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This paper provides a review of the literature concerning risk taking behaviors for HIV amongst the mentally ill and knowledge of HIV/AIDS amongst this group. The paper presents a comparison of Australian and international statistics of prevalence and new infection rates and outlines the subsequent psychiatric complications arising from AIDS. Suggestions are made as to the development of appropriate patient sexual health teaching by nurses. Above all the purpose of the paper is to inform clinicians and develop discourse concerning the implications for clinical practice.

Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of death due to gynaecological cancers in developed countries. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are common female complaints, are non-specific and do not fit any easily recognisable pattern. This frequently leads to a delay in diagnosis. Until an effective screening test becomes available for this disease, increasing the education of women and clinicians regarding the symptoms of ovarian cancer must be seen as a priority. Nurses are ideally placed to disseminate information about the symptoms of ovarian cancer to the community and have a responsibility to do so. It is crucial that nurses are aware of the common symptoms and the usual diagnostic pathway in order to provide empathetic, informed nursing care. This paper draws on the results of a narrative systematic review to describe current knowledge of symptoms of ovarian cancer and describes delays women commonly experience in obtaining a diagnosis.

Alcohol and drug dependency is a widespread health and social issue encountered by registered nurses in contemporary practice. A study aiming to describe the experiences of registered nurses working in an alcohol and drug unit in South East Queensland was implemented. Data were analysed via Giorgi's phenomenological method and an unexpected but significant finding highlighted the frustration felt by registered nurses regarding experiences of stigma they identified in their daily work encounters. Secondary analysis confirmed the phenomenon of stigma with three themes: (1) inappropriate judgement; (2) advocacy; and (3) education. Resultantly, findings concluded registered nurses' working in this field need to become advocates for their clients, ensuring professional conduct is upheld at all times. This paper recommends that stigma could be addressed by incorporating alcohol and other drug dependency subjects and clinical placements into the curriculum of the Bachelor of Nursing degrees, and in-services for all practising registered nurses.

There is well documented evidence for the increasing and widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of symptoms of both physical and mental disorders within Western populations. This paper aims to provide a focused review of recent literature on the use of one of these therapies, namely aromatherapy, in nursing and mental health care of people suffering from anxiety and depressive disorders. The evidence base for the efficacy of aromatherapy used to treat these conditions remains poor with a particular paucity of methodologically rigorous studies. However, there are some promising results which suggest that further research is warranted to investigate the potential of essential oils in treating anxiety, depression and symptoms of stress. The experimentally designed inhalation studies are of particular importance as both health professionals and consumers demand more accurate and scientifically based information about the effects and safety of essential oils.

Chinese and Western medicines are both consumed by citizens in Hong Kong. Safe medication practice, however, whether or not it is conducted by Hong Kong citizens, remains unknown. A data collecting tool was developed to explore the consuming patterns of medicines adopted by Hong Kong citizens. It is hoped that by using this tool, baseline information about the ways in which Hong Kong citizens consume their medicines can be explored. It is also hoped that the information will contribute to the educational planning of community-based safe medication practice. The objectives of this paper were thus to report the development of this data collecting tool and to discuss the use of the tool for the promotion of community-based safe medication practice.

Childhood obesity is becoming a topical issue in both the health literature and the popular media and increasingly child health nurses are observing preschool children who appear to be disproportionately heavy for their height when plotted on standardized growth charts. In this paper literature related to childhood obesity in New Zealand and internationally is explored to identify current issues, and the implications of these issues for nurses in community based child health practice are discussed. Themes that emerged from the literature relate to the measurement of obesity, links between childhood and adult obesity and issues for families. A theme in the literature around maternal perception was of particular interest. Studies that investigated maternal perceptions of childhood obesity found that mothers identified their child as being overweight or obese only when it imposed limitations on physical activity or when the children were teased rather than by referring to individual growth graphs. The implications for nursing in the area of child health practice is discussed as nurses working in this area need an understanding of the complex and often emotive issues surrounding childhood obesity and an awareness of the reality of people's lives when devising health promotion strategies.

Recent surveys indicate that people are increasingly using complementary therapies as an adjunct or alternative to conventional treatment options as well as for general health and well being. Whilst complementary therapies such as aromatherapy have been utilised in clinical settings as diverse as long term care facilities and palliative care, its application to the acute care setting has not been explored in depth. The changes in contemporary health care practices such as post-operative pain management and length of hospital admissions have provided nurses with the challenge of examining the range of therapeutic interventions that can be applied to their practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine critically the potential uses of aromatherapy in the management of acute post-operative pain. The concept of aromatherapy will be explored in relation to its effects on the pain pathways, methods of administration and therapeutic effects. Specific reference will be made to Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and its use in aromatherapy. A review of the literature points to gaps in the knowledge related to the clinical application of aromatherapy in relation to issues of dosage, methods of administration and therapeutic effects. The relatively small number of studies that have looked at aromatherapy in the acute care setting supports the literature reviewed. Issues such as small sample sizes and the difficulty in replicating these studies make it difficult to generalize the findings. In order to achieve best practice, further research is necessary to explore the use of aromatherapy in the management of acute post-operative pain.

Emergency (post-coital) contraception is a useful intervention to reduce unplanned pregnancies in women of all ages. In Australia, two methods of emergency contraception are commonly used: the combined oral contraception pill and the intra-uterine contraceptive device. Additional regimes are used in other countries. A description of the regimes and political and moral issues related to them are described in this paper as is the relevance and significance of knowledge about emergency contraception for nurses working with women in a variety of health care settings.

This paper was written in response to a perceived increase in nurses' interest in writing for publication in nursing journals. It provides essential information for inexperienced or 'beginning' writers. Who should write for publication, what should be written for publication and how it should be written are discussed. Practical details with respect to writing and rewriting are included.