Assessing self-reported risk-behaviours of adults presenting to a minor injuries unit
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice Previous     Next

Assessing self-reported risk-behaviours of adults presenting to a minor injuries unit

Cindy U Chacha-Mannie Emergency nurse practitioner, St Mary’s NHS Treatment Centre, Portsmouth, England and professional doctorate candidate, University of Portsmouth, England
Ann Dewey Associate head (research), School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, England
Saseendran Pallikadavath Reader and coordinator, Global health, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, England
Kandala Ngianga II Senior lecturer in medical statistics and epidemiology, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, England

The health quality of people in Portsmouth is below the English average (Public Health England 2015), with a high rate of non-accidental premature deaths and long-term conditions – cancers, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and respiratory disease – linked to poor diet, inactivity, smoking and the misuse of alcohol. Limited studies document adults attending minor injury units. A profile study was conducted to record the number and types of risk-behaviours in adults presenting at minor injury units. A form was adapted to ask them about smoking, body mass index and alcohol consumption over a period of one month. Of 4,025 clients, 2,818 fell within the inclusion criteria; 1,620 (58%) consented for their data to be used for research, 48% of whom were male, and 93% were white British. The mean age was 42 (SD 16.08), mode was 31. Of the participants, 76% had made a high-risk lifestyle choice, 27% were smokers, 34% were overweight, 38% were obese and 5% consumed high levels of alcohol. The study concluded that there is an opportunity to incorporate healthy conversations into consultations.

Primary Health Care. 27, 7, 29-33. doi: 10.7748/phc.2017.e1276

Correspondence

gimmyjaycaddy@aol.com

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 02 February 2017

Accepted: 20 March 2017

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more