Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing Commons^™

Caring For Children With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: Virtual Patient Instruction Improves Students' Knowledge And Comfort Level, Ida Slusher, Carla Sanders, Harold Kleinert, Teresa Free, Kim Clevenger, Stephanie Johnson, Sara Boyd

Ida Slusher

Nurses play a vital role in providing health care to children with developmental disability (DD) throughout the United States. Unfortunately, most nurses continue to report that they receive little or no clinical education in the area of DDs. In response to this need, a core development team consisting of nurse practitioners and nursing faculty from three universities, one physician assistant faculty, parents of children with DD, and educational specialists developed two multimedia (virtual patient) pediatric instructional modules in CD-ROM format—one involving a child with Down syndrome, and the other involving an infant born at 26 weeks' gestation. Participants were required …

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop: The Lived Experience Of Hope For Mothers Of Premature Infants In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Kristina Maria Plaas

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of hope for mothers of premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This study was grounded in the existential-phenomenologic philosophy of Merleau-Ponty. A purposive sample of six mothers of infants born between 23 ½ and 31 weeks gestation were interviewed by the researcher 10 months to 2 ½ years after birth. Mothers were asked to think back to when their infant was in the NICU and tell about a specific time when they were aware of hope. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed following a hermeneutic process …

Morbidity And Mortality Ofvery Low Birth Weight Infant Graduates Of A Level Three Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Maria Cortes

Master's Projects

Purpose: To describe the morbidity and mortality of very low birth weight (VLBW) infant graduates of a level three neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a medically underserved population. Design: A retrospective chart analysis of 181 live born infants at a regional tertiary center between 2004-2006. Sample: Infants born with a birth weight of 425-1489 grams and gestational age of23-40 weeks (n=127). Main outcome variable: Descriptive statistics were used to describe the incidence of associated VLB W morbidities presenting after discharge along with hospital readmissions and mortality rates. Results: VLBW infants discharged from the NICU had chronic lung disease (24.4%), …

Screening For Postpartum Depression At Well-Baby Visits, Suzanne Mello

Master's Projects

Objective: To assess the prevalence of postpartum depression among mothers who attend first-year well-baby visits. Methods: A convenience sample of 33 women was screened during first year well-baby visits using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) at three pediatric offices in Northern California. Measures included demographic data, history of depression, tobacco use, strength of support system, breast/bottle feeding, and child's health. EPDS scores were collected to calculate the prevalence of postpartum depression. Results: The EPDS was administered to 33 women at first year well-baby visits. Thirty-two were completed. Sixty-six percent of women had scores < 10 indicating no depression. Thirty-four percent reported scores of>=l 0 during the postpartum year …

The Influence Of Religiosity On Contraceptive Use Among Roman Catholic Women In The United States, Jennifer Ohlendorf, Richard J. Fehring

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This study uses data from National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to determine the effect of religious belief among Roman Catholics on contraceptive use and to make recommendations for catechesis and education.

Dutch Women's Perceptions Of Childbirth In The Netherlands, Taralyn R. Johnson, Lynn Clark Callister, Donna S. Freeborn, Renea L. Beckstrand, Katinka Huender

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To explore the lived experience of childbirth in Dutch women who had given birth at home in the Netherlands.

Methods: Qualitative study using audiotaped interviews with 14 women.

Results: Themes included the advantages of giving birth in the home, where the women felt more in control of their environment; the difficulty and normalcy of the pain associated with giving birth; the feelings of fulfillment and empowerment that come with childbirth and motherhood; and the importance of the supportive role of the midwife–caregiver.

Nursing Implications: Women in a culture different from that of the United States who gave birth at …

The Influence Of Religiosity On Contraceptive Use Among Roman Catholic Women In The United States, Jennifer Ohlendorf, Richard Fehring

Richard J Fehring

This study uses data from National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to determine the effect of religious belief among Roman Catholics on contraceptive use and to make recommendations for catechesis and education.

Using Digitized Primary Sources From The Library Of Congress's American Memory Collection To Enliven Nursing Issues And History Curriculum (Multimedia Presentation), Catherine Tymkow, Shirley Comer, Paul M. Blobaum

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Background: A cohort of faculty from Governors State University were chosen to receive technology training and develop web based education projects incorporating digitized primary sources from the Library of Congress' American Memory Collection in May 2006. Using a constructivist framework, three web-enhanced projects, which are works in progress, were developed to illumine and enliven nursing's history for today's learner. These projects utilize digitized primary sources, which are defined as documents or other sources of information created at or near the time being studied. Use of primary sources is not common in nursing and represents a new approach to enhancing nursing …

The Effect Of Income Level On The Relationship Between The Personal Support Matrix And Sustained Breastfeeding, Sandra Mann Gossler

Theses and Dissertations

The Healthy People 2010 Objectives for the population of the United States include the objective for women to sustain breastfeeding at a higher rate than they are currently.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends that all infants be fed human milk for the first year of life instead of the previously recommended first six months of life. Breastfeeding initiation rates are rising, but breastfeeding duration rates continue to fall. It was hypothesized that the support system of the women may play a role in the duration of breastfeeding. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the support …

Giving Birth: The Voices Of Russian Women, Lynn Clark Callister, Natalia Getmanenko, Natalia Garvrish, Marakova Olga Eugenevna, Zotina Nataliya Vladimirova, Jane H. Lassetter, Natalia Turkina

Faculty Publications

Purpose: To gain an understanding of the meaning of childbirth to women living in St. Petersburg, the Russian Federation.

Study Design and Method: Twenty-four Russian women who had given birth in the past 6 months participated in this phenomenological study and were interviewed and audio-taped about the meaning of childbirth. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently.

Results: The Russian sociocultural context of childbirth was identified in specific themes: (1) adhering to cultural traditions, (2) accessing information, (3) maintaining a healthy lifestyle, (4) articulating the spiritual and emotional meaning of giving birth, and (5) transforming as a mother and a person. …

Electric Breast Pump Use Increases Maternal Milk Volume In African Nurseries, Ida Slusher, Tina Slusher, Margaret Biomodo, Fidelia Bode-Thomas, Beverly Curtis, Paula Meier

Ida Slusher

Health experts worldwide recognize breastmilk as the superior infant food. Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization (WHO) identify exclusive breastfeeding for the first half-year of life and continuation of breastfeeding into toddlerhood as offering maximum protection from illness, providing a substrate for immunological protection. Data from developed countries identify increasing morbidity and mortality rates for infants who have never received breastmilk in life and demonstrate that infants benefit from exclusive breastfeeding, especially, in areas of severe poverty. Preterm infants, most at risk for morbidity and mortality in developing countries, are identified as needing their …