Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Young Adult Cancer Patients And Survivors’ Adherence To Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Guidelines, Sandra Soca Lozano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many Adolescents and Young Adult (AYA) cancer patients/survivors do not engage in healthy eating and physical activity recommendations. The present study assessed the role of race/ethnicity, health literacy, and home environmental influences and its association with adherence to healthy eating and physical activity. AYA patients/survivors from Moffitt Cancer Center (n = 273) completed an anonymous online survey. Self-reported measures about eating habits, physical activity, health literacy, and social support were used. Black/African Americans reported worse eating habits than White and Hispanic participants. Obese participants showed a similar trend compared to all other Body Mass Index groups. Adherence to physical activity …

The Relationship Of Hope To Goals And Psychological Outcomes In Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer: A Test Of Hope Theory, Kelly A. Hyland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background. Hope is an important positive psychological construct that may help to explain how individuals cope in the context of life-threatening illness. Snyder’s hope theory states that humans are goal-oriented, and that goals link hope to psychological outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship of hope to emotional well-being, meaning and purpose in life, and positive and negative affect in a sample of patients with advanced stage lung cancer. The study also sought to identify how hope relates to patients’ goals and to explore whether goal characteristics and progress in achieving goals mediated the relationship …

Widow Narratives On Film And In Memoirs: Exploring Formula Stories Of Grief And Loss Of Older Women After The Death Of A Spouse, Jennifer R. Bender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes narratives (written and mediated) about widows’ post-loss experiences—specifically the ways in which these women embody and adjust/adhere to their post-loss widow identities—and whether or not the canonical/formula stories about widows reflect current experiences of widowhood. I look at older widowed women—both those in well-read widow memoirs and also in media portrayals of widows on film. The canonical view of widows as not attractive, not useful, and not interesting needs to be reexamined in light of changing ideas about gender roles and increased longevity. Surely older women have experiences, desires, and goals that encompass more than being socially …

Supporting Persons With Dementia In Communicating Their Care Preferences, Vanessa L. Burshnic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Person-centered care is important to the quality of life of nursing home residents with dementia. Preference assessments enable person-centered care by documenting residents’ preferred activities. Residents with severe dementia are less likely to have a role in preference assessment due to communication challenges associated with the disease. External supports (visual and text cues) are effective in improving the communication of residents with dementia, but these cues are often not used in practice. Standard assessment (verbal questioning) places greater demands on short-term memory and attention, which are known deficits in dementia.

Applying a within-subjects design, this study evaluated two conditions (standard …

Medical Decision Making Among Individuals With A Variant Of Uncertain Significance In A Hereditary Cancer Gene And Those With A Chek2 Pathogenic Variant, Deanna J. Almanza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite national guidelines, women with a BRCA VUS or CHEK2 pathogenic variant are choosing to have risk-reducing surgeries such as bilateral mastectomies which are not aligned with their level of cancer risk based on genetic test results alone. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 6 women with a BRCA VUS and 12 with a CHEK2 pathogenic variant exploring the factors influencing their decision-making process when considering medical management options. Patients from a cancer registry agreed to a recorded telephone interview. Coding was performed using the main constructs from the Ottawa Patient Decision Guide including: knowledge, uncertainty, values, and support. Iterative …

Comparing Family Sharing Behaviors In Brca Carriers With Palb2 Carriers, Joy E. Kechik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identifying individuals with hereditary cancer predisposition can improve health outcomes for patients and their family members through early cancer detection and prevention strategies. Prior research about family sharing of genetic test results among those with hereditary breast cancer has overwhelmingly been limited to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The present study sought to compare family sharing behaviors in women with pathogenic BRCA variants to women with pathogenic variants in the more recently identified and characterized PALB2 gene. A total of 18 BRCA carriers and 13 PALB2 carriers were interviewed about family sharing practices using a semi-structured guide based on the …

Reducing Caregiver Burden: Fostering Healthy Aging And Social Support, Maria A. Rodriguez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over 43.5 million Americans provide informal care to a fast-growing elderly population in the United States. Informal care allows care-recipients to remain functional members of society. However, research suggests that the demands of informal care can negatively impact the health of caregivers. For example, caregiver burden increases the risk for poor health in caregivers compared to non-caregivers. Caregiving research is on the rise, but the dynamics of informal care in active retirement communities remains widely unexplored. To provide adequate services to lessen caregiver burden and improve the Quality of Life (QoL) of informal caregivers, the various settings in which informal …

Adaptive Styles And Coping Strategies Of Youth Diagnosed With Cancer: Relationship To Well-Being, Psychosocial And Educational Adjustment, And Parents’ Adaptive Styles, Renee Corbett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although almost 16,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year, the incident rates have remained stable over recent years, and mortality has decreased consistently since 1975 (American Cancer Society, 2016). With increased survivorship, research and practice in pediatric oncology has focused more on the psychosocial well-being of patients during and after treatment. With research repeatedly indicating that patients and families appear to exhibit great resilience and adjustment, and low incidences of psychosocial difficulties (e.g., Kazak, 1994, Eiser et al. 2000), some researchers have examined adaptive style as a possible construct that may help explain the predominantly positive outcomes …

Moderation Analysis Of Bowel Function Among Nutrients And Physical Function Or Depression, As Well As Whether Bowel Function Is Related To Cognition In Older Adults, Jessie Alwerdt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As we age, the risk for gut issues, such as smooth muscle tone, may be an underlying indirect or direct cause or risk factor for many age-related issues, such as frailty. Consequences of decreased motility and depleted epithelial barrier may result in nutrient deficiencies that may increase the risk for malnutrition (Brownie, 2006). Further, there is increasing evidence that there is a gut-brain-axis relationship that may influence cognition and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. While there are relationships established, the interconnections of these factors have yet to be fully understood.

This dissertation examined several relationships specific to …

Using Instructions And Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Facebook Skills To Seniors, Alison Ann Oconnell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The senior population is growing faster than any other population group, and life expectancy is increasing. E-mail and social media enable people of all ages to stay in touch, and find information, resources, and entertainment. Positive effects are associated with computer and internet use for older adults, but not all seniors have embraced technology and some seniors feel negatively about it. Several different methods have been used to teach seniors computer skills, including mentoring, lecturing, and providing instructions, but not many procedures have been evaluated for effectiveness. In the current study, we recruited three to five seniors, taught them to …

Analyzing The Effect Of Complaints, Investigation Of Allegations, And Deficiency Citations On The Quality Of Care In United States Nursing Homes (2007 – 2012), Kevin E. Hansen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The quality of care in nursing homes has been evaluated from many varying perspectives, but few studies have analyzed quality in light of complaints made to state survey agencies by residents, their family members, or other individuals interacting with the nursing home. This study analyzed complaints, investigation of complaint allegations, and complaint-related deficiency citations to determine their effect, if any, on the quality of care in nationwide nursing homes. Using the Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) survey dataset for facility characteristics and the complaint investigation dataset for outcomes of complaint investigation, analyses conducted included descriptives, correlations, conceptual mapping for …

Relationships Between Parenting Self-Efficacy And Distress In Parents With And Without Cancer, Julie Marie Cessna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the relatively large number of parents with cancer, relatively little is known about the extent to which having cancer affects the parenting experience. Qualitative studies have identified issues and concerns that create distress among parents with cancer, but quantitative studies have yet to be conducted. Studies demonstrate that parents with cancer experience psychological distress, and that parenting self-efficacy is related to psychological distress among parents without cancer. However, no study to date has examined the relationships between parenting self-efficacy and psychological distress among parents with cancer. This study sought to address these gaps in the literature by comparing parents …

Prevalence, Predictors, And Correlates Of Patient Concealment Of A Lung Cancer Diagnosis, Brian David Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most cases of lung cancer have a commonly-understood behavioral etiology. Thus, individuals with lung cancer are often blamed for their illness by others and may therefore seek to avoid this blame by concealing their diagnosis from others. This study sought to determine the prevalence of diagnosis concealment, examine potential predictors of concealment, and test parts of a cognitive-affective-behavioral model of the effects of concealing a concealable stigma among individuals receiving treatment for lung cancer. With regard to predictors of concealment, it was hypothesized that concealment would be positively associated with male gender, introversion, and trait social anxiety and would be …

The Relationship Between Self-Reported Cancer Pain And Personality In Black And White Older Adults Receiving Outpatient Cancer Care, Jessica Krok

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is well-established that personality not only affects physical health and longevity, but also mental health and coping mechanisms. One area of limited research is the relationship between cancer pain and personality. This study examined how personality traits affect reported cancer pain severity in older patients (N = 150) receiving outpatient treatment at a comprehensive cancer center. Participants were interviewed regarding their pain severity, personality, affect, and self-efficacy for pain management. Symptom data were collected from the Brief Pain Inventory, while personality data were gathered from the Ten Item Personality Inventory and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Self-efficacy for …

The Impact Of Hospice And Dementia Special Care Units On End-Of-Life Care For Individuals With Dementia, Catherine Elizabeth Mccarty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Hospice and Dementia Special Care Units (DSCUs) have been shown to be gold standards of care for individuals who are dying and for those with dementia in nursing homes. Using a retrospective administrator and family survey, this study investigated whether the processes of care used in hospice and DSCUs are associated with increased quality of end of life (EOL) care for individuals with dementia. A convenience sample of 17 facilities in four states (FL, PA, MD and MA) was included in the study. Nursing home administrators were surveyed between September 2008 and October 2009. The administrators identified 116 family …

The Mediating Role Of Social Support And Fulfillment Of Spiritual Needs In End Of Life Care, Kimberley A. Gryglewicz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

End of life (EOL) caregiving can be a daunting and challenging endeavor as caregivers adjust to the ever-changing care demands associated with dying. Increased personal care, assisting with symptom and medication management, and attending to the emotional and spiritual needs of the dying person require caregivers to learn new tasks and to assume new roles such as social worker, nurse, and chaplain. As families continue to play an essential role in meeting the health care needs of their dying loved ones, it is imperative for social workers to understand the complexities of the end of life caregiving experience in order …

Transition Experiences Of Adolescent Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: A Qualitative Investigation, Alana Delores Lopez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent survivors of childhood cancer are a growing population with unique needs as they face a combination of challenges associated with normal development and returning to life after treatment completion (Wakefield et al., 2010). One specific need identified in the research literature includes the effective delivery of transitional care and planning (Hewitt, Greenfield, & Stovall, 2005). It has been suggested that the provision of transition care and planning can help facilitate the shift from one phase of care to another and promote positive transition experiences (National Cancer Institute, 2008). The shift from off-treatment to post-treatment and school reintegration have been …