Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Heslop.
Respiratory care is a rapidly changing field in which nurses need to maintain their knowledge of developments in practice. This article explores the scale and impact of respiratory disease today and the contribution nurses can make.
1. People with emphysema suffer breathlessness and present with varied health and social needs. 2. Needs analysis can usefully use the WHO classification of impairment and handicap, also assisting with the nursing contribution and determining research priorities. 3. Rehabilitation aims to be responsive to clients' needs so they benefit from healthcare. 4. A CPN and RHW discuss their collaborative roles as a whole and finding this of greater value than their individual contributions.
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Seventy five patients with chronic respiratory disability were randomised to a group visited by a respiratory health worker (42) or control group (33). The first group was visited monthly by a respiratory nurse, who gave education and support. The effect of the intervention was assessed in terms of quality of life (by questionnaires), the number and duration of admissions to hospital, and the number of deaths. The questionnaires on quality of life showed no changes in either group during the study, but nearly all of the group visited by a respiratory health worker said that they valued the visits and wished them to continue. Their knowledge about their condition also improved compared with that of the controls. The duration of stay in hospital for respiratory reasons in the group visited by a respiratory health worker was longer than that of control patients. This was explained by their being scored as more ill than the controls on admission. Fewer patients died in the group visited by a respiratory health worker than in the control group (p = 0.11). The patients in the group visited by respiratory health workers may have survived longer because they sought help rather than dying at home. If confirmed this could have implications for the cost of their care.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This paper describes a study of the outcome of psychotherapy with patients disabled by chronic obstructive airways disease giving rise to dyspnoea. Forty-three men and 22 women with severe COAD were randomly allocated for 8 weeks to one of three types of psychotherapy or to an untreated control group, and were followed up six months later. The group treated by a medical nurse without training in psychotherapy experienced sustained relief of dyspnoea but tended to undergo less psychodynamic change; psychiatric symptoms were reduced in those receiving supportive, but not analytical, psychotherapy. The psychosomatic mechanisms involved and the implications for medical and nursing practice and for liaison psychotherapy are discussed.
A method of content analysis has been designed for application in brief focal psychotherapy with physically ill patients. The method is being used to study the process of therapy with patients with chronic obstructive airways disease. This paper discusses its reliability and validity in this context and suggests that it may illuminate the relevance of environmental factors to the development of the transference.
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The nurse has an important role in assisting chronically ill patients disabled by breathlessness to adjust to long-term oxygen therapy. This article provides a simplified summary of the changed physiology necessitating additional oxygen. The focus, however, is on nursing and the educational and rehabilitation strategies that may be used to support patients in living with long-term oxygen therapy.
The provision of information to patients with chronic respiratory problems is arguably one of the most important aspects of care. Mindful of the paucity of relevant information on this for respiratory nurses, the authors set out to compile teaching cards which would act as guidelines for nursing interventions with respiratory patients. The cards, the authors claim, are useful for nurses working in hospitals or patients' homes.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.