Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Computer Anxiety And Nursing Informatics Needs Of Graduate Nursing Students, Margot Elizabeth Clark

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The impact of technology in today's society affects every aspect of life. This study focused on exploring the extent of computer anxiety among graduate nursing students using the Oetting's computer anxiety scale. Computer and information seeking skills required for both education and advanced nursing practice were also assessed using a survey by Jacobs and dela Cruz. Special emphasis was placed on retrieval of information from large data-bases. The conceptual framework was based on Roy's Adaptation Model.

The sample consisted of 28 students enrolled in a nursing informatics class in a south Florida university. Frequency distribution, and t-tests were used to …

An Investigation Into The Lived Experiences Of Racism Among African -American Nurses, Paula Alexander-Delpech

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experience of racism among African-American nurses. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected by interviewing 10 African-American nurses currently practicing in Dade county. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using the seven step method of Colaizzi (1978).

The findings of this study indicate that racism encompasses attitudes and beliefs which generate behaviors reflecting ethnocentric ideations. The process of racism creates glass ceilings that hinder the career advancement of African-American nurses. Internalizing these experiences of racism engenders feelings of betrayal and erodes unity and cohesion …

A Phenomenological Study Of Self-Disclosure Of Male's Hiv Seropositivity To Another Person, Elaine A. Diveronica

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study described the fundamental structure of what it was like for men to tell someone of their HIV-positive status. Nineteen men participated in interviews to describe their experiences of self-disclosing their HIV-positive status to lovers, families, and friends. The data were analyzed first by using the phenomenological approach of Colaizzi. Data were then further analyzed using an approach by Van Manen, in which the lifeworld existentials of spatiality, temporality, and relationality provided an even clearer understanding of the phenomenon. The findings from both analyses revealed that the participants felt emotions such as rejection, denial, and lost tomorrows; as …

Valued Occupational Roles And Life Satisfaction Among South Florida Hiv-Infected And Non-Infected Homosexual Males : An Exploratory Study, Kenneth Morton Byers

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A study was conducted in order to describe and understand the occupational role behavior of gay men with particular interest on understanding the impact of an HIV diagnosis on their roles and life satisfaction. A 137- item questionnaire was developed for this study and distributed through various gay community groups in south Florida. The process resulted in ranked description of 24 valued occupational roles of gay men (n = 80) along with a general understanding of potential shifts that may occur in those roles as a result of becoming infected with HIV. The study concludes that a diagnosis of HIV …

The Lived Experience Of Healing Touch With Cancer Patients, Charlene Ann Christiano

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The recent use of complementary therapies by cancer patients has prompted the study of the use of Healing Touch, an energy based therapy, to learn the meaning of the experience. By using Ray's Caring Inquiry, a phenomenologic-hermeneutic process, the lived experience of receiving Healing Touch was elicited from three cancer patients. Through the interactions of the Healing Touch practitioners, the cancer patient participants, and the energy in and around them, specific themes were expressed: body-physical, emotion-feeling, mental-knowing, and spirit-essence. Further abstracting lead to the metathemes sensation and perception. Through a change in consciousness, a oneness/wholeness was experienced. The unity of …

Elder Malnutrition: A Meta Analysis Of Studies Using The Nutrition Screening Initiative Determine Checklist, Carmen Teresa Brain Urrunaga

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To demonstrate the extent of elder malnutrition risk in this country, a meta analysis of 30 studies that used the Nutrition Screening Initiative's "DETERMINE Your Nutritional Health Checklist" was conducted. The studies were divided into three categories: Elder Populations in Healthcare Related Systems (HS), Elder Meal Program Participants (MP), and General Community Residing Elder Population (GC). HS was sub-divided into Hospital Inpatient/Clinic Outpatient and Long Term Care/Home Care. The MP population were identified as Congregate or Home Delivered meal participants. Overall, results indicate that 63% of elders are at moderate (32%) or high (31 %) risk of malnutrition. Home Delivered …

Effects Of Nutrition Education On The Nutrition Knowledge Of Future Aerobic Dance Instructors, Abbe Michelle Breiter

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effectiveness of nutrition education on the nutrition knowledge of future aerobic instructors was studied. Forty-seven subjects participated in the study. The experimental group (n=31) chose to and paid for a two-hour per week session of structured nutrition education for four weeks, the control group (n=16) did not. A nutrition knowledge test was completed by all subjects before and after the intervention. Results were analyzed for relationships between subject's nutrition knowledge and age, gender, educational background, income, and body mass index. No significant differences were found between the groups. The results showed that prior to any formal nutrition education, fitness …

An Investigation Of The Relationships Among Self-Care Behaviors, Health Beliefs, And Metabolic Control In The Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetic Adult, Sonia R. Anglin

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-care and health beliefs have been found to be important concepts in the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Poor metabolic control has been associated with a higher incidence of complications in diabetic patients. This study sought to explore any relationships among perceptions of self-care behaviors, health beliefs and metabolic control.

The sample consisted of 52 outpatients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes from a large teaching medical center. Interviews were done to obtain the patients' perceptions of their self-care behaviors, and their health beliefs concerning diabetes. Results of glycosylated hemoglobin and/or serum glucose levels were obtained from the medical records. …

The Effect Of Three Positions Of Shoulder Flexion On Grip Strength, John David Canyock

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effect of shoulder position on grip strength in 30 female students from Florida International University. A Jamar dynamometer was used to measure the grip strength in three testing positions (0,90 and 135 degrees of shoulder flexion with full elbow extension). The highest mean grip strength measurement was found at 135 degrees of shoulder flexion, followed by 0 degrees and then 90 degrees. An ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference between at least two of the three positions. A Fisher's LSD post hoc test indicated that mean grip strength at 135 degrees of flexion was …

Serum Transthyretin In Hemodialysis Patients : Relationship To Nutritional Status, Annmarie Duggan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The validity of serum transthyretin as a nutrition assessment parameter in hemodialysis patients was investigated. Fifty-one subjects (39% male and 61 % female; 53% black, 28% white, 12% Hispanic, 7% Other) receiving hemodialysis for 30 24 months (mean SD) and a total of 36 26 months of renal replacement therapy were followed for six months. Serum transthyretin, albumin, BUN, creatinine, cholesterol, normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR), KT/V, weight and 24 hour urine analysis were determined monthly. Etiologies of end stage renal disease were diabetic nephropathy (37%), hypertensive nephrosclerosis (37%). glomerulonephritis (12%), polycystic kidney disease (4%), lupus nephritis (4%), other causes …