Volume 17, Number 3, Fall
2000
Publishing Opportunities Abound: SCI Nursing Survey
Results By Susan S. Thomason
Safeguarding the SCI Nursing Workforce By Laureen
Doloresco
Progressive Treatment Options for Children with
Spinal Cord Injury By Lisa Merenda, Thomas Spoltore and Randal Betz
Assistive Technology: What and
How for Persons with
Spinal Cord Injury By Martin Blair
Promoting Safe Use of Equipment for Neurogenic Bowel
Management by Audrey Nelson, Pascal Malassigne, Mark Cors, and Thomas
Amerson
Nurses have a responsibility to monitor patient safety related to the use of equipment. Existing bowel care/shower chairs used by persons with neurogenic bowel can pose serious safety risks for patients. Twenty-four percent of persons with spinal cord dysfunction reported development of pressure ulcers and cuts from the seats, and 35% reported a history of falls from bowel care/shower chairs. Of those who reported injuries due to falls, more than 23% reported that they were hospitalized from 1 month to 4 years due to injuries from the fall.
Many of the pressure ulcers and falls that occur from the use of bowel care equipment can be prevented. A combination of design flaws and user error are responsible for these safety risks. Design flaws in existing equipment include seat design, seat configuration, footrests, armrests, hand rims that are difficult to propel when wet, unreliable brakes, and chair frame instability.
User error that contributes to pressure ulcers relates to poor posture in the chair. User error that contributes to
patient falls relates to leaning over to wash the feet and lack of maintenance of air pressure in the tires, which affects the
brakes.
A series of research and development projects enabled the authors to design a new bowel care/shower chair that
incorporates many new features and inventions to enhance patient safety.
Health Promotion in Motion: Improving Quality of Life
for Persons with Neurogenic Bladder and Bowel Using Assistive Technology
by Mary Jane Kachourbos and Graham Greasey
The neurogenic bladder and bowel lead to many complications in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Management of these neurological complications is a multidimensional challenge for persons with SCI and their caregivers, and can affect the person medically, economically, socially, and personally. This may result in social
isolation, poor self-image, and overall decreased quality of life (QOL). When facing this challenge, nurses working with persons with SCI must expand their practice to include more than traditional preventive care.
A newly available technique for promoting health with a neurogenic bladder and bowel is the VOCARE™ Bladder and Bowel Control System. Sixteen persons with SCI who received this system were interviewed by telephone and asked for their recollections of health and QOL pre-operatively in relation to bladder and bowel care and to rate changes in their QOL post-implant.
Post-operatively, the recipients reported improved health, a decrease in costs of management of their neurogenic bladder and bowel, increased independence leading to less social isolation, increased sense of control, increased feelings of self-worth, and overall improvement in QOL.
These outcomes illustrate the global impact that can be made on the lives of persons with SCI by health services that go beyond prevention of complications and into the realm of health promotion.
The Personal Side of Technology edited by Cathy Parsa
Current Technologies in Gastrostomy Feeding Tubes by
Fina Canave Jimenez
Tips on Completing A Research Proposal by Kathryn Van
Dyke Hayes
AASCIN News edited by Cheryl Lehman
Volume 17, Number 2, Summer 2000
Promoting The Positive
Image Of Nursing: Is There A Role For SCI Nurses? By Peggy Guin
Rekindling Professional
Commitment By Laureen Doloresco
Delegation Strategies
For Registered Nurses Practicing In Turbulent Health Care Arenas By Lynn
Parsons
Community Reintegration
And Chronic Spinal Cord Injury By Lygia Owen Holcomb
Managing Work-Related
Stress In Times Of Uncertainly: A Care Plan For The Caregiver By Karen
Ward and Lynn Parsons
Nursing Staff Responses
To Organizational Change By Suzanne Prevost
Moving Into The
Millennium With New SCI Standards By Terrie Black
Doing Rehab The Carf
Way By Suzann Byers
The Use Of Central
Venous Catheters In A Residential Care Setting By Sharon Miller
Avoiding Common
Pitfalls In A Research Proposal By Judith Allen
Abstracts From Selected
Literature
Book Reviews
Non-Print Media Review:
Video
Progress Report: AASCIN
Strategic Plan
AASCIN News
SCI
Nursing Bulletin Board
______________________________
Volume 17, Number 1, Spring 2000
Will You Have A Nursing
Job...Or Will You Have Too Many? By Susan Thomason
Breaking The
Silence On
Medical Errors By Laureen Doloresco
Sexuality And Spinal
Cord Injury: A Road Map For Nurses By Kathryn McBride and Barbara
Rines
The focus of this article is to describe and outline a method of nursing care intervention that will assist nurses in addressing the sexual health concerns of their clients with spinal cord impairment (SCI). A “road map” is described that serves as a guide to recognize and respond to clients’ sexual health concerns. A sexual assessment framework is explored to help nurses identify common concerns shared by persons with SCI. Each area will be defined, and the impact of SCI will be discussed. The PLISSIT Model is presented as a way for planning nursing interventions to address sexual health concerns. Strategies are identified for talking with clients about changes to sexuality and sexual function following SCI.
Vision And
Accountability: Keys To Quality Care By Rose Rivers
AASCIN Position
Statements
Spinal Cord Injury
Rehabilitation In Honduras By Graciela Arredondo
The Sunshine Network
Teleconsultation Network Initiative For SCI Veterans In Community
Settings By Diana Weinel
Abstracts From Selected
Literature
