Masters Practice Projects

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/10895
The Masters Practice Projects collection contains digital copies of AUT masters practice projects deposited with the Library since 2017 and made available open access.

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Browsing Masters Practice Projects by Supervisor "Foster, Mandie"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    COVID-19 Testing and Diagnosis in Children Under Six Years of Age: A Systematic Review
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2024) Ure, Kirsty; Foster, Mandie
    Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome was first detected in 2003 and escalated in 2019 with COVID-19 causing a worldwide pandemic. This new virus presented challenges in diagnosis, especially in those under 6 years of age. While often classified as a mild disease in children, COVID-19 still presents significant health risks in the young, especially for children under 1 year of age and those with pre-existing comorbidities. Because of this, clinical guidelines and protocols addressing COVID-19 testing in preschool- aged children became necessary to direct evidence-based practice. Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to explore COVID-19 testing and diagnosis in children under 6 years of age from international peer-reviewed published manuscripts to facilitate a wider and more thorough understanding of this practice from a diverse sample of parents, children, and health care providers to inform and direct practice within Aotearoa/New Zealand. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken based on guidelines by Siddaway et al. (2019). Extant empirical research published in peer-reviewed journals from 2020–2024 on COVID-19 testing in children under 6 years of age was identified from Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE via PubMed, and PsycInfo via Ovid databases. Data were analysed using deductive thematic analysis. Findings: Fourteen studies involving over 5,000 participants were included. Deductive content analysis identified seven key areas: 1. Symptomology, 2. Diagnostic tests, 4. Efficacy and acceptability of testing, 4. Viral loads, 5. Vulnerability/Risk factors, 6. Health outcomes, and 7. Recommendations. Conclusion: While common symptoms such as fever and cough are prevalent in children under 6 years of age infected with COVID-19, symptomology alone is not a foolproof diagnostic tool. Additional diagnostic testing, such as nasopharyngeal swabs and polymerase chain reaction testing, is complementary to diagnosis. However, an understanding of the risk factors for contracting COVID-19, as well as the vulnerability and health outcomes of children with COVID-19, is important to consider. Implications for practice: Common symptomology for children under 6 years of age includes fever and cough; however, these symptoms are also common for other viruses. A history of exposure to COVID-19 is the most frequent positive predictive factor for infection. An assessment of the child before any decisions on diagnostic testing is useful.
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    Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions and Knowledge of the Management and Removal of Underwater Seal Chest Drains in Children and Young People: New Zealand
    (Auckland University of Technology, 2023) Morrison, Jacqueline; Foster, Mandie; Dickinson, Annette
    Paediatric patients with underwater seal chest drains are cared for in certain areas within a paediatric hospital setting. Presently within a paediatric hospital in New Zealand there is a clinical underwater seal chest drain guideline to guide chest drain insertion, management, and removal yet there is inconsistency in what the guideline states and current practice. This quality improvement project undertook a integrative review of the international literature on underwater seal chest drain management and explored healthcare workers perceptions and knowledge on the management and removal of underwater seal chest drains in children and young people at a large children’s hospital in New Zealand. Method: An integrative review was undertaken to summarise previous international empirical peer-reviewed literature published from 2011 - 2022 to provide a comprehensive understanding on the management and removal of underwater seal chest drains in children and young people. A qualitative design using face-to-face interviews with healthcare professionals from one large children’s hospital in New Zealand who had a key role in underwater seal chest drain management and removal was undertaken in 2022. Analysis: The integrative review and face to face interview data were analysed separately using the six phases of Braun and Clarks’ (2006) thematic analysis. This included familiarising oneself with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes and generating a report. The findings of both research designs were brought together in the discussion. Results: A total of nine studies were included in the review. An inductive analysis of nine manuscripts generated one theme (disparity in healthcare professionals’ knowledge and practice with underwater seal chest drain management), three sub-themes (healthcare professionals, practice considerations, adverse events) and nine categories (discipline and context, knowledge, education, indications, underwater seal chest drain tubing and characteristics, management, assessment, complications, interventions). Face to face interviews were undertaken with seven healthcare professionals. An inductive analysis of the interviews generated one theme (a gap between theory, guidelines and practice of underwater seal chest drain management), four subthemes (management, practice considerations, scope of practice, current practice), eleven categories (collaboration, care delivery, indications, insertion-removal, adverse events, guidelines, knowledge, demographics, reality, ability, context). The results highlighted that there was a disparity in healthcare professionals’ knowledge and practice with underwater seal chest drain management as well as a gap between theory, guidelines and reality of practice for underwater seal chest drain management. Conclusion: There is a lack of research for underwater seal chest drain management and removal, particularly in paediatrics. There is a discrepancy between healthcare professionals’ perceptions and knowledge of underwater seal chest drain management and removal, to what is required to manage and remove underwater seal chest drains safely and effectively. There is an urgent need to provide healthcare professionals with the relevant education and knowledge to be able to adequately care for children with underwater seal chest drains and ultimately prevent any adverse events. It is also recommended that healthcare professionals utilise contemporary evidence-based research to create and update clinical practice guidelines for underwater seal chest drain management and removal.
Practice projects are protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The research projects may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use:
  • Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person.
  • Authors control the copyright of their research projects. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the research project, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate.
  • You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the research project.