Older adults' views on their person-centred care needs in a long-term care setting in Ireland.

BACKGROUND: person-centred care should be responsive to the needs of older adults in long-term care. It is central to collaborative and high-quality healthcare delivery. AIM: to explore the perceptions of older Irish adults aged 65 years of age or more regarding the person-centred climate of the long-term care setting in which they live. METHOD: a cross-sectional study design using the Person-centered Climate Questionnaire-Patient (PCQ-P) was used to survey 56 older adults in a long-term care setting. RESULTS: overall, residents considered the setting to be hospitable, welcoming, clean and safe; the mean (SD) scale score was 5.39 (0.520). Psychosocial concerns about adapting to living in long-term care environments need to be addressed, particularly among the younger male residents when compared with older male residents (53.8% v 86.7%, P=0.018). CONCLUSION: older people in long-term care may prioritise different facets of person-centredness to staff. Further research of approaches used in Irish older adult long-term person-centred care delivery is warranted.

Treating our youngest patients: psychotropic medications in early childhood.

Over the past several decades there have been multiple studies indicating that infants, toddlers and preschoolers who develop emotional and behavioral problems may not simply outgrow their problems. Early intervention is ideal, and may help to maximize long-term functioning. When other interventions fail or do not fully address the symptoms, psychotropic medications can be very helpful, even in the preschool years. With limited scientific research in this population, the use of psychotropic medications in very young children can be challenging. The judicious use of these agents in this population will be discussed, including weighing the risks and benefits of prescribing to these most vulnerable patients.

Screening Hofmann compounds as CO2 sorbents: nontraditional synthetic route to over 40 different pore-functionalized and flexible pillared cyanonickelates.

A simple reaction scheme based on the heterogeneous intercalation of pillaring ligands (HIPLs) provides a convenient method for systematically tuning pore size, pore functionality, and network flexibility in an extended series of pillared cyanonickelates (PICNICs), commonly referred to as Hofmann compounds. The versatility of the approach is demonstrated through the preparation of over 40 different PICNICs containing pillar ligands ranging from ∼4 to ∼15 Šin length and modified with a wide range of functional groups, including fluoro, aldehyde, alkylamine, alkyl, aryl, trifluoromethyl, ester, nitro, ether, and nonmetalated 4,4'-bipyrimidine. The HIPL method involves reaction of a suspension of preformed polymeric sheets of powdered anhydrous nickel cyanide with an appropriate pillar ligand in refluxing organic solvent, resulting in the conversion of the planar [Ni2(CN)4]n networks into polycrystalline three-dimensional porous frameworks containing the organic pillar ligand. Preliminary investigations indicate that the HIPL reaction is also amenable to forming Co(L)Ni(CN)4, Fe(L)Ni(CN)4, and Fe(L)Pd(CN)4 networks. The materials show variable adsorption behavior for CO2 depending on the pillar length and pillar functionalization. Several compounds show structurally flexible behavior during the adsorption and desorption of CO2. Interestingly, the newly discovered flexible compounds include two flexible Fe(L)Ni(CN)4 derivatives that are structurally related to previously reported porous spin-crossover compounds. The preparations of 20 pillar ligands based on ring-functionalized 4,4'-dipyridyls, 1,4-bis(4-pyridyl)benzenes, and N-(4-pyridyl)isonicotinamides are also described.

Undergraduate nursing students' acquisition and retention of CPR knowledge and skills.

The ability to respond quickly and effectively to a cardiac arrest situation rests on nurses being competent in the emergency life-saving procedure of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which Irish nursing students acquire and retain CPR cognitive knowledge and psychomotor skills following CPR training. A quasi-experimental time series design was used. A pre-test, CPR training programme, post-test, and re-test were conducted. CPR knowledge was assessed by a multiple-choice assessment and psychomotor skills were assessed by observing CPR performance on a Resusci-Anne skill-meter manikin. The findings showed an acquisition in nurses' CPR knowledge and psychomotor performance following a 4h CPR training programme. Despite this, at no point in this study, did any nurse pass the CPR skills assessment. A deterioration in both CPR knowledge and skills was found 10 weeks following CPR training. However, students' knowledge and skills were improved over their pre-training scores, which clearly indicated a positive retention in CPR cognitive knowledge and psychomotor skills. The study findings present strong evidence to support the critical role of CPR training in ensuring that nursing students progress to competent and confident responders in the event of a cardiac related emergency.