Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Kate Sanders.
The Foundation of Nursing Studies together with Pfizer Ltd has set aside susbtantial funds to reinforce the role of nursing in health promotion for older people. This article describes the work of the four teams selected from across Enlgand to take part in the Developing Practice for Healthy Ageing Programme.
This paper reports on a qualitative study that was undertaken to evaluate a structured health needs assessment, the Family Health Assessment (FHA), from the perspective of parents with pre-school children. Nine mothers were involved in two focus group discussions. Some of the mothers reported that using the FHA with a health visitor had been a positive experience because it had enabled them to identify their health needs and access appropriate advice and support. Other mothers, however, did not find the FHA particularly useful as they did not feel that the FHA was relevant to them at the time and they were unclear about why they were being asked some of the questions. The key findings are outlined in relation to the current context of health visiting, which is supporting a family-centred public health role and the limited but contemporary literature exploring the use of structured approaches to health needs assessment. Recommendations for future research and developments are made.
BACKGROUND: The physical healthcare needs of patients in medium secure units (MSUs) are often overlooked. The authors of this article audited patients in one forensic MSU to establish the extent of the problem and patients' desire to lead a healthy lifestyle. CONCLUSION: Fifty six patients were questioned using semi-structured interviews. The number of patients who smoke was found to be disproportionately high (84 per cent) compared to the general UK population (27 per cent). The authors also found a correlation between length of stay on the unit and increase in body mass index. The authors describe measures taken to promote the physical wellbeing of patients in the unit.