Nursing News and Research

Latest Nursing News and Research

Flu - not the only germ threat this time of year!

The flu hasn't even hit hard yet this year, but it seems like everyone's getting sick. What's the deal?

16 Jan 2006

US warns older flu drugs often don't work

Health authorities in the U.S. are advising doctors to stop using two drugs to treat this winters influenza because it has become evident that the most common strain has become resistant to the drugs and they are unlikely to work.

16 Jan 2006

More nurses improves the quality of hospital care

A study in the January/February 2006 issue of the journal Health Affairsconcludes that increasing the number of registered nurses and hours of nursing care per patient would save 6,700 lives and 4 million days of patient care in hospitals each year.

10 Jan 2006

Study to look for links between the nervous system and fatal heart rhythm

Finding out why seemingly healthy people experience ventricular fibrillation, a fatal irregular heart rhythm, could eventually lead to better methods of early detection, according to a Medical College of Georgia researcher.

22 Dec 2005

Effectiveness of Influenza vaccine on elderly substantially overestimated

Studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness in elderly people substantially overestimate vaccine benefits, according to new research from the US published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE), edited at the University of Bristol.

21 Dec 2005

Hospital-level care can be provided at home for less money

Being hospitalized can be a traumatic experience, especially for older persons. Hospitals are noisy, disorienting, full of strangers and infections often spread among patients.

15 Dec 2005

Fish oil supplements prevent declines in heart rate variability

A two-gram fish oil supplement given daily to elderly persons prevented a decline in heart rate variability caused by tiny, dangerous airborne pollutant particles. Heart rate variability, a measure of the autonomic nervous system's regulation of the heart, is an independent risk factor for cardiac arrhythmias, heart attack or sudden death.

15 Dec 2005

Prevention of childhood obesity needs to begin before a woman ever gets pregnant

A child's weight may be influenced by his mother even before he is actually born, according to new research.

7 Dec 2005

Mum's the Word: Exploring Early Motherhood

Mums are the focus of a new study being undertaken by RMIT University researcher Leanne Sheeran.

5 Dec 2005

Ultrafiltration therapy safe and effective

A device that performs ultrafiltration of blood, without requiring specialized nursing care or invasive central intravenous access, can reduce fluid overload in patients with congestive heart failure, according to a new study in the Dec. 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Dec 2005

Elderly as much at risk with old mental health drugs as new ones

Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston are saying that many of the older drugs designed to treat mental problems such as delirium, agitation and psychosis may be even more hazardous to the elderly than newer medicines that now carry U.S. government warnings.

2 Dec 2005

Methylphenidate may be effective in treating autism

Methylphenidate, a medication used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may be effective in treating hyperactivity symptoms in children with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders, researchers report in the November Archives of General Psychiatry.

26 Nov 2005

48% of people with diabetes are not using aspirin to reduce risk of heart attack and stroke

Survey results released by the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) found that nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults 40+ with diabetes are not utilizing aspirin therapy to reduce their risk of recurrent heart attack or stroke nor had they reported discussing such therapy with their healthcare provider.

26 Nov 2005

Acoustics experts say medical sound pollution is widely recognized, rarely addressed

Announcements blare from overhead speakers. Electronic devices beep. Heating and cooling systems rumble. Employees and visitors speak loudly.

21 Nov 2005

Unique report on global long-term care worker migration

Who will provide long-term care to you or your loved ones? If you live in developed countries like the US or the UK, the answer may surprise you according to a new report issued by the AARP Public Policy Institute.

26 Oct 2005

Kids with asthma may also be at risk for psychological problems such as depression

This study, recently published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, is one of the first to examine relationships among asthma, anxiety and depression, and several aspects of social functioning in urban children.

26 Oct 2005

Most communities woefully unprepared for outbreaks of killer flu

If health officials and media prognosticators are accurate, this coming winter may bring with it one of the most sweeping, deadly outbreaks of killer flu that the world has ever seen.

25 Oct 2005

COLD-fX reduces colds

The results of a new study to be published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal show that COLD-fX, an anti-flu, anti-cold pill, reduced the incidence and frequency of recurrent colds by more than half. It also cut the duration of colds and significantly reduced their severity.

25 Oct 2005

Situation-specific policies can reduce antibiotic resistance in hospital

The mass use of antibiotics has caused a rise of bacterial resistance to these drugs that is threatening to destroy the power of these life saving drugs.

23 Oct 2005

Atypical antipsychotic drugs slightly increase risk for death when used in people with dementia

Atypical antipsychotic drugs seem to confer a small increased risk for death when used in people with dementia, concludes a team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in a meta-analysis of 15 clinical trials published in the October 19 issue of the JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Oct 2005