Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Assurance Issues In The Delivery Of Assistive Technology Services, Donald N. Olson

Physical Therapy Scholarly Projects

This independent study report provides an overview of the current state of the field of assistive technology for persons who have significant disabilities.

The field is extremely broad, and encompasses both low and high technology. Personnel working in field are diverse as well, representing nearly a dozen different disciplines. Two key issues confronting the collective field are professional education and credentialing.

In general, pre service professional programs do little to prepare students to deal with technological interventions. Some professionals who want to improve their competence in this area are doing so through graduate or post-graduate study, workshop attendance, or clinical …

Weight Loss In Alzheimer's Disease: A Comparison Of Care Options, Linda Dyhouse Kaiser

Theses

The purpose of this culminating project is to examine the care of Alzheimer's disease patients residing in a special care unit with the care received by those residing with the general nursing home population. More specifically, it compared the weights of patients on a special care unit with the weights of patients housed with the general nursing home population.

According to demographic information, the fastest growing cohort of the population is the older-old. This data is of great significance to health care providers for it is the 80 and above age group that are prime candidates to develop Alzheimer's disease. …

1993 Annual Reports And Resolutions, American Dental Association

ADA Transactions

This item is part of the Annual Reports and Resolutions subtitle of the ADA Transactions, a serial publication of the annual activities of the ADA House of Delegates (HOD)/Board of Trustees (BOT) made up of three separate subtitles: Annual Reports and Resolutions, Supplements, and Transactions. Generally, the ADA Transactions are published in multiple volumes throughout the year. Older versions include reports from all departments as subsections, while more recent versions include only those of councils, commissions, and committees.

Relationship Of Patient Age To Amount Of Postoperative Analgesic Prescribed And Administered, Beth Lee Sendre

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if elderly patients receive less analgesic than younger patients postoperatively and if that reduction in analgesia results from the physician's order, the administration, or both. Hospital records of 161 females with abdominal surgery were reviewed to collect data. The sample was divided into 6 age groups. The findings did not support with increased age from 25 years, less analgesic medication was prescribed for the first and second 24 hour period postoperatively (p {dollar}>{dollar}.05). The findings indicate, as age increased from 25 years, less analgesic medication was administered in the first 24 …

Adding New Life To Years: A Senior Peer Exercise Program, Cynthia Lymm Pearl Nayer

Theses

The thesis "Adding New Life to Years: A Senior Peer Exercise Program" explores the development and impact of a peer-led exercise program aimed at improving physical, social, and emotional health among older adults. Recognizing the challenges associated with aging—such as decreased mobility, social isolation, and chronic health issues—the study focuses on engaging active seniors as volunteer leaders to conduct low-intensity exercise classes for frail elderly participants.

This program aims to foster mutual benefits: healthy senior volunteers experience enhanced self-worth, social engagement, and physical fitness, while the frail elderly improve in areas like blood pressure, mood, and perceived self-efficacy. Grounded in …

Independence In The Elderly: A Review Of Activity Theory And Its Application, Michelle Dean

Whittier Scholars Program

Activity Theory is a major social theory in gerontology. Gerontology is a multidisciplinary approach to the study of aging individuals which combines fields such as biology, medicine, biochemistry, sociology, and psychology. This presentation will investigate causes of aging and the life cycle of aging individuals. A brief description of the major social theories of aging and their implications for life satisfaction in the culture of the American society will provide an introduction to the primary objective, which is independence in the elderly and the application of Activity theory. The outcome of this study and future concerns for research in gerontology …

Utilization Of Community Based Health Care Services By The Well Elderly, Rachelle Hesselberg, Kristen Wagner, Yolanda Zimmerman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if the elderly used community based health care services, to which they had been referred, following discharge from an acute hospital stay. The sample consisted of twenty elderly recruited from various senior centers in the West Michigan area. Of the respondents surveyed, 18 out of 20 were Caucasian. The average age of respondents was 73 years old. Of the services surveyed, all were under utilized by our sample except those in the clinic. An 18-item questionnaire was developed and distributed to the participants. Results from the data implied that it was more …

Focal And Contextual Stimuli Influencing Caregiving In Spouses Of Older Adults With Diabetes., Kathy Jo Ellison

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Urinary Bladder Assessment Skills Used By Hospital Nurses Before A Decision Is Made To Institute Intermittent Catheterization, Marion L. Burke

Theses : Honours

Intermittent Catheterization is an invasive technique in which a hollow tube (catheter) is inserted into the bladder to drain urine at regular intervals when a patient does not void. Catheterization is a technique frequently performed by nurses. The skills of assessment by nurses of a patient's urinary bladder prior to instituting intermittent catherization (IC) have been neglected in the field of nursing research. The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study is to identify bladder assessment skills (BAS) among hospital nurses prior to instituting intermittent catheterization. The study asks the questions: To what extent do nurses utilize BAS, and what is the …

Does An Individualized Back Education Programme Change Nurses' Knowledge And Practice About Back Injury Prevention, Diane K. Riley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Back injury has predominantly been a problem which has affected a large cross-section of nursing staff involved with direct patient care. While back injury prevention has been instituted in hospitals for sometime, the percentage of nurses with back injury remains high. Within a major teaching hospital, a ward in which nurses suffered a high rate of back injuries was identified. Through an action research approach the researcher (who worked in the same area as the participants) developed and implemented an individualized back injury prevention programme. The 4 criteria by which the study was measured included, a reduction of back injuries, …

The Effect Of A Semester Unit Of Study On Ethical Issues In Nursing On A Group Of Practising Registered Nurses, E. C. Ambrose

Theses : Honours

This study explored the effect an educational unit on ethical issues in nursing had on the ethical reasoning of practising registered nurses. The educational unit was conducted at a university school of nursing as part of a baccalaureate degree programme for already registered and practising nurses. A quasi-experimental posttest design utilising stratified random samples compared subjects from one group who had undertaken the unit (n=53) with subjects from another group who had not (n=61). Ethical reasoning was measured using Grisham's Nursing Dilemma Test and a researcher designed demographic data sheet provided information on additional variables for analysis.The group which had …

What's Happening: December 2, 1992, Maine Medical Center

What's Happening

No abstract provided.

Rediscovering The Asylum, Sharon M. Keigher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Spending a night at a typical big city shelter for the homeless has reminded the author of the massive and regimented environment in institutions that she had mistakenly believed no longer existed after the much acclaimed "deinstitutionalization" of America. St. Mary's is run by a religious order attempting to provide charitable care in a nondemanding environment. Many demands are made, however. The lack of privacy and respect for individuality inherent in institutional life tends to erode the "inmate's" very conception of self. It controls their activities, time, and choices, and thus creates barriers to exit. Providing "shelter" for the homeless …

Mutual Impacts Of Toughening On Crises And Losses, Richard A. Dienstbier

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

It is usually expected that if we are overwhelmed by an episode of crisis or loss that we may temporarily cope ineffectively, whereas when weare exposed to a sequence of challenges and stressors that are managable, we learn gradually to become better able to cope with such events. The "toughness" concept relates to analogous processes at the physiological level. The concept is based upon a wide variety of research with both animals and humans that is reviewed in detail elsewhere (Dienslbier, 1989). The focus of this chapter will instead be upon how toughness influences both physiological and psychological responses to …

Gender Differences In Dementia Management Plans Of Spousal Caregivers: Implications For Occupational Therapy., Mary A. Corcoran

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

Occupational therapists treating older people with Alzheimer disease know that they must also consider the others who are affected by the disease, the informal caregivers. Intervention is most effective when it enables both the impaired person and the primary caregiver to manage the secondary symptoms of dementia. Unfortunately, little is understood about how caregivers approach and carry out their tasks and about why male and female caregivers respond differently to their caregiving role in terms of depression, burden, stress, and substance abuse. This paper discusses the effects of gender on dementia management plans of spousal caregivers. Husbands and wives have …

Dementia Management: An Occupational Therapy Home-Based Intervention For Caregivers., Mary A. Corcoran, Laura N. Gitlin

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

This paper describes an occupational therapy intervention designed for family caregivers of persons with dementia. The intervention, based on the framework of a competence-environmental press model and the principle of collaboration, was implemented during 5 home visits. Each visit was designed to build caregiving skills through collaboration in identifying problem areas, developing and implementing environmental strategies, and modifying management approaches. A case vignette illustrates the therapeutic process and outcomes. The theoretical rationale and structure of the intervention and innovative documentation for evaluation of the theoretic process are also presented.

Dentalgram - Vol. 06, No. 08, Loma Linda University School Of Dentistry

Dentalgram

In this issue:

• School of Dentistry retreat is upon us
• DH surpasses fund-raising goal
• Join new dentistry Sabbath school
• Japanese educators visit Loma Linda
• Researchers return from Scotland
• Lock your clinic carts
• Handpieces to be sterilized between each patient
• Dental employee wins travel certificate
• Give blood at School blood drive

Benefits Of The Geriatric Nurse Clinician Role Within The Hospital Setting: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Gena Anne Vail

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assss the benefits to the patient of the geriatric nurse clinician role within the hospital setting.

Utilization Of Community Service Programs By Elders In Rural Areas, Eddie Moore

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify existing community service programs and barriers to their use as identified by elders living in rural areas.

Dentalgram - Vol. 06, No. 04, Loma Linda University School Of Dentistry

Dentalgram

In this issue:

• School departments make top 10 list of national magazine
• Faculty, students attend meeting in Boston
• Research clinics accepted for Glasgow, Scotland
• Faculty travel far and wide
• School of Dentistry Retreat is coming
• Tips on committee chairing given
• Conference on older adults to be held

Cognitive Disability Theory As A Basis For Activity Analysis For Elderly Persons With Dementia, Deborah S. Kaeser

Masters Theses

Allen's (1985) Cognitive Disability approach provides a guideline for modifying the cognitive demands of an activity to match the abilities of an individual. Thirty older adults with a mean age of 78.1 years and a diagnosis indicating an irreversible dementia were selected for the study. A counterbalanced design was used to compare the performance of 15 individuals with a Level Three cognitive ability and 15 individuals with a Level Four cognitive ability on two tiling craft activities: one with Level Three cognitive demands and one with Level Four cognitive demands. Analysis of variance indicated a significant interaction between cognitive level …

Medicare Supplemental Insurance: Today's Crisis, Health Care For All, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

The purpose of health insurance is to spread risk. The system works under the assumption that, at any given point in time, only a percentage of the people in a given group will be sick. Regardless of health status, all members of the group will be paying premiums in order to cover the cost of care for those who need it.

As a group, however, seniors represent a high-risk population. They are more likely than younger people to need health care services and tend to require longer hospital stays. Yet, while their expenses are greater, their financial resources are generally …

Elder-Caregiving Among University Employees: Responsibilities And Needs, Constance L. Coogle, Edward F. Ansello

Virginia Center on Aging Publications

Although many institutions of higher education often house the researchers who study eldercare, few have documented the need for information and services among their estimated 460,000 employees who face the difficult task of effectively balancing work and eldercare responsibilities. Even fewer have established programs to address this need.

Drs. Constance Coogle and Edward Ansello have recently completed an exhaustive survey of VCU employees (N = 11,430) to determine the extent to which they provide care to disabled parents or spouses.[1] A longer, more detailed survey was sent to those who indicated that they were eldercaregivers to measure their perceived …

Reproductive Characteristics Of Rodent Assemblages In Cultivated Regions Of Central Argentina, James N. Mills, Barbara A. Ellis, Kelly T. Mckee, Julio I. Maiztegui, James E. Childs

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Small mammals were trapped for 2 years at 16 localities on the central-Argentine pampa. Six species (Akodon azarae, Calomys musculinus, C. laucha, Bolomys obscurus, Oligory-zomys flavescens and Mus musculus) accounted for >95% of captures. The major breeding season, as assessed by pregnancies, was September or October through April or May. Mild weather in late autumn and winter of the second season resulted in a relatively longer breeding season during the 2nd year of the study. Females of all six species comprised significantly 50% of captures during the height of the breeding season. For most species, there was …

An Introduction To The Five-Factor Model And Its Applications, Robert R. Mccrae, Oliver P. John

United States Public Health Resources

The five-factor model of personality is a hierarchical organization of personality traits in terms of five basic dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Research using both natural language adjectives and theoretically based personality questionnaires supports the comprehensiveness of the model and its applicability across observers and cultures. This article summarizes the history of the model and its supporting evidence; discusses conceptions of the nature of the factors; and outlines an agenda for theorizing about the origins and operation of the factors. We argue that the model should prove useful both for individual assessment and for the elucidation …

1992 Annual Reports And Resolutions, American Dental Association

ADA Transactions

This item is part of the Annual Reports and Resolutions subtitle of the ADA Transactions, a serial publication of the annual activities of the ADA House of Delegates (HOD)/Board of Trustees (BOT) made up of three separate subtitles: Annual Reports and Resolutions, Supplements, and Transactions. Generally, the ADA Transactions are published in multiple volumes throughout the year. Older versions include reports from all departments as subsections, while more recent versions include only those of councils, commissions, and committees.

Aids: Knowledge And Attitudes Among Nurses, Jeanette J. Lochan

Masters Theses

Reports have indicated that nurses have negative and preconceived attitudes concerning persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and that these biases may interfere with quality care. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to identify the relationship between nurses' knowledge about AIDS and their attitudes toward caring for patients who are diagnosed with AIDS and/or who test positive for HIV. Data was gathered by questionnaires from a convenient sample of nurses employed at an area hospital in West Michigan. Of the 500 nurses who received the questionnaire, 208 (41.6%) participated in the study. Knowledge about AIDS was correlated with …

Concerns/Problems Experienced After Discharge From An Acute Care Setting: The Patient's Perspective, Karen R. Peper

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the discharge planning process in terms of concerns that patients experience after discharge from an acute care setting. Betty Neuman's Health Care Systems Model was the conceptual framework. Aspects of secondary prevention were used to classify the concerns as either a lack of resources or a reaction to a stressor.; The sample (n = 146) consisted of medical and surgical patients, 18 years or older hospitalized at a community hospital for at least 24 hours.; Data were analyzed descriptively. Data revealed that patients do experience some concerns after discharge. The top four …

Hardiness And Adaptation To Hypertension, Marcia L. Smit

Masters Theses

Hardiness, a personality characteristic that is purposed to mediate the stress response and reduce the likelihood of illness, was studied in the context of adaptation to chronic disease. A descriptive correlational design was used to determine whether a positive relationship exists between the presence of hardiness and psychosocial adaptation to hypertension. The sample consisted of 50 individuals 60 years old or older. Data was analyzed using the product moment correlation coefficient, Spearman's Rho, and multiple regression. A moderately weak correlation (r =.39, df = 48, p =.003) between hardiness and adaptation was found. Other significant relationships identified included those between …

Caregivers, Employers And Eldercare Issues, Donna L. Petro

Theses

Caregiving roles already impact the American workforce and will continue to affect productivity and personal lives of workers at an ever increasing rate. Demographics bear out that midlife females, the traditional caregivers, are returning to the workforce in increasing numbers each year. As our society ages, the fastest growing segment of the population, the "old-old," will require a wider spectrum of services from both agencies and family members. Many adults already find themselves "sandwiched" between the needs of children and the demands of elderly relatives, a situation that will become more common before the year 2000.

In the early 1980s, …