Skin alterations of intact skin and risk factors associated with pressure ulcer development in surgical patients: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The pathology literature suggests three types of pressure ulcer with six possible mechanisms leading to tissue breakdown. A limitation of current evidence is the difficulty in replicating the clinical situation and in determining the point at which a tissue assault becomes irreversible and results in tissue breakdown. In particular clinical observations of alteration in darkly pigmented skin, blanching erythema, non-blanching erythema and non-blanching erythema with other skin changes including induration, oedema, pain, warmth or discolouration have not been assessed in relation to subsequent skin/tissue loss and their pathophysiological and aetiological importance is not fully understood. OBJECTIVES: To assess the validity of clinical signs of erythema as predictors of pressure ulcer development and identify variables which independently are predictive of Grade 2 pressure ulcer development. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: 109 general, vascular and orthopaedic hospital patients, aged over 55 years with an expected length of stay of 5 days were recruited. Of these 97 were pressure ulcer free at baseline and/or had complete follow-up including 59 women and 38 men with a median age of 75 years (range 55-95). SETTING: Single centre large acute UK NHS hospital. METHODS: To identify clinical signs of erythema predictive of skin loss, the odds of pressure ulcer development were examined using logistic regression. To identify variables independently predictive of Grade 2 pressure ulcer development logistic regression modeling was undertaken. RESULTS: There was significantly increased odds of pressure ulcer development associated with non-blanching erythema (7.98, p=0.002) and non-blanching erythema with other skin changes (9.17, p=0.035). Logistic regression modeling identified non-blanching erythema, pre-operative albumin, weight loss, and intra-operative minimum diastolic blood pressure, as independent predictors of Grade > or =2 pressure ulcer development. CONCLUSIONS: Non-blanching erythema with or without other skin changes is distinct from normal skin/blanching erythema and is associated with subsequent pressure ulcer development.

Explaining variation in GP referral rates for x-rays for back pain.

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of clinical guidelines for the management of low back pain (LBP), there continues to be wide variation in general practitioners' (GPs') referral rates for lumbar spine x-ray (LSX). This study aims to explain variation in GPs' referral rates for LSX from their accounts of the management of patients with low back pain. METHODS: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 29 GPs with high and low referral rates for LSX in North East England. Thematic analysis used constant comparative techniques. RESULTS: Common and divergent themes were identified among high- and low-users of LSX. Themes that were similar in both groups included an awareness of current guidelines for the use of LSX for patients with LBP and the pressure from patients and institutional factors to order a LSX. Differentiating themes for the high-user group included: a belief that LSX provides reassurance to patients that can outweigh risks, pessimism about the management options for LBP, and a belief that denying LSX would adversely affect doctor-patient relationships. Two specific differentiating themes are considered in more depth: GPs' awareness of their use of lumbar spine radiology relative to others, and the perceived risks associated with LSX radiation. CONCLUSION: Several key factors differentiate the accounts of GPs who have high and low rates of referral for LSX, even though they are aware of clinical guideline recommendations. Intervention studies that aim to increase adherence to guideline recommendations on the use of LSX by changing the ordering behaviour of practitioners in primary care should focus on these factors.

Pathology, diagnosis, and classification of pressure ulcers: comparing clinical and imaging techniques.

Pressure ulcer classification systems are based on the clinical manifestations of the skin and tissue layer affected rather than underlying pathology. The objective of this study was to compare the validity of the clinical grading of erythema (blanching and nonblanching) with a measurement of skin perfusion. Therefore, an exploratory study comparing erythema with laser Doppler imaging of the sacrum and buttock skin areas was undertaken. Acute and major elective general, vascular, and orthopedic surgical in-patients, aged 55 years or over with an expected length of hospital stay of 5 or more days were recruited. Fifty laser Doppler images from 37 patients were obtained and included in a discriminant analysis. Discriminant analysis suggested that blanching and nonblanching erythema were physiologically distinct from "normal" skin; clinically, these could be assessed with reasonable accuracy. Imaging also determined that high blood flow of differing intensity characterized blanching and nonblanching erythema. There was no evidence of the "no flow" phenomenon.

Promoting brief alcohol intervention by nurses in primary care: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

This trial evaluated the clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of strategies promoting screening and brief alcohol intervention (SBI) by nurses in primary care. Randomisation was at the level of the practice and the interventions were: written guidelines (controls, n=76); outreach training (n=68); and training plus telephone-based support (n=68). After 3 months, just 39% of controls implemented the SBI programme compared to 74% of nurses in trained practices and 71% in trained and supported practices. Controls also screened fewer patients and delivered fewer brief interventions to risk drinkers than other colleagues. However, there was a trade-off between the extent and the appropriateness of brief intervention delivery with controls displaying the least errors in overall patient management. Thus cost-effectiveness ratios (cost per patient appropriately treated) were similar between the three strategies. Given the potential for anxiety due to misdirected advice about alcohol-related risk, the balance of evidence favoured the use of written guidelines to promote SBI by nurses in primary care.

Staffing in acute hospital wards: part 1. The relationship between number of nurses and ward organizational environment.

This paper is one of two that explores relationships between nursing staff resources, ward organizational practice and nurses' perceptions of ward environments. Here we examine relationships between staff numbers, care organization and nursing practice. A subsequent paper examines the effects of grade mix and staff stability. The data were collected in the mid-1990s from a nationally representative sample of 100 acute hospital wards and 825 nurses. Our analyses provide important insights for managers seeking to achieve the strategic aims set out in Working Together, and subsequent National Health Service (NHS) policy placing emphasis on making the best use of nurses, focussing on mobilising their knowledge, skills and talents within the context of extended work roles. Findings show that number of nurses is associated not only with ward organizational systems but also with a range of care processes and staff outcomes which hitherto have been linked only to ward organizational systems. The latter have been identified as providing different opportunities for developing multidisciplinary working and nurses' autonomy but the central importance of having an adequate number of staff to achieve these aims has been largely overlooked in research. Having fewer nurses was associated with both hierarchical ward organizational structures and hierarchical attitudes to care provision, denoting lower standards of nursing practice. A larger nursing complement was significantly associated with devolved organizational structures but no link was established between more staff and higher standards of nursing practice. When there were more staff there was a positive association with nurses' perceptions of multidisciplinary collaboration, their ability to cope with workload and job satisfaction. Employing an adequate number of nurses to provide care is clearly beneficial for nurses themselves. Patients are also likely to benefit from a lower incidence of 'hierarchical practice' associated with having a low nurse/bed ratio within a ward.

Organization of nursing care as a determinant of job satisfaction among hospital nurses.

This study examined the relationship between methods of organizing nursing and employee satisfaction. Data were collected from 26 ward sisters and 568 nurses working in 26 bed wards with different stabilized nursing models. Methods of organizing nursing, such as primary, modular, team and functional nursing, were associated with job satisfaction. However, this association involved only certain features of these organizational models and specific components of satisfaction. After the effects of demographic and ward characteristics were partialed out, hierarchical regression analyses showed that patient-focused work allocation, opportunity to write nursing notes and accountability for patient care contributed to nurses' satisfaction with supervision and personal growth. The relationships of duty rota and liaison with other discipline to job satisfaction were weaker or non-existing.

Staffing in acute hospital wards: part 2. Relationships between grade mix, staff stability and features of ward organizational environment.

This paper explores relationships between grade mix, staff stability, care organization and nursing practice. The data were collected in the mid-1990s from a nationally representative sample of 100 acute hospital wards and 825 nurses. Analyses provides important insights for managers seeking to achieve the strategic aims set out in consecutive National Health Service (NHS) human resource management policies. Hypotheses about ward clinical grade mix were not well supported. Where there was rich grade mix, nurses reported better collaborative working with other disciplines and greater influence. However, it was expected that wards practising 'devolved' nursing would have a richer grade mix and that the latter would lead to more innovative practice and nurses experiencing greater job satisfaction. No evidence to support any of these hypotheses was found although the opposite scenario - a link between poor grade mix, unprogressive practice and perceived lower standards of care - was supported. Wards practising the 'devolved' system rely on adequate numbers of nurses rather than a rich grade mix, and do not necessarily provide a more stable, retentive work environment for nurses. By contrast, findings about staff stability were largely as expected. A strong link between staff stability and standards of professional nursing practice was found, indicating that staff stability is more important than a rich grade mix for achieving innovative, research-based practice. However, staff instability undermined cohesion with nurse colleagues, collaborative working with doctors, and nurses' ability to cope with the workload. Overall, both the papers demonstrate that staffing resources and prevailing ethos of care are more important predictors of care processes and job satisfaction than organizational systems. They identify the detrimental effects on nurses and their work of having few staff and a weak grade mix, and the importance of staff stability. Higher standards of nursing practice are achieved where stability is high, independently of staffing characteristics.

The relationship of perceived control to outcomes in older women undergoing surgery for fractured neck of femur.

This paper examines the relationship between internal locus of control and recovery from surgery for fractured neck of femur in women over the age of 65 years, in order to inform strategies for nursing care. Structured interviews were carried out at 5 and 30 days postsurgery with 112 women (mean age 78.6 years) in five general hospitals in the North of England. Locus of control was assessed as a factor associated with the outcomes of physical disability (measured as dependence in activities of daily living) and psychological distress (measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Internal locus of control was significantly related to less physical disability, but no association was found between locus of control and depression and anxiety at 30 days postsurgery when age, 5-day measures and other 30-day outcome measures were controlled. The findings suggest that nursing interventions that enhance perceived internal control by patients during rehabilitation may result in better physical outcomes. Further work is required to explore the relationship of control to psychological outcomes.

A qualitative study of nurses' attitudes and practices regarding brief alcohol intervention in primary health care.

BACKGROUND: Excessive alcohol consumption causes significant mortality, morbidity, economic and social problems in the United Kingdom (UK). Despite strong evidence for the effectiveness of brief intervention to reduce excessive drinking in primary health care, there is little indication that such intervention routinely occurs. AIMS: This study aimed to explore primary health care nurses' attitudes and practices regarding brief alcohol intervention in order to understand why it is underexploited. METHODS: The study design was qualitative, using a grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 nurses from practices that had previously been involved in a General Practitioner (GP) led brief alcohol intervention trial in the North-east of England. A combination of convenience and purposive sampling was used to recruit subjects and gain a broad range of perspectives on issues emerging from ongoing data-analysis until data saturation occurred. RESULTS: It was clear that although primary health care nurses have many opportunities to engage in alcohol intervention, most have received little or no preparation for this work. This has left nurses at a disadvantage as alcohol consumption is a confusing and emotive area for both health professionals and patients. An analysis of factors influencing nurse involvement in alcohol intervention outlined a requirement for clear health messages about alcohol, training in intervention skills, facilitation to enhance confidence regarding intervention and support to help deal with negative patient reactions. CONCLUSIONS: As current health policy is to encourage, sustain and extend the health promotion and public health role of primary care nurses, more attention should be given to providing them with better preparation and support to carry out such work.

Patient-held records in cancer and palliative care: a randomized, prospective trialt.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate prospectively the introduction of a patient-held record (PHR) in the management of patients with advanced cancer and palliative care needs. DESIGN: a) A prospective, parallel group, randomized controlled trial. b) A postal survey of the opinions of health professionals whose patients had a PHR. SETTING: Out-patient oncology centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh, hospice home-care services across the central belt in Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 244 patients with advanced cancer recruited either from oncology outpatient clinics or hospice home-care services. The baseline interview was completed by 231 patients and 117 were randomized to receive the PHR. Between 4 and 6 months later, 80 patients with the PHR and 97 without were interviewed. Of the 83 health professionals caring for patients known to have received the PHR 63 replied to a postal questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjective views of patient satisfaction with communication and perception of communication between patient and health care professionals as determined by structured interview at baseline and after 4-6 months. RESULTS: We could identify no improvement in the provision of information to patients, or patients' satisfaction with information provided by outpatient doctors, GPs, practice and community nurses and hospice or palliative home care staff. Overall, patients' perception of communication between all staff involved in their care with and without PHRs was excellent in 24% and 21 %, respectively, or very good in 56% and 58% (P=0.89). The PHR made no difference to information passing between health professionals, or to the degree of family involvement. Most of those who had a record found it of some use and benefit. CONCLUSION: This study provides no evidence on which to base the widespread promotion of PHRs, although local projects with committed clinicians and patients may well prove popular and effective.