Andrée Dignon

This report presents qualitative and quantitative data from 103 UK healthcare professionals describing attitudes to the current system of animal testing (to produce medicines and health interventions). To gather qualitative testimony, these healthcare professionals were organised into six separate focus groups (of 18, 17, 17, 15, 17 and 19 participants) where they were asked ‘what is your opinion about the current system of animal testing?’ The study focussed on attitudes to the current system rather than attitudes to animal testing in general. The healthcare professionals also completed a quantitative attitude scale questionnaire consisting of 20 statements (all favourable) towards the system of animal testing as currently practised. Statements such as ‘Testing agencies abide by legislation to safeguard animal welfare’ were displayed and the healthcare professionals were invited to agree or disagree with these statements. The results from both the quantitative and qualitative data suggest that healthcare professionals were opposed to the current system of animal experimentation.

This article describes a study of attitudes to the current system of animal experimentation (for the production of health interventions) among 52 UK healthcare professionals. These healthcare professionals participated in three separate focus groups (of 18, 17 and 17 participants) and were invited to respond to the question ‘what is your opinion about the current system of animal testing?’ The study focused specifically on their views of the current system (rather than their views of animal testing in general). The healthcare professionals were critical of the current system, particularly with regard to regulation, secrecy, validity, unnecessary suffering and welfare.

Surgical wound closure plays an important part in any procedure and there are a considerable number of closure techniques in use today. This literature review will discuss the use of skin clips (staples) and sutures as used in an orthopaedic setting, specifically among patients having hip or knee replacement surgery. This subject has generated a considerable amount of debate and both types of closure are widely used. We were therefore interested in which technique had a lower incidence of infection.

The preoperative preparation of patients for surgery has traditionally included the routine hair removal at the operating site as a part of cleanliness. This literature review will investigate the relationship between preoperative hair removal and surgical site infection. It aims to identify the best method of hair removal to reduce the infection if hair removal is necessary, and to apply the evidence findings into nursing practice.

The following article describes the reasons given by 15 anorexic patients for their illness. The patients were asked the following question in an open-ended interview—‘What would you say were the causes of your illness?’ In reply detailed complex narratives were gathered from which a number of themes could be identified. These included unhappiness, control, being in a downward spiral, obsession and perfectionism. Most patients, for example explained that they were unhappy. To address their unhappiness, they adopted a strategy of control over food. Being able to exert this control gave patients a sense of enjoyment and pride and enabled them to address their underlying fear that a loss of control may be just around the corner. This pride persuaded patients to restrict further their food in the hope they would experience even greater enjoyment. Patients were thus caught in a dangerous ‘spiral’ of restriction, weight loss, euphoria and further food refusal. This spiralling behaviour resulted in many patients describing their illness as an obsession. Several patients equated this obsessional behaviour with a perfectionist trait in their personalities. In the following article, these themes of unhappiness, control, spiral, obsession and perfectionism, are presented, along with the patient testimony on which each theme was based.