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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1983

Peer support for renal patients: the Patient Visitor Program.

Since it was instituted in 1977, the Patient Visitor Program has continued to provide peer support among renal patients. Although up-to-date statistics are not available on the current involvement of the volunteers who were given the initial training, some have remained physically active and continue to be available in their home area. The number of visits made by each volunteer per year has depended on the needs of new renal patients in each area--for example, on whether the area was urban or rural. The Patient Visitor Program is available to all newly diagnosed renal patients in Iowa. The majority of these patients take advantage of the opportunity to meet with a volunteer. Although the program was particularly designed to serve new renal patients, the volunteers have reported that meetings with new patients have been positive experiences for them, too. The Patient Visitor Program has proved to be a low-cost method of augmenting the personalized services available to newly diagnosed renal patients scattered throughout Iowa. Such a program could be designed for patients with other chronic illnesses as well.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Visiting time preferences of patients, visitors and staff.

AIM: To obtain the views of patients, visitors and nursing staff regarding visiting hours. METHOD: Questionnaires, collecting qualitative and quantitative data, were distributed on each of the trust's 35 inpatient adult wards. A total of 863 completed questionnaires were returned - 432 from nursing staff, 227 from patients and 204 from visitors. RESULTS: None of the three groups of respondents preferred completely open visiting; Patients and visitors preferred open visiting with a quiet hour; Nursing staff preferred set visiting hours; One-third of patients were embarrassed about receiving nursing care in front of visitors; One-third of patients, visitors and staff did not like visitors to be present at mealtimes. CONCLUSION: Nurses, patients and visitors did not prefer open visiting as first choice, preferring to have a rest period. This highlights the need to consult with service users.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Patient, visitor, and nurse evaluations of visitation for adult postanesthesia care unit patients.

Although PACU visitation for children is sometimes encouraged, most families of adult postoperative patients continue to be excluded from PACUs in this country. At an academic medical center, an open visitation policy for adult postoperative patients was evaluated by eliciting patient, visitor, and nurse evaluations of visitation for adult patients from 181 families. Commonly cited reasons for restricting PACU visitation were not identified as problems by the vast majority of respondents. Even when some aspect of a PACU visit was disturbing, patients and families expressed a desire for visitation. The results of this evaluation of a change in practice led to permanent implementation of an open visitation policy in this PACU.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Ex-patient visitors to the hospital psychiatric unit.

An informal study of visits to an inpatient psychiatric unit by former patients indicated that such visiting was a common occurrence, more prevalent than staff realized. Most ex-patient visitors were chronically impaired individuals who were making a marginal community adjustment and did not use aftercare services. Of 29 expatient visitors, some of whom made multiple and even daily visits, more than half appeared to use the visits as an indirect, symbolic way of asking for help. For some the brief contacts with treatment personnel seemed to have therapeutic value. The authors suggest that, although such visits may be troublesome to staff, expatient visitors should be welcomed and offered informal brief supportive contacts when feasible.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Visiting hours in the ICU: finding the balance among patient, visitor and staff needs.

TOPIC: Visiting hours. PURPOSE: To explore the experience of nurses who have been identified as experts at working with visitors in a critical care setting. METHODS: A qualitative research design incorporating in-depth interviews of eight intensive care nurses, limited participant observation, and a review of selected documents was used to investigate how expert nurses incorporate visitors into their daily practice. CONCLUSION: Incorporating visiting family members in to the plan of care is complex and requires balancing the visitors' needs for information and access to a loved one with the nurse's need to safely manage the care of a critically ill individual.

Critical Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ionising radiation: promoting safety for patients, visitors and staff.

Diagnostic radiology and sealed and unsealed sources of radiotherapy are valuable in the treatment of cancer. However, unwanted consequences can result from excessive exposure to ionising radiation. Therefore, its administration requires great care not only to protect the patient but also the nurses involved in patient care. Nurses should be aware of the safety issues in the diagnostic and therapeutic use of ionising radiation so that they can work safely and confidently.

Health Promotion↗
PubMed1991

A comparison of hypertensive and nonhypertensive coronary care patients' cardiovascular responses to visitors.

Patients with and without hypertension in a coronary care unit (n = 24) were compared with respect to cardiovascular responses to both a family visit and an interview by an investigator. Variables for each of the four cardiovascular indicators (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and premature ventricular contractions) included the value before, the highest value during, the lowest value during, and the value after each social interaction condition. The highest group means for systolic blood pressure and heart rate were significantly higher for patients with hypertension than for patients without hypertension under both the interview and visit conditions. Differences in cardiovascular responses were not significantly greater for family visits than for interviews for patients with hypertension compared with those without hypertension. Thus, although hypertensive patients had greater cardiovascular reactivity to both social interaction conditions than nonhypertensive patients in the coronary care unit, family visits were no more physiologically stressful than a comparative interaction condition.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

The disruptive patient or visitor.

A disruptive patient or visitor can be managed by a four-person team under the direction of a single leader. When the disruptive person is subdued and transported to a separate room for evaluation, a brief examination is recommended before medication. If medication is found necessary, haloperidol is the drug of choice. A patient can be treated without consent if a court has determined that the patient is incompetent to make such a decision.

Dangerous Behavior↗
PubMed1990

Information needs of patients and visitors in a district general hospital.

A survey of the information needs of patients and visitors to a large District General Hospital was conducted during a one-month period in 1988 to identify sources of information used by patients and their visitors, whether these sources were perceived as adequate and what improvements were suggested. The findings indicate that of 406 respondents, 37% had wanted to know more about a particular condition within the preceding 12 months. The most frequently used sources of information were general practitioners, hospital doctors and nurses, and written material. The most frequent inquires were about disease aetiology and prevention, and the treatment and prognosis of a wide range of medical conditions. Thirty-six per cent of the inquirers had received little or none of the information that they sought. Visitors were more likely than patients to be dissatisfied with presently available sources of information, and patients over 60 years old were more likely to be satisfied than younger groups. Dissatisified persons were most often seeking improved access to doctors and nurses, more explanations from these staff, and more readily available booklets and leaflets. The results are discussed in relation to previous findings with hospital in-patients. They support a stated need in the recent Government White Paper, Working For Patients, for patient information leaflets and for clear and sensitive explanations about what is happening to them in hospital.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Predicting smoking stage of change among emergency department patients and visitors.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about whether emergency department (ED) patients or those who accompany them (visitors) are interested in smoking cessation. The authors hypothesized that several variables would be associated with stage of change, including nicotine dependence, self-efficacy, presence of a smoking-related illness, and anticipated cessation-related health improvement. METHODS: For two 24-hour periods, consecutive patients and visitors aged 18 years and older presenting to four Boston EDs were interviewed. The authors assessed a range of smoking-related constructs. Exclusion criteria included severe illness, cognitive insufficiency, and acute distress. RESULTS: One thousand ten subjects were screened (56% patients, 44% visitors). Two hundred thirty-seven (23%) subjects were current smokers, with 57% being in precontemplation, 31% in contemplation, and 12% in preparation stages. When ordinal regression was used, the variables most strongly associated with stage of change were as follows: self-efficacy (odds ratio [OR] = 5.1; p < 0.001), anticipated cessation-related health improvement (OR = 2.7; p = 0.02), and having a smoking-related health problem (OR = 1.9; p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Because many disenfranchised Americans use the ED as a regular source of health care, increased attention to smoking in the ED setting holds tremendous public health potential. This study's results reinforce the validity of the stage-of-change model within the ED setting. Developers of ED-initiated interventions will have to consider the heterogeneity in stage of change when designing their treatments.

Adult↗