Towards a greater understanding of the psychosocial impact of the symptoms of pituitary conditions

Some 1062 individuals (53% response rate) responded to the survey (683 female, 366 male, 13 undeclared), with most residing in England (861; 93%). Of these responses, 567 were in pen-and-paper format...

Role of the community nurse in Parkinson's disease and lower urinary disorders

Parkinson's disease is caused by a loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNpc), which is part of the basal ganglia. Dopamine plays a vital role in regulating...

Falls prevention in the community: does deprescribing FRIDs work?

Lee et al (2021) used well-known databases, and inclusion criteria included RCTs of FRID withdrawal compared with usual care evaluating the rate of falls, incidence of falls, fall-related injuries,...

What's in a name?

Bearing witness to the challenges of breathlessness

The role of the CRNS is to maintain support for patients with respiratory disease, usually COPD and interstitial lung disease (ILD). Their support helps individuals to self-manage their disease and,...

The challenge of infection control in patients' homes

Effective hand hygiene remains one of the cornerstones of good infection control. Since its conception in 1979, the, originally six-, now seven-stage, handwashing technique (World Health Organization...

End-of-life care: perspective of a relative rather than a professional

The call came at midnight on Good Friday 2020: my relative, anonymised to Jim, experienced a sudden acute event and called 999 and then me, as the family nurse. I arrived to find an ambulance crew...

Psychological factors and intermittent self-catheterisation

Overall, there is an array of considerations when treating a patient who is using or is being considered for ISC. It is, of course, important that their cognition and insight are considered so that a...

Challenges and complexities of discharge planning from a district nursing perspective

The Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) (2013) reported that previous acute care only delivered in the hospital is now being offered by DNs. In concordance with this, NHS England (2015) acknowledged the...

Touch: knowledge and considerations for nursing practice

There is evidence that social touch between people can reduce stress and have a calming effect in adults, with a reduction of psychobiological stress responses due to neuro-physiological and endocrine...