Outcome measurement and valuation – what is it and why do we need it?

Last week I spent a couple of days in York, England exploring outcome measurement and valuation for Health Technology Assessment with academics from the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York. People attended from across the world and I sat beside colleagues from many countries including India, Ghana, Switzerland, Greece, Denmark, Spain and […]

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Understanding the emotional health and wellbeing of our Military Children and Young People

Paul Watson RN (mental health) Twitter @Paul_RMHN Recent conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan have seen British Armed Forces at war for over 12 years. The extreme length of combat operations has seen a growth in both governmental and public support for the ‘troops on the ground’. There has been a distinctive escalation in government […]

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The physical health of individuals with serious mental illness Josephine Bardi (RMN), MSc Public Health candidate Twitter @JoBardi01

“The problem of physical health in individuals with severe mental illness remains a global public health concern” (World Psychiatric Association, 2009, p.1). Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) particularly those with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder are vulnerable to poorer physical health which results in higher rates of mortality and morbidity when compared to […]

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Reducing Anti-Psychotic Medications for People Living with Dementia by Gary Mitchell RN MSc BSc

  A few years ago I took up my first nursing post in a dementia care unit in Northern Ireland. The unit I worked in was very progressive and care was underpinned with up-to-date practices. Some examples included; specialist signage displayed around the unit that facilitated people with dementia in navigation to bathrooms, dining rooms […]

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Back to square one? Pain management in children

Jackie Vasey, Senior Lecturer Children’s Nursing, University of Huddersfield Effective pain management is a human right and health professionals have a responsibility to ensure that all children receive effective pain management (Twycross & Williams, in; Twycross, Dowden & Stinson, 2014). However, evidence suggests that effective pain management is lacking, with children continuing to experience moderate […]

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