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Biomedical subjects

E Muir-Cochrane

Publications and source records attributed to E Muir-Cochrane.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Medical co-morbidity risk factors and barriers to care for people with schizophrenia.

The management of risk is a fundamental component of the work of mental health nurses and is most commonly associated with aggressive, violent and suicidal behaviours exhibited by those suffering from mental illness. However, people with severe mental illness are increasingly at risk of experiencing a number of related and complex health problems that include obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This group also has much higher rates of morbidity and mortality than that of the general population resulting in high social, economic and individual costs. Some of the barriers to receiving prompt and appropriate physical health care include lack of recognition by health professionals and the difficulties faced by consumers of mental health services in negotiating the health care system. Establishment of comprehensive (addressing both physical and mental health issues) programmes of care can address this need and offer additional opportunities for closer and more collaborative nurse-patient relationships. This paper explores risk factors for medical co-morbidity for people living with schizophrenia and suggests strategies that can facilitate better health outcomes.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed2001

The case management practices of community mental health nurses: 'Doing the best we can'.

This paper reports findings from an investigation into the case management practices of a group of community mental health nurses in metropolitan South Australia. Such practices have received little attention in the Australian literature to date. These nurses collectively organized their clients into four informal groups in order to manage the demands of heavy workloads. The implications of these findings and recommendations for further evaluative investigations into the nature of case management practices are discussed.

Case Management↗
PubMed1996

An investigation into nurses' perceptions of secluding patients on closed psychiatric wards.

Seclusion continues to be used in the care of acutely disturbed psychiatric patients despite often emotionally charged debate about its appropriateness within mental health services. Powerful legal and moral arguments about the use of seclusion emphasize an urgent need to critically examined its role into the care of mentally ill people. This paper examines the use of seclusion on closed psychiatric wards in the management of acutely disturbed patients. Seven psychiatric nurses working in two closed wards in an Australian teaching hospital were interviewed in relation to their perceptions of the role of seclusion. Data were analysed using grounded theory methodology revealing the core conceptual category 'controlling' and two sub-categories 'watching out for' and 'watching over'. Seclusion was found to be used as an adjunctive treatment in the care of individuals considered to be 'out of control'. Clinicians expressed comfort with the use of seclusion, citing a strict protocol that provided parameters for its use. Whilst expert therapeutic interventions were described by clinicians, they are contextualized within a framework of power and control - a framework that stands in stark contrast to contemporary philosophies of nursing care, providing impetus for a reconsideration of the use of constraining practices in the care of mentally ill people.

Australia↗
PubMed1996

Therapeutic interventions associated with seclusion of acutely disturbed individuals.

The use of seclusion--i.e. placing an individual in a specially designed room with a locked door--continues to be an option in the management of mentally ill individuals whose behaviour is acutely disturbed, and who pose a personal and/or environmental threat. In a grounded theory study of psychiatric nurses' use of seclusion in two closed wards in a metropolitan teaching hospital in Australia, 'intervening' and 'mainstreaming' are the categories that describe nursing interventions developed from constant comparison of the data collected. Details of these interventions are presented, with reference to the skills that participants describe as necessary in the care of a mentally ill patient being secluded and then being re-integrated into ward life. Considerations for further study on the topic of seclusion are presented.

Dangerous Behavior↗