Improvement insights and Dissemination Series

For more than two decades, across a number of different development and research programmes, FoNS has supported nurses and nurses-led teams to facilitate work-based projects that have aimed at developing care, practice and services, and ultimately to create more person-centred cultures.

The Improvement Insights and Dissemination Series below cover all of the projects. Some of the project reports on which they are based are available to download from the website (we have selected some examples of reports that demonstrate the ways in which teams worked collaboratively and creatively to plan, deliver and evaluate changes in practice). If the report you are interested in is not on the project report page, please email [email protected] and we will send it to you.

Reports are organised by volume
2011 to present: ISSN 2049-1484, 2002 – 2011: ISSN 1478-4106

  1. Improving the patient experience of ambulatory care in the surgical assessment unit
  2. Life stories for wellbeing at Garden House Hospice
  3. Making additional/special observations meaningful for patients living with a diagnosis of dementia
  4. Let’s talk about miscarriage
  5. Parent Action: enabling, advocacy, empowering
  6. Exploring health and wellbeing in prison through a peer research approach
  7. Empowering and educating patients diagnosed with cirrhosis
  8. The Recovery Constellation project
  9. The impact of team culture on patient and relative experience on an elderly care ward
  10. ‘Knowing you, knowing me’: A personcentred approach and a collaboration between older persons and carers in a nursing home setting
  11. Delivering safe, effective, person-centred care and improving the experience for patients with dementia in an acute care setting
  1. EIDDER: early intervention dual diagnosis engagement and recovery
  2. Yoga for people living with dementia in residential care settings
  3. Can we talk? A person-centred approach to medication management in an acute psychiatric ward
  4. ‘Bump, baby and beyond’ – creative ways of designing antenatal preparation sessions in collaboration with women
  5. Recovery and wellness post ICU: using patient diaries
  6. Person-centred paediatric care: capturing the experience and collaborating for the future
  7. The school nurse rucksack
  8. Implementing and evaluating My Healthcare Passport: a participatory action research project
  9. The effectiveness of spikenard essential oil in the management of agitation and distress in end-of-life care
  10. Improving the experience of acute hospital care for people with a learning disability within Hywel Dda University Health Board
  1. Developing the integrated delivery of family intervention within community mental health teams for people with psychosis: a pilot project
  2. Non-medical management of breathlessness
  3. ‘More than a sitter’: a practice development project on special observation in acute general hospital care
  4. Neonatal action research: a new intubation approach
  5. Developing, implementing and evaluating a catheter passport
  6. Improving the patient experience of toileting and management of postoperative urinary retention following elective hip and knee replacement surgery: an evidence-based approach
  7. A quality review of a specialist multidisciplinary service caring for people with long-term neurological conditions/spasticity
  8. Improving care and accountability in a busy emergency department through the use of intentional rounding: the journey so far
  9. Exploring stakeholders’ perceptions of teenage and young adult cancer ambulatory care
  10. Evaluation of a trustwide nurse-led advice line for service users with rheumatological conditions
  1. Improving the assessment and documentation of pain for patients with severe cognitive impairment on an orthopaedic trauma ward
  2. Building on positive experience: developing, implementing and evaluating a model for a self-harm clinic
  3. Health and wellbeing for people living with heart failure
  4. MUST DO: promoting good nutrition in a community hospital in Northern Ireland
  5. An exploration of the patient’s experience following an acute myocardial infarction and subsequent participation in a clinical research study
  6. Person-centred and family-centred care in the intensive care unit
  7. Development and delivery of a diverse peer support programme for renal service users, their families and carers: an action research collaboration
  8. An holistic approach to nutrition and diet in palliative care
  9. Caring for people in a hospice setting who have or may develop difficulty communicating their needs due to dysphasia, cognitive impairment or extreme frailty
  10. Healthcare assistants as second checkers of controlled drugs for timely symptom management in a hospice setting
  1. Developing a Nurse-led Integrated ‘Red Legs’ Service – Caring for People with a Complex Diagnosis/Condition with Causes other than Acute Cellulitis
  2. Improving Patients’ Experience of Transfer from the Adult Intensive Care Unit to the High Dependency Unit
  3. An Exploration of the Lived Experience of Patients and Staff Involved in Supportive Observations within a High Secure Environment
  4. Culturagram: Developing and Implementing a Culturally and Ethnically Sensitive Family Assessment Tool for People Living with Dementia and their Families
  5. ‘Knowing why we do what we do’ – Establishing a Unit Practice Council to Improve Evidence Based Nursing Practice in Acute Medicine using Appreciative Inquiry
  6. The Implementation of Nurse Facilitated Discharge in Paediatrics
  7. Developing, Implementing and Evaluating a Therapeutic Clinic in a Hospice Day Care Centre
  8. Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Men with Testicular Cancer through Information and Support
  9. Sleeping Better: Improving Sleep Habits in Children and Young People with Learning Disabilities using Cognitive and Behavioural Approaches
  10. Developing a Recovery Based Quality of Life Service for People with Severe and Enduring Eating Disorders
  1. The Quiet Room: Improving the Acute Care Psychiatric Environment
  2. Improving Bowel Care after Stroke
  3. Care Home at Night, Evening and Weekend – Making Residents’ Choices Happen
  4. The Introduction of Intentional Rounding to Aid Falls Prevention in an Acute Stroke Unit
  5. Establishing a Telephone Review Clinic for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  6. The Early Start Programme – Evaluating an Intensive Health Visiting Service for Blackburn with Darwen’s Most Vulnerable Families
  7. Managing Medicines on Discharge for Older Patients
  8. Developing a Supportive Care Service for Patients following Percutaneous Cardiac Intervention
  9. An Anxiety Self-management Programme for Women with Gynaecological Malignancies
  10. The Creation of a Single Multi-disciplinary Patient Assessment Tool for all Services within St.John’s Hospice
  1. Embedding Excellent Nutrition Care Practices in an Acute Hospital Ward
  2. Establishing a Nurse Led Respite Ward within a Hospice
  3. Evaluation of ‘Back to the floor Friday’ at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
  4. An Action Research Project Exploring the Utility of Rectal Irrigation in Children
  5. The Establishment of the Heathfield Healthcare Centre at HMP Wandsworth
  6. Improving the Patient Journey within a Minor Injuries Unit
  7. Improving the Patient Experience of Admission to an Older Persons Acute Mental Health Ward
  8. Supporting Patients in their Own Homes
  9. Involving Service Users’ Stories in Developing Mental Health Services: The Process of Capturing, Enabling and Supporting Service Users’ Expertise and Experiences
  10. Oral Care Management for Children, Young People and their Families in the Palliative Care Setting
  1. Bladder Problems After Stroke- Meeting the Needs of Service Users
  2. Raising the Profile of Preferred Priorities at the End of Life with Patients at St Nicholas Hospice
  3. Involving Young People in the Development and Evaluation of Self Harm Services
  4. Working Effectively with People with Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviours
  5. Critical to Care: Improving Care for the Acutely ill and Deteriorating Patient
  6. Identifying a Pain Assessment Tool for Patients with Cognitive Impairment in Acute Care
  7. Piloting Discovery Interview Technique to Explore its Utility in improving Dignity in Acute Care for Older People
  8. Improving Patient Involvement in Stroke Care
  9. Your Past is Our Future: A Service Improvement Project Evaluating Patient Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle Post Discharge from Cardiac Rehabilitation
  10. Good Health for All: Promoting the Physical Health of People with Mental Health Needs
  1. Call 4 Concern: Patient and Relative Initiated Critical Care Outreach
  2. Developing and Implementing a Distressing Procedures Tool for Use in Paediatrics
  3. Proactive Patient Rounding: Developing Nursing Practice to Improve the Quality of Patient Care
  4. Developing a Supportive Care Clinic for Women with Gynaecological Cancer
  5. Developing an Inclusive Approach to Care Programme Approach Review Meetings for People with a Learning Disability
  6. ‘Tell it like it is’ – Delivering Information to Young People Undergoing Bone Marrow Transplantation
  7. ‘Caring for the Carers’ – The Establishment of a Support Group for Carers of Stroke Survivors
  8. Working in Partnership with Patients and Families on a Dementia Assessment Unit to Improve Care
  9. Fistula First in Belfast
  10. Chest Clinic Experience Based Design Project
  1. Exploring and Reducing Healthcare Associated Infections on a Respiratory Ward
  2. Maintaining Privacy and Dignity of Patients Admitted to a District General Hospital
  3. Enabling Privacy and Dignity in Care using Creative Arts
  4. Developing Practice to Improve Ward Culture
  5. Realising the Potential: Developing Life Story Work in Practice
  6. Taking Care of Myself: A Self Care Management Plan for Patients with COPD
  7. Enhancing the Patient Care Environment
  8. Improving Diabetes Care for Residents in Care Homes
  9. The Assessment of Resilience and Vulnerability in Families
  10. Enhancing Palliative Care for Patients with Nutritional Issues and their Carers
  1. Being with Patients – Evaluating the Impact on Patients’ Experiences of Care
  2. The Gerontological Nursing Demonstration Project
  3. Developing Practice to Improve Thrombosis Prevention
  4. Activity and Culture: the Contribution to Health and Wellbeing
  5. Lifelong Learning through Art and Music for Older People in Acute Care
  6. Developing Practice to Improve Nutrition for Nursing Home Residents
  7. Developing Practice to Reduce Healthcare Acquired Infections on a Vascular Ward
  8. Exploring Ethically Sensitive Decision Making in Acute Hospital Care
  9. An Expressive Art Group for those Affected by Cancer
  10. The Kettering Infection Predictor Tool
  1. Making Hospitals Friendlier and Easier to Use for People with Learning Disabilities
  2. Incorporating Evidence into Practice to Improve Perineal Care
  3. Implementation of Patient Initiated Review in Rheumatoid Arthritis
  4. Actioning Health for People with Learning Disabilities
  5. Patient Dignity – Promoting Good Practice
  6. Exploring the Use of Telephone Group Clinical Supervision
  7. Changing Practice in Continence Assessment
  8. Developing a Model of Care for Challenging Behaviour
  9. Ward Workout – Implementing Nurse Led Exercise Programmes for Older People
  10. Improving the Health of Older People: Implementing Patient Focused Mealtime Practice
  1. Developing Solution Orientated Interventions within a Nursing Model
  2. Enhancing Partnerships with Relatives in Care Settings for Older People
  3. Using Work Based Learning to Enable Practice Development
  4. Supplying Women with Evidence Based Information
  5. Sensitising Mental Health Professionals to Islam
  6. Improving Research Utilisation
  7. Promoting Autonomy and Independence for Older People
  8. Children’s Pain Assessment: Implementing Best Nursing Practices
  9. The Being With Patients Project
  10. What’s Food Got To Do With It?
  1. Reducing Patient Falls
  2. Breaking Bad News
  3. Self-administration of Medicines and Re-use of Patients’ Own Drugs
  4. Implementing and Validating Guidelines to Facilitate the Involvement of Carers
  5. The Farmers’ Health Project
  6. Rapid Recovery from Acute Psychosis
  7. Establishing Clinical Supervision in Prison Healthcare Settings
  8. Developing and Implementing a Family Health Assessment
  9. An Integrated Approach to Evidence Based Practice
  10. Partnership in Care: Nursing Documentation
  1. Reports from Winners of Foundation of Nursing Studies Awards 2002
  2. Reports from Winners of Foundation of Nursing Studies Awards 2004
  3. Reports from Winners of Foundation of Nursing Studies Awards 2006
  4. Reports from Winners of Foundation of Nursing Studies Awards 2008
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