Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Psychosocial Determinants Of Age-Appropriate Immunizations Of Infants In Norfolk, Virginia, Hoda Youssef Atta

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study represents an investigation of psychosocial factors affecting age-appropriate immunizations of infants in Norfolk, Virginia. A household survey was conducted in Norfolk, Virginia, from 4/93-8/93, to assess immunization coverage of children 12-30 months of age. This survey included a total of 389 children in the target age range. A subset of 201 mothers were randomly selected and reinterviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes and the relationships of these factors to age-appropriate immunizations at 12 months of age. Sixty-two percent of children were not age-appropriately immunized at 12 months of age. Almost all mothers (99%) considered vaccines to be …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Sexually Abused Children And Implications For Therapy, Robbie Jones

Student Dissertations & Theses

This study examined the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in sexually abused children. Sixty-seven children volunteered to participate in this study. Of the 67 children, 33 (26 female and 7 male) were sexually abused and 34 (22 female and 12 male) were non-sexually abused. Several instruments were employed to assess the severity of the symptoms of PTSD including the Children's PTSD Inventory, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Children's Depression Inventory, as well as others. The results of this study showed that sexually abused children have more symptoms of PTSD than non-sexually abused children. Early diagnosis and treatment of …

A Clinical Trials Evaluation Of A Double-Blinded Protocol To Assess The Therapeutic Effectiveness Of Stimulant Medication Prescribed For Children Diagnosed Adhd, Ann V. Thompson

Dissertations

This clinical trials investigation developed and evaluated a protocol for determining the therapeutic effectiveness of medication prescribed for children diagnosed ADHD. The protocol included two separate baseline periods of two week durations, each of which were followed by four randomly assigned probes of one week duration, consisting either of Methylphenidate or placebo capsules. Baseline probes were unblinded, but medication and placebo probe trials were double-blinded. Therapeutic effect, expectancies, and integrity of the double-blind control were assessed through a battery of rating scales and forms completed by the parent, teacher and child at the end of each protocol week, including baseline …

The Effects Of Two Models Of Positive Feedback Of Children's Motivation, Judith Margaret Lynch

Student Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the type of written or verbal positive comment regarding a child's accomplishment influences subsequent interest in a task. A preliminary investigation of literature revealed that often rewards and praise negatively alter children's behavior. The writer tested the hypothesis derived from this investigation that non- evaluative descriptive comments, commonly called encouragement, positively affect children more than evaluative praise comments. 32 kindergarten and 36 third grade children received evaluative praise comments and 31 kindergarten and 42 third grade children received non- evaluative descriptive comments on drawings for three days. The fourth day, children …

An Assessment Of Four-Hour Sample Durations Used To Determine Full-Shift Noise Exposures In A Foundry, Vince Marlo Fleming

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

Full-shift sampling, usually eight hours, is traditionally performed to assess daily occupational noise exposure. This sampling approach is inefficient, and costly for repeated, long-term exposure evaluations. This study assessed the use of four-hour sample durations and subsequent data analysis to determine daily occupational noise exposures in a foundry. The four-hour sample durations were extracted from full-shift samples and analyzed on their ability to provide valid data for estimating mean daily noise exposure levels without significantly affecting sampling precision or accuracy. Results of this study indicate four-hour sample durations can be used successfully to estimate full-shift noise exposures provided certain criteria …

The Effect Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Education Program On Knowledge, Attitudes And Sexual Behavior Of Selected College Students, Arlene Jaine Jackson Montgomery

Health Services Research Dissertations

The problem studied in this investigation was whether a behaviorally focused Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Program affects the knowledge, sexual attitudes and sexual behavior of college students.

Three hundred and six first-and third-year college students were included in the study from one university located in Southeastern Virginia. The sample was predominately female, African-American and mainly between the ages of 16-22 years of age.

Freshmen students were presently enrolled in the institution's HIV/AIDS education program, which was a part of a required course. The class sessions consisted of a pretest prior to student's completing the reading assignment …

Spouse Adaptation After The Partner's Open Heart Surgery, Marietta J. Gardner

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe the adaptation of male and female spouses after their partners' open heart surgery using the theory of person as an adaptive system. A descriptive correlational design was used to examine adaptation of male and female spouses to their partners' open heart surgery (criterion variable); and partners' health prior to surgery, length of time partner diagnosed with heart disease, number of years married, and general state of marital relationship prior to surgery as perceived by the spouse were predictor variables. The sample consisted of 20 male and 25 female spouses, 31 to 88 …

The Influence Of Parental Alcohol Abuse On Later Adult Functioning, Jeanne Randle Hogan

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Nurse Behaviors By Persons With Copd During Acute Shortness Of Breath, Joyce A. Kowatch

Masters Theses

This study employed a qualitative approach to explore the perceptions of clients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease recalling nursing behaviors as a part of a process of helping during dyspnea. Grounded theory was used to look at how a client's world was constructed in this particular situation. Examination of data led to the generation of a hypothesis to explain the process of helping. Subjects were asked what it was like when they were extremely short of breath and what nursing behaviors helped or didn't help them.; Identified changes were categorized as suffocation, pain, energy depletion, panic, and cognitive haze. Helpful …

Influence Of Ethnicity, Acculturation And Personality Attributes On Eating Attitudes And Behaviors Associated With Bulimia, Janet Arlene Profit

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Pre-Intake Attention On Kept Intake Appointments In An Outpatient Setting, Lauren Roberts

Masters Theses

The present study attempted to reduce the no-show rate for scheduled intake appointments at a local CMHC through the use of two interventions. Thirty-seven subjects who called for an intake appointment were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: an Orientation and Standard Intake Procedure or an Orientation and Modified Intake Procedure. Both treatment groups were compared to a Base Group consisting of intake appointments scheduled during the same time period the previous year. Individuals assigned to OMIP revealed a reduction in the no-show rate from 51% during baseline to 36%. Individuals assigned to OSIP did not reveal similar …

Intact Families With A Multiple Sclerotic Parent: Social And Emotional Adjustment Of Parents And School-Age Children, Jean A. Mccutchan

Dissertations

Problem Statement. Research on children with a multiple sclerotic parent has been minimal and until recently focused only on negative aspects. This study investigated how families successfully cope with multiple sclerosis (MS) and how their school-age children are affected, positively or negatively.

Methodology. This research used the case study approach with intact Caucasian families, 10 where the mother was the patient and 3 families where the father was the patient. The 20 children were ages 5 through 19. Following a clinical interview, the family members responded to the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-II, the Family Hardiness Index and the …

Collegiate Drug Use: Knowledge, Perceptions, And Behaviors, Scott Edward Joens

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Identifying Chaos In Human Interactive Decision-Making, Susan E. Rhoads

Honors Theses

Human subjects played two computer versions of the Prisoner's Dilemma (Poundstone, 1992). By varying the payoff scales and instructions, one version of the game encouraged competition whereas the other encouraged cooperation. The data were entered into a computer program capable of generating a Sierpinski carpet with strings of random variables. The completion percentage of the resulting carpets indicated the degree to which the game-specific interactions approached chaos. The Sierpinski carpets resulting from the cooperation games showed significantly higher completion percentages than the carpets resulting from the competition games. Because chaotic behavior is unpredictable in the stream of its occurrence, research …