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Biomedical subjects

R Newell

Publications and source records attributed to R Newell.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Anxiety, accuracy and reflection: the limits of professional development.

Reflection is a key concept in the development and maintenance of nursing expertise in theory and practice, yet commentators have rarely examined difficulties associated with it. This paper describes the role of reflection in nursing and relates it to information-processing accounts of human memory. The issues raised by the role of memory in mediating reflection are discussed, in the context of an examination of the importance of accuracy in reflection-on-practice. It is argued that anxiety is of particular importance in mediating accurate reflection. Whilst it is concluded that reflection is inherently flawed, a range of tactics to enhance it are explored, with particular emphasis on anxiety reduction and reduction of the burden of the memory task.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1992

The single case experimental design: a quantitative method for everyday use.

Although the qualitative approach to research has become a dominant trend in nursing research, some commentators have argued the strengths of quantitative methods, particularly if the data are sensitively handled by investigators (1). This article argues for greater use in nursing research of a particular quantitative method: the single case experimental design. It traces the development of the methodology, describes the designs of which it consists and their associated statistical handling, and examines the relevance of the approach as a whole to nursing, particularly during the construction and testing of innovative approaches to client difficulties. The paper concludes by suggesting the potential impact of the adoption of single case methods for nursing practice and research.

Clinical Nursing Research↗
PubMed1991

Behavioural psychotherapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

The irritable bowel syndrome is a highly prevalent condition whose underlying aetiology is not understood. While many patients respond to a combination of gastrointestinal antispasmodics, bulking agents and dietary manipulation, controlled clinical trials have suggested that the benefit is only marginal and is due mainly to the large placebo effect found in this condition, which has been calculated to range between 54 and 81%. Associations between the syndrome and psychological and social stresses suggest, however, that treatment involving a systematic approach to the management of symptoms may hold out real therapeutic possibilities. In the current study, 42 IBS patients were randomly allocated to either medical treatment or to behavioural psychotherapy with a nurse therapist. They were assessed initially and at 4 and 9 months. There was a general improvement over the 9 months on a number of physical and psychological symptoms measured. However, no differences were found between treatment groups except for changes in two avoidance scores. A significant correlation was found, however, between improvement in the bowel symptoms of IBS (stomach pain and diarrhoea) and improvement in the psychological symptoms measured by the Clinical Interview Schedule, suggesting a close interrelationship between the two.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Body-image disturbance: cognitive behavioural formulation and intervention.

An account of the genesis and maintenance of disturbed body image is presented, drawing on cognitive-behavioural concepts of human experience, and emphasizing the central importance of fear and avoidance in mediating such difficulties. Intervention strategies, extrapolated from work in dysmorphophobia and in anxiety disorders, are described, together with a clinical example. Difficulties with the cognitive-behavioural approach to disturbed body image are discussed, and possible applications of the formulation to client care are suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Commercial cryptococcal latex kit: clinical evaluation in a medical center hospital.

A commercial latex kit for the detection of cryptococcal antigen (LCAT) was used in a medical center hospital to test cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum specimens from patients suspected of having cryptococcal infections. The LCAT was also performed on 8 CSF and 2 serum specimens from other mycotic infections and on 50 serum specimens from healthy controls. Of a total of 561 specimens (489 CSF and 72 sera) from 426 patients, 78 (13.9%) specimens were LCAT positive; these came from 12 patients with culturally proven cryptococcosis. Eleven of these 12 patients were diagnosed as having disseminated cryptococcosis (9 with meningitis). Fourteen other patients, all with positive cultures for Cryptococcus neoformans but nevative LCATs on sera or CSF, were found not to have disseminated infections. All CSF and sera from other mycotic infections and all 50 control sera were negative. No false positive or flase negative tests were encountered. It was concluded that the commercial kit is useful for diagnosis and prognosis of disseminated cryptococcosis, but not as useful for infections such as localized pulmonary or cutaneous cryptococcosis.

Antigens, Fungal↗