Involving carers in risk assessment: a study of a structured dialogue between mental health nurses and carers.

Background: Involving carers is a key priority in mental health services. Carers report the sharing of service users' safety information by mental health nurses is problematic and seldom takes place.

Aims: The impact of an intervention on consensus between nurses and carers on perceptions of risk was investigated.

Signal Transduction Peptide of Tissue Factor Phosphorylated at Ser258 and the Unphosphorylated STP in Urine Are Potential Biomarkers for Bladder Cancer.

Background: Procoagulant activity attributed to tissue factor (TF, CD142) bound to lipid microvesicles has previously been shown to be elevated in urine of patients with various solid cancers. The phosphorylation of the C-terminal signal transduction peptide (STP) at Ser253 and Ser258 has been determined to be important for the formation of TF-microvesicles. The purpose of this work was to investigate the marker potential of the TF-STP domain in urine of patients with cancer using immunologic methods to quantitate unphosphorylated TF and TF phosphorylated at Ser253 and Ser258.

The relationship between perceived organisational threat and compassion for others: Implications for the NHS.

The National Health Service (NHS) is known to be a challenging place to work, with financial and performance targets placing increasing pressure on the organisation. This study aimed to investigate whether these pressures and threats might be detrimental to the quality of care and the compassion that the NHS strives to deliver. Quantitative data were collected via self-report questionnaires from healthcare professionals across 3 NHS trusts in England in order to measure Self-compassion; Compassion for Others; Perceived Organisational Threat; and Perceived Organisational Compassion.

Vaccination timeliness in preterm infants: An integrative review of the literature.

Aims And Objectives: To take a systematic approach to reviewing the scientific literature examining the timeliness of vaccination in preterm infants and to identify any factors associated with timeliness.

Background: Preterm infants are vulnerable to infection and guidance advocates they are vaccinated in accordance with their full-term peers. Vaccination is well tolerated and protective immune responses are observed, yet some early enquiries suggest that preterm infants experience unwarranted delays.

Factors affecting the programme completion of pre-registration nursing students through a three year course: A retrospective cohort study.

Students who leave pre-registration nurse education having failed to complete remain a concern for higher education institutions. This study identifed factors influencing completion using a retrospective cohort analysis to map student characteristics at entry against Year 3 completion data. The study was set in a nursing faculty in a higher education institution in northern England.

Skin cleansing and emolliating for older people: A quasi-experimental pilot study.

Aims: The aims of this study were to (i) assess the effect of low-cost hygiene and emollient regimens on the skin barrier function (SBF) of people aged >65 year with xerosis (dry skin) on their lower legs; (ii) to assess the utility of portable measures of skin barrier function in terms of stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) in community settings; and iii) to provide evidence for a randomised controlled trial on the treatment of adults in a resource-poor country with dry skin on their lower legs which causes and exacerbates the skin disease podoconiosis (non-filarial elephantiasis).

Background: Age increases the risk of impaired skin barrier function which can precipitate skin breakdown. Older skin is frequently characterised by troublesome xerosis and pruritus (itching).

Psychological and educational interventions for atopic eczema in children.

Background: Psychological and educational interventions have been used as an adjunct to conventional therapy for children with atopic eczema to enhance the effectiveness of topical therapy. This is an update of the original Cochrane review.

Objectives: To assess the effect of psychological and educational interventions for atopic eczema in children.

Sexual health information seeking: a survey of adolescent practices.

Aims And Objectives: To identify sources of information and support preferred by young people to understand adolescent practices as adolescents develop a sexual health knowledge base.

Background: Statistics suggest that adolescents are not always making safe sexual health decisions. It is essential to develop an understanding of preferred sources of information and support to structure health and education services so that adolescents develop skills and knowledge to make safer choices.

A randomised controlled trial comparing graded exercise treatment and usual physiotherapy for patients with non-specific neck pain (the GET UP neck pain trial).

Evidence supports exercise-based interventions for the management of neck pain, however there is little evidence of its superiority over usual physiotherapy. This study investigated the effectiveness of a group neck and upper limb exercise programme (GET) compared with usual physiotherapy (UP) for patients with non-specific neck pain. A total of 151 adult patients were randomised to either GET or UP.

Staying the course: factors influencing pre-registration nursing student progression into year 2: a retrospective cohort study.

Aims/background: The retention of student nurses continues to concern the education sector internationally. Evidence shows that individual factors are correlated with a high risk of attrition, including age, disability, entry qualifications, financial issues, and placement experience. This paper is a report of a study that aimed to examine factors connected to progression and attrition by mapping student characteristics against Year 1 progression data.

The influence of 'cognitive busyness' on causal attributions of challenging behaviour in dementia: a preliminary experimental study.

This study investigated the influence of 'cognitive busyness' (competing cognitive demands) on residential care staff attributions of challenging behaviour (CB) related to dementia. Following the model of attribution formation proposed by Gilbert, Pelham, and Krull (1988), it was hypothesised that care staff experiencing competing cognitive demands at the time of observing CBs linked with dementia would be more likely to make internal and controllable attributions regarding the causes of such behaviour. This study employed a cross-over experimental design.

An investigation to determine the association between neck pain and upper limb disability for patients with non-specific neck pain: a secondary analysis.

This study investigated the relationship between neck pain and upper limb disability in patients with non-specific neck pain (n = 151) recruited from physiotherapy departments in the United Kingdom. Baseline neck pain/disability was measured using the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ). Baseline upper limb disability was measured using the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, Hand questionnaire (DASH).

Risk factors for the onset of non-specific neck pain: a systematic review.

Objective: Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder, but little is known about which individuals develop neck pain. This systematic review investigated factors that constitute a risk for the onset of non-specific neck pain.

Design And Setting: A range of electronic databases and reference sections of relevant articles were searched to identify appropriate articles.

Weight-adjusted dalteparin for prevention of vascular thromboembolism in advanced pancreatic cancer patients decreases serum tissue factor and serum-mediated induction of cancer cell invasion.

The aim of the present study was to assess the role of tissue factor and serum-induced cell invasion in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC). A cohort of 39 patients with APC, without thrombosis, receiving chemotherapy, were entered in a randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN = 76464767) of thromboprevention with weight-adjusted dalteparin (WAD). A total of 19 patients received WAD, the remaining 20 acting as a control group.

Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review.

Poor adherence to treatment can have negative effects on outcomes and healthcare cost. However, little is known about the barriers to treatment adherence within physiotherapy. The aim of this systematic review was to identify barriers to treatment adherence in patients typically managed in musculoskeletal physiotherapy outpatient settings and suggest strategies for reducing their impact.

Which women should be selected for vertebral fracture assessment? Comparing different methods of targeting VFA.

Vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) is a potential screening tool for vertebral fractures, but it is uncertain how to optimize the selection of women for VFA. We investigate the use of a probability score (VFscore) to select women for VFA screening and compare this to other means of targeting VFA. We identified 1,572 treatment-naive women over age 65 who had undergone routine VFA screening.

A longitudinal study of stress and psychological distress in nurses and nursing students.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how differences in life events and stress contribute to psychological distress in nurses and nursing students.

Background: Stress is an issue for nursing students and qualified nurses leading to psychological distress and attrition.

Design: A longitudinal study using four time waves was conducted between 1994-1997.

Predictor Variables for a Positive Long-Term Functional Outcome in Patients with Acute and Chronic Neck and Back Pain Treated with a McKenzie Approach: A Secondary Analysis.

A cognitive behavioral approach was previously compared to a biomechanical approach (the McKenzie method) for the treatment of patients with back and neck pain in a randomized trial. Few differences between the treatment interventions were found. The aim of this secondary analysis was to determine if any clinical characteristics distinguished those patients who responded best to the McKenzie approach.

Can training community mental health nurses to support family carers reduce behavioural problems in dementia? An exploratory pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Background: Community mental health nurses (CMHNs) are the backbone of specialist mental health services in the UK. This study evaluated the effects of training CMHNs in a systematic psychosocial intervention (PSI), to help family carers manage behavioural changes in their relative with dementia.

Method: One hundred and thirteen family carers received PSI support from a 'trained' (experimental), or a 'usual practice' (control) CMHN.

Pretreatment with hyperbaric oxygen and its effect on neuropsychometric dysfunction and systemic inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass: a prospective randomized double-blind trial.

Objective: Animal studies have shown that pretreatment with hyperbaric oxygen can induce central nervous system ischemic tolerance and also modulate the inflammatory response. We evaluated this therapy in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods: Sixty-four patients were prospectively randomized to group A (n = 31; atmospheric air, 1.

Changes in serum soluble VEGFR-1 and Tie-2 receptors in colorectal cancer patients following surgical resections.

Aim: Determination of changes in serum levels of soluble (s) VEGFR-1 and Tie-2 receptors in colorectal cancer patients following resection in the search for novel tumour markers.

Patients And Methods: Forty-five patients with primary colorectal cancer and 29 normal subjects were recruited. Serum sVEGFR-1 and sTie-2 receptors were assayed using ELISA.