Digital Commons Network^™

Body Image, Attitudes, And Self-Efficacy As Predictors Of Past Behavior And Future Intention To Perform Breast And Skin Self-Examinations, Sari R. Chait

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast self-examinations (BSE) and skin self-examinations (SSE) provide people with a cost-effective and time-efficient approach to the detection of cancer. Given the utility of these self-examination behaviors, it is important to determine who is likely to perform them regularly and why. Prior research has demonstrated a relationship of attitudes and self-efficacy with performance of and intention to practice the exams. Body image, although not previously studied, can be hypothesized to influence performance of these behaviors as well. To address these issues, the current study sought to determine if there are relationships between attitudes, self-efficacy, and body image and the practice …

Improving Prostate Cancer Detection In Veterans Through The Developement Of A Clinical Decision Rule For Prostate Biopsy, Owen T. Hill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., the number of prostate biopsies increases annually. This is partly due to elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) values identified during PC screening. This study's goal was improving prostate cancer (PC) detection through developing a clinical decision rule (CDR), based on an elevated PSA and laboratory biomarkers. This decision rule could be used after an elevated PSA, providing the patient and clinician information to consider prior to biopsy. This cross-sectional study evaluated men from the Tampa, Florida, James A. Haley (JH) VA (N=1,378), from January 1, 1998, through April 15, 2005. The study hypothesized that specific lab biomarkers …

Chronic/Life Threatening Illnesses From The Perspective Of Latino Men, Melissa Sierra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the research on illness focuses on how people, particularly white men, cope with chronic/life threatening illnesses often adopting a "sick role" identity. For Latinos this type of identity transformation is complex as there is no place for dependency and passivity in traditional depictions of Latino masculinity. Latino men take pride in their manhood. As a result, they have trouble accepting their illness and the sick role. They do not tend to take their illness seriously, nor are they comfortable admitting to others the seriousness of their illness. My research focuses on how Latino men renegotiate a sense of …

Feminine Beauty And The Cancerous Beast: Appearance Management At The Cancer Hospital Salon, Andrea Wagganer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When we choose to alter or manipulate our physical appearance we also manage our presentation of self; we communicate to others about our identity. Salons are typical social spaces for women to engage in body-changing, enhancing or disguising practices and thereby manage their identity. The following ethnographic research explores the intersection of female cancer patients' who request salon services while undergoing appearance altering medical treatments and female cosmetologists who provide such services.

Over a period of 6 months, I volunteered weekly at Hannah's, a hairstyling salon located in a large cancer research and treatment hospital in southern Florida. The following …