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Introduction: Research suggests that parents of disabled children are dissatisfied with inpatient care delivery to their children. Objectives: - To explore the inpatient care of disabled children - To determine the rewards and challenges of working with disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs - To analyse contemporary nursing curricula in order to ascertain areas of teaching pertinent to disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs - To consider compliance with policy benchmarks for disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs Methods: This project is part of a service evaluation for disabled children and their families that utilises different approaches. Three components of the project were designed: 1. To conduct focus group meetings using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) with nursing staff 2. To conduct an in-depth content analysis of contemporary nursing curricula 3. To conduct an audit of compliance with policy benchmarks for disabled children and young people and those with complex health needs Results: Four themes have been generated from the integrated data analysis of the current service evaluation, namely: effective communication, provision of training, provision of equipment, unfavourable environment. Conclusion: This service evaluation has revealed that nursing staff need to improve their knowledge and expertise in the field of communication with disabled children and their families, and also enhance the quality of care delivered to this population. Additionally, it is vital that more equipment be provided, and the number of expert nursing staff caring for disabled children increased, in order to improve the quality of care for disabled children and their families.

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Recent years have seen an increase in self-harm behaviours amongst children and young people. In tandem, the amount of research on the phenomenon has also grown. However, despite the evident importance of care staff attitudes in the treatment of those who self-harm, an examination of the literature indicated a limited number of studies on how clinicians view such behaviour in the young. The aim of this thesis was to examine the attitudes of health care staff toward child self-harm. Within the study, it is argued that factors pertaining to both patients (age, gender and rate of admission) and care staff (role and clinical experience), will influence how an incidence of child self-harm is viewed. To answer the question, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. Within the former, a questionnaire was developed that contained hypothetical case vignettes of child self-harm. Once constructed, the instrument was distributed to the care staff of four Accident and Emergency departments, each of which treated self-harming children. Examination of the completed questionnaires (n = 152), showed significant differences in both staff and patient variables, confirming that attitudes toward child self-harm should not be viewed as a single entity but rather as constituent parts of a whole phenomena, each worthy of examination in its own right. In order to explore these issues in more detail, a series of focus groups were undertaken amongst care staff. Use was made of a Foucauldian discourse analysis framework devised by Kendall and Wickham (1999). This revealed intrinsic differences in the way clinicians view self-harm in children and the constituent parts therein. Comparison of both experienced and inexperienced nurses and physicians produceda raft of reasonsw hy child self-harm elicited responsesp articular to each group, ranging from personal experiences to the use of medical jargon. In conclusion, this thesis has explored a particular aspect of the self-harm spectrum, touching on topics that appear to have been neglected by the literature. The dissemination of its results to a wider audience, it is hoped, will generate debate aroundt his sensitiveto pic andt husi ncreasea n understandinogf the needso f those clinicians who deal with such vulnerable patients.

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During a one year longitudinal study, the dietary intake and growth of 50 vegetarian children aged 7-11 years was compared with that of 50 age-, sex- and race-matched omnivores. Diet was assessed at 6 month intervals using three, 3-day diet diaries and follow-up interviews. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, mid-arm circumference, biceps and triceps skinfolds) were similarly taken 3 times. Multiple stepwise regression was used to control for non nutritional factors that affect growth. A questionnaire was administered at baseline to all children and their parents, to determine socio-economic status, health related behaviour and parents, ' height. Finger-prick blood samples were obtained from a sub-sample to measure haemoglobin (n=35 pairs) and cholesterol (n=32 pairs). Activity profiles were obtained using 12 hour heart-rate telemetry (n=20 pairs). Vegetarian and omnivorous groups were similar for socioeconomic group and health related behaviour. The predicted growth increment (0.47cm) of the vegetarians was significantly greater (p=0.05)' than that of the omnivores. Energy and sugars intakes of the vegetarians were significantly lower than those of the omnivores, fat and iron intakes were similar, whilst P: S ratio, NSP and calcium intakes were higher. The mean (SD) haemoglobin level of the vegetarians (11.8 (0.2g/dl)) was significantly below (p=0.04) that of the omnivores (12.4 (0.2)g/dl) but cholesterol levels were similar. Heart-rates were slightly higher for the vegetarians than the omnivores. The diet of the vegetarian children more closely resembled current recommendations although they need to be as vigilant as omnivores to reduce their intake of fat, and care is needed to ensure optimal iron status. The results of this study suggest that vegetarian children who include dairy products grow at least as well as those children who eat meat.

Background: Safeguarding children is a priority area, yet the experiences of those statutorily charged with offering strategic direction and clinical leadership in health organisations has received little research attention. This study focuses on the experiences of Designated nurses and doctors as they transition from working as an organisation’s sole expert to sharing tasks and responsibilities across many organisations as part of a countywide clinically-led Network. Method: This qualitative study used a participatory action research methodology that allowed the author – a participant Designated nurse – together with colleagues to address concerns and ensure improvements during the course of the study. Data was collected at two points: during the consultation on the Network’s form; and 12-18 months after its implementation. Results: The first data, gathered when Designates were working as sole practitioners, illustrated their isolation, difficulties in accessing knowledge and anxieties about their capacity to respond to changing demands. Further analysis demonstrated that participants’ experiences were shaped by local circumstances and the concerns raised by the newly announced NHS reforms. The second data set, gathered a year after the Network’s launch and contemporaneous with the implementation of the NHS reforms, showed that team working had addressed most of their earlier concerns. The Network had legitimised sharing tasks, combatted isolation, improved access to new knowledge, and benefitted the professionals’ authority through the reputation the Network had achieved for innovation in safeguarding. However, professionals raised concerns regarding collective responsibilities and individuals’ accountability to the team. Conclusion: The study’s inability to completely separate the effects of this change in working practice from the NHS reforms limits its generalisability. The research offers insights into whether small groups of practitioners endeavouring to deliver scarce expertise to multiple organisations would benefit from a team approach, and whether voluntary participation and shared objectives are enough to sustain such teams.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life for optimal growth. However, the rapid growth of early infancy is limited by undernutrition, and this has been assumed rare. Nonetheless, there has been reported evidence of this problem, particularly in infants with underlying disease. Identifying infants at the risk of undernutrition using growth charts is simple, quick, invaluable, but suggested ineffective. The possible cause is poor health staff understanding, application and interpretation of growth patterns in early infancy, particularly in developing countries. In Nigeria, little is known about patterns of growth, how growth velocity relate to nutritional status, standardised methods for assessing nutrition risk, and prevalence of undernutrition in infants younger than 6 months, particularly hospitalised infants. Therefore, this project based at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, set out to answer the following research questions: 1) What is the prevalence of undernutrition in infants younger than 6 months, particularly hospitalised infants? 2) What are the implicated feeding patterns and medical conditions of these infants? 3) Can feeding information and growth patterns be used to predict undernutrition in these infants? 4) Is health staff use of growth patterns in identifying undernutrition in early infancy effective? Methods: Data were collected for the project’s three cross-sectional, observational studies. 1) Feeding information from birth to date of assessment was collected from mothers/carers of healthy infants attending the Infant Welfare Clinic (IWC) of the UNTH, Enugu. Their retrospective weight measurements at birth, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months were documented from their mother-held Road-to-Health (RTH) growth charts. 2) Feeding and growth information was collected from infants at admission (from birth to 26 weeks of age) to the Hospital Wards of the UNTH. These data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire based on the Subjective Global Nutrition Assessment (SGNA); including anthropometric measures of weight, length, head circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, and skinfolds (triceps and subscapular). 3) Paediatric Health Staff were surveyed in two teaching hospitals and four government-controlled primary health facilities using a structured self-completion questionnaire to: - determine how growth charts are used to detect childhood undernutrition - determine the accuracy in plotting and rating/applying/interpreting weight gain patterns shown on the RTH and WHO growth charts for appropriate action - test the understanding of growth trajectories displayed on charts. Results: Infant Welfare Clinic Study: The retrospective weights of 411 healthy infants (0 – 26 weeks old) attending the IWC of the UNTH, Enugu was compiled and used to generate a reference to compare that of their hospitalised peers in the same hospital. There was a steady weight gain increase in the first half and slower gain in the latter half of first six months of life. During this period, the weight Z-scores distribution of the infants compared well to the WHO Child Growth Standards (WHO-CGS). Moreover, 5% of the infants had -2SD (CWG), setting the 5th percentile as slow weight gain threshold, the reference to compare the weight velocity of their hospitalised peers. Therefore, the data compiled from the IWC was transformed successfully into a dataset qualified as a norm for comparing the data collected from the hospitalised infants. However, suboptimal breastfeeding patterns were observed in the majority (391, 95%) of the infants at assessment. Hospital Ward Study: Assessment of growth was done in 210 infants admitted to the paediatric wards from birth to 6 months, of which 143 (80.6%) were younger than 3 months. These younger infants were most commonly admitted for respiratory tract disorders 39 (18.6%), while the older infants were most commonly admitted for sepsis 21 (10.0%). The least of the morbidities were diarrhoea/vomiting 10 (4.8%) and severe undernutrition 8 (3.8%). SGNA-rating showed that the majority (161, 76.7%) of the infants were at low risk for undernutrition. The mean CWG of the hospitalised infants from birth was low, with 23% of the infants recording weight gain since birth below the 5th percentile for slow weight gain. Around one quarter of the hospitalised infants recorded low anthropometric Z-scores of weight, CWG, length, BMI or MUAC. A reference for skinfolds for under-3-month-olds was not available in the WHO-CGS. On applying a reference developed using the infant Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Screening Group’s UK data (iPYMS Reference), over one third of all the infants recorded low sum of skinfolds. Using crude MUAC measurements, two-thirds of the infants were moderately undernourished (<115mm) and over a half severely undernourished (<110mm), significantly (P<0.0001) decreasing with increase in age of admission. The majority (184, 87.6%) of the infants was initially breastfed, however, only 43 (20.5%) of the infants were exclusively breastfed (breastfed without water or other liquids) at any age. Breastfeeding status was related to the reasons for admission and nutritional status: the mean weight change for exclusively breastfed infants was -0.6 Z-score as compared to -1.1 Z-score for partially breastfed infants. Health Staff Study: Of the 222 health staff that responded to the survey in 2 referral hospitals and 4 government-controlled primary health facilities in Enugu city, 78% were hospital-based, 55% nurses, 46% highly experienced. About a third of the respondents often plotted; 87.8% often interpreted growth charts; over a half often identified and treated undernutrition, 88.7% with confidence. However, low accuracy was observed in recognising slow weight gain, particularly with average size; and fast weight gain was also poorly recognised. The respondents were as likely to be as worried about a small infant growing fast as an average weight infant growing slowly. Growth trajectories were better understood and interpreted on the WHO than RTH chart format. Most correct responses came from the medical doctors and moderately experienced respondents. Conclusions: The growth of young Nigerian infants fit the WHO-CGS well and the SGNA-rated nutrition risk is low, but other measures suggest undernutrition in up to one third of the hospitalised infants. Moreover, faulty breastfeeding patterns were prevalent and need to be addressed in future studies involving this population. Furthermore, the ineffectiveness of health staff understanding, application and interpretation of growth trajectories displayed on growth charts as practical tools, suggests the need for training.