Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Trapped In A State Of Mitigating Danger: Forgotten Process, Forgotten Women, Alva Hunt Reid

Doctoral Dissertations

Women who are in intimate partner abusive relationships undergo a change process, which is a spectrum of emotional and behavioral responses to violence that is identifiable in stages. The end result is that women terminate their relationships or renegotiate their circumstances to halt the violence: Treatment protocol for abused women is shifting to individualized intervention based on these stages. Leaving and returning to an abusive relationship is a predominant theme in the change process that has not been investigated.

The present study examined this forgotten leave-return process in a sample of forgotten women. Grounded theory methodology was utilized to describe …

Chlorpyrifos In Human Breast Milk?, Karyn Ann Casey

Doctoral Dissertations

The widespread use of pesticides by farmers, pest control operators and even the general public can pose significant risks to children's health. One particular pesticide, chlorpyrifos, was the most widely used pesticide in the United States with total use estimated at approximately 30 million pounds per year. Young children and the developing fetus are far more susceptible to the effects of pesticide exposure as a result of unusual exposure patterns and developmental immaturities. Transplacental transfer and lactational exposure are the pathways exclusive to the developing fetus and infant. Chlorpyrifos exposure is of special concern in this population because of its …

The Only Way Out Is To Die: Perceptions And Experiences Of Rural, Homebound, Older Diabetics, Sharon Robbins George

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the meaning of diabetes, as perceived and experienced by rural, homebound, 65-year and older, diabetics requiring insulin. The sixty-five year and older persons are disproportionately affected by diabetes. They are more likely than younger diabetics to have co-morbidities, disabilities and difficulty preventing diabetic complications. Guidelines for diabetes management and treatment developed by the American Diabetes Association are not specifically targeted for the 65-year and older population. Phenomenological research was used to examine and describe the understanding of diabetes from perspectives of older diabetics.

A purposive sample of participants was recruited from …

Discovering Strengths Of Homeless Abused Women, Jean Croce Hemphill

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experience of discovering strengths of homeless abused women. An emancipatory feminist and existential phenomenological research design was used. Seventeen homeless abused women participated in facilitative dialogues that explored experiences of strength, and assisted in consciousness raising and then discovery of each woman’s own strengths. There were four levels of analysis used to identify a thematic structure. The thematic structure was derived from the various themes of strength that were facilitated in the dialogue and expressed in the words of the women. These various themes were clustered and organized within a …

Breast Milk Or Formula: An Existential Phenomenological Study Of Infant Feeding Decisions Made By Wic Recipients In East Tennessee, Jenny Blair Short

Doctoral Dissertations

Research indicates that breast milk is superior to formula as a source of infant nutrition. Research also indicates that infants born to impoverished women and women who are nutritionally at risk are at increased risk of a host of neonatal complications. Despite this evidence, women enrolled in the USDA's Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are less likely to initiate and continue to breastfeed their infants than women in the general population.

This existential phenomenological research study was performed to explore the experience of making infant nutrition decisions for infants 6 months of age and younger …