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Anne Scott

Publications and source records attributed to Anne Scott.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Towards a nursing minimum data set for Ireland: making Irish nursing visible.

AIM: The aim of this study was to identify patient problems, nursing interventions and nursing outcomes to be included in a nursing minimum data set for Ireland. BACKGROUND: In 2002, a research programme funded by the Irish Health Research Board, was established to develop and test a nursing minimum data set to capture the nursing contribution to patient care in Ireland. A nursing minimum data set is comprised of the smallest number of information items required to capture the range of patient problems, nursing interventions and nursing outcomes recorded by nurses on a regular basis. Nursing minimum data sets have been developed in several countries for a range of applications such as workforce planning, financing nursing care, examining patient profiles and forecasting trends in nursing diagnoses. METHOD: Eleven focus groups were conducted with 59 registered general nurses to explore their conceptualizations of patient problems, nursing interventions and nursing outcomes. In addition, data relating to nurses' recordings of patient problems, nursing interventions and nursing outcomes were collected from a sample of 45 sets nursing records. The research took place between January 2003 and April 2004. FINDINGS: A range of patient problems, nursing interventions and outcomes were identified that were similar to those found in existing nursing minimum data sets. However, several new items and categories of items were also identified, justifying the empirical approach taken to generate the initial list of items. Data from nursing records supported several points raised in focus groups and also highlighted some inconsistencies between nurses' perceptions and recordings of what they do. CONCLUSION: Our research identified several new types of indirect interventions and managing/organizing activities in addition to items found in existing nursing minimum data sets. The importance of these aspects of the nursing contribution to patient care will be tested further in the development of the Irish nursing minimum data set.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Developing a data dictionary for the irish nursing minimum dataset.

One of the challenges in health care in Ireland is the relatively slow acceptance of standardised clinical information systems. Yet the national Irish health reform programme indicates that an Electronic Health Care Record (EHCR) will be implemented on a phased basis. [3-5]. While nursing has a key role in ensuring the quality and comparability of health information, the so- called 'invisibility' of some nursing activities makes this a challenging aim to achieve [3-5]. Any integrated health care system requires the adoption of uniform standards for electronic data exchange [1-2]. One of the pre-requisites for uniform standards is the composition of a data dictionary. Inadequate definition of data elements in a particular dataset hinders the development of an integrated data depository or electronic health care record (EHCR). This paper outlines how work on the data dictionary for the Irish Nursing Minimum Dataset (INMDS) has addressed this issue. Data set elements were devised on the basis of a large scale empirical research programme. ISO 18104, the reference terminology for nursing [6], was used to cross-map the data set elements with semantic domains, categories and links and data set items were dissected.

Databases as Topic↗
PubMed2004

EEG alpha sensitization in individualized homeopathic treatment of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia (FM) patients show evidence of sensitizability in pain pathways and electroencephalographic (EEG) alterations. One proposed mechanism for the claimed effects of homeopathy, a form of complementary medicine used for FM, is time-dependent sensitization (TDS, progressive amplification) of host responses. This study examined possible sensitization-related changes in EEG relative alpha magnitude during a clinical trial of homeopathy in FM. A 4-month randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trial of daily orally administered individualized homeopathy in physician-confirmed FM, with an additional 2-month optional crossover phase, included three laboratory sessions, at baseline, 3 and 6 months (N = 48, age 49.2 +/- 9.8 years, 94% women). Nineteen leads of EEG relative alpha magnitude at rest and during olfactory administration of treatment and control solutions were evaluated in each session. After 3 months, the active treatment group significantly increased, while the placebo group decreased, in global alpha-1 and alpha-2 during bottle sniffs over sessions. At 6 months, the subset of active patients who stayed on active continued to increase, while the active-switch subgroup reversed direction in alpha magnitude. Groups did not differ in resting alpha. Consistent with the TDS hypothesis, sniff alpha-1 and alpha-2 increases at 6 months versus baseline correlated with total amount of time on active remedy over all subjects (r = 0.45, p = .003), not with dose changes or clinical outcomes in the active group. The findings suggest initiation of TDS in relative EEG alpha magnitude by daily oral administration of active homeopathic medicines versus placebo, with laboratory elicitation by temporolimbic olfactory stimulation or sniffing.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Electroencephalographic cordance patterns distinguish exceptional clinical responders with fibromyalgia to individualized homeopathic medicines.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize initial central nervous system responses to olfactory administration of homeopathic remedies as biomarkers for subsequently exceptional, simillimum-like clinical outcomes at a systemic level (i.e., both locally and globally). DESIGN: Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING: A private homeopathic clinic in Phoenix, AZ, and a university laboratory in Tucson, AZ. PATIENTS: Sixty-two (62) persons with physician-confirmed fibromyalgia (FM) (mean age, 49 years; 94% women) enrolled; 53 completed the 3-month assessment visit. Exceptional responders (n = 6, 23% of active treatment group; none on placebo) were those with improvements in the top one-third for both tender point pain and global health ratings after 3 months. INTERVENTION: Patients took daily oral doses of treatment solution in LM (1/50,000 dilution) potency (active group received individualized remedy; placebo group received plain solvent). Dependent measures: Baseline and 3-month difference scores for initial prefrontal electroencephalographic alpha frequency cordance (EEG-C, a correlate of functional brain activity) during 16 pairs of randomized, double-blinded bottle sniffs (treatment minus control solutions). RESULTS: Exceptional responders versus other patients exhibited significantly more negative initial EEG-C difference scores at prefrontal sites. Right prefrontal cordance findings correlated with subsequently reduced pain (r = 0.85, p = 0.03), better global health (r =-0.73, p = 0.10), and trait absorption (genetically determined ability to focus attention selectively and fully) (r = 0.91, p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest prefrontal EEG-C as an early biomarker of individualized homeopathic medicine effects in patients with FM who later exhibit exceptional outcomes. Prefrontal cortex controls executive function, including ability to redirect attention. Interactions between executive function, absorption, and the simillimum remedy could facilitate exceptional responses.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The limited utility of the Mini-Mental State Examination in screening people over the age of 75 years for dementia in primary care.

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is used worldwide to assess cognitive status and it has been recommended for use in primary care to detect dementia. In this study, the MMSE was administered during annual health checks for patients over 75 years of age in nine practices by a member of the primary care team. The mean age was 80 years. Of the 709 patients screened, 286 scored at or below the cut-off point, which was set at 26/30 on the MMSE, and they were invited to be assessed further by a researcher, using the well-validated GMS-AGECAT diagnostic system. Eighty-four of these patients refused, 173 were identified as not having dementia, and 29 (14%) were identified as having dementia. These results, with an 86% false-positive rate, raise concerns regarding the utility of the MMSE as a screening instrument for dementia in primary care.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Managing anxiety in ICU patients: the role of pre-operative information provision.

Hospital-induced patient anxiety and coping mechanisms are discussed. The value of giving pre-operative information to reduce anxiety in elective admissions to intensive care unit is discussed. Recommendations are given based on the literature evidence to aid service and practice development.

Adaptation, Psychological↗