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Colleen O'Leary

Publications and source records attributed to Colleen O'Leary.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Nursing-sensitive patient outcomes: the development of the Putting Evidence into Practice resources for nursing practice.

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) has worked diligently to improve the care of patients with cancer and their families. A recent project that demonstrates this commitment toquality care is the development of nursing-sensitive patient outcomes resources. ONS has teamed researchers, advanced practice nurses, and staff nurses to develop Putting Evidence Into Practice resources that provide guidance for nursing interventions based on the evidence. The ability to provide evidence for nursing interventions is critical to all aspects of patient care, including patient teaching, development of patient care policies and procedures, and provision of direct patient care.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed2006

Putting evidence into practice: prevention of infection.

The prevention of infection is an important outcome to measure in patients with cancer because infectious complications are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Nurses play a vital role in the prevention of infection in patients with cancer through nursing practice, research, and patient education. However, many common nursing interventions to prevent infection are based on tradition or expert opinion and have not been subjected to scientific examination. The 2005 Oncology Nursing Society Prevention of Infection Outcomes Intervention Project Team reviewed, critiqued, and summarized the research evidence for nursing interventions to prevent infections in patients with cancer. Pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions were included because many advanced practice nurses prescribe medications. This article is an evidence-based review of nursing interventions to prevent infection in patients with cancer.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis↗
PubMed2005

Health professionals' knowledge, practice and opinions about fetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol consumption in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the knowledge, attitudes and practices of health professionals regarding fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and alcohol use during pregnancy. METHOD: A postal survey of a representative random sample of health professionals was conducted in Western Australia (WA) in 2002/03. 1,143 (79%) of 1,443 eligible health professionals completed the survey (87 Aboriginal Health Workers, 286 allied health professionals, 537 community nurses, 170 general practitioners and 63 obstetricians). RESULTS: Of 1,143 health professionals, 12% identified all four essential diagnostic features of FAS. Most (95%) had never diagnosed FAS. Although 82% believed that making a diagnosis of FAS might improve treatment plans and 85% agreed FAS was preventable, 53% said the diagnosis might be stigmatising. Only 2% felt very prepared to deal with FAS and most wanted information for themselves and their clients. Of the 659 health professionals caring for pregnant women, only 45% routinely ask about alcohol use in pregnancy, only 25% routinely provide information on the consequences of alcohol use in pregnancy and only 13% provide advice consistent with NHMRC guidelines on alcohol consumption in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Health professionals have identified the need for educational materials for themselves and their clients. IMPLICATIONS: FAS is likely to be under-ascertained in Australia due to a lack of knowledge of FAS by health professionals. Until this lack of knowledge is addressed, opportunities for diagnosis and prevention of FAS will be limited.

Adult↗