The Science of a Lost Medieval Graveyard: The Ballyhanna Research Project

he Science of Lost Medieval Gaelic Graveyard tells the story of the discovery in 2003 of a graveyard and the foundations of a small forgotten stone church at Ballyhanna, in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, as part of the N15 Bundoran–Ballyshannon Bypass archaeological works. This led to the excavation of one of the largest collections of medieval burials ever undertaken on this island. Over 1,200 individuals were excavated from the site at Ballyhanna during the winter of 2003–4, representing 1,000 years of burial through the entire Irish medieval period. The discovery led to the establishment of a cross-border research collaboration—the Ballyhanna Research Project—between Queen’s University Belfast and the Institute of Technology, Sligo, which has brought to life this lost Gaelic graveyard.

This book shows how cutting-edge scientific research may aid our understanding and interpretation of archaeology and reveal new insights into past societies. For example, the use of ancient DNA analysis represented the first biomolecular archaeological evaluation of a medieval population to date and provided evidence that cystic fibrosis was much less prevalent in the medieval period than today. The Science of Lost Medieval Gaelic Graveyard is about a community who lived in Gaelic Ireland, about their lifestyles, health and diet. It tells us of their deaths and of their burial traditions, and through examining all of these aspects, it reveals the ebb and flow of their lives.

The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM which includes supplementary information from the Ballyhanna Research Project and the original excavation and survey reports for all of the archaeological sites on the N15 Bundoran–Ballyshannon Bypass.

Reviewing the Literature on the Breakdown of Foster Care Placements for Young People: Complexity and the Social Work Task

Young people in long-term foster care are at risk of experiencing poor social, emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes. Moreover, these placements have a significantly greater chance of breaking down compared to those involving children. This article critically evaluates the factors associated with this particular outcome. It was carried out through a literature review conducted by a social work practitioner in one Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. The findings evidenced that, apart from overriding safety concerns, placement breakdown was not a one-off event but rather a complex process involving the interplay between a range of dynamic risk and protective factors over time, operating in the wider context of the young person’s history and life experiences. The significance of these findings for social work practitioners is finally considered by identifying key theories to inform understanding and intervention.

Development of a pharmacy practice intervention: lessons from the literature

The development of health interventions is receiving increasing attention within the scientific literature. In the past, interventions were often based on the ISLAGIATT principle: that is, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time’. However, such interventions were frequently ineffective because they were either delivered in part or not at all, demonstrating a lack of fidelity, or because little attention had been paid to their development, content, and mode of delivery. This commentary seeks to highlight the latest methodological advances in the field of intervention development, drawing on health psychology literature, together with guidance from key organisations and research consortia which are setting standards for development and reporting. Those working within pharmacy practice research can learn from the more systematic approach being advocated, and apply these methods to help generate evidence to support new services and professional roles.

Medication Reconciliation at Discharge from Hospital: A Systematic Review of the Quantitative Literature

Medicines reconciliation is a way to identify and act on discrepancies in patients’ medical histories and it is found to play a key role in patient safety. This review focuses on discrepancies and medical errors that occurred at point of discharge from hospital. Studies were identified through the following electronic databases: PubMed, Sciences Direct, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Cochrane Reviews and CINAHL. Each of the six databases was screened from inception to end of January 2014. To determine eligibility of the studies; the title, abstract and full manuscript were screened to find 15 articles that meet the inclusion criteria. The median number of discrepancies across the articles was found to be 60%. In average patient had between 1.2–5.3 discrepancies when leaving the hospital. More studies also found a relation between the numbers of drugs a patient was on and the number of discrepancies. The variation in the number of discrepancies found in the 15 studies could be due to the fact that some studies excluded patient taking more than 5 drugs at admission. Medication reconciliation would be a way to avoid the high number of discrepancies that was found in this literature review and thereby increase patient safety.

Suicide and parasuicide: a selected review of the literature.

The increase in adolescent suicides has prompted the World Health Organization to set targets to reduce the incidence of deaths by the year 2000. In order to achieve this target further investigation into the perceptions of adolescent parasuicidal individuals is required to reduce the number of suicide attempts. Statistical evidence shows that parasuicidal individuals are commonly females who attempt suicide by taking an overdose. In the majority of cases help has been sought within the month prior to the attempt. Following an attempt many individuals feel isolated or ignored by health professionals. It appears that communication difficulties and negative attitudes by health professionals often reinforce the stigma associated with suicide. Nurses can contribute to the prevention of parasuicide/suicide by actively providing therapeutic care and counselling parasuicidal individuals to help them deal with major life events.