Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

In Post-Extubated Patients What Are The Preferred Methods Of Communication During Their Experience Of Endotracheal Intubation With Mechanical Ventilation, Lanette Dumas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To date, communication between mechanically intubated patients and nurses is laden with negative psychological and physiological impacts. Research has focused more on what patients want to communicate, and how nurses communicate with intubated patients. There is limited research identifying the communication methods preferred by these patients. The purpose of this study was to identify communication preferences of mechanically intubated patients using a phenomenological approach.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in their hospital rooms. The interview questions focused on the period of mechanical intubation when the participants were unable to speak. A total of 27 participants were interviewed at a …

Predictors Of Nonadherence To Radiation Therapy Schedules Among Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Jennifer Lynn Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nonadherence to radiation therapy schedules is a documented problem among head and neck cancer patients. This retrospective dissertation study examined whether demographics, clinical characteristics, or physical and psychological symptoms were related to nonadherence in head and neck cancer patients. The electronic medical records of 262 head and neck cancer patients at a southeastern U.S. cancer center were reviewed to determine whether nonadherence was related to symptom scores and other patient and clinical-related factors. Nonadherent patients were more likely to be female, be admitted to the cancer center as inpatients during treatment and receive outpatient IV fluids during treatment. Nonadherent patients …