Mary Hughes

Quality of life in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a systematic review.

Quality of life (QOL) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is now considered an important outcome measure of treatment for this disease. The aim of this paper is to systematically review studies on QOL in children during treatment for ALL with consideration to methodological details and quality of studies, empirical findings on QOL as reported by children and parents, and whether children and parents differ in their reports on QOL. Searches were conducted in biomedical, psychological and behavioural science databases. Six papers met inclusion criteria for review: 4 cross-sectional studies and 2 qualitative studies. There was little consistency in how QOL was measured or qualitatively assessed across studies. The quality of most studies was limited by small sample sizes and cross-sectional designs. Childrens reports on QOL were represented in 3 studies and discrepancies were found between childrens and parents accounts of QOL. There is a need for ongoing research on QOL in children with ALL that use longitudinal designs, large sample sizes, and child reports of QOL. There is a need for theoretical development of the concept of QOL through concept analysis, grounded theory research and empirical validation of developing theory of QOL. Theoretical development of the concept of QOL will contribute to greater clarification of what is meant by QOL than currently exists which in turn has the potential to advance the methodology of measuring this concept in children.

The effectiveness of the lecturer practitioner role in clinical practice: An Irish perspective

BACKGROUND Demands within academia such as teaching, publishing, research activity and generating grant income can make it difficult for nurse educators to protect time for clinical practice. In an effort to overcome this problem lecturer practitioner posts have been introduced with designated responsibilities in both clinical and educational settings. METHODS Using a mixed method descriptive methodology student nurses and registered nurses completed a modified questionnaire to examine the impact of lecturer practitioners (LPs) in clinical practice. Focus groups were also conducted with lecturer practitioners themselves. RESULTS The results identified that by having a clinical remit, LPs forged good relationships with student nurses and registered nurses in clinical practice, who considered the LP as being a learning resource with realistic expectations of the clinical environment. DISCUSSION The results provide further evidence to support the continuation of nurse educators in clinical practice for their own development, their students and registered nurses.

Evaluation of a pilot national online asthma E-learning program for secondary school students

Background: Ireland has the fourth highest incidence of asthma in the world, with Irish children losing on average 10 days of school per annum due to their asthma. It is highly probable that a large percentage of students in each class in Irish schools have asthma and are required to manage symptoms during the out-of-home period. Young people with chronic illnesses such as asthma find themselves labelled and marginalized due to a lack of awareness of others about their condition. Aims and objectives: Young people who feel supported by their peers have been shown to have higher levels of self-efficacy and fewer exacerbations of their asthma symptoms. Methods: An on-line asthma e-learning program was developed to provide support to teenagers who have asthma, and help them inform their classmates and friends about asthma. A quasi-experimental approach was used to pilot the educational intervention. Results: The results of the pilot demonstrate that the program is effective. Teenagers who have asthma found the e-learning program to be informative and relevant to them. The increase in awareness of asthma among teenagers who did not have asthma is shown to influence their confidence in assisting their peers who are experiencing asthma symptoms.

Playing the game: How young people moderate influences in accommodating asthma in their lives

This article presents moderating influences, one of the sub-core categories from the theory of accommodating interruptions. This theory emerged in the context of young people who have asthma, explaining how they develop behaviours in their everyday lives (Hughes 2014; Hughes et al., 2017). The aim of this research was to develop a theory on the behaviours of young people who have asthma, in relation to the impact of asthma on the lives and the issues affecting them. This research was undertaken using a classic grounded theory approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant diaries and clinic consultations with young people aged 11–16 years who had asthma for over one year. Moderating influence accounts for how social influences and social culture affect what young people who have asthma wish to achieve and how they want to be perceived by others. Young people moderate influences by their features or attributes in order to meet their own needs.