Welcome to the
College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 287 10 February 2016
From
NZ media this week
Taranaki Students Play a Part in Reducing Maori
Health Inequalities
Maori students in Taranaki
are gaining valuable work experience throughout secondary and tertiary
education and in turn, contributing to the aim of decreasing Maori health
inequalities thanks to the Why Ora employment pathways program run through
Whakatipuranga Rima Rau (WRR) at Taranaki District Health Board.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1602/S00020/taranaki-students-reducing-maori-health-inequalities.htm
Better nutrition policies needed for children
Most early childhood
education services strive to encourage healthy eating among children, but need
stronger and more detailed nutrition policies to support change in everyday
staff and parent
behaviours.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1602/S00017/better-nutrition-policies-needed-for-children.htm
More kids are sick
when visiting the doctor is free
Free
visits to the doctor for 6 to 13 year-olds has resulted in thousands more child
visits to southern GPs.
But
the Riverton Medical Centre has slammed the government scheme for being
under-funded and putting strain on already busy doctors.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/76506766/more-kids-are-sick-when-visiting-the-doctor-is-free
Drugs,
alcohol, smoking, addictions
Have national smoking bans worked in reducing harms in
passive smoking?
The most robust evidence yet, published today in the Cochrane
Library, suggests that national smoking legislation does reduce the harms of
passive smoking, and particularly risks from heart
disease.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160204042255.htm
Māori group urges bigger
tobacco tax rise
The National Maori Tobacco Control Service is
urging the government to keep increasing the cost of tobacco, and by greater
amounts.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/296054/maori-group-urges-bigger-tobacco-tax-rise
Ethical
issues
Gene editing can now be performed in the UK – what
you need to know
It’s no longer science fiction. Modern science
has the ability to manipulate the DNA of a human embryo. In a world’s
first, scientists in
China announced
last year that they had edited a mutated gene which causes a blood disorder in
a human embryo.
http://bit.ly/1RZr1A
Obesity
Taxing sugary drinks: Empirical findings out of
Mexico
Dr Andrea
McDonald, Dr Cristina Cleghorn, Prof Nick Wilson, Prof Tony Blakely
Last month the
British Medical Journal published a study on the highly anticipated purchasing
data examining the impact of taxing sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) in Mexico
(1). This study reported that the 10% tax on SSBs was associated with an
overall 12% reduction in purchases and a 4% increase in purchases of untaxed
beverages one year after implementation. In this blog we examine this latest
study, how it fits in with existing evidence, and how these results might apply
to improving the control of obesity and improving child oral health in New
Zealand.
https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/pubhealthexpert/2016/02/04/taxing-sugary-drinks-empirical-findings-out-of-mexico/
Public
health
Experts warn thousands unaware of Hep B
Tens of thousands of Māori, Pasifika and Asian
New Zealanders are believed to be infected with Hepatitis B without knowing
they have the liver disease.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/295690/experts-warn-thousands-unaware-of-hep-b
Encouraging
immunisation for older children
Health
Minister Jonathan Coleman says a new awareness campaign starts today to remind
parents and caregivers of older children about the school based immunisation
programme.
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2016/february-2016/09/Encouraging-immunisation-for-older-children.aspx
Positive signs in
search to solve rheumatic fever and group A strep throat
NZ Doctor, 3 February 2016
Driven
by desperation to find a solution to outbreaks of group A strep throat, a
precursor to rheumatic fever, Eastern Bay of Plenty doctors have turned to a
probiotic treatment originally developed at Otago University
http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2016/february-2016/03/Positive-signs-in-search-to-solve-rheumatic-fever-and-group-A-strep-throat.aspx
Zika
Zika cases on the rise in NZ
Five cases of Zika have been reported in New
Zealand in the last week, bringing the total number of people treated for the
disease this year to 11.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/295770/zika-cases-on-the-rise-in-nz
From International media this week
Hospitals 'Grow Their Own' Specialty Care RNs Amid
Nurse Shortage
Hospital-based
nurse residency programs are increasing in number — improving retention and
lowering contract labor costs.
http://bit.ly/20FT8WS
Nurses feel
overworked, underpaid and uber-stressed
Most say they love their jobs, but don't like the side effects
http://bit.ly/207TxPH
Nurse-Family program to guide local 1st-time moms
through pregnancy, early years
First-time mothers could receive additional help
after the local branch of the Nurse- Family Partnership received a grant to
guide women through pregnancy and their child’s first years.
http://bit.ly/1X3qmxg
Test question: Can games help train future doctors and
nurses?
Kaizen, an online quiz game developed by a group of infectious
diseases doctors in the UAB School of Medicine, is going
viral.
http://bit.ly/1PBwA5T
The U.S. Is Running Out of Nurses
The country has experienced
nursing shortages for decades, but an aging population means the problem is
about to get much worse.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/02/nursing-shortage/459741/
Florida facing a 'nursing
shortage tsunami' due to increased population, more insured patients
That's the number of vacant registered nursing positions across
the state, according to a new report from the Florida Center for Nursing.
ttp://web.tampabay.com/news/health/florida-facing-a-nursing-shortage-tsunami-due-to-increased-population-more/2263588
Best of times,
worst of times for RNs in the UK
THE UK needs nurses – badly, urgently as in yesterday – that’s
on the “Best of Times” column.
http://www.manilatimes.net/best-of-times-worst-of-times-for-rns-in-the-uk/243661/
Nurses back bill to protect them from violent patients
BOSTON – Karen Coughlin has been punched, bitten, kicked, and
spat at by some of her patients at Taunton State Hospital. Her clothes have
been torn and her hair has been pulled.
She was even once threatened by a harmonica that was turned into
a straight edge blade.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20160205/NEWS/160209515
Social media
Working but homeless
Working families with young
children and babies are being left homeless and sleeping in cars in Auckland,
as they struggle to get into emergency housing, and are turned off or away from
Housing New Zealand.
Parents say even with
accommodation supplement benefits, their wages don't cover rising rents, and
living in garages or spending nights on the floors of friends and family are
the only options they have.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201787942/when-a-child's-home-is-a-car
Work
and management
Techniques ED nurses employ to combat violence at
work
Whether at a small, free standing ED or one in a frenetic,
high-volume hospital, many ED nurses regularly confront violence at work.
https://news.nurse.com/2016/02/02/techniques-ed-nurses-employ-to-combat-violence-at-work/
Articles
of interest
Improving cultural competence in end-of-life pain
management
Nursing2016
January 2016,
Volume 46 Number 1 , p 32 - 41 [FREE]
MANAGING PAIN is a central component of
end-of-life care, and nurses are in a prime position to relieve pain and
suffering throughout the dying process. But as the United States continues to
become more ethnically and culturally diverse, healthcare providers face
increasing challenges as they care for patients with different cultural values.
http://bit.ly/1Q4EC39
Online
resources
Pacific Peoples Health is a FREE Publication targeting Pacific people in
New Zealand. Educating and informing Pacific health service users, it is New
Zealand's only publication dedicated solely to Pacific people's health.
http://bit.ly/1P8dG5d
The above information has been collated for the
College of Nurses Aotearoa (NZ) Inc by Linda Stopforth, SNIPS and is provided
on a weekly basis. It is current as at Tuesday
9 February 2016.
If you have any feedback about content - what parts
are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
For more up to date news and information follow SNIPS
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