Muslim person's experiences of diabetes during Ramadan: information for health professionals.

This phenomenological study provides an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of Muslim persons with diabetes during Ramadan. The findings facilitate health professionals' knowledge of the unique needs of these clients during this time. van Manen's (1990) and Hycner's (1985) analytical methods assisted in producing the themes: knowing and understanding - being in harmony with the body, knowing its capabilities and limitations and its response to change; controlling - being in charge of diabetes during Ramadan; accepting and recognising - acknowledging diabetes and its impact on fasting during Ramadan; and faith and belief - the courage of conviction.

Chronic condition self-management: working in partnership toward appropriate models for age and culturally diverse clients.

Chronic conditions place a significant burden on the Australian health care system, and this burden continues to increase. This literature review examines the concepts of chronic illness and chronic condition self-management (CCSM), particularly in the context of asthma. It explores the implementation of, and barriers to, CCSM in the modern health care system with a focus on CCSM in children and adolescents, and the differences that need to be recognized when dealing with Indigenous Australian children.

From enrolled nurse to registered nurse in the rural setting: the graduate nurse experience.

Introduction: This article reports on the findings of a study into enrolled nurse (EN) to registered nurse (RN) transition in South Australian rural settings. Rural RNs are required to be multi-skilled generalists capable of providing a wide range of nursing services to a diverse range of clients. This frequently occurs in situations without medical or specialist assistance.

Australian nurses and child protection: practices and pitfalls.

Most Australian states have child protection legislation mandating individuals and groups to notify suspected child abuse and neglect. Nurses are legally bound to report their suspicions of child abuse and neglect in a number of Australian states, with South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania specifically identifying nurses as mandated notifiers. While the unique role of nurses puts them in a valuable position to detect and report suspected child abuse, aspects of the role may lead to conflict in detecting and notifying child abuse and neglect.

Australian physiotherapists and mandatory notification of child abuse: legislation and practice.

Child abuse is an international phenomenon occurring in all socioeconomic groups. Reports of child abuse continue to increase and many professionals are likely to see abused children and may be the first contact for an abused child. In addition, many health professionals and others are mandated in some Australian states to report suspected child abuse.

Breasts and breastfeeding: perspectives of women in the early months after birthing.

Over recent years there has been widespread recognition and education about the benefits of breastfeeding. However as many Australian women breastfeed for only a few weeks, education alone appears inadequate to improve breastfeeding duration. This study explores other influences on breastfeeding by looking at women's perceptions of their breasts in relation to their breastfeeding experiences.

Collecting client data: a phenomenological study of midwives' experiences.

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of a small group of South Australian midwives engaged in client data collection within a unique midwifery triage model. Gadamerian hermeneutic principles guided data collection through unstructured interviews with the midwives and the identification of key themes. Findings included a philosophy of dialogue, the dynamics of dialogue, protection and advocacy issues and individual practices and concerns.