Alison Coull - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Alison Coull
Scottish medical journal, Jan 12, 2016
New psychoactive substances are causing increasing harm across the UK but the use of new psychoac... more New psychoactive substances are causing increasing harm across the UK but the use of new psychoactive substance by injecting has become a significant problem within Lothian since the beginning of 2014. Data indicate a rapid rise in the number of existing drug injectors, particularly heroin injectors, moving to new psychoactive substance injecting. This paper reports the experiences within Lothian of a sudden increase in injecting of ethylphenidate over one year. A temporary class drug order was placed on ethylphenidate on 10 April 2015, and as yet the effects of this are unknown. Data specifically relating to new psychoactive substance recorded during injecting equipment provision transactions conducted by the NHS are reported. A survey was utilised to gather more detailed data from new psychoactive substance injectors. Injection of new psychoactive substance, including ethylphenidate has had significant adverse effects on physical and mental health. Risky behaviour such as sharing ...
British Journal of Nursing, 2015
British Journal of Nursing, 2004
■ The expansion of nurse prescribing has benefited patients, improved public health and benefited... more ■ The expansion of nurse prescribing has benefited patients, improved public health and benefited health care professionals in many ways.
British Journal of Nursing, Oct 1, 2004
Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving... more Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving pain, which may not be adequately controlled with conventional analgesia. Complementary analgesia may be beneficial as an adjunctive therapy. This pilot study presented eight patients with two odour therapies, lavender and lemon, two music therapies, relaxing and preferred music and a control condition, during vascular wound dressing changes. Although the therapies did not reduce the pain intensity during the dressing change there was a significant reduction in pain intensity for the lavender therapy and a reduction in pain intensity for the relaxing music therapy after the dressing change. This supports the use of these complementary therapies, which are inexpensive, easy to administer and have no known side effects, as adjunctive analgesia in this patient population. Earlier administration before dressing change may enhance these effects. Further research is required to ascertain why certain complementary therapies are more effective than others at relieving pain.
British Journal of Nursing, Jul 1, 2004
British journal of community nursing, 2013
This article describes the experience of a young male who developed leg ulceration, which he trea... more This article describes the experience of a young male who developed leg ulceration, which he treated and managed by himself. In an unusual case, with with unusual circumstances, he used a leg ulcer hosiery kit as compression therapy to sell-manage from the commencement of treatment to healing, with the assistance of a remotely based health-care professional. The local NHS and private health services that he accessed were unable to provide an appropriately tailored service for this patient in full-time weekday employment.
British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)
Doppler ultrasound and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) calculations are used in the assessme... more Doppler ultrasound and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) calculations are used in the assessment of lower limb vascularity, specifically to determine arterial deficiency. ABPI is important as it is used as an indicator when deciding management options for the treatment of leg ulceration. This study aimed to investigate the range of ABPI measurement, using Doppler ultrasound and sphygmomanometry in 36 young healthy adults aged 18-55 years. The findings show a mean ABPI in the left leg of 1.19 and a mean ABPI of 1.17 in the right leg which, while within the normal range, are consistently in the upper range and significantly higher than the acknowledged 'normal' midpoint of 1.0. It would appear that younger people will have ABPIs within the upper aspect of the normal range and well above the established norm of 1.0.
British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)
British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), Jan 10, 2004
British Journal of Nursing, 2004
Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving... more Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving pain, which may not be adequately controlled with conventional analgesia. Complementary analgesia may be beneficial as an adjunctive therapy. This pilot study presented eight patients with two odour therapies, lavender and lemon, two music therapies, relaxing and preferred music and a control condition, during vascular wound dressing changes. Although the therapies did not reduce the pain intensity during the dressing change there was a significant reduction in pain intensity for the lavender therapy and a reduction in pain intensity for the relaxing music therapy after the dressing change. This supports the use of these complementary therapies, which are inexpensive, easy to administer and have no known side effects, as adjunctive analgesia in this patient population. Earlier administration before dressing change may enhance these effects. Further research is required to ascertain why certain complementary therapies are more effective than others at relieving pain.
British Journal of Nursing, 2004
Journal of Tissue Viability, 2005
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2006
I N T O S H J . ( 2 0 0 6 ) Journal of Advanced Nursing 54(3), 274-283
Harm reduction journal, 2014
Drug users suffer harm from the injecting process, and clinical services are reporting increasing... more Drug users suffer harm from the injecting process, and clinical services are reporting increasing numbers presenting with skin-related problems such as abscesses and leg ulcers. Skin breakdown can lead to long-term health problems and increased service costs and is often the first indication of serious systemic ill health. The extent of skin problems in injecting drug users has not previously been quantified empirically, and there is a dearth of robust topical literature. Where skin problems have been reported, this is often without clear definition and generic terms such as 'soft tissue infection' are used which lack specificity. The aim of this study was to identify the range and extent of skin problems including leg ulceration in a sample of injecting drug users. Definitions of skin problems were developed and applied to descriptions from drug users to improve rigour. Data were collected in needle exchanges and methadone clinics across Glasgow, Scotland, from both current...
British journal of community nursing, 2013
Medicine prescribing by community nurses commenced in the UK in 1996. By 2001, nurse prescribing ... more Medicine prescribing by community nurses commenced in the UK in 1996. By 2001, nurse prescribing was extended to include more nurses and to cover a wider formulary. This research project provides an evaluation of the extension of prescribing powers to nurses in Scotland, following the introduction of legislation in 2001. It aimed to evaluate the impact of nurse prescribing powers on patients, nurses, prescribers, and other stakeholders. A range of methods were used, including two public surveys, stakeholder interviews, postal questionnaires and case studies. The benefits of extended nurse prescribing include: improved patient access to treatment; enhanced patient care; enabled more effective use of medical staff time and greater professional satisfaction for nurses who used nursing skills; and built inter-professional working. Some obstacles existed, including organisational, institutional and resource factors that restricted the overall success of the extension of nurse prescribing...
International Journal of Nursing Practice, 2006
Scottish medical journal, Jan 12, 2016
New psychoactive substances are causing increasing harm across the UK but the use of new psychoac... more New psychoactive substances are causing increasing harm across the UK but the use of new psychoactive substance by injecting has become a significant problem within Lothian since the beginning of 2014. Data indicate a rapid rise in the number of existing drug injectors, particularly heroin injectors, moving to new psychoactive substance injecting. This paper reports the experiences within Lothian of a sudden increase in injecting of ethylphenidate over one year. A temporary class drug order was placed on ethylphenidate on 10 April 2015, and as yet the effects of this are unknown. Data specifically relating to new psychoactive substance recorded during injecting equipment provision transactions conducted by the NHS are reported. A survey was utilised to gather more detailed data from new psychoactive substance injectors. Injection of new psychoactive substance, including ethylphenidate has had significant adverse effects on physical and mental health. Risky behaviour such as sharing ...
British Journal of Nursing, 2015
British Journal of Nursing, 2004
■ The expansion of nurse prescribing has benefited patients, improved public health and benefited... more ■ The expansion of nurse prescribing has benefited patients, improved public health and benefited health care professionals in many ways.
British Journal of Nursing, Oct 1, 2004
Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving... more Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving pain, which may not be adequately controlled with conventional analgesia. Complementary analgesia may be beneficial as an adjunctive therapy. This pilot study presented eight patients with two odour therapies, lavender and lemon, two music therapies, relaxing and preferred music and a control condition, during vascular wound dressing changes. Although the therapies did not reduce the pain intensity during the dressing change there was a significant reduction in pain intensity for the lavender therapy and a reduction in pain intensity for the relaxing music therapy after the dressing change. This supports the use of these complementary therapies, which are inexpensive, easy to administer and have no known side effects, as adjunctive analgesia in this patient population. Earlier administration before dressing change may enhance these effects. Further research is required to ascertain why certain complementary therapies are more effective than others at relieving pain.
British Journal of Nursing, Jul 1, 2004
British journal of community nursing, 2013
This article describes the experience of a young male who developed leg ulceration, which he trea... more This article describes the experience of a young male who developed leg ulceration, which he treated and managed by himself. In an unusual case, with with unusual circumstances, he used a leg ulcer hosiery kit as compression therapy to sell-manage from the commencement of treatment to healing, with the assistance of a remotely based health-care professional. The local NHS and private health services that he accessed were unable to provide an appropriately tailored service for this patient in full-time weekday employment.
British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)
Doppler ultrasound and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) calculations are used in the assessme... more Doppler ultrasound and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) calculations are used in the assessment of lower limb vascularity, specifically to determine arterial deficiency. ABPI is important as it is used as an indicator when deciding management options for the treatment of leg ulceration. This study aimed to investigate the range of ABPI measurement, using Doppler ultrasound and sphygmomanometry in 36 young healthy adults aged 18-55 years. The findings show a mean ABPI in the left leg of 1.19 and a mean ABPI of 1.17 in the right leg which, while within the normal range, are consistently in the upper range and significantly higher than the acknowledged 'normal' midpoint of 1.0. It would appear that younger people will have ABPIs within the upper aspect of the normal range and well above the established norm of 1.0.
British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)
British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), Jan 10, 2004
British Journal of Nursing, 2004
Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving... more Vascular wounds may require frequent dressing changes over a long period of time, often involving pain, which may not be adequately controlled with conventional analgesia. Complementary analgesia may be beneficial as an adjunctive therapy. This pilot study presented eight patients with two odour therapies, lavender and lemon, two music therapies, relaxing and preferred music and a control condition, during vascular wound dressing changes. Although the therapies did not reduce the pain intensity during the dressing change there was a significant reduction in pain intensity for the lavender therapy and a reduction in pain intensity for the relaxing music therapy after the dressing change. This supports the use of these complementary therapies, which are inexpensive, easy to administer and have no known side effects, as adjunctive analgesia in this patient population. Earlier administration before dressing change may enhance these effects. Further research is required to ascertain why certain complementary therapies are more effective than others at relieving pain.
British Journal of Nursing, 2004
Journal of Tissue Viability, 2005
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2006
I N T O S H J . ( 2 0 0 6 ) Journal of Advanced Nursing 54(3), 274-283
Harm reduction journal, 2014
Drug users suffer harm from the injecting process, and clinical services are reporting increasing... more Drug users suffer harm from the injecting process, and clinical services are reporting increasing numbers presenting with skin-related problems such as abscesses and leg ulcers. Skin breakdown can lead to long-term health problems and increased service costs and is often the first indication of serious systemic ill health. The extent of skin problems in injecting drug users has not previously been quantified empirically, and there is a dearth of robust topical literature. Where skin problems have been reported, this is often without clear definition and generic terms such as 'soft tissue infection' are used which lack specificity. The aim of this study was to identify the range and extent of skin problems including leg ulceration in a sample of injecting drug users. Definitions of skin problems were developed and applied to descriptions from drug users to improve rigour. Data were collected in needle exchanges and methadone clinics across Glasgow, Scotland, from both current...
British journal of community nursing, 2013
Medicine prescribing by community nurses commenced in the UK in 1996. By 2001, nurse prescribing ... more Medicine prescribing by community nurses commenced in the UK in 1996. By 2001, nurse prescribing was extended to include more nurses and to cover a wider formulary. This research project provides an evaluation of the extension of prescribing powers to nurses in Scotland, following the introduction of legislation in 2001. It aimed to evaluate the impact of nurse prescribing powers on patients, nurses, prescribers, and other stakeholders. A range of methods were used, including two public surveys, stakeholder interviews, postal questionnaires and case studies. The benefits of extended nurse prescribing include: improved patient access to treatment; enhanced patient care; enabled more effective use of medical staff time and greater professional satisfaction for nurses who used nursing skills; and built inter-professional working. Some obstacles existed, including organisational, institutional and resource factors that restricted the overall success of the extension of nurse prescribing...
International Journal of Nursing Practice, 2006