Ways forward for shared learning between nursing and social work students.

This paper is based on the work of Connor (1995) which examined the potential for shared learning on qualifying programmes of social work and nurse education in Wales. The research was carried out mainly by interviewing 44 providers of social work and nurse education in the 13 colleges delivering qualifying courses throughout Wales. The main findings indicate that: nursing and social work educators have a positive attitude to shared learning, provided that the focus is on sharing appropriate areas of learning and not on joint training; there are considerable areas of commonality between social work and nurse education that could be shared; obstacles to shared learning mainly concern structural and resource issues which would require the appropriate political will to implement shared learning programmes; and there are a wide variety of models that could be used to implement future shared learning.

The growth of cost-effectiveness assessment in environmental health legislation.

Current controversy over the Government's intentions to introduce a cost-benefit philosophy into environmental decision making should be put into perspective. The legislative requirement for comparing costs with effectiveness is not new. There is, however, an increasing tendency for such assessments which will necessitate a greater attention to research into environmental health outcomes.

Ergonomic data of elderly people and their application in rehabilitation design.

The population of the First World is ageing, and as it does so elderly people are becoming an increasingly significant consumer group. This process has important ramifications for the ergonomics and design professions. The demand for products that have been developed with consideration for the elderly consumer will require designers to develop new skills and ergonomists to supply new data.

Special foot clinics for patients with diabetes: Critique III.

The article under review is essentially a report of clinical activity, introducing what was in 1986 still a novel concept - a multidisciplinary clinic in which different specialties were represented simultaneously, and orthopaedic and vascular consultants were available for consultation; all working together as a multidisciplinary team to manage the 'at-risk foot' in patients with diabetes.

From the Journals.

FINDING THE TRUE PREVALENCE OF LEG ULCERS WOUND CARE AND MRSA.

From the Journals.

PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND LEG ULCER HEALING IN OLDER PATIENTSM THE USE OF NON-ADHERENT DRESSINGS IN SKIN-GRAFT MANAGEMENT VIDEO TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING WOUND SIZE COMPRESSION HOSIERY AND VENOUS LEG ULCERS VENOUS LEG ULCERS AND QUALITY OF LIFE PRESSURE SORE GRADING SCALES AND INTER-RATER RELIABILITY VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS AND DIETARY INTAKE IN OLDER PEOPLE.

From the Journals.

THE EFFECT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS ON WOUND HEALING GRADING LEG ULCERS AGEING AND DISABILITY IN SPINAL CORD INJURY NURSE PRESCRIBING MRSA IN THE COMMUNITY.

Social support: some pragmatic implications for health care professionals.

The role of social support in promoting recovery from chronic illness has been the focus of a debate within the nursing and social science research communities. This paper reviews the literature on this important issue and discusses the implications for patient management. In providing holistic patient care, health care professionals need to reflect on the impact of this research for their clinical practice.

Learning and generating human natural behaviours for design evaluation using artificial neural networks.

Biomechanical consideration is becoming very important when designing a product. Animation and strength prediction tools are available to perform the necessary analysis. However with most of these tools, animation is achieved via a sequence of key frames constructed by manipulating the human model to the desired position in each key frame.

Wound healing and the role of the podiatrist.

A discussion of the role of the wide range of foot disorders diagnosed and managed by the podiatrist.

The role of the right temporal lobe in card sorting: a case study.

It has been demonstrated previously that performance on the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (Nelson, 1976) is compromised by hippocampal sclerosis, particularly of the right hemisphere (Corcoran and Upton, 1993). Further evidence in support of this claim is presented here in the form of a case study. The findings from this case demonstrated that performance on the same task was not impaired following a right sided frontal lobectomy but was found to be deficient consequent to seizure recurrence in the right temporal lobe and following right temporal lobe removal.

From the Journals.

Use of NMR to measure energy status of wound tissue A modified technique for pinch grafting Growth factor interaction in wound healing Wound management and quality of life in older people.

A locking endurance test for hinged sections of removable partial dentures.

In this study an apparatus is described that will open and close a hinged section of a removable partial denture. A metal framework based on a "swinglock" type of hinge and latch design was constructed. An electric motor provided the drive for the opening and closing mechanism, which when operated set the device in motion.

From the Journals.

Standardised assessment and evaluation of wounds Nutritional support in wound healing Pressure sores, a review of the literature Gene therapy in skin grafts Surgical techniques in pilonidal disease Prognostic usefulness of serum albumin for pressure ulcer healing.

From the Journals.

Dermal collagens and skin ageing Leg ulcers and quality of life Pneumatic compression and ulcer healing Fibrin degradation and adhesion formation.

The estimation of body density in rugby union football players.

The general regression equation of Durnin and Womersley for estimating body density from skinfold thicknesses in young men, was examined by comparing the estimated density from this equation, with the measured density of a group of 45 rugby union players of similar age. Body density was measured by hydrostatic weighing with simultaneous measurement of residual volume. Additional measurements included stature, body mass and skinfold thicknesses at the biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac sites.

Techniques in anthropometry applied to disabled and elderly populations.

We discuss the requirements of anthropometric and biomechanical data for specific application to the design of assistive devices and other products for elderly and disabled populations, including body size, shape, range of motion and strength data. We analyse available information and the practical and statistical problems involved in the collection of data from such populations. We comment on the different human interface design issues posed by various types of device and compare a task-specific approach to ergonomic analysis with the use of a generic biomechanical database.

The application of an anthropometric database of elderly and disabled people.

We report on the development of an anthropometric database of elderly and disabled people for use by designers. The problems encountered by the designer in developing products for the elderly and disabled are highlighted. Reference is made to previous work carried out using computer modelling to simulate the human product interface, and the problems in specifying the anthropometric data are discussed.

Sweeping changes for Welsh Health Authorities.

Despite the fact that Welsh Secretary John Redwood has stated he would like to see Welsh health authorities (HAs) administration cut by around 50% he has provided no indication as to whether or not his local government reforms will alter the HA's geographical or structural basis. This may mean that not only is there the possibility of moves towards 'commissioning authorities' and increases in the number of HAs and FHSAs merging, in addition Wales will have to contend with the unknown effect of local authority boundary changes. This is a concept which England and Scotland will also have to deal with.

Measuring quality of life in patients with granulating wounds.

A discussion of the potential value of quality of life studies in patients with granulating wounds.

Physiological changes arising from a training programme in under-21 international netball players.

Physiological and anthropometric measurements were taken on 21 members of an under-21 international squad of mean age 18.9 years. The aims of the investigation were (i) to examine the physiological status of players according to playing unit; and (ii) to quantify the changes arising from a four-month training programme.

Maximal shuttle running over 40 m as a measure of anaerobic performance.

Over the last decade increasing interest has been shown in the measurement of anaerobic power and capacity in athletic men. These physiological characteristics have been determined predominantly using cycle ergometry and treadmill sprinting. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between 40-m maximal shuttle run times and performance indices obtained during treadmill sprinting and cycle ergometry.

From the Journals.

Nutritional knowledge of primary health-care workers Autografts for older patients' leg ulcers.

Defining quality of life.

A discussion of the concept of quality of life and an Examination of the tools used in its measurement.

Nutritional intake and wound healing in elderly people.

A review of the role of nutrients in wound healihg and of the methods used to estimate nutritional intake in elderly people.