红色标识腕带在急诊危重患者安全管理中的应用

为使急诊危重症患者得到及时、快捷、有效的救治,确保急救绿色通道畅通,保证医疗护理安全,2007年7月起,我院急诊科开展了“红色标识腕带”服务.凡佩戴红色标识腕带的急诊危重患者在院内接受就诊、挂号、缴费、检查、治疗、用药、用血、手术、住院等一系列流程中,享有全程优先特权.红色标识腕带的应用不仅起到了准确的身份识别的作用,更增强了医护人员的急救服务意识,尤其缩短了危重患者的急诊等候时间,有效地减少了纠纷,提升了抢救成功率,提高了医院整体的急诊工作效率和急救服务水平,在急诊安全管理中具有非常重要的意义.     

对急危重症患者家属签署知情同意书中不同意的病例回顾分析

分析在急危重症患者中签署知情不同意的原因,探讨对策.选择我院2010年6月1日～2011年12月30日在ICU抢救已出院归档的急危重症患者家属签署的600份知情同意书中52份不同意的病例进行分析总结.52份病例的知情同意书签字不同意,原因多方面.知情不同意是患者或家属的权力,如何保障更好行使此权利,同时保障其健康是医务人员努力的目标,也需要对出现的问题进一步探讨.     

An evaluation of support groups for patients with long-term chronic pain and complex psychosocial difficulties

There is a significant group of chronic pain patients with complex psychosocial needs who are frequent users of hospital outpatient departments and who do not participate in or benefit from traditional pain management treatments and are convinced there is a medical solution to their problems. They are a particularly challenging group of patients to help, often shunned by medical and psychological professionals. A new type of ten-session psycho-social group for these patients that is less demanding than traditional pain management group programmes is investigated. It is designed to foster the development into community-based self-help groups and reduce the need for professional support and unnecessary medical intervention. Accounts of four groups of patients who participated in support groups and successfully established their own groups is presented. To assess changes in motivation, mood and pain disability standardized questionnaire measures were given before and after group attendance. Findings suggest that patients benefited and took increased responsibility for their pain management but did not demonstrate positive changes on measures of mood or level of pain disability. Patients experienced satisfaction with the groups and established their own self-help community groups. The positive experience of participants and staff suggests further work with support groups would be productive for this group of patients.     

Enacting support within church communities for people living with HIV or AIDS

Social support is important in managing HIV and AIDS. Some people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) have sought support from churches, despite their reputation for stigmatising PLWHA. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 PLWHA and 21 church leaders to identify ways that churches can effectively enact support for PLWHA through improved communication about HIV, AIDS, and related issues. Church leaders also were asked about the institutional barriers to enacting support for PLWHA. Implementing these strategies consistently and holistically will require intentional efforts to address the barriers within church organisations to create environments that are welcoming to and supportive of PLWHA.     

Approaching the religious patient in forensic psychiatry,with special focus on ethnic minority patients

ABSTRACT

Ethnic minority patients are overrepresented in Danish forensic psychiatry and knowledge is needed on how these patients are approached in relation to religious and cultural issues. The aim of this study was to investigate how psychiatrists in Danish forensic psychiatry approach religious ethnic minority patients. The study revealed positive approach towards religious ethnic minority patients. However, unless religion features as part of the illness, the tendency is to not incorporate the patients’ religiosity in treatment. The study finds that the hospital chaplain is regarded by the psychiatrists as an important part of the ward and expressed the desire for a more formal cooperation with religious specialists to be developed. Finally, the study finds that religious practices such as Ramadan, common prayer, and Islamic edicts on food and unlawful touch are areas where more knowledge is needed, especially in relation to anxiety, potential stress, and conflict situations.     

Photovoice as a Methodological Tool to Address HIV and AIDS and Gender Violence amongst Girls on the Street in Rwanda

There has been limited international and South African research on the career development of rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged children. The present research provides baseline information on the career development of rural, low socioeconomic status, Black upper elementary school children (N = 292; 154 girls and 138 boys) in relation to their occupational interests and aspirations. Interests and aspirations were classified in terms of Holland's typology and status level. The results revealed that the children were more interested in and aspired more towards professional status level occupations in Social (i.e., people) and Investigative (i.e., scientific) type categories. Several significant gender differences were found. Girls aspired more to Social type occupations and boys more to Investigative type occupations, with the children's occupational aspirations reflecting gender traditionality. The implications of the present findings present the field with challenges in terms of career theory, research and practice     

Researching HIV/AIDS,Education & Childhood in the African Context

This article offers a reflective review of 12 articles and 4 brief reports included in this special issue of the International Journal of Psychology in Africa with the theme, ‘HIV/AIDS, education and childhood in the African context’. Muthukrishna and Ramsuran (2007) have emphasised that the consequences of HIV/AIDS can be far-reaching for children and young people resulting in unequal life chances. It is thus fitting that this special issue should be edited by them in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the country (and province) with the highest levels of incidence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. In this article I offer a commentary on how the interpretive lenses of the authors who are located in various disciplines provide a theorised understanding of what shapes knowledge constructions in situated African contexts.     

Counseling Caregivers of Families Affected by HIV/AIDS: The Use of Narrative Therapy

This article proposes the use of Narrative Therapy with family caregivers of family members diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. The authors identify the reasons for using Narrative Therapy with African family caregivers who have relocated to the United States of America. The tenets of Narrative Therapy are outlined, and a case illustration is provided to show how Narrative Therapy can be implemented. In this case study, the client moves from a state of helplessness and hopelessness to being able to regain control of her life and improve the care of her sister. She was able to re-write her story: from feeling incompetent to a position of strength. Although Narrative Therapy was used successfully with an African family caregiver within the USA, the authors assert that the interventions have the potential to be used as effectively with those clients living in Africa, provided counselors are sensitive to cultural differences that will affect their practice.     

Safe Sex Education for Adolescent Daughters: vhaVenda Mothers Views

The study explored vhaVenda mothers' perceptions of imparting safe sex education to their adolescent daughters. Data was collected through six focus group discussions with each group consisting of six to eight mothers. The results indicated that mothers want their children to be knowledgeable about sexuality to avoid consequences associated with negative sexual behaviour. The mothers were of the vew that children ought to receive sexuality education from parents. Nonethless, relatively few parents appear to be eager to discuss sexuality in great depth.     

Spirituality and Religion in Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in Kwazulu-natal,South Africa: A Longitudinal Study

This study assesses the effects of spirituality and religion in health outcomes of patients on ART in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Participants were 735 patients who attended three HIV clinics for ART over a period of 20 months as follows: 519 after 6 months on antiretroviral therapy (ART), 557 after 12 and 499 after 20 months on ART. They completed the Duke Religion Index each visit. Factors associated with spirituality/religiousness included fewer mental health problems (lower depressive symptoms, lower alcohol use), CD4 cell counts, adherence to ART, better certain health related quality of life outcomes (physical, psychological and environmental), social support and internalized HIV/AIDS stigma. Further research could examine the feasibility of including spirituality and religion in the assessment and providing support interventions for HIV patients.