Editorial: A new government in the UK: possible ramifications for children’s nursing
Linda Shields, Roger Watson and David R Thompson
Guest editorial: Historic legislation for nurse practitioners and midwives: recognised potential
in health reform
Margo A Pritchard, Jann Foster and Mary Chiarella
Paternal experiences of their children’s diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis following newborn screening diagnosis
Lynn Priddis, Jane Dunwoodie, Elizabeth Balding, Andrea Barrett and Tonia Douglas
Background: Fathers are a neglected group in parenting research, yet they have significant influence on family systems. This paper reports on the experiences of a group of fathers as they manage the impact on the family of the chronic medical challenge of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in their child.
Method: Fifteen fathers of children diagnosed with CF under the newborn screening (NBS) procedures in Western Australia (WA) participated in semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interviews were analysed for common themes using qualitative content analysis, following established procedures for process and rigour.
Results: Receipt of a diagnosis of CF for a child altered relationships within the family system. Fathers in this study mostly used internalised and pragmatic coping strategies to assist them to manage anxiety and to come to terms with their child’s diagnosis. These strategies allowed these fathers to shift their focus from the crisis of diagnosis to the functioning of their family.
Conclusions: Fathers play an important protective role in families, often so well that their own needs for support are overlooked. Clinical implications are discussed.
Peppered with statistical flaws: seven tips to peer review
Denise Margaret Harrison
Hiding under the blankets:reasons why parents cover infants’ strollers and prams
Leigh Wilson, Susan Quine and Milton Lewis
Aim: Covering an infant’s stroller with a light muslin wrap has been recommended by the Cancer Council of Australia to protect infant skin from sun damage and long-term cancer risk. A previous observational study suggests parents have taken this advice further, covering strollers with blankets and other heavy materials when children are not exposed to sunlight. This study sought to identify the main reasons for this practice.
Methods: One hundred and four parents were enrolled in a study of parental infant care practices in Sydney, Australia. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, parents were interviewed by telephone and asked whether they covered infant strollers with wraps or heavy materials and, if so, the reasons for this practice.
Results: Parents reported three main reasons for using a wrap or other material to cover their infant when in a stroller. In order of frequency, these were: to encourage an infant to sleep, to protect an infant from sunlight and to prevent strangers touching or breathing on an infant. A small number of parents used wraps and blankets to protect an infant from dangerous objects such as lighted cigarettes and sharp projections.
Conclusions: Although most parents were familiar with the Cancer Council of Australia recommendations to protect infants from sunlight, this study shows that parents cover strollers for purposes unrelated to sun protection, and often with heavy materials. Further research is needed to ascertain whether this practice could lead to adverse health outcomes in infants.
Keywords: Sudden infant death, infant care, infant attachment, vitamin D, sun exposure, air quality.
Through the eyes of children and young people: the components of a supportive hospital environment
Kate Bishop
This participatory, qualitative study was completed with children and young people aged 9–18 years. The study focused firstly on understanding children and young people’s experience of a hospital environment; secondly on describing the roles of the physical environment in children’s feeling of wellbeing; and thirdly on illustrating the value of participatory research to healthcare design. The focus of this paper is on what constitutes a supportive hospital environment from children and young people’s perspectives. The study reveals that a supportive environment is one in which children’s feeling of wellbeing, person–environment fit and perception of environmental congruence is supported by the physical, social and organisational environments that surround
children’s individual circumstances. It also highlights the importance to healthcare design of completing participatory research with children and young people in healthcare settings.
Keywords: Adolescents, hospitalisation, children’s hospital, paediatric design.
Cochrane Nursing Care Network
Carmel Collins