Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dementia And Dementia Care: The Contributions Of A Psychosocial Perspective, Phyllis Braudy Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

The social sciences have and continue to play a unique role in the study of dementia and dementia care. For central to the social sciences, particularly the discipline of sociology is a history of critical inquiry that challenges long held societal assumptions, a concern for issues of social justice, social exclusion and the treatment of marginalized populations. All significant areas to consider when caring for a person with dementia. This chapter will trace the development of the study of dementia and dementia care starting with its biomedical roots, examine the contributions of the social sciences in furthering the conceptual development …

Selfhood In Younger Onset Dementia: Transitions And Testimonies., Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Keady

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Younger people with dementia and their carers are an overlooked population for research, policy and practice attention. In this study, data were collected from both the United States and the UK in order to explore the meaning and construction of selfhood and identity. The US data collection included in-depth interviews with 23 people diagnosed with younger-onset dementia, while the UK data collection comprised 15 face-to-face interviews with younger carers of younger people with dementia; all carers were/had been caring for a younger person with dementia diagnosed through the DSM-IV-R criteria. A grounded theory analysis of the data resulted in the …

From Fleck’S Denkstil To Kuhn’S Paradigm: Conceptual Schemes And Incommensurability, Babette Babich

Babette Babich

This article argues that the limited influence of Ludwik Fleck’s ideas on philosophy of science is due not only to their indirect dissemination by way of Thomas Kuhn, but also to an incommensurability between the standard conceptual framework of history and philosophy of science and Fleck’s own more integratedly historico-social and praxis-oriented approach to understanding the evolution of scientific discovery. What Kuhn named “paradigm” offers a periphrastic rendering or oblique translation of Fleck’s Denkstil/Denkkollektiv, a derivation that may also account for the lability of the term “paradigm”. This was due not to Kuhn’s unwillingness to credit Fleck but rather to …

Introduction Of A Waterless Alcohol-Based Hand Rub In A Long-Term Care Facility, Lona Mody, Mcneil A. Shelly, Rongjun Sun, Bradley Suzanne, Carol A. Kauffman

Rongjun Sun

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of introduction of an alcohol-based hand rub on hand hygiene knowledge and compliance and hand colonization of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a long-term-care facility (LTCF). METHODS: Two floors of an LTCF participated. Ward A used the hand rub as an adjunct to soap and water; ward B was the control. HCWs' hands were cultured using the bag-broth technique for Staphylococcus aureus, gram-negative bacilli (GNB), Candida, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). HCWs completed a questionnaire at baseline and after an educational intervention and introduction of rub. RESULTS: Hand hygiene practices, knowledge, and opinions did not change after …

Diversity And Homelessness: Minorities And Psychiatric Survivors, Cheryl Forchuk, Elsabeth Jensen, Rick Csiernik, Carolyn Gorlick, Susan Ray, Helene Berman, Pamela Mckane, Libbey Joplin

Rick Csiernik

No abstract provided.

Review Of Sex Cells: The Medical Market For Eggs And Sperm, By Rene Almeling., Medora Barnes

Medora W. Barnes

江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2, Cecilia (淑子） S. Seigle (瀬川）江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2 江戸時代女性の噂話:第一部: 都会の庶民の女性 : 町の女 2 Ph.D.

Cecilia S Seigle Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Neonatal Euthanasia, David Sugarman, Robin Montvilo, Colette Matarese

Robin K Montvilo

An attributional analysis of neonatal euthanasia was undertaken in two studies to compare the responsibility attributions of nursing and non-nursing students (Study 1) and nurses (Study 2) toward a physician for a critically ill neonate's death. In both studies, vignettes about a newborn's death differed with respect to the physician's treatment of the critically ill newborn. In the student study, the physician was attributed the least responsibility for the newborn's death when cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted but failed, followed by the physician's issuance of either a "Do Not Resuscitate" order or an order to turn off the infant's respirator. Greatest …

Sudden Death And The Myth Of Cpr / Book Review, David B. Sugarman

David B Sugarman

Whether we think about Miracle Max, quoted above, or Dr. Mark Green from the television show, ER, our society harbors a stereotype of emergency healthcare practitioners who serve the public interest by rescuing critically ill or injured individuals from sudden death, that is, the termination of cardiopulmonary functioning. Stefan Timmermans, a Brandeis University sociologist, offers both the general public and the academic reader a backstage view of our healthcare system's failing attempt to live up to the mythical images that we have constructed. His observations are simultaneously enlightening and disturbing.

Connecting The Dots: Threat Assessment, Depression And The Troubled Student, Valerie Harwood

Valerie Harwood

On April 18, 2007, a package containing over twenty digital videos arrived at the NBC building in New York city. Within a short time the material had been publicly broadcast, and images of Seung Hui Cho soon appeared on Youtube. Two days earlier the twenty-three year-old university student had been responsible for what has been claimed to be the worst mass shooting in the United States. Just days after the mass shooting, the Governor of Virginia, Timothy M. Kaine convened a review panel that was comprised of nine “nationally recognized individuals” across the disciplines of “law enforcement, security, governmental management, …

Worry About Medical Care, Family Support, And Depression Of The Elders In Urban China, Rongjun Sun

Rongjun Sun

This study examines the role of family support in reducing the elders’s depression in the face of the perceived inadequate public medical care in urban China. Using data from the Survey on Aging and Intergenerational Relations in Baoding City, this article investigates the overall depression level, somatic symptoms, and affective symptoms, respectively. The findings suggest that perceived inadequate public medical care, which results from dramatic changes in China’s socioeconomic transformation, has a stressful impact on all measures of depression. Family support, by its structure and function, shows both direct and moderating effects in counteracting such stress from the public domain. …

Assessment Of Pneumonia In Older Adults: Effect Of Functional Status, Lona Mody, Rongjun Sun, Suzanne F. Bradley

Rongjun Sun

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the effect of preadmission functional status on severity of pneumonia, length of hospital stay (LOS), and all-cause 30-day and 1-year mortality of adults aged 60 and older and to understand the effect of pneumonia on short-term functional impairment. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: University hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twelve patients with radiograph-proven pneumonia (mean age 74.6) were enrolled. MEASUREMENTS: Functional status and comorbidities were assessed using the Functional Autonomy Measurement System (SMAF) and Charlson Comorbidity Index. Clinical information was used to calculate the Pneumonia Prognostic Index (PPI). RESULTS: Eighty-four (75%) patients were functionally independent (FI) before admission, with …

Community-Acquired Pneumonia In Older Veterans: Does The Pneumonia Prognosis Index Help?, Lona Mody, Rongjun Sun, Suzanne Bradley

Rongjun Sun

OBJECTIVES: Mortality rates from pneumonia increase steadily with age. Recently, a disease severity model (the Pneumonia Prognosis Index (PPI)) has been developed to predict mortality from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). PPI ranks severity of pneumonia from 1 to 5, with 5 being most severe. This retrospective study utilizes the PPI to address the prognosis of CAP in older adults. DESIGN: Retrospective review of medical charts. SETTING: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PARTICIPANTS: All adults aged 60 and older admitted to a Veterans Affairs Medical Center with CAP between January 1 and December 31, 1998. MEASUREMENTS: PPI was calculated using subjects' …

Infertility Help Seeking And Social Support: Do Conventional Theories Explain Internet Behaviors And Outcomes, Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins

Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins

This dissertation uses data from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB), a nationally representative sample, to assess factors associated with face-to-face and internet help seeking (study 1) and perceived social support (study 2). In study one, I examine whether the General Help Seeking Model, a theory that has been used to explain in-person help seeking, generalizes to internet help seeking. I assess four types of help seeking: (1) no help seeking, (2) only internet help seeking, (3)only medical help seeking, and (4) both online and medical help seeking. Results suggest that online help seeking is differentiated from in person …

Adherence Among Women With Hiv Infection In Puerto Rico, Desiree Ciambrone, Helen Loewenthal, Lauri Bazerman, Carmen Zorilla, Brenda Urbina, Jennifer Mitty

Desiree A Ciambrone

Women are the fastest growing segment of the adult population acquiring HIV, and most women infected with HIV are in their reproductive years. The success of HAART is highly dependent upon the ability and willingness of the individual to adhere to complex antiretroviral regimens. Improved adherence among HIV-infected pregnant women will delay disease progression in the mother and should also reduce HIV transmission to the baby. Modified directly observed therapy (MDOT), may benefit this population. MDOT has been shown to be an acceptable and feasible intervention among HIV substance users; however, no-one has yet evaluated the use of MDOT in …

Selecting Effective Treatments / Book Review, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

Reviews the book "Selecting Effective Treatments," by Linda Seligman..

The Effect Of Perceived Expectations Of Alcohol Use And College Life On Freshmen’S Drinking Behaviors, Katherine Novak

Katherine B. Novak

Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society, Minneapolis, MN, March 29-April 1, 2012.

Maintaining Friendships In Early Stage Dementia: Factors To Consider, Phyllis Harris

Phyllis Braudy Harris

Friendships and the importance of social connectiveness play a critical role in aging well, regardless of gender, race, social class, or impairment. Yet, dementia takes its toll on social relationships, and many friends withdraw and ‘disappear’, because they can no longer bear to see the changes that are taking place in their diagnosed friend. The dementia care literature documents this abandonment; however, this study examines the opposite occurrence. In order to understand more clearly the role of long-term friendships and how such friendships remain and continue, despite the diagnosis of dementia, this qualitative study examines in depth eight people in …

Perinatal Outcomes And Satisfaction With Care In Women With High Body Mass Index, Jan Thomas, Ingegerd Hildingsson

Jan Thomas

No abstract provided.

The Role Of ‘Workplace Family’ Support On Worker Health, Exhaustion And Pain, Linda A. Treiber, Shannon N. Davis

Linda A. Treiber

Neither Good Nor Useful: Looking Ad Vivum In Children's Assessments Of Fat And Healthy Boides, Valerie Harwood

Valerie Harwood

Fat bodies are not, fait accompli, bad. Yet in our international research we found overwhelmingly that fat functioned as a marker to indicate health or lack of health. A body with fat was simply and conclusively unhealthy. This paper reports on how this unbalanced view of fat was tied to assessments of healthy bodies that were achieved by the act of looking. Despite the efforts of health education in each of the three countries in our study, children and young people cited the act of looking at bodies to assess health and when they did they arrived at the conclusion …

De-Medicalizing Addiction: Toward Biocultural Understandings, Kerwin A. Kaye

Kerwin Kaye