Nursing assessment

End-of-life assessments aim to help dying patients and their families plan clinical interventions in advance and prepare them for a peaceful end of life, in which the patient accepts life and death, and the family accepts the patient's departure. It is important to assess whether death is imminent within a few days, because critical hospice care is provided intensively during that period.

Long-term conditions have a negative effect on the lives of older people and those who care for them. As the population ages, so the prevalence of long-term conditions increases, which presents substantial challenges to providers of health and social care. This article examines how telemonitoring could help to meet some of these challenges. Telemonitoring involves patients at home recording vital signs, for example, blood pressure and pulse, and transmitting this information electronically to nurses based elsewhere.

Over the last 30 years, the life expectancy of people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically. Significant medical advances have allowed affected persons to be seen more in the hospital setting, making it imperative that nurses understand their health care needs in order to provide positive health outcomes.