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Author McLoughlin, N. url  openurl
  Title Dying to know: Advancing palliative care nursing competence with education in elderly health settings Type
  Year 2007 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Professional development; Nursing specialties; Palliative care; Nursing; Education  
  Abstract This paper explores the benefits of using education as one means to advance palliative care competence for nurses. A literature search was conducted revealing numerous educational initiatives and approaches have been developed to improve palliative care. Benefits include improved nursing knowledge, confidence and competence which directly correlate with improved patient outcomes. Accompanying the shift of palliative care from hospices to varied health care providers globally, are disparities in care provision. The literature suggests that reasons for such disparities include insufficient specialised palliative care knowledge and skills of nurses to effectively deliver this care within generalist health settings and lack of information for caregivers. In response, approaches aimed at improving palliative care include reviewing, redefining and implementing nursing roles, education courses, and theoretical frameworks to inform practice and improve outcomes. This paper focuses on the benefits of offering tailored palliative care education in work settings to improve patient care. One entrepreneurial education initiative aimed at advancing palliative nursing and which is currently being implemented in aged care contexts is shared. Careful strategic planning and working more collaboratively between all stakeholders, is strongly recommended in order to manage current and future challenges. Advancing palliative nursing care using appropriate education is achievable and beneficial but is fraught with complexities.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1190  
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Author McEldowney, R.A. url  openurl
  Title Shape-shifting: Stories of teaching for social change in nursing Type
  Year 2002 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Nursing philosophy; Teaching methods; Feminist critique; Qualiltative research  
  Abstract This research explores why and how nurse educators teach for social change. Critical feminist educators provide a useful framework for theorising about teaching for change that addresses issues of hegemony, agency, praxis, individual voice, difference, justice and equity. Six women Pakeha/Tauiwi nurse educators from throughout New Zealand volunteered to participate in this research and share their lived experiences of teaching for social change. In-depth conversations over two years unfolded new and rich material about how and why these six women continue to teach the evaded subjects, like mental health, women's health, community development and cultural safety. All teach in counter-hegemonic ways, opening students' eyes to the unseen and unspoken. Among the significant things to emerge during the research was the metaphorical construct of shape-shifting as an active process in teaching for social change. It revealed the connectedness and integrity between life as lived and the moral imperative that motivates the participants to teach for difference. Shape-shifting was also reflected in other key findings of the study. As change agents, the participants have had significant shape-shifting experiences in their lives; they live and work as shape-shifters within complex social and political structures and processes to achieve social justice; and, they deal with areas of health practice where clients are socially and politically displaced. The research also generated new methods for gathering life-stories and new processes for analysis and interpretation of life-stories. It is hoped that this research will open pathways for other nurse educators to become shape-shifters teaching for social change.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1193  
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Author Polaschek, N. url  openurl
  Title The concerns of Pakeha men living on home haemodialysis: A critical interpretive study Type
  Year 2000 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Gender; Chronically ill; Nursing  
  Abstract This nursing study seeks to understand the experience of one group of people with chronic renal failure using renal replacement therapy, Pakeha men living on home haemodialysis. It is based on the assumptions that people living on dialysis have distinctive experiences that are characterised by common concerns reflecting their shared position as subjects of renal illness and therapy. In order to understand the experience of people living on dialysis, this study develops a critical interpretive approach, seeking the participant's own interpretation of their individual experiences. The experiences are then reinterpreted them from a critical standpoint, recognising that they can only be adequately understood by contextualising them. This enables the researcher to discern the common perspective underlying them in contrast to the dominant professional viewpoint in the renal setting. The concerns identified include symptoms from chronic renal failure and dialysis, limitations resulting from the negotiation of the therapeutic regime into their lifestyle, their sense of ongoingness and uncertainty of living on dialysis, and the altered interrelationship between autonomy and dependence inherent in living on dialysis. The study suggests that the individual accounts can be understood as resulting from the interaction of the various dimensions of their own personal social locations, including their gender and ethnicity, with the concerns of client discourse, reflecting their common position as people living on dialysis. The author concludes that one implication of this understanding is that the role of nursing in the renal setting can be articulated as a response to the experience of the person living on dialysis. The nurse can support the renal client in seeking to integrate the requirements of the therapeutic regime into their personal situation.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1195  
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Author Clissold, C. url  openurl
  Title How discourses stifle the Primary Health Care Strategy's intent to reduce health inequalities Type
  Year 2006 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Community health nursing; Policy; Primary health care  
  Abstract The Primary Health Care Strategy (PHCS) has a stated commitment to defined populations who suffer disproportionately from ill health. This thesis examines whether some prevailing discourses actually decrease the focus on health inequalities. A study of the nursing and medical media found that it focused predominantly on professional and industrial issues, leaving health workers focused mainly on their own professional interests, rather than considering the effects on health inequalities. She goes on to suggest that current Ministry of Health discourse values decentralised community health decision making. This may gloss over factors in community health which are affected by Government policy such as employment policy, and thus should be dealt with centrally by legislation. These factors have been found to be the most pertinent in health inequalities. So while models of community partnerships may seem to place communities as agents in their own health, this downplays the determinants of health which are beyond their control. Having shown that discourse can decrease the focus on health inequalities due to other professional and political drivers, the author then looked at health initiative concepts which are effective, efficient and equitable given the current set up of PHOs and nursing innovations.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1196  
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Author Ryder-Lewis, M. url  openurl
  Title Reliability study of the Sedation-Agitation Scale in an intensive care unit Type
  Year 2004 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Intensive care nursing; Interprofessional relations  
  Abstract This study is an extension of a previous study by Riker, Picard and Fraser (1999) to determine whether doctors and nurses rate patients similarly using the Sedation-Agitation Scale (SAS) in a natural Intensive Care Units (ICU) setting. The author notes that it is essential to establish whether these different professionals provide consistent scores and have a mutual understanding of the SAS and its constituent levels. This will help ensure that clinical decisions relating to sedation-needs can be made appropriately and consistently. This quasi-experimental reliability study was set in a 12-bed tertiary general ICU in New Zealand. The SAS had recently been introduced into this unit and a convenience sample of 42 nursing and medical staff performed paired ratings on 69 randomly selected adult ICU patients over an eight week time frame. The mean patient age was 58 years, and 79% of patients were on continuous infusions of Propofol. Intubated patients made up 91% of the sample. 74% of patients were given the same SAS score by the doctor-nurse pair. The weighted kappa score for inter-rater agreement was 0.82 indicating very good agreement. Of the 26% of scores where there was a difference, the two readings were only one score apart. Most of the difference occurred around SAS scores of 1-2 and 3-4. Further analysis found no staff or patient variables to be statistically significant in impacting on the ratings. The SAS was found to be a reliable sedation-scoring tool in a general ICU when used by nurses and doctors of varying experience.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1203  
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Author Raleigh, S. url  openurl
  Title The meaning and importance of service for health professionals Type
  Year 2007 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ScholarlyCommons@AUT  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Qualiltative research; Nursing; Education  
  Abstract The primary purpose of this study was to explore and identify the meaning and importance of service for health professionals. Those who participated in this study are all registered nurses who each have between 10 and 40 years of clinical nursing and nurse lecturing experience. The participants each wrote two stories, one about the meaning of service and the other about the importance of service. Definitions of service generally suggest organised labour involving an act of help or assistance. Our intent was to understand what constituted service for each of us in the healthcare – and specifically the nursing practice/education – context. A secondary purpose of this qualitative research was guided by participatory and critical theory paradigms. Seven participants and the initiating researcher formed a co-operative inquiry group to undertake the research using a collaborative process. Within this method the leader and the group became co-participants and co-researchers. Nurses and women are identified as marginalised people and by honouring the principles of co-operative inquiry we were empowered through this process. While the initial data was analysed thematically by the lead researcher, the original 19 sub-themes were refined by participants into five themes. The findings of the participants are consistent with overseas studies on emotional labour and sentimental work. The five themes that emerged as the meaning of service are helping, giving, elements of service, acts of doing, and pride in work. This study affirmed that service has much importance to those involved and deepened our understanding of the blend of meanings service expresses.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1204  
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Author Stewart, A. url  openurl
  Title When an infant grandchild dies: Family matters Type
  Year 2000 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Grief; Nurse-family relations; Infants; Nursing research  
  Abstract This research undertaken by a nurse working with bereaved families, aimed to explore how grandparents, parents and health/bereavement professionals constructed grandparent bereavement when an infant grandchild died unexpectedly. The 26 participants, living in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, included 16 grandparents and 6 parents from 11 families, in addition to three health/bereavement professionals. A constructivist inquiry informed by writings on nursing, storying and postmodernism was used. Through an exploration of the methodological and ethical issues that arose and were addressed during the study, this work adds to knowledge of how constructivist inquiry can be used in nursing and bereavement research. In addition, the context of this research as a partnership with multiple family members contributes to the ongoing debate about whether participation in bereavement research may be harmful or therapeutic. Conversations in this research formed a series of interviews and letters, which led to the development of a joint construction and each individual's story. A grandchild's death was constructed as a challenge which grandparents faced, responded to and then managed the changes that arose from the challenge. The context of their bereavement was seen as underpinned by their relationship as “parents of the adult parents” of the grandchild who died. This meant that grandparents placed their own pain second to their wish to support and “be with” the parents. Outside the family was where many grandparents found friends, colleagues or their community forgot, or chose not to acknowledge, their bereavement. This work shows how some grandparents help to create a space within the family which maintains a continuing relationship with the grandchild who died.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1205  
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Author Chenery, K. url  openurl
  Title 'Can mummy come too?' Rhetoric and realities of 'family-centred care' in one New Zealand hospital, 1960-1990 Type
  Year 2001 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Nurse-family relations; Policy; Hospitals; History of nursing; Paediatric nursing  
  Abstract This study explores the development of 'family-centred care' in New Zealand as part of an international movement advanced by 'experts' in the 1950s concerned with the psychological effects of mother-child separation. It positions the development of 'family-centred care' within the broader context of ideas and beliefs about mothering and children that emerged in New Zealand society between 1960 and 1980 as a response to these new concerns for children's emotional health. It examines New Zealand nursing, medical and related literature between 1960 and 1990 and considers both professional and public response to these concerns. The experiences of some mothers and nurses caring for children in one New Zealand hospital between 1960 and 1990 illustrate the significance of these responses in the context of one hospital children's ward and the subsequent implications for the practice of 'family-centred care'. This study demonstrates the difference between the professional rhetoric and the parental reality of 'family-centred care' in the context of one hospital children's ward between 1960 and 1990. The practice of 'family-centred care' placed mothers and nurses in contradictory positions within the ward environment. These contradictory positions were historically enduring, although they varied in their enactment.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1206  
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Author Rudd, J. url  openurl
  Title From triage to treatment: An exploration of patient flow systems in emergency departments Type
  Year 2005 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Emergency nursing; Hospitals; Risk management; Patient safety  
  Abstract To find an effective approach to managing or reducing waiting times for lower triage category patients processed through one particular metropolitan emergency department, an extensive search of the literature revealed several different patient flow processes. These approaches are discussed, in relation to suitability for the particular emergency department. The history of triage, including how and why it evolved, plus the realities of triage today are explored. Included are case examples of two patients on a journey through the department the way it is presently, and how it could be if particular approaches are introduced. Extending nursing practice by introducing nurse-initiated x-rays at triage and the introduction of a separate stream for minor category patients in a dedicated ambulatory care area is one approach that could improve waiting times for these patients. There would be the added advantage of improving triage compliance figures for category three patients. The additional costs involved in such a process could be offset by improved efficiency in terms of waiting times, improved triage compliance figures, happier patients and clinical staff, and an emptier waiting room.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1209  
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Author Turnwald, A.B. url  openurl
  Title Acute Hypercarbia in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Presentations to a New Zealand emergency department Type
  Year 2006 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Chronically ill; Clinical assessment; Emergency nursing  
  Abstract A retrospective descriptive design was used to examine the records of all presentations to the emergency department of patients with COPD over a 3-month period to determine whether there is a subset group of people who present with hypercarbia. There were 114 presentations, amongst those there were 71 individuals, a number presenting more than once within the three months. 80% of the 71 individuals had a smoking history of which 53% were female. Of the 114 presentations, 76 had arterial blood gases taken during their emergency department presentation. Of these 76 presentations 30 had hypercarbia and 46 were non-hypercarbia. These 76 presentations involved 58 individuals, with some individuals presenting five times over the three-month period. Three groups emerged, some who were only hypercarbia (n= 18), some in the non-hypercarbia group (n=35) and 5 individuals who had presentations in both the hypercarbia and non-hypercarbia groups. Data showed that there was no definable subset group of hypercarbia patients within acute exacerbations of COPD presenting to the emergency department according to the variables. However the sample of presentations (with a blood gas) found within the study suffering hypercarbia was much higher (31.1%) than anticipated. Further analysis showed that the hypercarbia group had a significant lower forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and a combination diagnosis of emphysema or asthma and congestive heart failure. An implication to the clinician is that identification of hypercarbia within COPD exacerbation is problematically difficult until the late signs are shown with the individual. By that time effective treatment patterns may have changed from the initial presenting problem. The author concludes that future areas of research within this field needs to lie within the community, and look at when these people start the exacerbation, what leads them to progression presentation to the emergency department, and whether these people are chronic sufferers of hypercarbia or presenting after a period of days exacerbation within their own home.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1210  
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Author Kuehl, S. url  openurl
  Title Emergency Department re-presentations following intentional self-harm Type
  Year 2008 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Emergency nursing; Psychiatric Nursing; Mental health; Clinical assessment  
  Abstract The aim of this research was to describe what factors contribute to people re-presenting to the emergency department (ED) within one week of a previous visit for intentional self-harm. Objectives identified were to describe the people using demographic and clinical features; describe and evaluate ED management; and identify possible personal or system reasons as to why people re-present to ED within one week. A retrospective observational design was selected for a period of one year. The data was collected from electronic clinical case notes. The sample consisted of 48 people with 73 presentations and re-presentations. Missing data limited the number of inferential analyses. Outcome measures were divided into information regarding the person and the presentation. This study made several discoveries: many representations (55%) occurred within one day; the exact number of people who represented many times to ED is unknown, but is far higher than reported in other studies; fewer support people were present for the second presentation; the documentation of triage and assessments by ED staff was often minimal, though frequently portrayed immense distress of this population; cultural input for Maori was missing; physical health complaints and psychosis were found with some intentional self-harm presentations; challenging behaviours occurred in at least a quarter of presentations; and the medical and mental health inpatient admission rates were approximately 50% higher for second presentations. Recommendations in regard to the use of a triage assessment tool, the practice of reviewing peoples' past presentations and the need for a mental health consultation liaison nurse in ED are made. Staff education, collaboration between services with consumer involvement and further research of this group are required. This study supports the need for holistic and expert care for people who present at emergency departments with intentional self-harm.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1214  
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Author Hammond, S. url  openurl
  Title Parallel journeys: Perceptions of palliative care Type
  Year 2001 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Palliative care; Policy; Geriatric nursing  
  Abstract The delivery of palliative care within contemporary New Zealand society is discussed, in the light of the recent publication of The New Zealand Palliative Care Strategy (2001). The viewpoint taken is largely descriptive rather than prescriptive, being based on a literature survey of international research and academic theory, which is also informed by the author's professionally gained knowledge. Four different perspectives, comprising a mix of providers and recipients of care are investigated: those of central government planning; specialist palliative care units; aged-care complexes; and patients, family and whanau. As an area of healthcare which current demographic projections indicate will become increasingly significant, the provision of palliative care to residents of and patients within aged-care complexes receives special attention. A metaphor of “parallel travellers” on “parallel journeys” is used to provide a thematic basis to the paper. The lived experiences and perceptions of each group of “parallel travellers” are explored. Difficulties in defining and evaluating palliative care, the implications of main-streaming, the scope of palliative care provision, the educative role of specialist palliative care providers and the current focus on mechanistic outcome measures are discussed. It is contended that the values and goals, both explicit and implicit, of the four specified groups may not at present be sufficiently congruent to optimise the effective provision of palliative care from the point of view of all concerned. While adequate resourcing and a genuinely collaborative approach among healthcare providers are both acknowledged to be critical, the potential for palliative care nurse practitioners to be appointed to the role of “care co-ordinator” alluded to within The New Zealand Palliative Care Strategy (2001), is also seen as pivotal. Insights from a postmodern perspective are offered as one possible way of achieving greater congruence.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1215  
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Author Watson, S. url  openurl
  Title Humane caring: Quality of life issues for those elderly people wanting to remain in their own environment Type
  Year 2001 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Geriatric nursing; Older people; Home care  
  Abstract This thesis explores the issues surrounding the elderly remaining in their own environment and why remaining 'at home' becomes so essential for them. There are many elderly people who have moved to residential care settings on the advice of others. The author explores the implications of such moves through the stories of several elderly persons, and her own experiences as a nurse working with the elderly in institutional care.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1217  
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Author Fairhall, M. url  openurl
  Title An observational study of Peripherally Inserted Central Cather(PICC)-related complications amongst oncology patients Type
  Year 2008 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ResearchArchive@Victoria  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Patient safety; Equipment and Supplies; Nursing specialties; Cancer; Oncology  
  Abstract This thesis reports on a retrospective observational study that examined the complication rate of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) within a regional cancer centre. PICCs are increasingly used for delivery of chemotherapy and other intravenous therapies in oncology patients. A literature review revealed that almost all published research on PICC complications reported on silicone (Groshong(TM)) catheter use, rather than the polyurethane (Arrow(TM)) PICCs used at Christchurch Hospital. Also, much literature referred to PICCs being inserted by non-nurses, whereas the Christchurch service uses specially-trained nurses to insert them. The purpose of the study was to identify the nature, incidence and rates of polyurethane (Arrow(TM)) PICC complications in an adult oncology cohort. Ethics Committee approval was gained to retrospectively follow all PICCs inserted in adult oncology patients at Christchurch Hospital over a 13-month period from 1st March 2006 until 31st March 2007. Data collected were analysed utilising the statistical computer package SPSS. One hundred and sixty-four PICCs were inserted into 156 individual oncology patients over this period. The median dwell time was 68 days for a total of 14,276 catheter-days. Complications occurred in 25 (15%) out of 164 PICC lines, in 22 (15%) of the 156 patients for an overall complication rate of 1.75 per 1000 catheter-days. However, only 16 of the 25 PICCs with complications required early removal (9.75% of the cohort) for a favourably low serious complication rate of 1.12 per 1000 catheter-days. The three commonest complications were infection at 4.3% (7/164) or 0.49 infection complications/1000 PICC-days, PICC migration at 3% (5/164) or 0.35/1000 catheter days, and thrombosis at 2.4% (4/164) or 0.28/1000 catheter days. The median time to complication was 41 days. Those with complications were more likely to have a gastro-intestinal or an ovarian cancer diagnosis, and less likely to have colorectal cancer. These findings provide support for the safe and effective use of polyurethane (Arrow(TM)) PICCs for venous access within the adult oncology context. Furthermore, it suggests that cost effective nurse-led (Arrow(TM)) PICC insertions can contribute to a low complication rate.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1222  
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Author Lewis, T. url  openurl
  Title Euthanasia: A Foucauldian analysis Type
  Year 2005 Publication (up) Abbreviated Journal ScholarlyCommons@AUT  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Law and legislation; Euthanasia; Ethics; Pain management; Terminal care; Nursing; Palliative care  
  Abstract This study drew upon the theoretical insights of Michel Foucault to provide a discursive analysis of the term euthanasia, and the issues surrounding the “right-to-die”. It involved an analysis of primary texts from; nursing, general, and legal literature as well as the media between the years 2002-2004. Drawing upon data researched, the study analyses the main discourses regarding the practice of euthanasia for terminally ill individuals. The two competing discourses that emerged were what the author termed the sanctity-of life-discourse and the right-to-die discourse. The aim of the study was to uncover the discourses understanding of “truth” regarding the right-to-die. The analysis revealed that a small percentage of cancer sufferers (5%) die with their pain insufficiently treated and the right-to-die discourse claims that no individual should have to suffer needlessly, asserting the individuals right to autonomy. Directly opposing this is the sanctity-of life-discourse which states all life is sacred and nothing can justify euthanasia as an acceptable practice in society. These findings indicate the need for effective palliative care and pain management when caring for the terminally ill individual. The legal, ethical and moral implications of euthanasia are many and this study discusses the effects these may have on health professionals involved with the care of terminally ill patients. The study revealed an increasing deployment of the right-to-die discourse in the media and revealed concerns regarding the nursing profession's lack of preparation to deal with euthanasia if it becomes a legal option in end of life care.  
  Call Number NRSNZNO @ research @ Serial 1226  
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