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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Influence Of The Label Intellectual Disability On Trainee Disability Service Providers' Impressions, Dianne Rosemary Mckillop Jan 1995

Influence Of The Label Intellectual Disability On Trainee Disability Service Providers' Impressions, Dianne Rosemary Mckillop

Theses : Honours

Labels can be identifiers of deviance from social norms and values as well as cognitive heuristics. Labelling theory proposes that deviancy labels create a perception of a stereotypical master status (Becker, 1963), which biases perceivers' impressions. The master status principle of labelling theory is analogous to the schema-based models of impression formation proposed by social psychology. The opposing view is that individual characteristics influence social perception to a greater extent than labels. The present study investigated the master status prediction of labelling theory using a social psychological framework. Empirical and theoretical evidence suggests that the perceptions of the people who …


Postdischarge Surveillance Of Surgical Wound Infection By Telephone Interview, Robyn Taverner Jan 1995

Postdischarge Surveillance Of Surgical Wound Infection By Telephone Interview, Robyn Taverner

Theses : Honours

Many postoperative wound infections are not being detected by traditional methods of surveillance of hospital acquired infections, due to decreasing length of hospital stay Unless some form of postdischarge surveillance is undertaken, rates of hospital acquired infections will he underestimated. While Infection Control Practitioners are aware of this problem, implementation of postdischarge surveillance is hampered by lack of research into suitable cost-effective methods. This study describes the implementation and feasibility of postdischarge surveillance by telephone interview and compares rates of infection in a private hospital before and after discharge. During a five month period a systematic sample of 300 clients …


Practice Nurses And Hepatitis B : Preventative Actions And Their Relationship To Health Beliefs, Helen Le Sueur Jan 1995

Practice Nurses And Hepatitis B : Preventative Actions And Their Relationship To Health Beliefs, Helen Le Sueur

Theses : Honours

Hepatitis B is a major, largely undiagnosed disease in the community and nurses working in doctors' surgeries (practice nurses) undertake many clinical tasks which may expose them to the Hepatitis B virus. Using the Health Belief Model as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this correlational-descriptive study was to determine what actions are taken, by practice nurses in Western Australia to protect themselves against Hepatitis B, and to what extent their health beliefs contribute to those actions. A response rate of 59% (118) was obtained from an anonymous, confidential questionnaire sent to a random sample of 200 practice nurses in …


The Lived Experience Of Nurses Caring For The Dying, David M. Byrne Jan 1995

The Lived Experience Of Nurses Caring For The Dying, David M. Byrne

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The study reported in this thesis describes and analyses the lived experience of caring for the dying amongst nine (9) nurses in a hospice setting. The research was established within the context of published literature on the subject of caring for the dying from nursing. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was chosen as the most appropriate for this study, in order to describe and interpret the understanding and shared meanings nurses have in the care of the dying. The major mode of data collection in this study was by in depth interview of nine (9) nurses, which was supplemented by the …


An Examination Of Selected Factors Associated With Nurses' Behaviour And Intentions Related To Patient Teaching, Ian R. Mullins Jan 1995

An Examination Of Selected Factors Associated With Nurses' Behaviour And Intentions Related To Patient Teaching, Ian R. Mullins

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Patient teaching is integral in the provision of an effective health care service. Registered nurses in all settings, have a professional responsibility to contribute towards their clients’ health promotion and maintenance by providing those clients with the health education they require. This study investigated the patient teaching intentions and behaviours of 181 registered nurses employed in acute medical and surgical settings at three metropolitan hospitals in Perth Western Australia. Within the framework of Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) theory of reasoned action, the study examined the relationships between registered nurses’ intentions to teach patients, their patient teaching behaviours and selected factors …


Attitudes Of Nurses To Palliative Care In Nursing Homes In The Perth Metropolitan Region, Lynne Cohen Jan 1995

Attitudes Of Nurses To Palliative Care In Nursing Homes In The Perth Metropolitan Region, Lynne Cohen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Zanna and Rempel (1988) have proposed that attitudes are a summary evaluation of an attitude object based on three classes of information, namely: cognitive information, affective information and behavioural information. This model has mainly been tested in the social groups and social policies area investigating two classes of information: cognitive and affective, and therefore there is a need for research to test the validity of this model in other areas. The present study applies the model to the area of palliative care in nursing homes. 76 directors of nursing, 76 clinical nurse specialists, and 76 nursing assistants working in nursing …


Perceptions Of Discharge Planning Needs : A Study Of Discharge Planning In The Mental Health Setting, Michael P. Finn Jan 1995

Perceptions Of Discharge Planning Needs : A Study Of Discharge Planning In The Mental Health Setting, Michael P. Finn

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Major mental disorder, with prolonged periods of dysfunction that require long term care, is an issue of concern amongst mental health professionals. Although substantial effort and resources are devoted towards returning mentally ill individuals to the community, one of the most distinctive and consistent features of the persistently mentally ill (PMI) is their high rate of readmission to hospital. Existing studies into discharge planning revealed that no research had been undertaken to determine if this is the case in Western Australia. This study sought to investigate perceptions of discharge planning held by patients, carers, nurses and allied health workers involved …


Triage In Health Department Of Western Australia Accident And Emergency Departments, Geraldine M. Riordan Jan 1995

Triage In Health Department Of Western Australia Accident And Emergency Departments, Geraldine M. Riordan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A survey of triage systems used in Health Department of Western Australia accident and emergency departments was undertaken to examine differences in practices between departments with and without designated triage nurses (TNs). One questionnaire surveyed 93 nurses in seven departments with TNs, a similar second questionnaire surveyed 89 nurses in 16 departments without TNs, and a third questionnaire was used in a structured telephone interview of receptionists in hospitals without TNs. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations and ranges with common themes identified for open ended questions. The study was guided by Donabedian's systems evaluation model. The …


Factors Influencing Western Australian Clinical Registered Nurses In Discharge Planning, S. R. Suiter Jan 1995

Factors Influencing Western Australian Clinical Registered Nurses In Discharge Planning, S. R. Suiter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A descriptive quantitative study was conducted to determine what factors nurses considered when discharge planning, and how these factors compared with factors identified in the literature as being effective in planning for discharge. This study was undertaken because with the intended Prospective Payment System (PPS) of funding to hospitals, it is essential that Western Australian Clinical Registered Nurses are able to prepare patients for discharge effectively to prevent the financial burden of cost outliers and re-admissions. Anderson and Steinberg ( 1984) in their studies of factors that influence the cost of hospital care for the elderly, found that the results …