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Sue Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to Sue Thomas.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

International multicenter pilot study of the first comprehensive self-completed nonmotor symptoms questionnaire for Parkinson's disease: the NMSQuest study.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) are not well recognized in clinical practice, either in primary or in secondary care, and are frequently missed during routine consultations. There is no single instrument (questionnaire or scale) that enables a comprehensive assessment of the range of NMS in PD both for the identification of problems and for the measurement of outcome. Against this background, a multidisciplinary group of experts, including patient group representatives, has developed an NMS screening questionnaire comprising 30 items. This instrument does not provide an overall score of disability and is not a graded or rating instrument. Instead, it is a screening tool designed to draw attention to the presence of NMS and initiate further investigation. In this article, we present the results from an international pilot study assessing feasibility, validity, and acceptability of a nonmotor questionnaire (NMSQuest). Data from 123 PD patients and 96 controls were analyzed. NMS were highly significantly more prevalent in PD compared to controls (PD NMS, median = 9.0, mean = 9.5 vs. control NMS, median = 5.5, mean = 4.0; Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and t test, P < 0.0001), with PD patients reporting at least 10 different NMS on average per patient. In PD, NMS were highly significantly more prevalent across all disease stages and the number of symptoms correlated significantly with advancing disease and duration of disease. Furthermore, frequently, problems such as diplopia, dribbling, apathy, blues, taste and smell problems were never previously disclosed to the health professionals.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Commissioning continence services--turning policy into action.

Incontinence of urine and faeces is a major issue in health care today. The financial cost is enormous with the NHS purchasing an annual 80 m Pounds worth of absorbent products alone (Euromonitor, 1999). But the financial cost is only part of the equation. Incontinence also has a considerable impact on the quality of life of those who experience it. The nature and impact on quality of life varies among individuals. However, where expert services are available cure rates can exceed 50 per cent (Royal College of Physicians, 1995). This suggests that specialist continence services have a vital role to play in helping patients improve their incontinence or manage their continence problems more effectively.

Contract Services↗
PubMed2004

Improving continence services--a case study in policy influence.

This article presents a case history of the process followed by a group of nurses who used their power and influence to improve the provision of continence services within the National Health Service in England. The process and outcomes demonstrate how nurses can achieve change using their political influence combined with a planned or evolving strategy.

England↗
PubMed2004

Parkinson's disease, palliative care and older people: Part 1.

In the first of two articles on palliative care for people with Parkinson's disease, the authors revise the common features of the disease, its different stages and the nature of palliative care for people who suffer from it. Next month, they consider management of common problems in late-stage Parkinson's and various ethical issues that nurses may encounter.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Parkinson's disease, palliative care and older people: Part 2.

In the second of two articles on palliative care for people with Parkinson's disease, the authors consider other aspects of care relevant to this complex stage. They conclude that better understanding of its complexity, its innate variability and the roles extended team members can play help to improve the care given to patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

The role of health professionals in supporting expert patients schemes.

A diagnosis of chronic disease can be devastating. Health-care professionals are one part of the team centred on supporting the person through that illness. Lay-led-self-management programmes are another strand. This paper focuses on expert patients programmes and the importance of integrating self-management into current health-care provision.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2003

Exploring doctor and patient views about risk communication and shared decision-making in the consultation.

BACKGROUND: There have been significant conceptual developments regarding shared decision-making (SDM) and assessments of people's hypothetical preferences for involvement in treatment or care decisions. There are few data on the perceptions of patients and professionals about SDM in actual practice. OBJECTIVE: To explore, from paired doctor-patient interviews, participants' perceptions of SDM in the consultation and the level of consensus between the participants in the consultation process. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interview data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Twenty general practitioners received training packages in 'risk communication' (RC) and 'SDM' to use as tools within the consultation. Forty patients with one of four conditions, for which a range of treatment options is available, were selected. Patient/doctor pairs were interviewed separately following consultations at four stages -'baseline' [general practitioner's (GP) usual consultation style], SDM training, RC alone, and both RC and SDM training. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo software. RESULTS: Risk communication interventions by doctors appeared to result in a greater perception of decisions being made in the consultation. High levels of satisfaction with consultations were evident before application of the interventions and did not change after the interventions. Doctors' and patients' perceptions of the consultations were highly congruent at all phases of the study. CONCLUSION: Shared decision-making and RC approaches were helpful in selected consultations and showed no detrimental effects to patients. However, the use of RC and SDM made only small differences to decision-making in consultations within the population studied. Increasing patient participation may be seen as more ethically justifiable than the traditional paternalistic approach but this needs to be set against the additional training costs incurred.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Epilepsy and services for older people.

Although epilepsy can occur at any age, almost a quarter of people affected are over 60 years old. It is important for nurses working with older people to understand the full implications of a diagnosis of epilepsy, which can have a devastating effect on quality of life.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Managing Parkinson's disease in long-term care.

Parkinson's disease affects one in every 100 people over the age of 60 and one in ten nursing home residents. This article explores common problems associated with the disease and implications for nurses working with patients who display symptoms.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prime time for drugs.

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Advertising↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Commissioning continence services for children and young people.

The publication of Good Practice in Continence Services (Department of Health, 2000) was a major step forward in encouraging primary care trusts to focus their attention on the modernisation of continence services. Efforts to modernise included the development of integrated continence services (Rigby, 2001) while others focused on influencing service development (Thomas et al, 2004; RCN/Continence Foundation, 2004). Targets in the National Service Framework for Older People (DoH, 2001) - specifically Target Two on patient-centred care - have influenced the development of integrated continence services.

Adolescent↗