Domestic violence (DV) against women during pregnancy affects many women and unborn infants worldwide. Pregnancy presents a window of opportunity for health care providers to identify DV and provide appropriate intervention. The aim of this systematic review was to appraise the effectiveness of DV screening and interventions for women identified for DV through screening in pregnancy. The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched from January 1995 to November 2009 to identify potentially relevant studies. Studies using any comparative methodology from both national and international arenas were included but had to be in the English language. Nine studies (13 references) met the inclusion criteria, five for screening and four for interventions. Of the five screening studies, the identification of DV was significantly higher compared to studies that used a nonstandardized screen or no screen at all. There was also evidence that recurrent screening throughout the pregnancy further increased identification rates. There was some evidence that interventions for pregnant women who had experienced DV reduced the amount of violence experienced by these women, but the evidence is very limited by the small number of randomized studies with small participant numbers. Further research is required to establish the most effective interventions for women who are identified at risk of DV during pregnancy.

This research documents the family struggle and highlights the current omissions concerning the family's role. The need for changes to clinical practice is substantiated. It requires health professionals to scrutinize their own clinical practice and consider modification of the treatment process.

Currently, postpartum care may have a focus on baby rather than mother and this focus may impede women making full disclosures of ongoing health needs arising from their delivery. Findings of this study suggest that women may have specific needs that extend beyond the puerperium, indicating a need for continued holistic assessments and extending practice to identify and support women experiencing persistent pelvic postpartum complications.

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Nurses often experience positive and negative dimensions of caring for dying clients and their families. This project aimed to compare stress experienced by urban and rural community nurses working with palliative-care clients in the home. Participants included five nurses working in rural Australia and seven nurses working in an urban area. Transcribed data from unstructured audio-taped interviews were coded for common and contrasting themes, and a comparison was made of the stress experienced by the two groups of nurses. The major themes were role conflict and definition, family dynamics, time and workload. For both groups of nurses, the impact of family relationships and role conflict within the community impacted significantly to the stress they experienced. Debriefing opportunities for nurses to discuss stress, including educational and support sessions, is an essential component of best practice. Rural nurses had the additional stress of trying to provide a 24 h service over vast distances with a lack of financial resources.

This study explored the practical needs of patients and their families travelling from rural areas in New South Wales, Australia to cities for cancer treatment. Practical needs were information, accommodation, transport, and economic impact. A cross-sectional design was employed; data were collected by questionnaire and focus group interviews. Findings showed that practical needs impacted on the ability of the patients and families to cope with diagnosis and treatment for cancer. The greatest unmet practical need of the patients and their families was for comprehensive information that is provided before travelling and by someone, for example, nurse or social worker who can help them decipher it if required.

The experiences of parents with a child with anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa were explored and this article aims to present one component of that study: parents' interactions with health professionals. The research was initiated after anecdotal stories from parents led the authors to undertake a literature review, which revealed a paucity of published research on this topic. Twenty-two interviews were conducted with volunteer parents from New South Wales, Australia. A descriptive qualitative design was used and themes were identified through in-depth analysis. Six themes were identified: finding help, feeling shut out, engagement, images portrayed, being resourceful and parents not prepared to give up. The implications for health professionals include that they acknowledge parental involvement in recovery. We urge the nursing profession, particularly mental health nurses, to work towards establishing collaborative partnerships between families & health professionals in order to achieve a better health outcome for all.

This research study will assist clinicians in understanding the needs of younger women undergoing breast cancer-related breast surgery, who may require counselling in relation to fertility and relationship issues and assistance in coping with the demands of work and home life.