Patient Empowerment Using Electronic Telemonitoring With Telephone Support in the Transition to Insulin Therapy in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: Observational, Pre-Post, Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Initiation of insulin therapy for the management of type 2 diabetes can be an unwelcome and distressful development for patients. Current evidence suggests that telemonitoring can help improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetes and can support empowerment to self-manage diabetes. This telemonitoring intervention was underpinned by an empowerment approach.

Key word signing: Parents' experiences of an unaided form of augmentative and alternative communication (Lámh).

Parents' experiences of using Lámh, a key word signing approach used in Ireland, were captured through in-depth face-to-face interviews with parents of children with a range of intellectual disabilities. It emerged that Lámh provides child users with one of the rudiments of inclusion, that is, a means of engaging with others. A number of factors can potentially influence the engagement achieved, namely ongoing family commitment to the sustainment of Lámh, available communication partners, accessibility, appropriate Lámh training, speech and language therapy support and the existence of a Lámh signing environment external to the home.

Poetry as an engagement strategy: A novice teacher experience of its use within lectures.

It has been acknowledged the traditional lecture format is a familiar teaching methodology and that there is still much to be learnt from using this in class room based lectures. Whilst the first author was a postgraduate student undertaking a programme in Nurse Education at a University in the Republic of Ireland, poetry was used to challenge undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards older persons in a large group format. The students were in Year 3 of a Bachelor of Nursing Science General and Intellectual Disability Programmes.

Life with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: striving for 'controlled co-existence'.

Aims And Objectives: To understand the meaning of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for people and their response to this disease.

Background: COPD is a major cause of disability and death. The symptoms of COPD have the potential to impact on every aspect of a person's day-to-day life.

Promoting self awareness in undergraduate nursing students in relation to their health status and personal behaviours.

The purpose of this article is to report the experience of facilitating, delivering and evaluating a health assessment workshop as part of Assessing and Promoting Health module on the Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc) General and Intellectual Disability programme. This module is delivered to 65 nursing students (40 general and 25 intellectual disability) undertaking the first year of the four year programme. The aim of the workshop is to promote health awareness among these undergraduate students.

Communication among nurses and adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities: predicted and observed strategies.

This study explored communication strategies adopted by staff nurses in a residential centre in Ireland for persons with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Interactions between staff nurses and service users were video recorded and analysed to determine the frequencies of verbal and non-verbal communication acts. Semi-structured and focus group interviews were carried out with the 10 participating staff nurses.