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Helping people do the things they want to do
Being a patient in hospital can be a disconcerting experience, this is especially true for older patients who desperately want to stay in the familiar surroundings of their own homes. Getting frail elderly patients safely discharged from the ED can pose significant risk so it was very reassuring to read in this issue a paper from Scotland about the role and potential of the Occupational Therapist in the ED. In “The view from here” Kristin James opens the window for us on the practicalities of daily living that are suddenly jeopardized for the older person by an emergency admission. She describes how the expert intervention and advice of an occupational therapist can tip the balance and be the difference between safe discharge home or admission as an inpatient. Do read this paper, it conveys a simple message about seeing the patient in the context of their life and not just the presenting problem, but also, how the OT's in the ED “can help people to do the things they want to do”.
How effective are health promotion campaigns?
I often wonder how effective large scale expensive health promotion campaigns are and to what extent the target audiences are receptive to such information? This thought must have also crossed the minds of Mellon and …