ISSN 2756-3332
Research Article
African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 517-523, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An appraisal of the effects of professional support during pregnancy, delivery and maternity ward and the number of breastfeeding sessions in the first three days after birth
*Beyazit Özoğuz, Nurgül Akdoğan and Gökhan N. Üzümcü
Department of Pediatrics Nursing, Faculty of Health, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 30 August, 2015
Abstract
Professional support is important for women during pregnancy, but more research is needed to provide a better understanding of how this support affects the mother's experience of support and breast-feeding behavior the first days after birth and its relation to the duration of breastfeeding. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a professional support during pregnancy in relation to mothers’ perceived support at delivery and maternity ward, and on the number of breastfeeding sessions during the first three days after birth. These factors would be subsequently considered in relation to the duration of breastfeeding. Mothers in the Intervention group (IG) and Control group B (CGB) (November 2000 to April 2002) perceived significant better overall support, breastfeeding information and preparation for parenting from the professionals in the delivery and maternity wards compared with the Control group A (CGA) (April to October 2000), (p<0.001), (n = 540). The IG showed a higher frequency of breastfeeding sessions in the first 24 h compared with the mothers in the CGB (p<0.008) and a positive correlation between preparation for the parental role and duration of exclusive breastfeeding (p = 0.006).
Key words: Education, breastfeeding, support, mother, health professionals.
Nurgül Akdoğan and Gökhan N. Üzümcü, *Beyazit Özoğuz
Page: 517 - 523
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJNM/1083Research Article
African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 548-552, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An investigation of the effect of ionising radiation on nurses and their patients during dialysis
*Niamh Moore, Brendan Day-Lewis, Fitzgerald Oscar, Colin Jonathan and Sorcha Yeats
Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Republic of Ireland.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 17 August, 2015
Abstract
Humans are all exposed to many different forms of radiation - radio waves, microwaves, ultraviolet, X-rays, etc. The form of radiation involved in Nuclear Medicine is called ionising radiation. This poster will provide advice to haemodialysis staff that may have to carry out dialysis on patients who have received ionising radiation as part of a medical investigation. All patients who are referred to the Nuclear Medicine Department for imaging procedures are given an injection of a pharmaceutical preparation with a radioactive compound attached to it. The vast majority of the patients are studied using Technetium -99m as a radioactive tag but on occasions, compounds like Iodine -123 and Gallium- 67 are also used. The different radioactive materials have different physical decay rates. Following administration of the pharmaceutical agent, the patient is deemed “radioactive”. For this reason, unless it is clinically justified, haemodialysis should not be performed on patients in the 24 h period after a nuclear medicine injection. However, if haemodialysis is required, certain protocols must be carried out, because some risks are associated with the procedure. The main risks associated with these patients are external irradiation, internal contamination and fluid over load. Due to the short half-life of the radioactivity, these risks, in general, only warrant control in the 24 h period following the radioactive injection.
Key words: Haemodialysis patients, radioactivity.
*Niamh Moore, Colin Jonathan and Sorcha Yeats, Brendan Day-Lewis, Fitzgerald Oscar
Page: 548 - 552
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJNM/1088Research Article
African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 531-540, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of the attitudes of visitors to towards nurses and the need to raise their profiles to encourage more respect for the profession
*Berney Malema, Mosibudi H. Moseneke and Desmond Daniels
Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 29 August, 2015
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine and describe the perception that visitors to acute care units have, regarding the image of nurses and nursing and to make appropriate recommendations to raise the profile of nurses and to encourage more respect for the profession. The public’s image of nurses is tarnished by newspaper reports on poor patient care. A questionnaire was used to collect data from visitors of patients receiving acute care at two private hospitals in the Gauteng Province in South Africa. They were selected as a section of the public who were in contact with nurses and who were thus aware of what nurses do and the relationship between nurses and their patients, due to their family or friends being cared for by nurses. A convenience sample was used whereby the first 110 willing adults (18 years or older) who visited patients in two identified acute care units of two selected private hospitals in a specific week, during 16:00 and 20:00 h, were invited to participate in the study. The data was analyzed through descriptive statistics by means of a computerized statistical program and presented as frequency tables, pie diagrams, figures and percentages. The participants described a positive image of nurses and nursing. The results contradict the negative image of nurses as portrayed by the media. This could be due to the fact that, the media focuses only on newsworthy events in society, unfortunately in the majority of cases with a negative meaning. The results of the study, indicating a positive image of nurses and nursing by the public, could serve as a means to enhance the image of nurses by communicating it to the media. In the event of the media becoming aware of negative incidents, a cooperative agreement between the hospital and newspaper management should ensure that the true facts are being reflected in the reports.
Key words: Public’s perception of nursing, status of nurses, nursing profession.
Mosibudi H. Moseneke and Desmond Daniels, *Berney Malema
Page: 531 - 540
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJNM/1080Research Article
African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 524-530, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Papers
A study of health workers' ability to perform tasks and to determine whether training was received for these tasks either in school or on the job
*Lindsay Lin Davis, Robert E. Beane and Billy Avery
Faculty of Health Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 24 August, 2015
Abstract
Liberia suffers from high maternal, infant and child mortality. In response, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare prioritized a basic package of health services in 2007. Ensuring health workers are competent to deliver these services is crucial for safe and effective health care. A task analysis survey of health workers was conducted to determine how often recently graduated health workers perform tasks from the basic package of health services, and whether training was received for these tasks either in school or on the job. The findings informed updates to the curricula, core competencies and job descriptions of these cadres to help ensure a competency-based education linked to readiness for an entry-level position. Sample findings in key tasks, such as antenatal care and integrated management of childhood illnesses, highlight the need for examining where these competencies are included in the educational preparation of nurses and midwives. This paper will focus on nurse and midwife cadres and describe the: 1) Implementation of the study in Liberia, 2) Key findings and analysis of select clinical tasks, and 3) Recommendations for improving and integrating educational programs.
Key words: Competency-based education, core competencies, curricula, task analysis, nursing education, midwifery education.
Robert E. Beane and Billy Avery, *Lindsay Lin Davis
Page: 524 - 530
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJNM/1086Research Article
African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 501-507, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
An evaluation of the prevalence of non-staff visitor presence in acute inpatient care settings
*Shen T. Youlan, Zhang Minhong and Kong Z. Xilia
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Professions and Studies, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 10 August, 2015
Abstract
A descriptive study was conducted to understand the prevalence of non-staff visitor presence in acute inpatient care settings. This paper also summarizes recent studies on the issues related to promoting efficient and effective care transitions and the recent movement of embracing family and non-family visitor involvement in patient care. This descriptive study was conducted in three inpatient care units of a Michigan hospital in April, 2007. A trained research assistant counted the number of visitors for each patient on two weekdays and two weekend days at three predetermined time points for each day. Descriptive analyses were used to answer the question of: What is the prevalence of visitor presence in a specific hospital in the Midwest United States? About 36% of the patients had at least one visitor present during their hospital stays. Among adult medical patients, about 22% of them had at least one visitor present. Among pediatric patients, about 59% of them had at least one visitor present during the hospital stays. A culture of non-staff visitor involvement in bedside care exists in the US hospital environment when a child is hospitalized, but this is not necessarily the case when an adult is hospitalized.
Key words: Hospitals, safety, patients, family, professional-family relations, nursing care.
*Shen T. Youlan, Zhang Minhong and Kong Z. Xilia
Page: 501 - 507
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJNM/1079Research Article
African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 553-555, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Papers
A case-control study on the role of thrombophilia in fetal growth and intrauterine growth restriction
*Abdolali Atabaki, Alierza N. Vali and Mohsen Zeighami
Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 17 August, 2015
Abstract
Approximately 0.7 to 2% of the general population have thrombophilia, but it is estimated that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is due to thrombophilia in 35% of cases. Although the role of thrombophilia in IUGR is not completely known but its destructive effect on placental vasculature is the pathophysiologic cause of defect in transfer of oxygen for fetal growth. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of thrombophilia in fetal growth. This was a case-control study with prospective enrollment. In this study, sera from 43 pregnant women with IUGR and 20 pregnant women with appropriate fetal growth as control were tested for thrombophilia polymorphism (protein S, protein C, factor V leiden, antithrombin III, homocystein, lupus anticoagulant Ab, Anti caradiolipin Ab). Data collection forms and SPSS software were used for analyses. Of 43 women with IUGR, 13(30.2%) and 1(5%) in the control group had positive results for thrombophilia (P=0. 027, OR=8.23). By using logistic regression test, there was significant relation between thrombophilia polymorphism and growth of femur length. We found correlation between the presence of thrombophilia factor and femur length, but in previous studies thrombophilia was correlated with fetal growth restriction and specific fetal biometry does not mention whether fetal index is under the influence of thrombophilia.
Key words: Thrombophilia, pregnancy, intrauterine growth restriction
*Abdolali Atabaki, Alierza N. Vali and Mohsen Zeighami
Page: 553 - 555
https://doi.org/10.46882/AJNM/1085