Nurses

A researcher who conducted a study on the experiences of informal carers of terminally ill patients had difficulty gaining access to participants. In many cases this was because nurses would not refer them to the researcher without the permission of a doctor.

Objective: To explore the causes of preventable drug-related admissions (PDRAs) to hospital.

Design: Qualitative case studies using semi-structured interviews and medical record review; data analysed using a framework derived from Reason’s model of organisational accidents and cascade analysis.

Researchers have identified the needs of family members of critically ill adults, explored their experiences, and investigated interventions. To address a gap in the theoretical knowledge about how nurses help these individual, the authors developed a grounded theory of nursing support from the perspective of family members. Results indicated that family members were initiated into a cycle of Work to meet perceived responsibilities to Get Through the experience.

User and carer participation in health care is central to care planning and delivery. From an educational perspective, their input is beneficial in terms of enhancing the quality of the education process. The study reported in this paper explored the experiences of user and carer participation in nurse education from the perspective of the key stakeholders involved in the process. By pinpointing key issues of concern for participants, the study aims to help inform the ongoing development of practice in this area.

On the 1st of April 1999 Somerset Health Authority and Somerset County Council established a Joint Commissioning Board (JCB) to commission mental health services. Simultaneously, the Somerset Partnerships Health and Social Care NHS Trust was set-up as a combined health and social care services provider; for the first time in England, the majority of social services mental health staff transferred their employment to this Trust. The JCB commissioned an evaluation of the impact of these innovations on users and carers, staff and senior officers and members in the organisations concerned.

This article reviews literature on the experiences of family carers when a relative goes into long-term care, with the aim of informing nurses on providing support. Experiences before and after the care placement are explored. The study found nurses fail to recognise carers' expert knowledge and skills about their cared for relatives. Families perceive their loved one's values, beliefs and life history are ignored. Nurses need to challenge barriers to communication, and move away from paternalistic and ritualised care practice. 

There is a wealth of literature that addresses the needs of informal caregivers and the needs of health professionals caring for someone with a life-threatening illness. However, there is a paucity of research that deals with nurses who are caring for their own relative who has a life-threatening illness. This qualitative study explores the information needs, support systems available, and the impact that this experience has upon the nurse's quality of life.

AIM: To reflect on the methodological challenges of conducting a study exploring the effects on quality of life of being an informal carer for a person with palliative heart failure, as well as the factors that influence a carer's perception of caring.

BACKGROUND: There are multi-faceted influences on the positive and negative effects of being a carer for a patient with palliative heart failure. By conducting a mixed methods study the aim was to examine and explore similarities and differences of the phenomenon of being a carer.

Many support groups and resources for informal carers are geared towards meeting women's needs. However, a growing number of men are carers - with nearly half now male - and their support needs are neither recognised nor met. This article outlines the process of setting up and running a support group for male carers. 

A review of articles published between 2000 and 2013, retrieved from several databases, was conducted to identify research findings regarding nursing interventions intended to meet the needs of the family members of patients in the intensive care unit. The dimensions of need identified were support, comfort, reassurance, information and closeness, with reassurance, information and closeness being the most important. Overall, the needs of patients’ family members were unmet.