Complementary therapies in nursing & midwifery最新文献

While complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research has benefited from a range of social scientific perspectives, geographical contributions have been only slowly forthcoming. In this context, this paper illuminates the possibilities for CAM researchers to develop dedicated geographical perspectives. Some fundamental changes in the empirical and theoretical foci of medical/health geography are outlined, from a concern with mapping services and diseases in macro-space to investigating the dynamic between health and place. Highlighted are some important relational dynamics among CAM providers, patients/consumers and places of treatment and some general issues that could benefit from a geographical analysis. The concurrent research agenda is located across the sub-disciplinary strata of human geography.

This investigation set out to learn about consumer involvement in complementary medicine research from those who have experience of practice in this area. A literature search was combined with written and oral responses from key people and organisations in the UK. Letter or e-mail contact was made with 59 key people and organisations and 43 people responded. Eighteen respondents were interviewed. The overall level of consumer involvement was low but participants provided examples of experiences of consumer involvement in commissioning, designing, carrying out, and disseminating research. Clear roles and tasks and a consumer-friendly research environment, enabled consumers to contribute, gain confidence, and gradually widen their areas of involvement. There appears to be no single ‘right way’ for researchers and consumers to work together, but with experience and mutual respect researchers became increasingly enthusiastic about the value of the consumer perspective. As one consumer said: ‘You have to take small steps to go a long way’.

Pregnancy is a period of enormous physio-pathological and psychosocial adaptation in a woman's life. Although it is usually a time of joy and anticipation, many women experience some degree of anxiety, concern and fear regarding their own health and that of their babies, as well as the approaching labour. Worry about social, financial, occupational and relationship issues can often add to their stress levels which increases the possibility of pregnancy complications. However while mild to moderate stress facilitates successful adjustment to these demands, a significant increase in the levels of stress hormones may compromise the health of both mother and fetus.

Complementary therapies are increasingly popular with expectant mothers and are gradually being integrated into conventional maternity care, primarily by midwives. However, there is debate about whether these therapies simply provide a form of relaxation for pregnant women with psychological stress or whether they could—or should—be used more constructively to deal with physio-pathological stress.

This paper considers the physiological effects of certain complementary therapies in reducing the impact of stress in pregnancy.

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a holistic nursing department at a 261-bed conventional, community hospital. Through the holistic nursing department, a nurse visits hospitalized inpatients. The visit might include complementary and alternative modalities (CAM) therapies, such as relaxation techniques, therapeutic touch, aromatherapy, and therapeutic suggestion. Evaluation of visits occurred through a retrospective chart review and patient satisfaction surveys. Main outcome measures were patient satisfaction, physiological changes, and pre- and post-distress scores. Discomfort and distress was decreased and patient satisfaction high when CAM therapies were used in conjunction with traditional inpatient medical and nursing care.

Traditional indigenous healing is widely used today, as it has been since time immemorial. This article describes the following areas in regards to traditional healing: (a) an explanation of indigenous peoples, (b) a definition of traditional indigenous healing, (c) a portrayal of traditional healers, (d) health within indigenous culture, (e) traditional healing techniques, (f) utilization of traditional healing, (g) how to find a traditional healer, and (h) comparing traditional healing principles with mainstream ways. It is important to have knowledge about this method of holistic healing so health care providers and nurses can integrate it into the health care for individuals and/or families that choose traditional indigenous healing.

Fire fighters are at increased risk of developing mental health problems due to the nature of their work, which can sometimes be extremely traumatic. Arranging for immediate access to mental health specialists can often take a protracted time to arrange, leading to the individual remaining disabled and off work. The South Wales fire and rescue service have responded to this challenge and formed a partnership with their local NHS traumatic stress service. This has enabled fire fighters to receive early psychological assessment and treatment from a nurse therapist trained in cognitive behaviour therapy or referred to a consultant liaison psychiatrist. This paper will describe 3 cases which all suffered with PTSD and were treated via the partnership with a controversial therapy EMDR.

Complementary therapies have continued to increase in popularity in healthcare and it is widely accepted that they can be incorporated into the nursing role. However, this acceptance does not necessarily mean that the introduction of therapies into the nursing arena has been without confusion and without professional and legal implications. Consequently, this small-scale, qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of paediatric nurses of two therapies, namely massage and aromatherapy massage. There is a dearth of literature exploring nurses’ perceptions to the incorporation of these therapies, especially in the arena of paediatric nursing where massage and aromatherapy massage are common practice. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with qualified nurses and revealed the themes of ‘benefit’, ‘family centred care’, ‘nursing care’ and ‘being held back’. It was found that at some stage during their professional career each nurse had performed massage and/or aromatherapy massage. All nurses were able to recall certain benefits of the therapies for the children that they had observed and many discussed the importance of involving the family as a way of including them in to the care of their child. However, for the nurses in this study, it was evident that the incorporation of complementary therapies into the nursing role was determined by the context in which they practised. Due to the dominance of the medical model, nurses faced pressures and conflicts in the realities of their nursing work, which meant they were often unable to carry out these therapies.