Enriching the care of patients with dementia in acute settings? The Dementia Champions Programme in Scotland.

Admission to hospital has been found to have a negative impact on people with dementia. The Scottish Dementia Champions programme was developed to prepare health and social service Dementia Champions working in acute settings as Change Agents. The programme was initially delivered to a cohort of 100 health professionals via blended learning, and comprised five study days, a half day spent in a local community setting, and e-learning.

Family health nursing: a response to the global health challenges.

The European Family Health Nursing Project is a revitalized World Health Organization initiative led by the University of the West of Scotland. Partner countries include Armenia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. European Union Lifelong Learning funding was received in 2011 to facilitate a consistency of approach in the development of a definition of family health nursing, required core competencies and capabilities, and consequent education and training requirements.

How young people cope with chronic kidney disease: literature review.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex, long-term condition occurring in all age groups. It has been reported that the incidence of renal replacement therapy in young people is 7-8 per million population. Notwithstanding those individuals who may receive a donor kidney, many individuals may be disenfranchised by perceptions of helplessness and feelings of powerlessness against a backdrop of diminished health outlook, consequently impacting on capacity for effective coping.

Flying Start NHS™: easing the transition from student to registered health professional.

Aims And Objectives: To evaluate the impact and effectiveness of Flying Start NHS™ on the confidence, competence and career development of newly qualified practitioners.

Background: The first year of practice as a registered nurse, midwife, or allied health professional is recognised as challenging. This paper presents the findings of a two-year evaluation of Flying Start NHS™, a web-based programme developed by NHS Education Scotland to support newly qualified health professionals during the transition from student to qualified practitioner.

Understanding and assessing the impact of end-stage renal disease on quality of life: a systematic review of the content validity of self-administered instruments used to assess health-related quality of life in end-stage renal disease.

Advances in healthcare, combined with an increasing number of adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), mean that there is a growing number of people now surviving on renal replacement therapy. The issue of health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) is becoming increasingly important in this area. For this reason, the content validity of various instruments used to measure HR-QOL in an ESRD population were explored.

Support for nursing and midwifery students: a special case?

In order to address attrition amongst nursing and midwifery students, three Scottish universities were funded to employ Pastoral Care Support Advisers (PSA). This paper presents the findings of an evaluation which explored nursing and midwifery students' support needs and their experience of the PSA service. Telephone and focus group interviews were carried out with staff (n=14) and students (n=25).

The factor structure of the SF-36 in adults with progressive neuromuscular disorders.

Objective: Quality of life (QoL) is an important consideration in the care of patients with chronic neuromuscular disorder (NMD). The current study sought to determine the factor structure of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36) version 2 in patients with NMD to determine the appropriateness of using this instrument to assess QoL in this clinical population.

Methods: Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on self-report SF-36 data from 245 individuals diagnosed with NMD.

The quality of on-line communication in a national learning programme for newly qualified nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

Asynchronous communication has become the dominant mode of on-line instruction and has been incorporated into Flying Start NHS, an on-line programme for newly qualified NMAHPs in the transition phase from student to registered practitioner. On-line programmes have a number of objectives including the delivery of educational materials and the development of on-line communities. This study sought to provide a direct and objective understanding of the quality of the on-line community within Flying Start NHS and give an indication of areas of strength and weakness.

The factor structure of the SF-36 in Parkinson's disease.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: The concept of quality of life (QoL) has emerged as an important psychological dimension in individuals experiencing Parkinson's disease (PD). The current study sought to determine the factor structure of the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36) version 2 in patients with PD in order to evaluate how this measure might best be used to assess QoL in this clinical population.

Method: Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on self-report SF-36 data from 339 individuals diagnosed with PD.

Time of loss of employment in Parkinson's disease.

We examined time to loss of employment in two U.K.-based studies of 151 and 308 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with onset age before 65 years.

The Disability Discrimination Act, a necessary, but not sufficient safeguard for people with progressive conditions in the workplace? The experiences of younger people with Parkinson's disease.

Purpose: This study explored the impact of Parkinson's disease (PD) on employment from the perspective of affected individuals. Particular attention was paid to factors that may affect the duration of employment after onset/diagnosis.

Method: Data were collected in two phases, i) a postal survey (n = 339), and ii) one to one interviews (n = 24).