The process of handover has received recent attention within Australian health care, as evidence linking patient safety with the quality of handover emerges. Such links between clinical handover and patient safety have been reported elsewhere in the literature, where it is posited that the safe care of patients relies not only on the expertise and judgment of individual clinicians, teamwork, and effective management, but hinges to a large extent on the quality of information transferred from team to team. The present qualitative, descriptive study used participant observations, focus groups, and interviews to investigate the nursing handover in two acute mental health inpatient units in New South Wales, Australia. Data collected as part of that investigation contributed to the development of a handover guideline that incorporates the key components of structure, content, and leadership. The research indicated a link between these components, and further revealed the necessity to have other forums, such as supervision and clinical review, to ensure that handover serves its intended purpose in an efficient manner.KEY WORDS: leadership, mental health, patient handover, patient safety, qualitative research.
With continued growth in the demand for nursing care, many organizations have incorporated nursing assistants into the acute care workforce. However, role descriptions are often generic and do not provide clarity in specialist areas such as mental health inpatient settings. Issues have been noted regarding the role of assistants, delegation, and their integration with the nursing team. This study extended an existing set of care activities and explored the perceptions of nursing assistants and registered nurses regarding these activities. A modified Delphi approach added 14 new care activities for nursing assistants. A follow‐up survey found significant differences between nursing assistants and registered nurses regarding utilization of the activities, delegation, teamwork, and role clarity. Future research must incorporate the perspectives of those with lived experience of mental health issues, and develop an understanding of the interactions between nursing assistant care activities and other factors such as local supports, skillmix, and the practice environment, as these may impact how an organization can introduce nursing assistants to specialty areas while maintaining consumer and staff safety.
Background
Although botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injection has been proved to reduce topical sebum secretion, the impact of intradermal BTX-A injection on scalp sebum production has never been reported.
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of intradermal BTX-A treatment for scalp sebum secretion regulation, in comparison with intradermal normal saline (NS) injection.
Methods
This multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, prospective study recruited patients complaining of oily scalp and/or hair. The patients were randomized to either one session of intradermal BTX-A or NS injection. The baseline and post-treatment scalp sebum secretion on 24-, 48-, 72-, and 96-hours post-shampooing was measured using the Sebumeter SM815 (Cutometer dual MPA 580, Courage & Khazaka, Cologne, Germany). on 1, 3, 4, and 6 months after the treatment. The patients’ comments, satisfaction, and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated and compared.
Results
Twenty-five and 24 patients in the BTX-A group and NS group completed the follow-up, respectively. For the treated region, compared with NS, intradermal 50-65 U BTX-A treatment significantly reduced the scalp sebum secretion on 24-, 48-, and 72-hours post-shampooing on the 1- and 3-month follow-up visits (P < 0.05). No significant difference between the two groups was observed on 4 and 6 months after the treatment. The patients’ satisfaction ratings were significantly higher for the BTX-A treatment (P = 0.000). No serious AEs occurred.
Conclusions
Compared with NS, one session of intradermal 50-65 U BTX-A injection effectively and safely reduced scalp sebum secretion and greasiness perception in the treated region on 24 and 48 hours post-shampooing for 3 months.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.