School of Nursing

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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/84545
This collection contains Honours, Masters and Ph.D by coursework theses from University of Adelaide postgraduate students within the School of Nursing. The material has been approved as making a significant contribution to knowledge.

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Browsing School of Nursing by Advisors "Cameron, Kate"

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    ‘I know the difference it has made in people’s lives’: Perceptions of Rural South Australian Nurses Extending Their Role to Administer Chemotherapy.
    (2014) Alnasser, Qasem; Cameron, Kate; Prouse, Janette; School of Nursing
    Nurses in rural Australia are currently administering chemotherapy in centres where this was not previously the case. This has resulted from an Australian Government and metropolitan residents in Australia. One initiative has been education of rural health care professionals who work with cancer patients. In South Australia (SA) a State-wide Chemotherapy Education and Assessment Program was implemented using the Antineoplastic Drug Administration Course (ADAC) developed by the Cancer Institute of New South Wales (NSW). This research project explored the perceptions of nurses working in level-one rural centres administering low risk chemotherapy protocols in SA. Critical social theory was used to explore the hidden constraints, conscientize and empower participants. Through individual interviews a dialectic process was developed to collect the data from eight participants who were rural registered nurses working in low risk chemotherapy centres. The data analysis revealed four main categories of findings. These were; 1) role extension, preparedness and self-confidence; 2) chemotherapy services in rural areas; 3) power relationship, referrals and sustainability; and 4) communication with other cancer settings and professionals. These four categories represent the participants’ perceptions of their role and the provision of chemotherapy services in rural areas. Participants valued the service highly but identified areas that they find problematic including maintenance of knowledge and skills. It was also perceived that rural nurses do not have input into the referral process and fear that the service is being underutilised due to low referral rates from metropolitan centres. Based on the findings, literature review and current knowledge of cancer education some recommendations were suggested. These recommendations included, developing an education module for rural cancer chemotherapy practice, implementation of an annual re-credential course and clinical rotation to a higher chemotherapy administration service, a more explicit patient referral process would help to identify patients eligible for chemotherapy treatment in low risk centres, upgrade of centres to enable them to manage medium risk level treatments would increase the volume and familiarity of nurses administering treatments, and lastly, use of telehealth communication for education and communication.
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    ItemOpen Access
    An investigation of palliative care nurses' perceptions and views of an extended hours community nursing service at the Northern Adelaide Palliative Service.
    (2014) Grigson, Jane Maree; Cameron, Kate; Harvey, Gillian; School of Nursing
    Background Palliative care as a health specialty has undergone dramatic growth across the globe since the 1960’s. With this growth has come an array of service models, providing palliative care in a variety of ways. The situation in Australia is no different, and the inequity of access to palliative care has been noted at both a commonwealth and state government level. Purpose This study investigated the perceptions and views of the nurses into an extended hour’s community nursing service at Northern Adelaide Palliative Service. The data obtained was intended to identify if there was any perceived need for a change in service delivery and any potential benefits to the current client group. Methods This is a mixed method study, combining the collection of qualitative data from the current nursing staff and an analysis of the after-hours telephone calls to the service. Nursing staff were interviewed individually using a semi-structured approach. Telephone data reviewed was information already collected by Northern Adelaide Palliative Service, and all data was de-identified prior to review. Results Data gathered from the interviews revealed that whilst there was support for the concept of an extended hour’s community service in general, this support did not translate to the local setting. A lack of consensus existed between current nurses of Northern Adelaide Palliative Care Service in relation to both the need for an extended hour’s service and the potential benefits to the current client group. The telephone data identified that nearly a third of all calls received could have been responded to by a nurse, with the majority of these calls being received after eight in the morning until ten at night. Conclusion Overall the data obtained is not convincing in indicating either a desire or need for an extended hours community nursing service at Northern Adelaide Palliative Service. Despite this the management and care of the palliative patient in the after-hours period continues to be an area of concern. It would be beneficial to collect additional data from all users of the service to obtain their view on the effectiveness and accessibility of the service.