Articles, booklets and guides

Burnout - a spiritual crisis

Burnout and stress are often found close together - burnout being presumed to flow from an extreme experience of stress. This guide offers a broader perspective, developed from work at the Sacred Space Foundation, a charity based in the north of England for people suffering from the extremes of stress and burnout.

A guide to cultural and spiritual awareness

Given the immense diversity between different cultures and religions, this guide can only offer general useful advice.

Childhood obesity and lifestyle

This guide looks at the findings of a pan-European research study (Kellogg's 2005) examining children's attitudes, knowledge and behaviour in relation to healthy eating and physical activities, compared with the views of their parents.

Genetics

This series of articles aims to raise awareness of genetics and help readers develop confidence in dealing appropriately with genetic issues that arise in their area of practice.

Insulin pump therapy

This guide looks at the use of insulin pumps for people with diabetes, including a patient’s perspective. Written by Katharine Barnard, chartered health psychologist, and Steve Dixon, Sky News presenter, who describes life with an insulin pump.

Management of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration

This guide discusses the requirements of a patient care pathway that reflects best practice, and offers practical advice for general and ophthalmic nurses in light of NICE and SMC guidance for the treatment of wet AMD.

Mental health needs of older people (Let’s respect)

At any one time, older people occupy up to two thirds of NHS beds. As many as 60 per cent of them will have mental health needs - mainly dementia, delirium and depression. This guide gives a brief overview of the signs and symptoms, and explains how best to care for older people with these conditions.

Nutrition and older people

Nutrition has made headlines in the national media and the nursing press in recent years. Stories have emerged of hungry patients, a lack of support with eating and drinking, and patients being ignored. Most of these stories relate to older people.

Patient Pictures

RCN Publishing and Health Press Ltd have created a partnership to provide you with the Patient Pictures series of books. These offer a valuable resource for you to use when advising patients. The series covers key clinical areas and, in total, there are approximately 800 pages for you to help patients.

Resilience and coping strategies in adolescents

Resilience has gained considerable attention over the past four decades since researchers observed that children and youth could cope and adapt in spite of adversity. Adolescence is considered to be a period of vulnerability for most individuals as they often partake in risky behaviour.

Smoking cessation

'Cut down then stop' is for smokers who want to use nicotine replacement therapy to help cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke and move through a four-step approach to a final goal of stopping smoking within six to nine months. This guide reviews the rationale for this strategy and explains how to use the 'cut down then stop' approach.

Spirit of Nursing Conference

Addressing patients' spiritual needs is recognised as an integral part of nursing care. But exactly how is that translated in the day-to-day hurly burly of health care and what are the implications for nurses?

Urinary continence management in older people

This guide is designed for professionals dealing with older people who have bladder problems. It suggests up-to-date, evidence based, practical management strategies.

Vulnerable adults

In recent years the media has put child abuse under the spotlight with high-profile cases of neglect by carers. It is an issue that evokes great public concern. We hear less about the abuse of vulnerable adults and, as a society, are not comfortable with acknowledging that it exists. This guide aims to assist you in understanding your responsibilities in safeguarding vulnerable adults.