Abstract: Margaret May Blackwell Travel Study Fellowship for Nurses of Young Children.
This report discusses the partnership between parents and nurses and its relationship to delivering optimal care to the child.
The author has a background in paediatric nursing in a hospital environment.

Abstract: Highlights well-child and family health programmes in the US, Canada, and the UK. Provides an overview of the programmes and their clinical effectiveness, focusing on the themes that emerged. Part of the Margaret May Blackwell Scholarship Reports series.

Abstract: Eighty alcohol and/or drug dependent women who were consecutive admissions to an outpatient alcohol and drug service were interviewed with the aim of gathering information regarding childhood adversity, psychiatric comorbidity and alcohol and drug history, including extent of treatment and alcohol and drug related criminality. A secondary aim of the study was to investigate associations between both the multiplicity of alcohol and drug dependence diagnosis and the presence of psychiatric comorbidity in relation to exposure to childhood adversity, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse.The data demonstrate that the study sample was a relatively severe group of alcohol and drug dependent women. A sizeable percentage came from backgrounds characterised by parental separation, conflict and alcohol and drug problems. Many were regularly exposed to physical abuse perpetrated by both parents or main parental figures and over two-thirds were exposed to some form of sexual abuse within their first 15 years. Sixty percent had been dependent on more than one psychoactive substance, with half having undergone previous alcohol and drug treatment. The women also presented with substantial histories of criminal convictions, with a quarter having served a prison sentence. The results indicate the presence of extensive psychiatric comorbidity in the sample. Two-thirds of the women met current DSM-IV criteria forat least one of the following Axis I disorders: major depressive syndrome, social phobia or bulimia nervosa, while nearly half had antisocial personality disorder. More importantly, significant associations were found regarding the presence of psychiatric comorbidity in relation to four measures of severe childhood adversity, i.e. childhood sexual, physical and emotional abuse and parental problems. Multiplicity of alcohol and drug dependence diagnosis was associated with severe emotional abuse, severe parental problems andpsychiatric comorbidity. Emotional abuse during childhood was the most pervasive indicator of comorbidity and multiplicity of alcohol and/or drug dependence. The main implication for clinical practice arising from the results of this study is the need for the development of a broader approach to alcohol and drug service provision. In order to achieve positive treatment outcomes, alcohol and drug service may need to routinely screen and plan treatment for unresolved childhood trauma, psychiatric disorder and other problems related to alcohol and drug use in all clients presenting for alcohol and drug treatment

Abstract: This text begins with a discourse analysis of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition, 1994 – DSM -IV- to illustrate the discursive construction of mental disorder. The analysis identifies how productivity, moderation, entariness and rationality are constructed by this psychiatric discourse as the fundamental attributes of normality. It is argued that this discursive construction of normality has particular implications for the subject positions available to women.The text explores how those subject positions are constituted by analysing the narratives of women who have been diagnosed as having a mental disorder. Its object is to explore how the categories 'mental disorder' and 'women' are constituted; the effect this has on some women's experiences; and to offer a feminist interpretation of those experiences. The text explores the meaning of these women's experiences and proposes that their responses can be regarded as tactical responses to the non-recognition, or disconfirming recognition, accorded to the subject positions available to them.The women's tactical responses although taking different forms, reveal some commonalities in their responses to a lack of recognition for their performances: shame regarding the body which marks them as women; a sense of meaningless and emptiness in the available performances; a sense of themselves as objects for the use of others; passive performances as self-protective tactics; a need to suppress anger; and a tension between cultural expectations of normality and their own subjective experiences. The tactical responses that these women had employed take the form of over-conformity, withdrawal and resistance. They reflect that Sass (1992:58) describes as attempts to escape the 'form of the real'. It is the women's body which establishes her engendered subjectivity and it is through the body that the tensions related to her expected performances emerge. Each women's tactical response is imbued with multiple and sometimes contradictory meanings that may represent their ambivalence in relational to the cultural expectations for productive, moderate, unitary and rational performances. To enable the meaning of the women's distress to emerge it is necessary that it be recognised by interpretations that reflect their multiple and contradictory form.Alternative readings of these women's tactical responses position the desire for recognition as central. It proposes that it is necessary to pay attention to both the literal and figurative functions of language. The possibility of 'advancing our understanding of social life' (Gergen, women constructed as mentally disordered. These readings of the narratives require an understanding of the context and construction of the narrator's life and opens up the possibility for multiple understandings that do not necessarily privilege productivity, moderation, unitariness and rationality.By attending to the significance of the women's narratives this text proposes that the DSM-IV's (1994) construction of mental disorder of effectively marginalises women's experiences of their culturally determined subject positions. It acknowledges the need to understand how women symbolize their distress in a way that creates and communicates meaning

Abstract: Objective; The objective of this study is to determine if attending a nursing education session on menopause has an impact on women's management of their menopausal symptoms and consequently their quality of life for women aged 40 to 60 years. The hypothesis is that women attending education sessions will start or increase health promotion activities which will reduce menopausal symptoms and thus improve their quality of life.Design and method; Two questionaires were given to the women on the day of the education sessions and another questionnaire was sent to the participant three months later. The sample of 30 completed questionnaires includes feedback from Pacific Island women. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The measure of quality of life has been based on the level of impact of menopausal on each women's life before the education session and three months later.Results; Initial analysis indicates that diet, exercise and time out were most commonly reported health activities utilized for relief of symptoms with HRT and herbal remedies used less often. Three months after the education session there was a significant reduction in the impact of symptoms in most categories with 140 incidences of total disappearance of symptoms, 24 incidences of reduction of symptoms, 17 incidences of symptoms increasing while 36 symptoms remained unchanged. Only one woman reported that she continued to have no control over her symptoms while the rest of the sample indicated that they had some or total control. The most common changes in health promotion activities were reduction in caffeine, exercise, relaxation and lubrication with sex. Herbal, homeopathy, dietary and hormone treatment rated low in health activities after the three months.Conclusion; Initial analysis indicates that menopausal symptoms has significantly improved for the majority of women who attended the nursing education session

Abstract: This thesis presents a grounded theory study following Glaser's methodological stance. It explores nursing of the 10-24 year old client through interviews with thirteen registered nurses. The participants worked in a variety of clinical settings including community, hospital and specific adolescent services. From the analysis of the data emerged the complexity of the nurses work with the chosen age group. The study identifies that the quality of the nurse/client encounter may enable the young person to feel accepted and to be empowered to make their own health choices.This thesis identifies how Having Attitude is seen by the nurse participants as critical in the care of the young person. Having Attitude is about the nurse balancing the dependence/independence needs of the young person with their family and peers, and about being acceptable to the client. This results from the work of the nurse which is characterised by the nurse being competent' and 'being supportive whilst taking into account all of the socio-political factors that effect the nurses working situation. The socio-political context impacts upon the young persons life in terms of the types of health issues they have, and the availability and affordability of appropriate health services. It also impacts on the environment in which the nurse works, in terms of the complexity of the concerns with which young people present, current health reforms and funding issues. The nurse needs to have a broad knowledge base and ability to work within a complex situation. Nurses believe they can make a difference to the young persons health experience when they are supportive, competent and have attitude