material and methods: Data were collected from all the women who were seeking surgical sterilization at the MPHC, December 2007. All lab results on Hb level, pregnancy tests and infection parameters were gathered. The authors observed all the tests and contributed in some of the preoperative tests, such as measuring pulse and blood pressure, performing the auscultation of the heart, and bimanual gynaecological examination. The findings where compared to the existing literature obtained trough search in PubMed, WHO databases, textbooks and Google. Results: Of 160 women who were seeking surgical sterilization, only 107 (66.9 %) underwent the operation; 25 % of the women excluded had an Hb level measuring 8 g/dl or lower, which is classified as severe anaemia; 4.4 % would not give their consents for sterilization or just left the clinic. 1.8 % tested positive for human chorionoic gonadotropin (hCG) and 1.9 % did not undergo the sterilization of unknown reasons. Conclusion: Anaemia is without doubt a big problem among women seeking surgical sterilization. There are many reasons contributing to anaemia, such as chronic infections, bad nutrition, and underweight. Possible ways to improve this condition would be family planning, better sanitary conditions, diet and antenatal care. MPHC should focus on working harder on treating infection and especially gastrointestinal infections. The hospital should continue their good work on antenatal care and aim to reach out to even more people in the area. This may increase the frequency of seeking medical help when people feel ill, get pregnant, or are about to go into labour. Iron folic acid (IFA) covering and health education are both successful programs that are recommended to continue

Economic and Environmental impacts of the introduction of Western flower thrips (Fvankliniella occidentalis) and Potato late blight (Phytopthova infestans) to Norway

The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is a highly polyphagous species with a host range including over 250 species of herbaceous and woody plants belonging to 62 families. F. occidentalis originates in western USA but has spread, since 1970, into many countries in Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Europe and Oceania. In southern regions of Europe the pest is found outdoors attacking the flowers of a number of host plants. In northern European countries it is a pest mainly in protected crops (i.e. glasshouses) attacking a number of ornamentals and vegetables. F. occidentalis is a vector of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and several other viruses. Both these organisms are regulated as quarantine pests in the EPPO region (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization). The first report of F. occidentalis in Norway was in 1986 and it spread very quickly within greenhouse environments. In 1987 the species was added to the A-list (quarantine pests with zero-tolerance on import to Norway) and a comprehensive spraying program to eradicate the introduced pest and stop further spread was developed. The thrips, however, continued to spread and in 1991 about 40% of all greenhouses in Norway were infested with F. occidentalis. A plan of action (Trips-aksjonen) to combat and eradicate F. occidentalis from Norway was executed in 1991. In spite of extensive efforts by growers and authorities they did not succeed in eradicating or stopping further spread of F. occidentalis. In 1997 the species was considered established in Norwegian greenhouses and it was therefore deleted from the Norwegian A-list. It is now under surveillance as a vector for TSWV (an A-list pest) and is treated as a quarantine pest if discovered in connection with TSWV. The introduction and establishment of F. occidentalis in Norwegian greenhouses has been a burden to both growers and the society. Growers have suffered financial losses in terms of costs of carrying out comprehensive quarantine instructions (1986-1996) as well as through direct crop loss and costs of control measures (1986-2006). Indirect economic impacts of F. occidentalis include the implications for growers due to the quarantine instructions (1987- 1996) such as increased labour to carry out the instructions; cost of pesticides; loss of production time during the quarantine and eradication period; loss of contracts when not able to deliver plants and seedlings on time; loss of reputation; and perhaps as a combination of the others also loss of future contracts. Growers have also suffered in terms of health risks as they have used pesticides more frequently and thereby been exposed to pesticides more often. Very rough estimates and assessments to predict potential crop loss caused by F. occidentalis suggests a worst case scenario (or 100% crop loss) to be about 1454.4 mill NOK per year (2003-numbers). Assuming that the proportion of infested greenhouses at any given time during the year is somewhere between 30-40%, then potential crop losses would be between 436-582 mill NOK per year. It should be underlined that these numbers are rough estimates only, not accurate measurements. Introduction/establishment of the species has resulted in an increased effort from extension service, phytosanitary authorities, and scientists, the costs involved are, however, difficult to assess. […]Economic and Environmental impacts of the introduction of Western flower thrips (Fvankliniella occidentalis) and Potato late blight (Phytopthova infestans) to NorwaypublishedVersio