Falls risk factor assessment is the first step in the development of appropriate intervention strategies for the prevention of falls. However, few multifactorial, validated falls risk assessments exist which are suitable for use in busy clinical settings. This project aimed to develop a reliable and valid falls risk assessment that was feasible for use in various clinical settings. The QuickScreen Clinical Falls Risk Assessment was developed and evaluated via four methods; a) the test-retest reliability of the measures was assessed with 30 community-dwelling older people, b) the concurrent validity of the measures was assessed by comparison with performance in the Physiological Profile Assessment, c) the predictive validity of the measures was assessed by comparison of performance with prospective falls in two studies involving large samples of community dwelling older people and d) the feasibility of the assessment was evaluated with 40 clinicians who trialled the assessment with their patients. The QuickScreen clinical falls risk assessment consists of eight measures, including previous falls, total medications, psychoactive medications, visual acuity, touch sensation, the sit to stand test, the near tandem stand test and the alternate step test. The test-retest reliability of the assessment measures was acceptable (intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.56 to 0.89) and the assessment measures discriminated between multiple fallers and non-multiple fallers with relative risk values ranging from 1.4 to 2.5. The clinicians that trialled the assessment reported that it was quick and easy to administer and that it assisted in the management of their elderly patients. These results show that the QuickScreen Clinical Falls Risk Assessment has proven validity, test-retest reliability and is practical for use in a variety of clinical settings.

Falls risk factor assessment is the first step in the development of appropriate intervention strategies for the prevention of falls. However, few multifactorial, validated falls risk assessments exist which are suitable for use in busy clinical settings. This project aimed to develop a reliable and valid falls risk assessment that was feasible for use in various clinical settings. The QuickScreen Clinical Falls Risk Assessment was developed and evaluated via four methods; a) the test-retest reliability of the measures was assessed with 30 community-dwelling older people, b) the concurrent validity of the measures was assessed by comparison with performance in the Physiological Profile Assessment, c) the predictive validity of the measures was assessed by comparison of performance with prospective falls in two studies involving large samples of community dwelling older people and d) the feasibility of the assessment was evaluated with 40 clinicians who trialled the assessment with their patients. The QuickScreen clinical falls risk assessment consists of eight measures, including previous falls, total medications, psychoactive medications, visual acuity, touch sensation, the sit to stand test, the near tandem stand test and the alternate step test. The test-retest reliability of the assessment measures was acceptable (intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.56 to 0.89) and the assessment measures discriminated between multiple fallers and non-multiple fallers with relative risk values ranging from 1.4 to 2.5. The clinicians that trialled the assessment reported that it was quick and easy to administer and that it assisted in the management of their elderly patients. These results show that the QuickScreen Clinical Falls Risk Assessment has proven validity, test-retest reliability and is practical for use in a variety of clinical settings.

<p>Bakgrund: Ungefär 200 000 personer av den svenska befolkningen lider av sömnapné, och det är vanligast hos män. Sömnapné går att sammankoppla med flera olika typer av följdsjukdomar och ökade risker för olyckor p.g.a. trötthet. Syfte: att belysa hur sjuksköterskor kan hjälpa till att förbättra hälsa hos de patienter som lider av sömnapné. Metod: En litteraturöversikt som beskriver kunskapsläget gällande sjuksköterskans roll vid omvårdnaden kring sömnapné genomfördes. Litteratursökningar gjordes i Academic Se-arch Elite, Cinahl, Psych Info och PubMed. Inklusions- och exklusionskrite-rier sattes upp och de artiklar som passade in på dessa och syftet klassifice-rades efter en tregradig skala. Åtta artiklar användes i resultatet. Litteraturen genomlästes, meningsenheter plockades ut som sedan bildade tre kategorier: sjuksköterskans observation/bedömning, sjuksköterskans information och sjuksköterskans behandling. Resultat: Redovisades under dessa kategorier, och visade att sjuksköterskan har en viktig del i att upptäcka och behandla sömnapné. Diskussion: Det finns receptfria hjälpmedel att tillgå, sjukskö-terskan har ett viktigt jobb att förmedla kunskap om dessa till patienter och deras anhöriga. De kan även hjälpa de drabbade att göra livsstilsförändringar som kan gynna deras sjukdomsbild. Slutsatsen är att en ökad kunskap om sömnapné inom sjukvården skulle göra att fler drabbade kan få en diagnos på sitt problem och mycket tidigare.</p>

<p>Trots att stor kunskap finns vad det gäller riskfaktorer, prevention, bedömning och vård fortsätter prevalensen av trycksår att stiga oroväckande. Trycksår fortsätter att förbli ett betydande hälsoproblem och en signifikant ekonomisk belastning för sjukvården runt om i världen. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att ur ett omvårdnadsperspektiv belysa hur uppkomsten av trycksår kan förebyggas. I studien framkom att ett av de viktigaste aspekterna av trycksårsprevention är att en korrekt riskbedömning av trycksår görs så att förebyggande åtgärder kan sättas in tidigt till de patienter som är i behov av det. Det finns en rad olika bedömningsinstrument, men de flesta av dem har inte fått sin validitet beprövad i någon undersökning, och utav de som har prövats visar ingen på en tillräckligt hög tillförlitlighet. Resultatet visade också att sjuksköterskor är kunnig när det gäller trycksårsprevention men att de hindras från att utöva det effektivt på grund av faktorer så som tidsbrist och ostrukturerade rutiner. Mer forskning kring området trycksårsprevention bör ske och en specialutbildning i trycksår inrättas.</p>

No description available.

<p><strong>Aim </strong>The aim of this study is to investigate the activity participants’ opinions on Kilimanjaro Aids Control Associations’ (KACA) work in combating HIV/AIDS in Moshi, Tanzania, and to examine what they have learnt from participating KACA’s activities. The authors also examined whether the participants thought the activity has influenced on their behaviour.</p><p><strong>Method </strong>The study is an explorative qualitative study with semi-structured interviews. The respondents (20) were purposively selected in order to get balanced representation.</p><p><strong>Results </strong>The majority of respondents were very grateful after being in contact with KACA. According to some of the respondents, KACA supplies needy people with financial as well as mental support. Many of the respondents have been passing on their new knowledge about HIV/AIDS to others, and claimed that they have changed their behaviour.</p><p><strong>Conclusion </strong>Our findings were that the majority of our respondents had positive experiences about KACA’s role in combating HIV/AIDS in the Kilimanjaro area. Almost every respondent claimed they had got new knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The new knowledge led to reduced risk taking behaviour, which we believe can reduce the spread of HIV. Since this study contains 20 respondents, the results can not be generalized.</p>

Suicide is currently the third leading cause of death for adolescents ages 15- 24. While much attention has been given to this topic, no research has examined what specific information is being taught to pre-service school counselors. The purpose of this descriptive study was to evaluate the pre-service suicide prevention training in CACREP accredited school counseling programs. Fifteen areas of suicide prevention were assessed. The participants were 89 CACREP accredited programs. The instrument utilized was entitled Suicide Prevention Survey, and included fifteen areas of suicide prevention that could be included in program curriculum. The results were analyzed using frequencies and measures of central tendency. Respondents to the survey indicated that no CACREP programs offer a required course in suicide prevention. However, the issues of suicide were reported as being addressed in 39 different required and elective courses. Four percent (n=9) of the programs reported covering all fifteen categories included in the survey. One program reported coverage in area of suicide was non-existent. Implications for CACREP accredited programs as well as recommendations for future research is given. / Graduation date: 2003

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the overall effectiveness of eating disorder prevention programs and to investigate potential moderating variables that may influence the magnitude of intervention effects. Meta-analysis was used to conduct a comprehensive and systematic analysis of data across 46 studies. Effect size estimates were grouped into outcome sets based on the following variables: knowledge, general eating pathology, dieting, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, and self-esteem. Q statistics were used to analyze the distribution of effect size estimates within each outcome set and to explore the systematic influence of moderating variables. Results revealed large effects on the acquisition of knowledge and small net effects on reducing maladaptive eating attitudes and behaviors at posttest and follow-up. These programs were not found to produce significant effects on negative affect, and there were inconsistent effects on self-esteem across studies. Population targeted was the sole moderator that could account for variability in effect size distributions. There was a tendency toward greater benefits for studies targeting participants considered to be at a relatively higher risk for developing an eating disorder. Previous assumptions regarding the insufficiency of "one-shot" interventions and concerns about the iatrogenic effects of including information about eating disorders in an intervention were not supported by the data. These findings challenge negative conclusions drawn in previous review articles regarding the inability of eating disorder prevention programs to demonstrate behavioral improvements. Although these findings have implications for the prevention of eating disorders, it was argued that a clear link between intervention efficacy and a decreased incidence of eating disorders was not demonstrated. Rather, only direct information was offered about the ability to influence eating disorder related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Specific recommendations related to intervention content, reasonable goals/expectations, and outcome criteria were offered for improving research in this area.

Bakgrund: Ungefär 200 000 personer av den svenska befolkningen lider av sömnapné, och det är vanligast hos män. Sömnapné går att sammankoppla med flera olika typer av följdsjukdomar och ökade risker för olyckor p.g.a. trötthet. Syfte: att belysa hur sjuksköterskor kan hjälpa till att förbättra hälsa hos de patienter som lider av sömnapné. Metod: En litteraturöversikt som beskriver kunskapsläget gällande sjuksköterskans roll vid omvårdnaden kring sömnapné genomfördes. Litteratursökningar gjordes i Academic Se-arch Elite, Cinahl, Psych Info och PubMed. Inklusions- och exklusionskrite-rier sattes upp och de artiklar som passade in på dessa och syftet klassifice-rades efter en tregradig skala. Åtta artiklar användes i resultatet. Litteraturen genomlästes, meningsenheter plockades ut som sedan bildade tre kategorier: sjuksköterskans observation/bedömning, sjuksköterskans information och sjuksköterskans behandling. Resultat: Redovisades under dessa kategorier, och visade att sjuksköterskan har en viktig del i att upptäcka och behandla sömnapné. Diskussion: Det finns receptfria hjälpmedel att tillgå, sjukskö-terskan har ett viktigt jobb att förmedla kunskap om dessa till patienter och deras anhöriga. De kan även hjälpa de drabbade att göra livsstilsförändringar som kan gynna deras sjukdomsbild. Slutsatsen är att en ökad kunskap om sömnapné inom sjukvården skulle göra att fler drabbade kan få en diagnos på sitt problem och mycket tidigare.

Aim The aim of this study is to investigate the activity participants’ opinions on Kilimanjaro Aids Control Associations’ (KACA) work in combating HIV/AIDS in Moshi, Tanzania, and to examine what they have learnt from participating KACA’s activities. The authors also examined whether the participants thought the activity has influenced on their behaviour. Method The study is an explorative qualitative study with semi-structured interviews. The respondents (20) were purposively selected in order to get balanced representation. Results The majority of respondents were very grateful after being in contact with KACA. According to some of the respondents, KACA supplies needy people with financial as well as mental support. Many of the respondents have been passing on their new knowledge about HIV/AIDS to others, and claimed that they have changed their behaviour. Conclusion Our findings were that the majority of our respondents had positive experiences about KACA’s role in combating HIV/AIDS in the Kilimanjaro area. Almost every respondent claimed they had got new knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The new knowledge led to reduced risk taking behaviour, which we believe can reduce the spread of HIV. Since this study contains 20 respondents, the results can not be generalized.