THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING

VOLUME 36 ISSUE 4

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Workplace environment for nurses and healthcare assistants in residential aged care facilities in New Zealand

Continuous work under environmental and thermal discomfort such as cold, heat, and dim light has the potential to affect the health of nurses and healthcare assistants working in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF). The resulting health issues to workers from exposure to thermal discomfort include fatigue, concentration difficulty and work-related diseases such as cold and muscle tensions. Consequently, this often leads to higher labour absenteeism due to sick-leave which in turn correlates to poor nursing care quality for residents. This research investigated environmental factors which are temperature, humidity, noise, and lighting in nurse offices and resident lounges in RACFs in New Zealand and compared them with international standards.

KEY WORDS: Residential Aged Care Facility, environmental, noise, temperature, humidity, lighting

Joerg Kussmaul, MA, PhD candidate, RN, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Kathy Peri, PhD, RN, MHsc, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Michal Boyd, PhD, NP, MA, RN, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, New Zealand

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Evaluating the efficacy and impact of the Nursing and Midwifery Exchange Program: a study protocol

The following research protocol evaluates the Queensland Health Nursing and Midwifery Exchange Program (NMEP) and evaluates how exposure to diverse clinical settings, may impact the nursing and midwifery workforce on individual and organisational levels.

KEY WORDS: rural, remote, exchange, workforce, nurse, midwifery

Amy-Louise Byrne, RN, BN, GCEmNurs, GCCFH, Nursing Director Clinical Excellence, South West Hospital and Health Service
Roma, Queensland, Australia
Clare Harvey, RN, PhD, MA, BA (Cur), Associate Professor in Nursing, Central Queensland University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Adele Baldwin, RN, RM, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Nursing, Central Queensland University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Brody Heritage, PhD, BPsych(Hons), Lecturer in Organisational Psychology, Murdoch University, Western Australia, Australia
Diane Chamberlain, RN BN BSc MN MPH PhD, Associate Professor, Critical Care Nursing College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, South Australia, Australia
Elspeth Wood, RN MN, Associate lecturer,School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Science, Central Queensland University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

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Pressure injury point prevalence: state-wide survey to identify variability in Western Australian hospitals

A point prevalence survey was conducted across Western Australia to monitor adherence to national safety and quality health service standards, and to create baseline data on which to improve. The study identified significant areas for targeted interventions.

KEY WORDS: pressure injury, prevalence, risk factor, survey

Dr Chantal Ferguson, BMBS, BMedSci, BSc, MPH, FAFPHM, Senior Medical Advisor WA Department of Health, Perth, Western Australia
Kathryn Crouchley, Dip Nurs, PostGradDipHSc, MAE, WA Department of Health, Perth, Western Australia
Louise Mason, RN, BNurs, MNurs, WA Department of Health, Perth, Western Australia
Dr Jenny Prentice, PhD BN RN STN Dip Proj Management FAWMA, Trojan Health PTY LTD, Henley Brook, Western Australia
Dr Amanda Ling, MBBS, FRACGP, MBA, Grad Dip Biostats, Joondalup Health Campus, Joondalup, Western Australia


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Side effects of chemotherapy in children with cancer: effects of nursing training administered to caregivers

The present study aimed to assess the consequences of providing nursing training to caregivers of children with cancer on the side effects associated with chemotherapy.

KEY WORDS: caregiver, chemotherapy, child, education, nurse

Zeynep Uzun, RN, Msc, Department of Child Hematology Oncology, Ankara Child Health Diseases Hematology Oncology Education Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
Sibel Kucuk, Assistant Professor, PhD, RN, Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Department, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey


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Exploring life history methodology in chronic illness: a study in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

The aim of this study was to gain insights into the lived experience of a chronic disease, Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS). Selecting the most effective methodology to reflect the life span proved challenging. However, the life history approach proved to be a data-rich methodology for this study and is explored in detail in this paper as a qualitative nursing tool.

KEY WORDS: Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, chronic illness, lived experience, life history, ethnography

Therese Burke, RN, MSCN, PhD Candidate, School of Nursing, The University of Notre Dame, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
Joanna Patching, RN, BA(Psych), MLitt (Psych) PhD, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, The University of Notre Dame, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia


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