Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Facing Down Death And Moving Beyond: Strategies Utilized By Female Survivors Of Childhood Maltreatment, Tonya Barri Broyles

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a secondary analysis of a federally funded study of survivors of childhood maltreatment, who now consider themselves to be successful and effective in their current environments as adults. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to identify strategies that female survivors of childhood maltreatment have used as children and as adults to move beyond the effects of the abuse. An in-depth analysis of 27 women who have completed three interviews over the course of a year has revealed a generative theme of “Facing Down Death” and two interconnected themes of “Purposeful Cognitions/ Emotions,” and “Purposeful Actions.” Each …

Promises To Keep: A Phenomenological Study Of Icu Nurses’ Experiences Caring For Dying Patients, Phyllis Ann King

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of nurses caring for dying patients in the critical care unit. Using a phenomenological approach based on the works of Merleau-Ponty, the researcher completed 14 interviews in which ICU nurses were asked to describe experiences of caring for patients who died while in their care. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a hermeneutical approach developed by Pollio and applied to nursing research by Thomas. Each interview was examined within the context of all the interviews to identify themes found throughout. The world of the ICU was grounded in …

A Critical Case Study Of Program Fidelity In Tenncare, Carole Lynn Myers

Doctoral Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fidelity of the design of Tennessee's Medicaid managed care program in comparison to the actual program operation. Program fidelity is a broad measurement of how true the implemented program is to the intended program (Heflinger & Northrup, 2000).

Background: In the span of only 15 years, the introduction of managed care and other market-based strategies from the private sector precipitated a transformation of the delivery of Medicaid services in the United States. These monumental changes remain poorly understood. The implementation of managed care in Tennessee's Medicaid program is an excellent …

Parent-Daughter Relationships In Abusive Families As Perceived By Adult Female Survivors Of Childhood Abuse, Kimberly Sue Bolton

Doctoral Dissertations

The numbers of children who suffer childhood abuse are in the millions. A great percentage of this childhood abuse occurs within the family of origin and takes place within the child's own home. Parents who are supposed to love and protect their children are most commonly the abusers of children with consequent mental health outcomes for children. Secrecy and societal denial are obstacles to these children being helped at the time of abuse; often emotional and social problems extend into adulthood. The girl abused in her own family does not have the usual experience of her parents as loving and …

Counteracting Muscle Wasting In Hiv-Infected Individuals, Kenneth D. Phillips

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

No abstract provided.

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

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

No abstract provided.

Alcohol And Other Drug Disorders, Comorbidity And Violence In Rural African American Women, Kenneth D. Phillips

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

No abstract provided.

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

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

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 …

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

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

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 …

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

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

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, …

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

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

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 …