Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Rituals Reproducing Race: African American Women's Feminine Hygiene Practices, Shared Experiences, And Power, Angela K. Guy-Lee

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of the role African American women’s feminine hygiene practices, namely vaginal douching, plays in the creation and reproduction of race. Compared to their white and Latina counterparts, African American women are the most likely to engage in this practice. Vaginal douching is associated with myriad reproductive and sexual health problems. These problems include but are not limited to recurrent yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, disrupting healthy vaginal microbiomes, and spontaneous preterm birth; of which African American women experience disproportionately. Although racial differences in vaginal douching are well documented, little is known about the impetus for African …

This Is Us Saying Who We Are: Speaking The Rhetoric Of Mental Disability, Renuka Uthappa

Wayne State University Dissertations

People with mental disabilities, or what are sometimes referred to as “mental illnesses,” face stigma when they interact with the public. To fight this stigma, the members of a small, grassroots, advocacy organization known as the Speakers Bureau travel to high school and college classrooms narrating their experiences with mental disability. They do so to replace culturally circulating stereotypes regarding such disability with more accurate and positive images. This dissertation is an auto-ethnographic exploration of the rhetoric of the Speakers Bureau. Through rhetorical analysis of members’ classroom speeches, of interviews with each speaker, and of the speaker’s self- assessment of …

An Evaluation Of The Factor Structure, Reliability And Construct Validity Of The Male Role Norms Inventory-Revised For African American/Black Men, Wilfred Michael Allen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: In the United States, on average, men die nearly five years younger than women. Among men, the life expectancy for African American/Blacks is 72.1 years compared to 76.6 years for White/European Americans. African-American/Black men experience an earlier onset and more severe disease with higher rates of complications than White/European American men. Masculinity ideology has been identified by researchers as having an influence on health behaviors and ultimately health outcomes. Based on prior research literature, higher levels of masculinity ideology have been associated with fewer health promoting behaviors. As such, there is a need for a reliable and valid measure …

The Experiences Of Black American Older Adults Managing Pain: A Nursing Ethnography, Sheria Grice Robinson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: Pain can negatively affect quality of life for Black elders. They are less likely to report pain concerns and have voiced pain needs adequately met. To better understand the pain management experiences and concerns of Black elders, an ethnographic study was completed within an urban, low-income, elder housing facility. Methods: 106 participants completed a questionnaire comprised of a demographic tool, the PROMIS Global Health Scale (PROMIS), the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and the Psychological Stress Measure (PSM-9). Additionally, participant observation, informal interviews, and 20 formal recorded interviews with individuals identified as having pain were completed. Qualitative and frequency analysis …

Present Futures: Possibilities For Selfhood At A Community Mental Health Center In Detroit, Michigan, Talia Gordon

Wayne State University Theses

Since the 1990s, recovery-oriented approaches to mental illness have become the dominant paradigm in contemporary U.S. non-clinical institutional settings. Central to the recovery paradigm is a discourse of self-determination that separates psychiatric pathology from personhood and expects those diagnosed to enact and manage themselves as autonomous subjects - as empowered, responsible, independent, and transformable. For many individuals, however, everyday experiences of illness are at odds with expectations for recovery, defined as a "process of change" through which the self is continuously worked upon and improved (SAMHSA 2011). One particularly popular non-clinical recovery modality is the Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation …

Structural Processing Of Language Components: Detection And Comprehension, Samantha Rose Crow

Wayne State University Theses

Although music and language share many perceptually functional characteristics, research endeavors are still focusing on the underlying neural circuitry. Past research has indicated a distinction of hemispheric lateralization between music and language processing. Recently, efforts have shifted to the notion of an initial general shared pathway in the brain with auditory stimuli differentiated in later processing to specialized regions. Therefore, both linguistic and musical components have been examined in numerous experiments to discern the possible influence of music and language components on auditory perception and comprehension, including their potential interaction. However, the effects of sentential prosody on early language structural …

Multi-Modality Assessment Of Language Function, Erik Carmen Brown

Wayne State University Dissertations

The work presented as part of this dissertation represents a multi-modality study of language structure and function. The primary functional modality employed is task-related electrocorticography (ECoG). This is complemented by discussion and evaluation of previously published functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Language-related structure is explored using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in conjunction with ECoG data. The scientific questions pursued are broad and include reevaluation of previously proposed theories.

We start by taking the first steps in validating our naming-related ECoG approach by comparing our results from a small cohort of patients to the clinical gold-standard technique of electrical brain …

Sleep Homeodynamics And Wellbeing In Asymptomatic Hiv-Seropositive African American Women, Tabetha Lynn Gayton

Wayne State University Dissertations

SLEEP HOMEODYNAMICS AND WELLBEING IN ASYMPTOMATIC HIV–SEROPOSITIVE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN

by

TABETHA LYNN GAYTON

December 2013

Advisor: Hossein N. Yarandi, PhD

Major: Nursing (Urban Health)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

BACKGROUND: HIV–related sleep disruption is a common complaint of persons with HIV infection. With the demographical shifts, African American women have now emerged as one of the fastest growing HIV populations today, yet they remain a vulnerable and underrepresented population in the sleep literature.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the dynamics of HIV–related sleep disruption and wellbeing in asymptomatic HIV–seropositive AA women of childbearing age within …

A Distinction Without A Moral Difference? An Essay On The Difference Between Palliative Sedation And Physician-Assisted Death, Patrick T. Smith

Wayne State University Dissertations

Professionals engaged in palliative care have a responsibility to treat their patients by aggressively managing pain and certain kinds of suffering within legal and professional ethical boundaries. Many medical professionals and ethicists, rightly or wrongly, have considered the practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, which can be categorized as instances of physician-assisted death (PAD), to be beyond the scope of ethically appropriate health care. Many of these same individuals who oppose PAD, and the professional organizations they sometimes represent, often embrace, at the same time, the practice of palliative/terminal sedation at the end of life. Palliative sedation is thought to …

The Relationship Between Generalized Anxiety Disorder In Women And Hormonal Imbalances, Self-Efficacy And Lifestyle: Implications For Licensed Professional Counselors And Counselor Educators, Gillian Bernadette Robbins

Wayne State University Dissertations

The intent of the study was to conduct a preliminary enquiry of the relationship between Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in women and hormonal imbalances, self-efficacy, and lifestyle. Key consideration was given to the study as it points to implications for licensed professional counselors and counselor educators. A nonexperimental, correlation design was used in the study and conducted in a large urban city in Ontario, Canada. Participants in the study were female clients receiving bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) for a minimum of three month at a Medical Health Spa. A total of 55 participants completed a demographical survey, the Generalized …

Preterm Birth And The Perception Of Risk Among African Americans, Gwendolyn Simpson Norman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: African American women deliver preterm at a rate that is two to three times that of their white counterparts, and after decades of research, this disparity in birth outcomes still remains unexplained. While factors including income, education, neighborhood conditions, infection and stress have all been associated with prematurity, no combination of these factors has explained why the disparity persists. Recently, however, racism-specific stress has emerged as a possible factor contributing to this disparity. This study was designed to learn how preterm birth was explained by African Americans directly impacted by prematurity. Methods: Interviews were conducted with African American women …

"Still Here, Trying To Find My Way": Understanding The Experiences Of Hiv Disruption And Reorganization Among Older African Americans In Detroit, Andrea Nevedal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Adults aged fifty and older are the fastest growing age group with HIV/AIDS. Research on older adults with HIV has focused primarily on health status and physiological changes that occur as people age with HIV. However, little is known about the socio-cultural consequences that occur when older adults are diagnosed with HIV and as they age with HIV. Drawing from an anthropological approach to the life course and Becker's (1997) framework of life disruption, this dissertation research explored to what extent people experienced disruption from living with HIV and reorganized their lives after experiencing disruption.

The specific aims included identifying …

The Lived Experience Of African American Women With Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema, Deborah Collins-Bohler

Wayne State University Dissertations

African American patients have been reported as having a greater number of aggressive cancer treatments compared to Caucasians (McWayne & Heiney, 2005; Meeske et al., 2009; Ridner & Dietrich, 2008), and have higher incidence of BCRLE due axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and radiation intervention (Thomas-MacLean, Miedema, Tateemichi, 2005). Research regarding BCRLE has used BCRLE samples comprised almost exclusively of married and well-educated Caucasian women. Few studies (Bowman, Deimling, Smerglia, Sage, & Kahana, 2003; Eversley et al., 2005; Joslyn, 2002; McWayne & Heiney, 2005) have included sizeable numbers of African American breast cancer survivors. No studies have been found that …

The Effects Of Racially-Motivated Emotional Arousal On The Eating Behaviors Of African American Women, Lenwood W. Hayman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Disparities between African Americans and Caucasians remain vast across a wide variety of health indicators. Chronic stress has been identified as a risk factor for a variety of chronic illnesses and poor health outcomes. One type of chronic stress that has been linked to health disparities is the stress associated with experiences of racial discrimination. The stress African Americans encounter as a result of their racist experiences contributes to a chronic elevation of their physiological stress response. In addition to stress, a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and diabetes is obesity, which has been established as a major …

The Effects Of Gestalt And Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Group Interventions On The Assertiveness And Self-Esteem Of Women With Physical Disabilities Facing Abuse, Cilene Susan Adam Rita

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of Gestalt and Cognitive-Behavioral group therapy interventions on assertiveness and self-esteem among women with physical disabilities facing abuse. The eleven women, who met the study criteria, were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions, Gestalt Therapy (GT) and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) group interventions. The Demographic Questionnaire (Adam Rita, 2009) documented personal characteristics of the participants. The criterion instruments were: a) RAS (Rathus, 1973), and b) CFSEI-2 (Form AD, Battle, 1992) measuring assertiveness and self-esteem respectively and were administered pre-and-post treatment. The research was conducted over a period of …

The Influence Of Religion And Spirituality On Rehabilitation Outcomes Among Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors, Brigid Waldron-Perrine

Wayne State University Dissertations

The long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury affect millions of Americans, many of whom report using religion and spirituality to cope. Little research, however, has investigated how various elements of the religious and spiritual belief systems affect rehabilitation outcomes. The present study sought to assess the use of specifically defined elements of religion and spirituality as coping resources in a sample of traumatically brain injured adults. Furthermore, various mechanisms by which religion and spirituality may affect outcome were explored.

The sample included 88 adults with brain injury from 1 to 20 years post injury and their knowledgeable significant others (SOs). …

Examining The Relationship Between Spiritual Resources, Self-Efficacy, Life Attidues, Cognition, And Personal Characteristics Of Homeless African American Women, Jean Gash

Wayne State University Dissertations

African Americans comprise 12% of the American population and 45% of the homeless sheltered population (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], 2007). The fastest growing segment is African American women and African American women with children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spiritual resources, self-efficacy, life attitudes, cognition, and personal characteristics (e.g., physical and mental health, age, marital status, number of children, number and length of times homeless and perceptions of being at risk for serious illness) of homeless African American women from 30 years of age and older who were trying …

A Vignette Study Examining The Accuracy Of Diagnosis: The Role Of Patient And Practitioner Gender And Race Match, Kevin Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

DIAGNOSING MENTAL ILLNESS

By

KEVIN JOHNSON

2010

Advisor: Dr. Janet R. Hankin

Major: Medical Sociology

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology

A convenience snowball sample of 228 mental health practitioners were surveyed and administered two vignettes of persons with mental illness and a 12-question survey that included occupational background and attitudinal questions about diagnosing mental illness. The gender and race of the patients were randomly altered, while the symptoms and characteristics of mental illness remained constant for each vignette. Each practitioner assigned a DSM-IV diagnostic label for axis I and axis II on both vignettes. The surveys were coded …