Analysis of social networks supporting the self-management of type 2 diabetes for people with mental illness.

Background: People with mental illness have been identified as being more likely to experience type 2 diabetes and the complications arising from this, necessitating more complex chronic illness self-management. Social support has been identified as a significant factor in the successful adoption of lifestyle change for people with type 2 diabetes, however people with mental illness often have impoverished social networks leading to greater reliance upon professional care givers. This study maps the support provided by formal (paid and professional carers) and informal networks to people with mental illness and type 2 diabetes, comparing the experiences of people with a spouse with those without one.

Do trial-and-error practices and the use of the internet influence how medicines are used?

The aim of this research was to identify if people understood and used a practice termed 'trial and error' and the association of this practice to: (1) taking medicines as prescribed; and (2) use of the internet to assist their self-care decision-making. A national Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) was conducted in 2011 of a random sample of 3003 adults aged 18 years and over. Multivariable modelling, in stages, was undertaken adjusting for a range of demographics and associated health variables.

Extreme weather-related health needs of people who are homeless.

To identify the extreme weather-related health needs of homeless people and the response by homeless service providers in Adelaide, South Australia, a five-phased qualitative interpretive study was undertaken. (1) Literature review, followed by semi-structured interviews with 25 homeless people to ascertain health needs during extreme weather events. (2) Identification of homeless services.

Effectiveness of educational interventions to raise men's awareness of bladder and bowel health.

Background: Urinary incontinence is a common health problem with significant medical, psychological and economic burdens. Health education is capable of improving perceptions about and attitudes towards incontinence in turn encouraging them to seek help.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of educational interventions at raising men's awareness of bladder and bowel health.

Effectiveness of educational interventions to raise men's awareness of bladder and bowel health.

Executive Summary: Urinary incontinence (UI) has been defined as a condition in which the involuntary loss of urine is a social or hygienic problem and is objectively demonstrable. Urinary incontinence is a common health problem that carries with it significant medical, psychosocial and economic burdens. Fecal incontinence has been defined as the involuntary or inappropriate passing of liquid or solid stool and can also include the incontinence of flatus.

Palliative care at home: carers and medication management.

Objective: The decision to receive palliative care at home brings with it the complexity of managing a medication regime. Effective symptom control is often directly linked to medication management and relies on access to medications at all times. In home-based palliative care practice, polypropylene syringes of medications may be drawn up and left in clients' domestic refrigerators for subcutaneous administration by carers to provide immediate relief for symptoms such as pain and nausea.

Differences in home-based palliative care service utilisation of people with cancer and non-cancer conditions.

Aim: To identify home-based palliative care service utilisation by people with cancer and non-cancer conditions.

Background: Palliative care knowledge and skill have been derived from working with people with cancer. People with chronic conditions are now referred for home-based palliative care; however, there has been few studies published that have explored the impact of service utilisation by people with end-stage chronic conditions.

Are we measuring what we need to measure?

Optimal treatment for patients with chronic pain remains elusive. A growing international consensus advocates evidence-based practice with assessment of clinical outcomes to improve the process and outcome of care. Clinical decision making about treatment options for an individual patient should include the patient's clinical presentation, available evidence, and patient preferences.

Managing the self: living with an indwelling urinary catheter.

Aims: This paper reports the findings of a study that aimed to understand the perspectives of community dwelling adults' who lived with a permanently indwelling urinary catheter. The objectives of the research were to: reveal the participants' perspective of living in the community with a permanent indwelling urinary catheter, raise awareness of the experiences of catheterized men and women and to inform community nursing practice.

Background: Catheter care is a common nursing intervention.

Constructions of nutrition for community dwelling people with chronic disease.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of nutrition as it relates to people who are living with chronic disease in the community. An examination of the health literature identifies the vulnerability of these people in relation to nutrition, and highlights the need for identifying and providing support to people who are at nutritional risk or undernourished. The aim of this study was to examine the meaning of nutrition for people living with chronic disease in the community, and to understand from the person's perspective the issues surrounding nutrition and how these issues are experienced.

Researching with centenarians.

Aims and objectives.  The objectives were shaped by ways in which to best engage the readers' curiosity about being 100 years old. Background.

The experience of fatigue for adults living with HIV.

Aims: The aim of this study was to go beyond objective clinical assessment and explore the experience of fatigue and self-care strategies with adults who live with HIV.

Rationale: This study responded to a perceived lack of available evidence to inform the practice of service providers about ways fatigue impacts on the lives of people with HIV. Prior understandings of fatigue are derived from survey or instrument-based tools or studies that do not consider the complexities of the personal experience that in-depth interviews can elicit.

Acceptance and denial: implications for people adapting to chronic illness: literature review.

Aim: This paper reports an exploration of the terms acceptance and denial by exploring the literature, with the aim of understanding the implications of using these concepts to categorize people's responses to living with chronic illness.

Background: People learning to live with a chronic illness or condition may be judged and labelled by others as being in denial, particularly when they do not adhere to prescribed treatment regimes.

Method: A literature search for the period between 1989 and 2003 was conducted using the electronic databases Medline, CINAHL, PSYCArticles, Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition, Academic Search Elite and Sociological Abstracts.

Transition: a literature review.

Aim: This paper reports a comprehensive literature review exploring how the term 'transition' has been used in the health literature.

Background: The meaning of transition has varied with the context in which the term has been used. The last 3 decades have seen altered understandings in the concept of transition in the social science and health disciplines, with nurses contributing to more recent understandings of the transition process as it relates to life and health.