The scourge of backache

‘There is a consistent gradient of higher rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders reported by both men and women aged 45 years and over compared to those aged 16-34 years. Higher rates of...

Nurses’ role in smoking cessation interventions

For those people who would like to stop smoking, nurses can play a key role, with nurse prescribers helping deliver life-changing treatment.

Understanding the dying person's perspective

To understand the patient's perspective, it is important to look at their meaning of life, which is better understood as a construct, flexible enough to vary with each person, tribe, culture,...

Cost effectiveness of fall prevention programmes for older adults

This commentary aims to critically appraise the methods used within the review by Winser et al (2020) and expand upon the findings in the context of clinical practice..

Faecal incontinence management in dementia patients

Faecal incontinence involves the involuntary and frequent loss of stool, making it a distressing condition that has a significantly negative effect on the quality of life of the person affected (Ahmad...

Uncertainty in multimorbidity: a shared experience we should recognise, acknowledge and communicate

The prevalence of illness increases as people get older, such that over 50% of those over 65 years have multiple chronic conditions or ‘multimorbidity’ (Barnett et al, 2012). Multimorbidity impacts on...

A district nurse's reflection on pre-registration nursing education: a troubling position

When new to the lecturing role, the author was perturbed by feelings of imposter syndrome at the thought of teaching hospital-based care. Referring back to their initial training, they felt unsure as...

District nursing using neighbourhood care principles in practice: reflecting on our experience

The Buurtzorg organisation uses a two-pronged approach to improve patient and staff experience. The first principle is a patient-centred model of care, described as the onion model with the patient at...

A different way of life: a qualitative study on the experiences of family caregivers of stroke survivors living at home

A qualitative approach was adopted to allow the exploration of participants’ behaviour, feelings and experiences of important issues or phenomena (Holloway and Galvin, 2017)..

Failing hearts deserve attention

‘Most respondents (87%) in a recent survey did not know the symptoms of heart failure before they were diagnosed and 53% had not heard of the condition until they were diagnosed’. .

Wound care: meeting current and future challenges

The Queen dies: lessons beyond palliative care

Whether expected or not, death often provokes grief in those left behind. Grief is a normal reaction to a painful loss; in this case, it is the family of the Queen who will inevitably experience it...