Parents' decision-making about attending an emergency department with their child.

There is a possibility that front-line services, particularly out-of-hours services, are not accessible to some parents. The aim of this service evaluation was to gain a better understanding about visits to one emergency department (ED) in the south of England by children and their parents or carers. The specific focus was to elucidate the reasons behind frequent ED attendance and indicate a potential redesign of services.

Needing to Belong: First Practice Placement Experiences of Children's Nursing Students.

This study examines first year children's nursing students' anxieties before their first practice placement and their support needs during that time. Strategies to address needs are highlighted. A questionnaire was completed by children's nursing students (n = 21) before their initial practice placement to establish their expectations and concerns.

How professionals should communicate with children who have mental healthcare needs.

Young people with mental health needs are often cared for on children's wards by generalist children's healthcare professionals (CHCPs). Generalist CHCPs find these encounters challenging and difficult but they are viewed as an opportunity to improve the healthcare offered to these young people. The authors secured funding from Health Education South London to design and deliver interactive workshops to improve the communication skills of CHCPs with adolescents in challenging circumstances.

Parental attitudes to children's pain and analgesic drugs in the United Kingdom.

Many children experience treatable moderate to severe pain following surgery. Increasingly, children undergo surgery as day cases, and, as such, parents are more likely to be responsible for managing pain post-operatively. Research in the United States and Finland has found parents fear the side effects of analgesics; think they are addictive; and that children should receive as little analgesia as possible.

Multicentre research: lessons from the field.

Multicentre research can be used to explore and generate significant data in aspects of care that affect small numbers of children. This article describes the problems and benefits encountered by a group of nurses from 11 hospitals undertaking a multicentre study of pressure ulcers in children and young people in England and Wales. Multicentre research can generate a large amount of useful data contributing to high quality evidence-based care and can provide nurses with a valuable learning and networking experience.