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Top 10 evidence uncertainties |
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(1) How can community nurse teams better meet the complex needs of patients with multiple health conditions? |
(2) How can community nurses promote shared care/self-care amongst patients and support carers to provide some aspects of care (e.g., changing dressings)? |
(3) How can community nurse teams best contribute to the management of acutely ill patients at home? What difference does this make to hospital admissions? |
(4) What are the best ways for community nurses to involve unpaid carers/relatives/friends in decisions about their loved one’s treatment and care? |
(5) How can community nurse teams work effectively with social services and care services to improve the quality of patient care? |
(6) How has community nursing changed in response to COVID-19? Are any of the changes (e.g., timed visits, new skills, and working from home) worth keeping? |
(7) Does seeing the same community nurse(s) over time make a difference to the quality of patient care? |
(8) How can community nurses work effectively with other health professionals in hospitals and specialist community services to improve patient care? |
(9) What are the stresses on community nurses, and what impact does this have on their health and well-being? How can this be improved? |
(10) How can nurses be encouraged to become community nurses and stay in the profession? |
Evidence uncertainties 11–18 |
(11) What is the optimum ratio of patients to staff in a community nurse team to ensure safe and effective care, and what is the ideal skill mix within the team? |
(12) How can community nurses best contribute to end-of-life care? |
(13) Can better tools be developed to assess whether community nurse teams have sufficient capacity to meet local demand? |
(14) How can a community nursing service best meet the health care needs of frail patients? |
(15) Do community nurses with specialist qualifications make a difference to the quality of patient care? |
(16) What are the best ways for community nurse teams to work with GP practices? How can the partnership between community and practice nurses be improved? |
(17) How can community nurses encourage and promote optimum health amongst their patients, e.g., to help people care for their skin and avoid ulcers? |
(18) What is the best way to organise the working day to ensure community nurses can meet patients’ needs and have a manageable workload? |
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