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Spiritual Well-Being, Sleep Disturbance And Mental And Physical Health Status In Hiv-Infected Individuals, Kenneth D. Phillips

Kenneth D. Phillips

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Quality Of Life In Hiv-Infected Rural Women: Psychometric Test Of The Chronic Illness Quality Of Life Ladder, C. Murdaugh, L. Moneyham, K. Jackson, Kenneth D. Phillips, A. Tavakoli

Kenneth D. Phillips

The Chronic Illness Quality of Life Ladder (CIQOLL) underwent psychometric testing in a sample of 278 women with HIV disease. The CIQOLL, a self-anchoring striving scale based on Cantril’s Ladder, measures seven domains (physical , emotional, financial, family and friends, spiritual well-being, peace of mind, and overall life satisfaction) across four time periods (present, past, future, life without a diagnosis of HIV). The domains were derived from focus groups with persons with HIV disease. Women with a diagnosis of HIV Infection, age 18 or older, residing in rural areas in the southeastern United States, completed questionnaires that measured physical functioning, …

Inflammatory And Immune System Correlates Of Rape, M.W. Groer, Sandra Thomas, G.W. Evans, S. Helton

Sandra Thomas

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of measuring stress hormones and immunity following rape. The long-term goal is to evaluate the predictive value of stress-immune-inflammatory responses to later health outcomes. Fifteen women reporting rape were compared with 16 control participants. Serum stress hormones, proinflammatory cytokines, acute phase proteins, functional assays, and lymphocyte subsets were measured in blood samples. Women reporting rape had higher cytotoxic cells, lower B lymphocyte counts, higher proinflammatory biomarkers, and decreased lymphocyte proliferation compared to the control group. This finding suggests that rape produces activation of the innate immunity and suppression of some …

Talking It Over With The Gals: An Analysis Of Editorials By Phyllis Stern, Sandra Thomas

Sandra Thomas

Editorials written by a journal editor proved a glimpse of that individual's philosophy and opinions about topical events. The purpose of the present project was to analyze the editorials of Phyllis Noerager Stern during the years that she served as editor-in-chief of Health Care for Women International (1983-2001). Using ethnographic content analysis, 65 editorials were examined to ascertain: (1) what event triggered the editorial; (2) what aim or objective could be identified; and (3) what rhetorical devices the editor employed. Personal narratives and editorials about the abuse/exploitation of women made up the largest categories. Stern's grounded theory orientation, fascination with …

Nurses' Narratives Of Unforgettable Patient Care Events, M.E. Gunther, Sandra Thomas

Sandra Thomas

Purpose: To explore the experience of registered nurses (RNs) caring for patients in contemporary hospitals.

Design: The descriptive phenomenological study was based in the philosophical perspectives of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty.

Methods: A purposive sample of 46 RNs employed in acute care hospitals in the southeastern United States (US) were recruited by network sampling. Data from unstructured interviews were analyzed in an interpretive group and themes were identified.

Findings: Four themes were identified: (a) extraordinary caregiving events, (b) incomprehensibility, (c) questioning whether anything else could have been done, and (d) “alone or together,” indicating the isolation nurses often experience while giving …

Calamity, Catastrophe, And Horror: Representation Of Natural Disaster, 1885-2005, Richard Steven Salkowe, Graham A. Tobin, S Elizabeth Bird

Richard Steven Salkowe

An examination of disaster literature from the late 19th and early 20th centuries revealed social, political, and economic vulnerability issues that parallel many current concerns. A modern model of comprehensive emergency management was used to comparatively address selected issues of vulnerability found in these texts; looking specifically at emergency response and initial recovery, perception, and attitudes towards different groups. Emergency response has made significant advances with the development of more sophisticated intervention protocols and the involvement of a vast array of governmental and non-governmental organizations. However, disasters remain deterministic and/or probabilistic in the eyes of many and recovery inevitably incorporates …

Knowledge Of Probiotics By Nigerian Clinicians, Kingsley C. Anukam

Kingsley C Anukam

A reasonable proportion of clinicians in the Northern hemisphere may be familiar with the use of probiotics and some have clearly been involved in probiotic research for some time. However, we hypothesized that medical practitioners in Nigeria are yet to grasp the concept of using probiotics either as health promoting foods or as biotherapeutic agents for the treatment of diarrhea or urogenital infections. In order to determine the extent of awareness on the use of probiotics among qualified medical practitioners in Benin City, Nigeria, a survey was carried out. The survey involved the use of close-ended and open-ended structured questionnaires …

Achieving The American Dream: Facilitators And Barriers To Homeownership Among Immigrants, Lutchmie Narine, Marcia A. Shobe

Lutchmie Narine

As of March 2003, the immigrant population in the United States (US) has reached 33.5 million individuals. Finding a way out of poverty is very difficult for many immigrants due to both individual and institutional barriers to savings and asset accumulation. Given that the primary sources of wealth among native-born households is through homeownership, it is only fitting that foreign-born households would also wish to achieve the “American Dream.” This paper outlines significant supports and barriers to savings and, more importantly, homeownership among US immigrants. Several suggestions for asset-based policy development for immigrants are also included in the discussion. By …