The results suggest a need for a significant shift in focus on educational training from imparting research contents to providing opportunities to experience the research process. Organisational support in terms of protected time and financial support ought to be in place for nursing research experience. The findings also demonstrated that in places where organisational support was available, awareness of research opportunities such as educational and organisational support needed to be strengthened. This in turn would enable more nurses particularly those who provide direct patient care to conduct research within the context of the competing nursing practice demands.

Many people associate vulnerability with old age, resulting in negative stereotypical views. This concept analysis of the literature on vulnerability examines how and why older people are considered vulnerable, to assess whether the attitudes and assumptions of society at large, or the approaches of health and social care professionals in particular, contribute to this view. The authors used data collected from the literature review, which incorporated holistic approaches to caring for older people, to construct a psycho-social definition of vulnerability and define the attributes of vulnerability according to categories, causes and effects. This definition was underpinned by theoretical knowledge and practice experience of working with older people and teaching nursing students about older people. Understanding the concept of vulnerability should enable nurses to recognize the centrality of older people in service provision, and to contribute positively to their autonomy and act as their advocates. It will also help nurses to educate older people about the rights and choices available to them, enabling them to participate fully in society.

Obstetric fistula is an abnormal opening between the vagina and rectum resulting from prolonged and obstructed labour that can cause substantial, long-term physical and psychological harm to the woman (Bangser, 2006; Wall, 2006). The most common cause of fistula in developing countries is due to the obstruction of labour and delayed delivery (Wall, 2006). The inability of a woman to deliver her baby through the birth canal is caused by a discrepancy in the available space in the pelvic region and the foetal size or when the foetus' head or body is too big to pass through the mother's pelvis opening (Abrams, 2012; Wall, 2006). The obstruction leads to a prolonged pressured contact of the foetal head in the birth canal area, causing a loss of blood flow to the soft tissues of the woman's bladder, vagina and rectum (Arrowsmith, Hamlin, & Wall, 1996; Wall, 2012). Consequently, ischaemic injury leads to massive tissue necrosis in the woman's pelvis, which results in the fistula being formed (Wall, 2006). Numerous studies have described women with obstetric fistula as within the age range of 9-65 years, with the mean age usu

Hessig et al (2004) highlight that nurses value complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) but lack the knowledge regarding their application. They suggest that education can affect knowledge and application of CAM in nursing practice. Complementary and alternative therapy input into the pre-registration nursing curriculum is sporadic and higher education institutions need to incorporate CAM therapies more fully into professional education (Department of Health, 2003). This study investigated the knowledge and attitudes student nurses have to CAM therapies and their use in cancer and palliative care. Ethical approval was sought from the ethics committee at the University of Hull. A quantitative evaluative study using a convenience sample of student nurses in their final semester of pre-registration nurse education was used. Data were collected via a questionnaire; the findings demonstrate the respondents' acknowledgement of their limited knowledge of CAM therapies and the study has highlighted the need to continue working towards integrated CAM education into the pre-registration nursing curriculum.

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