Telehealth-aided outpatient management of acute heart failure in a specialist virtual ward compared with standard care.

Aims: The aim of this propensity score matched cohort study was to assess the outcomes of telehealth-guided outpatient management of acute heart failure (HF) in our virtual ward (HFVW) compared with hospitalized acute HF patients.

Methods And Results: This cohort study (May 2022-October 2023) assessed outcomes of telehealth-guided outpatient acute HF management using bolus intravenous furosemide in a HF-specialist VW. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed using logistic regression to adjust for potential differences in baseline patient characteristics between HFVW and standard care [Get With The Guidelines-HF score, clinical frailty score (CFS), Charlson co-morbidity index (CCI), NT-proBNP, and ejection fraction].

Public toilets and their potential impact on an individual's health.

In modern society, people engage in social interactions and activities outside their own home. When in public settings people may need to eliminate bodily waste, so public toilets are required. Accessibility, availability and adaptability are essential principles for safe, private, and purposeful visits to public toilets.

Incontinence and homelessness.

The fundamental principles of why specific people become homeless, can be grounded in a simple rationale or founded within sophisticated reasoning. For instance, people who suffer from substance abuse, addiction, alcohol, gambling, have mental health concerns or financial difficulties may be susceptible to homelessness. It is also identified that persons who experienced violence in their childhood or abuse by a partner are at a higher risk of becoming homeless.

Incontinence-associated dermatitis in older adults in residential care settings: a point prevalence study.

Unlabelled: Incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) is a skin inflammation caused by contact with urine or faeces or both. It has a negative effect on the patient's quality of life and is indicative of the care provided. However, globally there is a lack of empirical data on the prevalence of IAD.

A holistic approach to assessing an individual with urinary incontinence.

Urinary incontinence can have an overwhelmingly negative impact on an individual's quality of life. The personal, physical, psychosocial and sexual implications of urinary incontinence can affect health and well-being. This can increase the risk of falls, depression, anxiety, social isolation alongside a greater need for long-term care from a individual's own home.

Urinary incontinence and the impact on migrant individuals with intellectual disability.

Enhancing and enriching the health and wellbeing of migrant individuals with intellectual disability is essential in our diverse society. The needs of this population can be substantial, but unfortunately migrant individuals with intellectual disability face many challenges, from accessing health services, cultural complexities, financial difficulties, and language barriers, to lack of knowledge on the availability of particular services. Although a common condition, urinary incontinence remains a taboo subject and many individuals do not seek intervention even though it impacts on all aspects of their life.

Community nurses' attitudes, knowledge and educational needs in relation to urinary continence, continence assessment and management: A systematic review.

Aims And Objectives: To identify, appraise and summarise the available evidence relating to community nurses' attitudes, knowledge and educational needs in relation to urinary continence.

Background: Community nurses play a pivotal role in identifying and supporting individuals who experience urinary continence issues. Gaps in nurses' continence-related education and knowledge may contribute to sub-optimal assessment and management across the continuum of care.

Addressing and acting on individual ideas on continence care.

Continence care should be individually delivered with dignity, decorum, distinction in all diverse contexts and circumstances. From the dependency of childhood to ultimately the end of life, continence care is essential for all, no matter what the setting is: at home, sheltered structures, community care, residential settings and nursing homes. Person-centred care is central to healthcare policies, procedures to the provision of personalised consultation, developing a collaborative partnership approach to continence assessment, promotion, and management.

Constipation in community-dwelling adults with intellectual disability.

Individuals with intellectual disability can experience multifaceted physical, psychological, emotional health and wellbeing problems. Chronic constipation is one of the major health problems for this cohort of the population; it is linked with distress, discomfort, pain, faecal incontinence, anxiety, behavioural difficulties and severe gastrointestinal complications. A continence assessment process for constipation ensures that planning, implementation and evaluation strategies provide quality health outcomes for individuals and their families.

Empowering patients to self-manage in the context of incontinence.

Chronic diseases cause complex challenges and difficulties for patients, families and health professionals. With the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, long-term treatment interventions may be required. Health professionals must empower patients to adhere to therapies and develop self-management strategies.

New onset alcohol dependence linked to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Background: Genetic and environmental factors influence the development of alcohol dependence and alcohol dependence increases the risk of developing Major Depressive Disorder-MDD (vice versa). Amongst antidepressants, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are likely the most frequently prescribed for MDD. However, findings on the role of SSRIs in alleviating alcoholism are conflicting.

Reflective testing--what do our service users think?

Background: Reflective testing incorporates the clinical judgement, knowledge and experience of an individual biochemist to request additional tests appropriate to the clinical scenario. Despite being vigorously debated within the biochemistry profession, little is known about how the clinicians directly involved in patient care feel about it. We have conducted a survey to elicit our service users' opinion of reflective testing.

Role of the continence nurse in health promotion.

Incontinence is a distressing and unpleasant symptom, which impacts on a person's physical, social and psychological well-being. Nurses, like other healthcare professionals, have a role in health promotion. Continence nurses can identify causes, create treatment plans and empower patients with incontinence to be involved in all aspects of their care.