Tagged / @N4LTH

New nursing paper published

Congratulations to Emeritus Prof. Jonathan Parker, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences Visiting Faculty Prof. Vanessa Heaslip and Dr. Kirsty Marshall, the latter two co-authors are based at the University of Salford, on their latest paper ‘Promoting equity in community nursing’ [1].  This paper links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) published by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 in order to promote health, well-being and economic security for all. Bournemouth University, of course, is among the best universities worldwide for its sustainability, according to the new Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. BU was ranked 39th out of 1,963 universities measured against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) internationally in June 2024.

Heaslip and colleagues remind us that  is worth considering the degree to which these influence one’s professional practice.  They offer a reflective activity on the issue, see Box 1 ‘Community nurses and the SDGs’ .

 

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

Parkr, J., Heaslip, V., Marshall, K. (2024) Promoting equity in community nursing, Clinics in integrated care 26 October , 100229

 

Congratulations to Heidi Singelton & Steve Ersser

In late August Heidi Singleton led the publication of a Cochrane Systematic Review under the title ‘Educational and psychological interventions for managing atopic dermatitis (eczema)’ [1].  The team conducting this review includes BU’s Prof. Steve Ersser, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust colleagues Dr. Andrew Hodder, former BU staff Prof. Vanessa Heaslip (currently at the University of Salford), and one of my co-authors on a previous project Dr. Dwayne Boyers from the Health Economics Research Unit at the University of Aberdeen.

In their review the authors conclude that in-person, individual education, as an adjunct to conventional topical therapy, may reduce short-term eczema signs compared to standard care, but there is no information on eczema symptoms, quality of life or long-term outcomes. Group education probably reduces eczema signs and symptoms in the long term and may also improve quality of life in the short term. Favourable effects were also reported for technology-mediated education, habit reversal treatment and arousal reduction therapy. All favourable effects are of uncertain clinical significance, since they may not exceed the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the outcome measures used.  Finally, they found no trials of self-help psychological interventions, psychological therapies or printed education. Future trials should include more diverse populations, address shared priorities, evaluate long-term outcomes and ensure patients are involved in trial design.

 

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

Reference:

  1. Singleton, H., Hodder, A., Almilaji, O., Ersser, S. J., Heaslip, V., O’Meara, S., Boyers, D., Roberts, A., Scott, H., Van Onselen, J., Doney, L., Boyle, R. J., & Thompson, A. R. (2024). Educational and psychological interventions for managing atopic dermatitis (eczema). The Cochrane database of systematic reviews8(8), CD014932. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD014932.pub2

New publication Dr. Pramod Regmi

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi on the publication of his latest Open Access paper ‘Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life of Stroke Survivors in Southeast Communities in Nigeria’ [1].  Dr. Regmi is based in the Centre for  for Wellbeing & Long-Term Health.   The paper’s co-authors include Dr. Folashade Alloh, who completed her PhD studies at Bournemouth University a few years ago.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

  1. Adigwe GA, Alloh F, Smith P, Tribe R, Regmi P. Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life of Stroke Survivors in Southeast Communities in Nigeria. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2024; 21(9):1116. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091116

ADRC adapting to COVID-19 Part 2

A screenshot from a coffee morning meeting

Dr Michelle Heward in a previous post discussed how BU’s Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC, @BournemouthADRC) have been engaging with older people to discuss research being undertaken,  pitch new ideas of research we want to undertake, and listen to what this group believe we should be researching.  The first 2 coffee mornings were led by Professor Jane Murphy discussing her research on nutrition, and Professor Jan Weiner discussing his research on wayfinding. The 3rd coffee morning was led by Dr Michele Board discussing how nursing has changed over the last 40 years, and her research exploring the role of Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP’s) looking after older people during the COVID19 pandemic. Using pictures to generate discussion those attending discussed their own healthcare journeys and concerns about nurse education. ‘Bring back matron’ and why nurses needed to go to university were questions that generated much discussion. Michele explained that healthcare has dramatically changed since she started nursing. As an example 35 years ago women undergoing a hysterectomy would be in hospital 2 day pre operatively (!) and 10 days post operatively. Today  women will be admitted on the day of their operation and remain in hospital between 1-5 days post op. Another example is in the care of those following a stroke. Patients would be in hospital for a long period of time and sat in ‘buxton chairs’ and tipped back because their balance was poor. Our understanding of post op care, and the care of people following a stroke has increased dramatically in that time, with shorter length of stay (Home is best suggests Board and McCormack 2018), and significantly better patient outcomes. The buxton chair has gone! These advances alongside an ageing population with multi-morbidity, increasing frailty, has led to an increase in acuity of care in acute hospital environments and in the community. Nurses need to be critical thinkers, challenging how we care and what is best for each individual patient. Nurses have to deliver excellent hands on care, with expert holistic assessment and evaluation skills. They lead teams and influence how care should be delivered from the bedside to strategic decision making. For those reasons nurses need to be knowledgeable, to critique the evidence as well as  create the evidence to support how care should be delivered. That is why a university education, supported by 50% of their course in practice settings, is essential. That is the nurse I want to care for me and my loved ones, compassionate, kind, caring, and knowledgeable. To illustrate this further Michele shared examples of the research she is undertaking of the brilliant nurses and allied health professionals working as ACP’s during COVID19. During focus groups and 1-1 interviews the research team (Dr Dawn Morely, Dr Janet Scammell, Kelsie Fletcher,@AN4LTH) and 3 practitioners from Dorset Healthcare, Cliff Kilgore, Mary Edwards and Dr Pippa Collins,@DorsetHealth), heard how the ACP’s advocated for patients, led to the development of services, their responsiveness, flexibility and adaptability during an enormously challenging period  – it was very inspiring. Their advanced critical thinking skills ensured the care they delivered was holistic and person centred. Hopefully those attending the coffee morning were convinced that a university education for nurses and the new role of ACP’s illustrated the expertise of postgraduate nurses delivering care on the front line.