Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “IRELAND”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

In-hospital mortality from abdominal aortic surgery in Great Britain and Ireland: Vascular Anaesthesia Society audit.

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate associated with elective aortic aneurysm repair is widely assumed to be in the region of 5 per cent. This figure does not take into consideration the effect of pre-existing risk factors. The Vascular Anaesthesia Society of Great Britain and Ireland conducted a large audit to estimate the in-hospital mortality rate associated with non-emergency infrarenal aortic surgery throughout the British Isles, and to determine the influence of risk factors on mortality rate. METHODS: This was a multicentre, prospective audit of 177 hospitals throughout the UK and Ireland. Data were collected by questionnaire to include all patients undergoing elective or urgent surgery for infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm or aortoiliac occlusive disease over 4 months. RESULTS: Nine hundred and thirty-three patients were recruited into the audit. The overall mortality rate was 7.3 per cent. Factors increasing the risk of death by up to fivefold included age over 74 years, urgent surgery, operation for occlusive disease, limited exercise capacity, a history of severe angina or cardiac failure, the presence of ventricular ectopics and abnormalities suggesting ischaemic heart disease on electrocardiography. CONCLUSION: Although the in-hospital mortality rate was similar to previously published figures, the rate increased considerably when commonly encountered risk factors were present.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Community access to health information in Ireland.

This paper is based on a research project conducted on consumer health information (CHI) in the Republic of Ireland, the results of which were published in a report entitled Well Read: Developing Consumer Health Information in Ireland. The paper describes the research methodology and the Irish experience in relation to CHI followed by a discussion of access problems, illustrated with examples from the special needs and primary care sectors. The role of information providers in relation to primary healthcare and libraries is examined briefly, and finally the main research conclusions and recommendations are highlighted.

Benchmarking↗
PubMed2000

Research utilization and attitudes towards research among learning disability nurses in Northern Ireland.

Research utilization and attitudes towards research among learning disability nurses in Northern Ireland The current emphasis on evidence-based practice has focused attention once again on the research activities of health professionals in general and their research utilization in particular. While there has been a limited number of studies on research utilization in the United Kingdom, these have tended to concentrate on general nurses and midwives. Little is known about the research activities, research utilization and the attitudes to research of learning disability nurses. This paper reports on data from a survey of a convenience sample of 87 nurses from three learning disability hospitals in Northern Ireland. The results show that while these nurses generally held positive attitudes to research, a substantial minority (18.3%) believed that 'research is not relevant to the day to day work in nursing'. Only a quarter of the sample reported using research 'frequently/all the time' in their practice. The extent of research utilization among these disability nurses must be considerably improved if evidence-based practice is to become a reality in their field of nursing.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

Occurrence and molecular genotyping of Cryptosporidium spp. in surface waters in Northern Ireland.

AIMS: To investigate the incidence and genotype of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in drinking water sources in Northern Ireland for the period 1996-1999, and to compare conventional and molecular methods of detection. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four hundred and seventy-four waters were investigated by conventional methods, namely immuno-fluorescent antibody detection (IFA; 380) and immuno-magnetic separation-IFA (IMS-IFA; 94), of which 14/474 (3%) were positive. Two hundred and fourteen samples (214/474) were also investigated by PCR techniques, targeting both the 18S rRNA and TRAP-C2 genes, of which 11/214 (5.1%) were positive. These 11 samples were classified as genotype II following sequence analysis of the TRAP-C2 amplicon. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the low incidence of oocysts of C. parvum in water sources in Northern Ireland. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Such molecular-based techniques offer a number of advantages over conventional detection methodologies, namely greater sensitivity and specificity as well as the ability to provide accurate genotyping data rapidly, which may be valuable in directing operational management in potential outbreak situations.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Health and social care futures in Ireland: the need for cross-boundary work.

Fundamental changes are taking place in health and social care. The drivers for these changes include new discoveries, new treatments and globalization and the need to examine and consider cross-boundary work. This paper will outline some of the issues generated from a research project that aimed to provide an all-Ireland perspective on health and social care futures and to examine the implications of these trends both for nursing specifically and health and social care generally. Cross-boundary working is important in relation to health and social care futures. This incorporates cross-boundary working to include interprofessional, intraprofessional and interagency but also cross-border working with the Republic of Ireland. There is a great potential for cross-boundary work in nursing as we look towards the future. Nonetheless, it needs to be acknowledged that working across sectors, departments and even borders is not easy and barriers do exist. Some of the implications for nursing include the need to re-examine nursing roles and span the boundaries of our profession with the increasing development of nurse-led services. In addition nurses need to develop ways of "working together" strategically with others to achieve the public health agenda.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

An exploration of community psychiatric nursing: a Northern Ireland perspective.

The Audit Commission's (1994) report Finding a Place states that mental health problems are a major cause of disruption and difficulty in people's lives and that in any one year more than a quarter of all people suffer to some degree. The report asserts that the majority visit their general practitioner (GP) and less than half of the people concerned are recognized as having a mental health problem. Many recover over a period of weeks or months and are best served by community services. Only those with the most serious conditions need specialized care or admission to hospital. On a local level in Northern Ireland, the policy of reducing the number of long-stay patients began in the 1960s with a call for people with mental illness to be integrated into the community. This has had major implications for community mental health services and for community psychiatric nursing. The aim of this study into one community psychiatric nursing service (CPNS) in Northern Ireland is to inform managers and professionals about the nature and shape of this service and to facilitate wider discussion on how to plan and deliver it in the future.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed2000

The ixodid tick species attaching to domestic dogs and cats in Great Britain and Ireland.

The species of ixodid ticks, attached to dogs and cats presented to veterinary practices in Great Britain and Ireland were identified. Most host animals carried only one tick species with Ixodes ricinus Linné (Acari: Ixodidae) being the most common, identified on 52% of animals, Ixodes hexagonus Leach (Acari: Ixodidae) the second most common (on 39%) and Ixodes canisuga Johnston (Acari: Ixodidae) the third most common (on 11%). A significantly higher proportion of dogs than cats carried I. ricinus, while I. hexagonus was more frequently carried by cats. One animal carried a single specimen of Haemaphysalis punctata Canestrini & Fanzago (Acari: Ixodidae), one carried a Dermacentor reticulatus Fabricius (Acari: Ixodidae) but none carried Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille (Acari: Ixodidae). This indicates that the latter two species, vectors of 'exotic' tick-borne diseases, remain at low densities in Great Britain and Ireland. Retrospective information on exposure of the animals to different habitats and geographic regions was collected by questionnaire and subject to contingency table and logistic regression analysis. Woodlands and moorlands were habitats significantly associated with I. ricinus attachment. Exposure to urban parks was significantly associated with I. hexagonus attachment and exposure to boarding kennels and catteries was significantly associated with I. canisuga attachment. Ixodes hexagonus, rather than I. ricinus, was the ixodid tick species most likely to be encountered by urban populations of dogs and cats and, by inference, possibly also humans. The implications of these findings, for the transmission of tick-borne pathogens to dogs, cats and humans are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Species relationships and population structure of Littorina saxatilis Olivi and L. tenebrosa Montagu in Ireland using single-strand conformational polymorphisms (SSCPs) of cytochrome b fragments.

Littorina saxatilis is a ubiquitous snail of intertidal habitats in the North Atlantic. Shell type in littorinids is extremely polymorphic and defined by habitat. Taxonomy based upon shell type has been revised in the light of anatomic and genetic information, but uncertainties remain. In this study, the population structure of L. saxatilis and L. tenebrosa was studied at 11 sites in Ireland using single-strand conformational polymorphisms of a 375-bp portion of the cytochrome b gene, and the status of L. tenebrosa, the small, fragile-shelled, brackish water type, was considered. The genetic patterns among L. saxatilis and L. tenebrosa populations were examined over varying distances and L. tenebrosa was compared with adjacent L. saxatilis populations at four sites on the west coast of Ireland and one site on the east coast. Haplotype diversity was high with 32 haplotypes present among 995 individuals. Pairwise tests suggest gene flow over small scales among and between habitat types and may reflect the stochastic legacy of postglacial recolonization over larger scales. In AMOVA tests, geography explained nearly twice as much of the variance (30%) as habitat type (18%), indicating that gene flow is more restricted by distance than by habitat type, and supporting the status of L. tenebrosa as an ecotype of L. saxatilis rather than a separate species.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2001

Cerebral palsy in Northern Ireland: 1981--93.

This paper describes the method of compilation of the Northern Ireland Cerebral Palsy Register (NICPR) and outlines the epidemiology of cerebral palsy (CP) in Northern Ireland in 1981--93 based on an analysis of 784 cases. Multiple and overlapping sources of notification were used to compile the NICPR. Each case was followed up with a standardised assessment completed at age 5 years and validated by a paediatrician. Over 70% of cases were multiply notified, and paediatricians were the most important source of notification. Cases of CP most likely to be under-ascertained included those very mildly affected, cases who died before the register began (death certificates were searched but found to be unreliable) and cases who moved out of the area before their diagnosis was confirmed. The prevalence of CP for the birth period 1981--93 was 2.24 per 1000 livebirths [95% CI 2.08, 2.40]. There were no statistically significant temporal or geographic variations in the rate of CP. Almost half the cases of CP were of low birthweight (<2500 g), and this proportion increased during 1987--89, but decreased (P < 0.01) more recently (1990--93). The proportion of cases weighing <1000 g trebled from 3% in 1981--83 to 10% in 1990--93 (P < 0.01). The most common CP subtype was bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (55%). Just over a quarter (29%) of cases were unable to walk (with/without aids), and one-fifth (22%) had no useful hand/arm function. Almost half (49%) the cases had at least one other impairment (intellectual, sensory impairment or active seizures) in association with their CP. Prevalence rates and the pattern of disability in populations of people with CP can only be evaluated on the basis of the methods of case definition and ascertainment. We have demonstrated the methods necessary to ensure valid, standard and detailed information on CP for the purposes of surveillance, service planning and research.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2001

The changing epidemiology of HIV infection in injecting drug users in Dublin, Ireland.

INTRODUCTION: Injecting drug users (IDUs) represent 41.6% of the total cohort of HIV-infected patients in Ireland. Between January 1999 and December 2000, referrals to the largest tertiary centre for HIV infection in Dublin have increased dramatically. This has occurred on a background of a reduction in the overall incidence of HIV infection in Ireland between 1990 and 1998. Here we describe the changing epidemiology of HIV disease in IDUs and explore potential aetiological factors. METHODS: This is a retrospective study, collecting all data relating to new HIV diagnoses occurring in IDUs, referred to the GenitoUrinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases (GUIDE) clinic between 1987 and 2000. We calculated 6-month incidence rates of new HIV diagnoses in IDUs referred to the GUIDE clinic and performed a more detailed analysis of those patients diagnosed between January 1999 and December 2000, documenting age, sex, time and place of diagnosis, drug use history and primary drug of misuse, needle sharing history, attendance at a drug treatment clinic, prior HIV testing history, hepatitis B and hepatitis C status, and CD4 cell counts and HIV RNA levels at diagnosis. RESULTS: The number of new HIV diagnoses in IDUs increased fivefold between 1995 and 2000. Moreover, 40% of patients diagnosed since then have been under 22 years old. There has also been a significant reversal of the initial male to female ratio seen in the initial epidemic of the 1980s. CONCLUSION: There has been a significant increase in the incidence of HIV infection in IDUs between 1995 and 2000. Similar trends have been described recently in other risk groups. The aetiology of these trends is multifactorial, and a multidisciplinary, rejuvenated approach is required to focus on improving health education to reduce both sexual and needle sharing practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Urinary incontinence in Northern Ireland: a prevalence study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in a Northern Ireland community drawn from four neighbouring geographical areas and to assess factors predisposing to the development of urinary incontinence. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A three-page self-administered postal questionnaire was sent to 1050 women (age range 35-74 years), recruited randomly from a target population of 43 829 women. The main survey was preceded by a pilot survey. Respondents and those not responding were compared. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 65.6% (689/1050); there was no significant difference between respondents and those not responding. Two-hundred and thirty-one women (33.5%) reported incontinence 'sometimes' and 161 (23.4%) 'often'. Of those who had urinary incontinence, sanitary protection was required by 21.7% (85/392). This equates to 12.3% (85) of the total study population. Age (chi2=20.34; P<0.001) and parity (Mann-Whitney U-test, P< 0.001) were associated with urinary incontinence, with a higher proportion of women aged 45-54 years having urinary incontinence. The menopause and postnatal pelvic floor exercises were not associated with urinary incontinence. Overall 19.9% (78/392) of women with urinary incontinence had consulted their general practitioner. Of those who required sanitary protection, 40% (34/85) had consulted their doctor. CONCLUSION: Urinary incontinence is common; it is sufficiently severe to require sanitary protection in 12% of women aged 35-74 years in a Northern Ireland community.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Radical prostatectomy in Britain and Ireland at the millennium.

OBJECTIVE: To report a national questionnaire survey of all consultant urologists, providing a 'snapshot' of attitudes, current practice and referral patterns for radical prostatectomy (RP) in Britain and Ireland at the millennium. METHODS: During 1999/2000 a simple questionnaire about RP was sent to the 487 urologists registered as full BAUS members. From 418 (86%) returns nine were excluded, to leave a study group of 409 urologists. RESULTS: In all, 157 (38%) consultants were undertaking RP, whilst 252 (62%) were not; 29 (18.5%) performed > 20 operations/year, 44 (28%) undertook 11-20, but 84 (53.5%) carried out < or= 10. During the survey period, 741 (51%) RPs were conducted in teaching hospitals and 724 (49%) in district general hospitals. Of the 252 not undertaking RP, 23 (9%) stated they wished to learn the technique. CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire suggests that the number of urologists undertaking RP in the UK and Ireland has stabilized but confirms that over half perform < or = 10/year; outcome data are now required. Any change towards concentrating cases will have significant consequences for patient distribution and resources.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

Trends in the epidemiology of Candida bloodstream infections in Northern Ireland between January 1984 and December 2000.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of Candida bloodstream infections (BSI) in Northern Ireland. METHODS: Retrospective collation of data relating to all clinically significant BSI in a university teaching hospital, which had been recorded prospectively, between 1984 and 2000. RESULTS: One hundred and forty five episodes of candidaemia occurred in 144 patients (of mean age 56.6 years). The contribution of Candida spp. towards all significant BSI increased from 2.0% to 2.5%. C. albicans was the most frequently isolated species, however, its incidence fell from 70% to 53% during the study period. The greatest increase in incidence was seen with C. glabrata which was the most common non-albicans species. Twenty-nine per cent of isolates occurred in patients from an intensive care unit and, surprisingly, a further 25.5% occurred in patients from a surgical service. CONCLUSION: There appears to be several subtle differences in the epidemiology of candidal BSI between Northern Ireland and other countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developments in nursing in Ireland: the emergence of a disciplinary discourse.

This article presents a conceptualization of nursing as it is presently being constructed in Ireland. Official discourses on nursing are explored and the ways in which these discourses have been further shaped through consultation is highlighted. This is further supported by reference to research examining practicing nurses' discourses. There is some evidence to suggest that Irish nurses may be beginning to internalize many of the nursing concepts articulated at an international and national level over the past 20 years. However, barriers to actualization in practice are identified. Emerging discourses in Ireland suggest the conceptualization of nursing as promoting and maintaining health with nurses as coordinators of care who also engage in the development of therapeutic relationships with patients. The interpersonal aspect of nursing is considered central to the nursing role.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed1998

Levels of physical activity, physical fitness and their relationship in the Northern Ireland Health and Activity Survey.

The aim of the study was to describe the physical activity and physical fitness profile of the population of Northern Ireland and to explore the relationship between physical activity and physical fitness. This was a cross sectional population study using a two stage probability sample of the adult population of Northern Ireland (aged 16+). The main outcome measures were physical activity profile based on computer assisted interview. Physical fitness using estimation of VO2max by extrapolation from submaximal oxygen uptake while walking on a motor driven treadmill. We found that males were more vigorously active than females (M 21%:F 6%) with a steep gradient of decreasing activity with age: 49% (M 52%:F 46%) were regularly active up to at least moderate intensity. Males (mean predicted VO2max 44.4 mls/kg/min; 16-74 years) were fitter than females (mean predicted VO2max 34.0 mls/kg/min; 16-74 years) and while there was a decline in predicted VO2max with age, there was wide variation within each age category. There was no statistically significant relationship between current or past activity and fitness after adjustment for possible confounding factors, with the exception of a relationship between fitness and activity in males so that the difference between no activity and habitual vigorous activity in predicted VO2max was 4.4mls/kg/min (10.1%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Jonathan Swift's asylum in Dublin--Ireland's introduction to institutional psychiatry 250 years ago].

250 years ago, the satirical writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift from Dublin (1667-1745) founded the first Irish lunatic asylum. Rejecting the theories put forward by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes and the doctor Thomas Willis, he was influenced by the ideas of the Scottish doctor and the "enlightened" thinker John Locke. Swift's St. Patrick's Hospital did not, however, realise a new philosophical concept: architecture and therapeutic approach of the new institution were clearly modelled on the much older Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem ( = Bedlam). Despite its conservative conceptual basis, the first institution dedicated to the mentally ill and intellectually subnormal in Ireland became a starting point for the apparantly unstoppable expansion of the, at one time, most comprehensive asylum system in the world. After Swift's Hospital had been enlarged twice at the tax-payers' expense (1778, 1793), the administration decided to relieve the institution by erecting the Richmond Asylum (1810), the first public asylum in Ireland. When this establishment also became overcrowded, in 1817, legislation was passed which led to the establishment of the oldest system of public asylums in Europe.

Famous Persons↗
PubMed1975

A comparison of effectiveness of screening for phenylketonuria in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland.

A study of the effectiveness of screening for phenylketonuria in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States indicated that the diagnosis is more likely to be missed in the latter two countries because of the earlier age at which infants are screened. Furthermore, in the United States, diagnosis and treatment are delayed as compared with Ireland and the United Kingdom. Because test most commonly used to detect phenylketonuria is identical in all three countries, the differences in effectiveness are attributable to the way in which it is applied. In the United Kingdom, personnel and facilities have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. There is co-ordination between in-hospital and extra-hospital health care, and follow-up care of young infants in the community is assured. Greater effectiveness of screening in the United States will require a more rational organization of health services.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Diet and 20-year mortality from coronary heart disease. The Ireland-Boston Diet-Heart Study.

In a prospective epidemiologic study of 1001 middle-aged men, we examined the relation between dietary information collected approximately 20 years ago and subsequent mortality from coronary heart disease. The men were initially enrolled in three cohorts: one of men born and living in Ireland, another of those born in Ireland who had emigrated to Boston, and the third of those born in the Boston area of Irish immigrants. There were no differences in mortality from coronary heart disease among the three cohorts. In within-population analyses, those who died of coronary heart disease had higher Keys (P = 0.06) and modified Hegsted (P = 0.02) dietary scores than did those who did not (a high score indicates a high intake of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol and a relatively low intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids). These associations were significant (P = 0.03 for the Keys and P = 0.04 for the modified Hegsted scores) after adjustment for other risk factors for coronary heart disease. Fiber intake (P = 0.04) and a vegetable-foods score, which rose with increased intake of fiber, vegetable protein, and starch (P = 0.02), were lower among those who died from coronary heart disease, though not significantly so after adjustment for other risk factors. A higher Keys score carried an increased risk of coronary heart disease (relative risk, 1.60), and a higher fiber intake carried a decreased risk (relative risk, 0.57). Overall, these results tend to support the hypothesis that diet is related, albeit weakly, to the development of coronary heart disease.

Adult↗