Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Moving On After Critical Incidents In Health Care. Second Victims: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of Nurses And Midwives, Melanie Buhlmann

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aims: The aims of this study were to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of nurses and midwives who have been involved in a critical incident in a non-critical care area and to explore how they have ‘moved-on’ from the event.

Background: It is irrefutable that health care is intrinsically risk-laden and perceived to be personally and professionally demanding for those who are employed within it. The term ‘second victim’ has been assigned to health care professionals who experienced emotional distress as a result of their involvement in critical incidents. Despite the recognition that critical incidents contribute to workrelated …

The Delivery Of Primary Health Care In Remote Australian Communities: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Perspective Of Nurses, Kylie Mccullough

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Around 85% of Australia’s landmass is remote and sparsely populated. Across these vast areas of desert, wilderness and tropical islands, nurses provide the majority of health care services. The residents of Australia’s remote communities have poorer health status than their metropolitan counterparts. The proportion of Indigenous people is high and health and social disadvantage is widespread. The characteristics of each remote community are unique and often reflect challenges associated with distance to tertiary health services and limited health resources. As a result, nursing practice within this context is very different to other nursing contexts. Despite recognition of Primary Health Care …

The Impact Of Nursing A Significant Other In The Course Of Employment, Tania Arnold

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis describes the experiences of nurses and midwives working in metropolitan hospitals who cared for a significant other in their role of employment.

The absence of research directly related to this topic guided the exploration of individuals’ experiences to establish base line knowledge relating to this phenomenon.

This study used descriptive research to provide information relating to the personal and professional effects on nurses who were required to, chose to or had no choice but to care for a significant other in their role of employment. An on-line survey gathered demographic, Likert scale responses to evaluate impact on care, …

Violence Towards Remote Area Nurses: A Delphi Study To Develop A Risk Management Approach, Kylie M. Mccullough

Theses : Honours

Incidents of occupational violence against nurses are unacceptably high. Remote Area
Nurses in Australia frequently encounter violence in the work place and have limited
resources to deal with the problem. Adopting a risk management approach, and
utilising the Delphi method, a panel of expert Remote Area Nurses (n=10) from
geographically diverse communities, identified and prioritised hazards that increase the
risk of violence and made suggestions for controlling those hazards.
Priority hazards included; building maintenance and design, attending call-outs away
from the clinic, staff inexperience and lack of knowledge about the community, as well
as intoxicated clients, communication difficulties and a …

Providing Education And Support For Rural Palliative Care Nurses In Western Australia: An Intervention Study, Ruth Mcconigley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Rural palliative care nurses (RPCNs) in Western Australia (WA) are a small population, who have embraced the specialist palliative care role since the first palliative care service in rural WA began in 1990. However, there are some challenges involved with being a specialist nurse in a generalist health care setting. fu particular, there is a suggestion in the literature that RPCNs may be professionally isolated, may be prone to burnout, and may therefore experience decreased job satisfaction and may consider leaving the palliative care field.

Covert Violence In Nursing, Susette Bakker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

There is no official avenue in nursing for the reporting of incidences of covert violence to staff and so they remain unrecorded and often stressful. This study sought to collect data from currently employed nurses concerning covert violence in their workplace, and to collate the information to obtain a valid assessment of this hidden problem. A qualitative methodology was used to report on the experiences of nurses in relation to covert violence directed at them by their peers, other health professionals, patients and patients' families. The participants were all registered nurses employed by a suburban health service. Each was given …

An Evaluation Of The Usefulness Of A Self-Appraisal & Goal Setting Instrument For Community Health Nurses, Helen K. Pannowitz

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This descriptive exploratory study evaluated the usefulness of an adapted self-appraisal and goal setting performance instrument. The instrument is developmental in its purpose and is currently used by community health nurses at the Armadale Kelmscott Health Service of the Health Department of Western Australia. The study was conducted in two parts; the first part used a questionnaire to examine the perceptions of a group of community health nurses who use the instrument. The second part of the study which used a structured survey sought to determine how well the instrument's self-appraisal behaviours approximate with the Standards of the Australian Council …

An Examination Of Selected Factors Associated With Nurses' Behaviour And Intentions Related To Patient Teaching, Ian R. Mullins

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Patient teaching is integral in the provision of an effective health care service. Registered nurses in all settings, have a professional responsibility to contribute towards their clients’ health promotion and maintenance by providing those clients with the health education they require. This study investigated the patient teaching intentions and behaviours of 181 registered nurses employed in acute medical and surgical settings at three metropolitan hospitals in Perth Western Australia. Within the framework of Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) theory of reasoned action, the study examined the relationships between registered nurses’ intentions to teach patients, their patient teaching behaviours and selected factors …

Attitudes Of Nurses To Palliative Care In Nursing Homes In The Perth Metropolitan Region, Lynne Cohen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Zanna and Rempel (1988) have proposed that attitudes are a summary evaluation of an attitude object based on three classes of information, namely: cognitive information, affective information and behavioural information. This model has mainly been tested in the social groups and social policies area investigating two classes of information: cognitive and affective, and therefore there is a need for research to test the validity of this model in other areas. The present study applies the model to the area of palliative care in nursing homes. 76 directors of nursing, 76 clinical nurse specialists, and 76 nursing assistants working in nursing …

Does An Individualized Back Education Programme Change Nurses' Knowledge And Practice About Back Injury Prevention, Diane K. Riley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Back injury has predominantly been a problem which has affected a large cross-section of nursing staff involved with direct patient care. While back injury prevention has been instituted in hospitals for sometime, the percentage of nurses with back injury remains high. Within a major teaching hospital, a ward in which nurses suffered a high rate of back injuries was identified. Through an action research approach the researcher (who worked in the same area as the participants) developed and implemented an individualized back injury prevention programme. The 4 criteria by which the study was measured included, a reduction of back injuries, …

An Evaluation Of A Workshop On Pain Assessment And Management For Nurses, Beverley Bradshaw

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to assess nurses’ knowledge of pain assessment and management, examine what change occurred immediately following a pain assessment and management workshop and examine whether any changes were retained one month later. Chin and Benne’s theory of change provided the theoretical framework for this study. Their approach to planned change involves assessing the existing structure, formulating and implementing a plan to change that structure, then evaluating the change. The following hypothesis was formulated for investigation: That nurses’ knowledge of pain assessment and management would increase after a workshop on the subject and be retained over …

Nurses' Attitudes To The Nursing Process, Glenda M. Prideaux

Theses : Honours

The nursing process was 'introduced in Australia in the mid 1970s, as a teaching tool, however, with the advent of tertiary based education in the late 1970s, it was used as a problem solving approach to the practice of nursing. Acceptance of the nursing process has required changes' in attitudes and practice. The objectives of the study were firstly, to describe nurses' attitudes to the nursing process, and. secondly, to relate these attitudes to education and experience. The purpose of this study was to describe nurses' attitudes to the nursing process because they are reported to influence the standards or …

Base-Line Equivalence In Three Paired Groups Prior To The Implementation Of Primary Nursing, Julien Harris

Theses : Honours

Primary nursing, one of the methods advocated for assigning nurses to care for patients, has been the subject of much investigation. The value of the system remains unclear. A review of the literature indicated a lack of consensus with positive, equivocal, and negative findings. This study formed phase one of a collaborative Project which measures the effects of the implementation of primary nursing over a two year period. This portion of the Project studies the base-line data of three paired nursing units, to determine whether there was evidence of base-line equivalence of the study and control groups, as determined by …

Clinically Practising Nurses' Perceptions Of Professionalism, Diane E. Twigg

Theses : Honours

This study describes clinically practising nurses’ perceptions of professionalism and compares these with reports of nurses’ perceptions of professionalism in the published literature. A phenomenological approach was chosen to identify and interpret the phenomena (professionalism). Ten Registered Nurses representing a range of clinical nursing positions were interviewed on the subject. Data were analysed using an interpretive methodology which identified themes and meanings. Credibility of results was established through participant validation of the identified themes and meanings and by researcher and data triangulation. The study identified six themes common to all participants’ descriptions: expertise based upon a sound education, continued learning, …

The Effect Of Shift Length On The Number Of Needlestick Injuries In An Acute Private Hospital, J. Mcmahon

Theses : Honours

Needlestick injuries present a hazard to both nurse and patient in that they may be the source of transmission of Hepatitis B and the human immunodeficiency virus. It is therefore important to study the factors which either precipitate or prevent needlestick injury. This study examined the effect of shift length on the number of needlestick injuries. Variables which were tested included length of shift, location of work, time of shift, and time within shift. A descriptive survey was used to demonstrate a relationship between any of these variables and the occurrence of needlestick injuries. The study included two data sources: …

Personal And Professional Practices Of Breast Self-Examination In Nurses, Julia Agars

Theses : Honours

Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in females in Western Australia (W.A.). Despite technological advances the death rate from breast cancer is not decreasing. With the hope of reducing the mortality rates, preventative measures are being encouraged for the early detection of breast cancer. The Cancer Foundation of W.A. promote the performance of Breast Self Examination (BSE) on a monthly basis. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of BSE practice amongst nurses and the incidence of nurses teaching BSE to patients. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is used as a theoretical framework. This model …

Occupational And Life Stress In Nursing: Is There A Relationship?, Christopher Billam

Theses : Honours

A population of two hundred and twenty nurses involved in direct patient care in a regional hospital were surveyed to assess if a relationship exists between occupational and life stress. A cross sectional survey design was used. The questionnaire contained four distinct categories: demographic information, Nurses' Stress Scale, a Life Events Inventory and a social support scale. A return rate of 49.5% was obtained, and several completed questionnaires were rejected, leaving the data from 1.04 questionnaires to be analysed. The nurses in this population reported low scores tor both occupational and life stress. However, the instrument used to calculate the …

The Effect Of An In-Service Lecture On Diabetes On Nurses' Attitudes To Diabetes Patient Education, Jennifer A. Walters

Theses : Honours

Patient education has been shown to be a major factor in improving the compliance and self-care skills of diabetic patients, thereby improving the quality of life for the patient. Nurses have an important role in diabetes patient education. Research has indicated, however, that barriers such as lack of knowledge and negative attitudes may prevent nurses from effectively delivering this care to their patients. The purpose of this experimental study was to determine whether increasing the knowledge of registered nurses through an in-service lecture on diabetes would improve their attitudes towards diabetes education. The conceptual framework for the study proposed that …