A SUMMER OF STAYCATIONS AND HOPE

from NiGP July - August 2021

PRODUCT NEWS

Dear Readers,

Welcome to this issue of Nursing in General Practice. I hope you are all managing some time off during the summer months to recharge the batteries following an extremely busy and stressful number of months with a national mass vaccination programme and the cyber-attack.

In this issue, the featured articles include folate awareness, melanoma, social prescribing, allergic rhinitis, dry skin, and HIV.

In Ireland, the concept of social prescribing is a relatively new one. It has been widely used in the UK for a number of years with proven benefits. As general practice nurses, we have, unknown to ourselves, used the core principles of social prescribing in supporting people in obtaining and maintaining physical and mental wellbeing long before it became ‘fashionable’ by encouraging people to partake in various activities and support groups.

Also featured in this issue are the findings of a survey undertaken by the Asthma Society of Ireland as part of World Asthma Day in May of this year. The survey explored patient experiences during the pandemic, which revealed some interesting facts.

Some of findings include:

 50 per cent of those surveyed had had an asthma attack in the past year.

 14 per cent had experienced an attack in the past four weeks alone, 19 per cent in the past six months and a further 16 per cent in the past 12 months.

 Worryingly, 26 per cent of respondents said that they had avoided attending an emergency department with their asthma despite experiencing an acute asthma flare-up.

 71 per cent of those surveyed said that they were concerned about contracting a more severe form of Covid-19 as a result of their asthma. This may account for the fact that 38 per cent also admitted that they have avoided support or healthcare services in the past year as they were concerned about the impact of Covid-19.

All those surveyed were taking asthma medication, but 80 per cent felt that their asthma was not considered to be a life-threatening condition by the general public. Only 20 per cent of people felt their condition was taken seriously as an illness by family and friends and just 13 per cent felt it was taken seriously as an illness at work.

These findings are of major concern. Frequently, I hear the comment that it is just “a touch of asthma” or “it’s very mild”. We really need to change these attitudes as Ireland has one of the highest prevalence rates of asthma in the world with one-in-10 children and one-in-13 adults living with the condition. Experts would agree that there is no such thing as mild asthma and all patients with asthma should be managed and cared for as having a potentially life-threatening condition.

The key to this is ongoing regular reviews, self-management support and education. We know from the National Review of Asthma Deaths in the UK (2014) that it is people with “so-called” mild asthma that are dying from asthma as their condition isn’t taken seriously by family, friends or health professionals. In future guidelines, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) will address the definition of mild asthma, which is to be welcomed (GINA, 2021).

I hope you all have a lovely summer and get a chance to enjoy our beautiful country with your family and friends during these uncertain times.

EDITOR

Priscilla Lynch

CONSULTING EDITOR

Ruth Morrow

SUB-EDITOR

Emer Keogh emer@greenx.ie

Melanoma

Theresa Lowry-Lehnen gives an overview of melanoma incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention

Please email publishing enquiries to Publisher and Director, Graham Cooke graham@greenx.ie

HIV

An interview with Prof Fiona Lyons , Clinical lead of the HSE’s Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme, about challenges and developments in HIV detection and care

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DISCLAIMER

The views expressed in Nursing in General Practice are not necessarily those of the publishers, editor or editorial advisory board. While the publishers, editor and editorial advisory board have taken every care with regard to accuracy of editorial and advertisement contributions, they cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions contained.

ASTHMA SUPPORT

Sarah O’Connor, CEO of the Irish Asthma Society of Ireland, outlines how the society has been supporting asthma patients during the pandemic

FOLATE AWARENESS

Anna Wedderburn presents an overview of the need for adequate folate intake and its effects on overall health

ALLERGIC RHINITIS IN FOCUS

Theresa Lowry-Lehnen looks at the different presentation and stepwise treatment approaches to this common condition

SOCIAL PRESCRIBING

Theresa Lowry-Lehnen explains the rationale behind social prescribing and the importance of high quality research and comparative evaluation

37 FOOD

Tom Doorley looks at the complexity of calories

FINANCE

Paul Redmond examines day-to-day banking options following the recent departure of some banks from Ireland

PRODUCT NEWS

A round-up of the latest product news

CROSSWORD

Test your word knowledge

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