Effects of patient death on nursing staff: a literature review

There were 509,090 deaths recorded in England and Wales for 2008 (Office for National Statistics, 2010); of these, over 56% (260 000) occurred in NHS hospitals. The death of a patient is an event that most, if not all, nursing staff will encounter during their work. This experience can elicit physical, cognitive, behavioural, spiritual and emotional responses (Parkes, 1998). Aim: The aim of this literature review is to explore how the death of patients in a hospital setting impact on nursing staff. Method: A review of the literature was undertaken using the online databases CINAHL, Medline and PsychInfo. The search was limited to articles in the English language and those from peer-reviewed journals. Results: Themes arising from the literature review included: the theoretical context; the emotional impact; the culture of the healthcare setting; staff’s previous life experiences; and support available for healthcare staff. Conclusions: The death of patients does have an impact on nurses. This can affect them both in their work environment and outside of work. Education around grief theory and support from others are helpful for staff in developing strategies for coping with patient deaths.</p

Therapeutic procedures on the aphasic population

This paper examines the clinical application of research done on aphasia and the learning characteristics of aphasics

Empathy Learned Through An Extended Medical Education Virtual Reality Project

Studies have suggested that empathy in healthcare professionals tends to erode during medical school and residency training. However, a study conducted by Hofat presents outcomes that reveals the opposite effect; instead empathy improves or there is no effect on empathy at all. Despite the contradictory studies, it is generally agreed that empathy is an important aspect in the patient-physician relationship as it is associated with improved patient satisfaction, increased adherence to treatment, and fewer malpractice complaints. This research exposed 346 first year medical students to virtual reality (VR) technology that is intended to elicit empathy for a 74-year-old African American male, Alfred, whom each student embodied to experience what it is like to have macular degeneration and hearing loss. Specifically, pre/post test responses to embodying Alfred were analyzed to determine empathic changes. The VR software, developed by Embodied Labs, Inc., is specifically designed to affect health professions students and staff empathy responses. Results yielded statically significant changes between pre and post assessment across both cohorts of the Alfred Lab.https://dune.une.edu/com_studpost/1002/thumbnail.jp

Alternative approaches to capacity building – emerging practices abroad

This study was undertaken to identify alternative approaches to third sector capacity building in countries outside of the UK. Principally desk-based, it draws on the insight and recommendations of the research team’s contacts which span Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, and the International Development context. The research has been undertaken in two main stages. The first scoping phase involved an email request for information on third sector and civil society capacity building. Respondents were asked to identify examples of capacity building that met with a number of good practice principles. The second phase took a more in-depth look at some selected cases: a funding brokerage partnership model from Australia; a variety of methods from the US; a number of approaches used or promoted by Dutch third sector organisations (TSOs) working in international development; a thematic study of leadership programmes; and a review of some networking approaches to capacity building

The Teacher-Parent Partnership: Helping Children Become Good Readers

Teachers recognize the importance of parental involvement in children\u27s learning. If children are to learn most efficiently and effectively, the home and the school must work in conjunction with each other. No other time for parent-school involvement is more critical than the early years of a child\u27s educational experience when the patterns and habits of literacy are evolving and developing, a fact recognized by educators and supported by the findings of various national commissions on education

Institute Brief: Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership: Effective Strategies for Building the Capacity of Parent Advisory Councils in Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in 2004 (IDEA 2004), encourages parents and educators to work collaboratively, emphasizing that as a team they are uniquely suited to make decisions that help improve the educational experiences and outcomes of children with disabilities. The Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) Project was funded to develop the leadership skills of parents individually and within their communities. The project took place in Massachusetts, where school districts are required to have a special education parent advisory council (SEPAC)

Factors Influencing Sleep Difficulty and Sleep Quantity in the Citizen Pscientist Psoriatic Cohort.

IntroductionSleep is essential for overall health and well-being, yet more than one-third of adults report inadequate sleep. The prevalence is higher among people with psoriasis, with up to 85.4% of the psoriatic population reporting sleep disruption. Poor sleep among psoriasis patients is particularly concerning because psoriasis is independently associated with many of the same comorbidities as sleep dysfunction, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Given the high prevalence and serious consequences of disordered sleep in psoriasis, it is vital to understand the nature of sleep disturbance in this population. This study was designed to help meet this need by using survey data from Citizen Pscientist, an online patient portal developed by the National Psoriasis Foundation.MethodsOur analysis included 3118 participants who identified as having a diagnosis by a physician of psoriasis alone or psoriasis with psoriatic arthritis. Demographic information, psoriasis severity and duration, sleep apnea status, smoking and alcohol consumption, itch timing, and sleep characteristics were included. Two separate multivariate logistic regression models in STATA were used to determine whether the presence of psoriatic arthritis, age, gender, body mass index, comorbid sleep apnea, psoriasis severity, timing of worst itch, smoking status, or high-risk alcohol consumption were associated with sleep difficulty or low sleep quantity, defined by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine as less than 7 h of sleep per night on average.ResultsResults from the multivariate logistic regressions found that sleep difficulty was associated with psoriatic arthritis (OR 2.15, 95% CI [1.79-2.58]), female gender (2.03 [1.67-2.46]), obese body mass index (BMI ≥ 30) (1.25 [1.00-1.56]), sleep apnea (1.41 [1.07-1.86]), psoriasis severity of moderate (1.59 [1.30-1.94]) or severe (2.40 [1.87-3.08]), and smoking (1.60 [1.26-2.02]). Low sleep quantity was associated with obese BMI (1.62 [1.29-2.03]), sleep apnea (1.30 [1.01-1.68]), psoriasis severity of moderate (1.41 [1.16-1.72]) or severe (1.40 [1.11-1.76]), and smoking (1.62 [1.31-2.00]). Sleep difficulty and low sleep quantity were not associated with age, alcohol consumption, or timing of worst itch.ConclusionThese results are potentially meaningful in several aspects. We identify an important distinction between sleep difficulty and sleep quantity in psoriatic disease, whereby having psoriatic arthritis and being female are each associated with sleep difficulty despite no association with low sleep quantity. Furthermore, there is conflicting evidence from prior studies as to whether psoriasis severity is associated with sleep difficulty, but this well-powered, large study revealed a strong, graded relationship between psoriasis severity and both sleep difficulty and low sleep quantity. Overall, our results show that both sleep difficulty and low sleep quantity were associated with multiple factors in this analysis of a large psoriatic cohort. These findings suggest that dermatologists may gather clinically useful information by screening psoriatic patients for trouble sleeping and low sleep quantity to identify potential comorbidities and to more effectively guide disease management