Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Relationship Between Spirituality And Depression In Family Caregivers Of The Elderly, Cynthia L. Boland

Masters Theses

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between spirituality and depression in family caregivers of the elderly. Data for this secondary study came from a caregiver research project conducted by Given and Given (1989). Although the primary study was longitudinal, this study used a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design. A convenience sample of 191 family caregivers participated. Data on spirituality and depression were obtained by self-administered questionnaires. Spirituality was measured with the Spiritual/Philosophical subscale from the Coping Resources Inventory (Hammer & Marting, 1988). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977) was slightly modified and used …

The Relationship Between Acculturation Level Of Mexican-American Parents And Coping With Their Chronically Ill Children, Nancy Ellen Tena

Masters Theses

This investigation focused on 19 Mexican-American families with neurologically impaired children to determine to what extent they selected particular coping patterns in relationship to their level of acculturation to the Anglo-American culture. Using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans (ARSMA), the families were categorized according to acculturation level (low, bicultural, and high). The families identified coping patterns (Family Support, Social Support, and Medical Support) which were helpful to them by completing the Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP). Only one statistically significant relationship between acculturation level of these families and extent of their use of coping patterns was found: high …

Elements Of Professional Nursing Identified By Nursing Experts, Audrey D. Haag

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify elements that are necessary in formulating a definition of professional nursing which are in agreement with specified leaders in nursing of the United States of America. This descriptive study used a two round Delphi survey technique. Forty-eight Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing (F.A.A.N.) responded to the survey. Each subject was mailed an introductory letter, a demographic inquiry and a questionnaire containing a list of elements of professional nursing on two occasions. The data generated by the questionnaires were analyzed through descriptive statistics, specifically calculating the percentages for each level of …

The Effect Of Preoperative Exposure On Spouse Anxiety In The I.C.U., Carol J. Gates

Masters Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to answer the question: What is the effect of preoperative exposure of the intensive care unit (I.C.U.) on anxiety levels of spouses of open heart patients? A pretest-posttest experimental design was used to analyze data collected on 50 spouses of open heart patients. The subjects were randomly assigned to either experimental or control groups. State and trait anxiety levels were measured using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (1983). The experimental group received preoperative I.C.U. exposure in the format of a videotape the evening of surgery and the control group received routine preoperative preparation. T-test, chi-square, …

A Comparison Of Predictive Validity Of The Norton Scale, The Daly Scale And The Braden Scale, Sharon L. Marini

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the predictive ability of three tools (the Norton Scale, the Braden Scale and the Daly Scale) to predict risk of skin breakdown in a hospitalized population. Neuman's theoretical framework served as the organizational framework for the study.; A convenience sample of 27 patients who were admitted to one of three medical/surgical floors in an acute care hospital were selected for the study. The Braden Scale and the Norton 14 each identified 50% of those subjects who developed pressure ulcers. The Norton Scale 12 identified 96% of those subjects without pressure ulcers who …

Identification Of Family Member's Self-Care Knowledge: A Qualitative Study, Bradley S. Corbin

Masters Theses

A Family Adaptive Potential Assessment Tool (FAPAT) based on Modeling and Role-Modeling theory has been developed to assist nurses in their holistic approach to nursing. The purpose of this research was to begin to test one of the propositions on which the FAPAT was based: Families are able to identify what will be helpful for them during a time when they are trying to cope with a significant life event.; Families were generally able to identify what would be helpful. A modified grounded theory approach assisted to identify four themes that emerged under external support and three themes under internal …

Replication Study Of Nursing Diagnosis In The Hospitalized Chronic Pulmonary Disease Patient: A Pilot Study, Pearl Anne Kloac

Masters Theses

This study replicated a pilot study, conducted by Lynn Dapice in 1985, to clinically validate nursing diagnoses developed by the American Thoracic Society Group and Nursing Diagnosis Classification Group. The purpose of this current study was to broaden the body of knowledge regarding nursing diagnoses associated with the medical diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).; A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using Dapice's tool adapted to suit this study. Data from 25 charts of hospitalized COPD clients were analyzed using percentages and t-test; the results showed no significant difference between the two studies, with the exception of the age …

Effect Of An Outpatient Educational Program On The Rehabilitation Of Myocardial Infarction Patients, Janice L. Hodges

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to answer the following question: Do myocardial infarction patients who attend an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation educational program have a higher level of knowledge and less anxiety than individuals who do not attend such a program? A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent comparison group was utilized. The nonprobability convenience sample included individuals hospitalized with a myocardial infarction. Sample size was twenty subjects in each of the two groups. A cognitive knowledge test and Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory were administered within 48 hours of discharge. The experimental group attended an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation educational program which …

The Effects Of Aids Education On Knowledge And Health Care Beliefs Of Nursing Students, Catherine Taliaferro Earl

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of AIDS education on knowledge and health care beliefs of nursing students. There were two hypotheses tested. Hypothesis one: nursing students presented with factual information about AIDS have more knowledge about AIDS than nursing students without AIDS instruction. Hypothesis two: strength of health care beliefs related to AIDS susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, and health motivation of students with AIDS instruction differ from those without AIDS instruction.; The study was conducted using a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. The sample included 29 second term nursing students enrolled in the nursing curriculum of an …

Showering In Labor: An Effective Pain Management Alternative, Kathleen A. Austin

Masters Theses

Health care professionals continue to be concerned about the relief of pain and anxiety associated with childbirth. There are recent anecdotal reports in the literature which describe showering as an effective nonpharmaceutical alternative for labor pain management. The effectiveness of showering can most likely be explained physiologically by the "gate control" theory of pain.; The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to examine the labor patient's perception of the effectiveness of showering as a comfort measure and the relationship between showering in labor and outcome variables such as analgesia use, anesthesia use, and childbirth satisfaction. After approval by appropriate human …

Needs Of Families Of Adult Cardiac Surgery Patients During The Intensive Care Stay, Michael L. Williams

Masters Theses

The purposes of this research were to identify needs of family of adult cardiac surgery patients during the intensive care stay, by whom these needs were met, and to identify demographic variables that were associated with identified family needs. Thirty-one families of adult cardiac surgery patients ranked 45 need statements using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory. The need to have questions answered honestly was identified as the most important need by the families in this study. Nurses were identified as the person who met most of the needs of the families. Some significant differences in needs between spouses and …

Staff Nurse Identification Of Nursing Diagnosis From A Written Case Study, Sharon Etheridge

Masters Theses

A descriptive study was conducted to determine how well medical-surgical and critical care staff nurses identified the same nursing diagnoses and defining characteristics from a written case study. A convenience sample of 83 staff nurses from four acute care institutions participated in the study.; Of the total diagnostic statements made, 42.9% were the same as those identified by experts in the case study. Three nurses (3.6%) correctly identified all five nursing diagnoses in the written case study. An additional seven (8.4%) nurses correctly identified four of the nursing diagnoses. The demographic characteristics of these nurses were varied. No statistical relationship …

Perceptions Of Registered Nurses Toward Two Patient Classification Systems, Sarah J. Follen

Masters Theses

Patient classification systems provide a means of delineating nursing activities that a patient requires. The majority of patient classification systems consist primarily of delegated services or functional tasks. Two other areas of nursing care, independent and interdependent services, are not a part of most workload measurement systems.; Two patient classification systems were developed for this study. One was designed using primarily delegated services, and the second designed according to the Clinical Practice Model of Nursing (Wesorick, 1988) and consisted of independent, interdependent, and delegated services. The researcher studied how registered nurses perceived each instrument: how acceptable was each instrument to …

Cardiac Rehabilitation: Client's Perceived Adequacy Of Education Related To Adjustments Following Myocardial Infarction, Mary E. Flikkema

Masters Theses

Heart disease significantly impacts the lifestyles of clients. Psychosocial difficulties such as anxiety, depression, marital and family conflict are documented in the literature. Various methods and aspects of adjustment have been studied to assist the client with adaptation to changes in exercise, diet, weight reduction and smoking.; This descriptive study used a correlational design to investigate the relationship between the client's perceived adequacy of cardiac rehabilitative education with postdischarge fears and adjustments. Thirty clients participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program completed a self report questionnaire regarding level of preparedness in the areas of exercise, diet, work/activity, sexual functioning, and social …

Facilitating The Nursing Process For The Nursing Diagnosis "Alteration In Thought Processes", Meridell Veen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if nurses who were given a tool to facilitate assessment of thought processes would collect more assessment data, diagnose "alteration in thought processes" more frequently, and include a care plan for this diagnosis more often. A quasi-experimental pre-treatment/post-treatment design was used. An inservice program about the Level of Cognitive Function Scale (LOCF) was the treatment.; Of the 40 randomly selected subjects from the 199 adult critical care nurses at a metropolitan hospital, 20 completed the study with pre-treatment and post-treatment data. Data were collected by scoring patient assessment/care plans pre-treatment and 4 …

Promoting Adaptation Of The Young Child During An Outpatient Surgical Admission Assessment, Mary C. Mitus

Masters Theses

This study used an experimental design to investigate whether the timing of a child's admission physical assessment, either before or after an interview with the child's parent(s), had an effect on the upset and cooperation behaviors exhibited by the child during the physical exam.; Thirty-two children, age 12 to 36 months, who were scheduled for elective outpatient surgery were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups.; The hypothesis of the study was that children who were examined after the interview would exhibit less upset behaviors and be more cooperative with the examining nurse. It was hypothesized that these children would …

A Comparison Of Nurse And Spouse Perceptions Concerning Psychosocial Needs, Marie C. Bednarczyk

Masters Theses

The purposes of this research were to discover and compare spouse's and nurse's perceptions of selected psychosocial needs. Twenty-six spouses of cardiac patients admitted to intensive care ranked 45 need statements using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory. Nineteen nurses were also asked to assess and select the spouse's needs using the same tool. The need to know the prognosis was identified as the most important by the spouses of this study. Whereas, the nurses perceived the need to have hope as the most important for the spouses. The results showed that significant differences existed between the perceptions of spouses …

Use Of Circadian Rhythms To Screen For Fever: A Replication, Michele S. Heckman

Masters Theses

There are inconsistent guidelines for, and consequently, inconsistent practice in the screening of hospitalized adults for fever. Using the predictive knowledge of circadian thermal rhythms, the purposes of this study were to identify (1) the hour of the day in which most fevers occurred and (2) the necessary frequency of measurement to detect fever. The sample consisted of 35 subjects, ages 22-62. Temperatures were measured at 6 p.m., 10 p.m., 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. for 24 hours. Eighteen (51.42%) of the 35 subjects had fevers during the 24-hour measurement period. Fourteen (77.78%) initial fevers were …

Primary Nursing: A Cost And Quality Effective Patient Care Structure, James Greer

Masters Theses

This descriptive study was undertaken to investigate differences in cost-effectiveness and quality patient care between primary nursing and team/functional nursing as practical in a 113 bed acute care community hospital. The sample was comprised of 80 hospitalized patients that were divided equally between a primary and team-functional nursing unit. Quality of Care was measured by the Rush-Medicus Nursing Care Quality System and cost effectiveness was determined by annual salaries.; Using a t-test statistical analysis, no significant differences were obtained in quality of patient care when using a primary nursing care structure with less FTEs as compared to a team leading …

The Relationship Between Functional Disability Of Chronic Low Back Pain To Depression, Janice Ellen Looman

Masters Theses

This study is proposed for the purpose of determining if a relationship exists between the functional disability of chronic low back pain (LBP) to depression. In the investigation a random sample of 40-50 clients from area back clinics, at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center and Butterworth Hospital will be selected. The clients who have had LBP over six months will be asked to take a modified Dartmouth Pain Questionnaire (DPQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The modified DPQ includes two parts relating to the client's self perception and activity level prior to the LBP event. The self-administered BDI which measures …

Effect Of Proximal Thermal/Pressure Cutaneous Stimulation On The Discomfort Of Intramuscular Injection, Michael Edward Desrocher

Masters Theses

The discomfort from receiving an intramuscular injection is pain that may be reduced by proper nursing intervention if the gate control theory is applied. A group of 71 adult preoperative patients were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group received a warm (43.5{dollar}\sp\circ{dollar}C), 800 gram pack proximal to the site of injection. The control and experimental group scores were compared using a Mann-Whitney U test of significance for the intervention. The intervention was not significant in reducing the discomfort from an intramuscular injection at the.05 level.

The Relationship Between Role Supplementation And The Level Of Marital Functioning In Couples Living With Cardiac Disease, Laurie Ann Demull-Bok

Masters Theses

Eighteen couples experiencing the onset of heart disease (Myocardial Infarction or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedure) participated in this study. Nine couples participated in a role supplementation program consisting of role modeling and role discussion. Role modeling was facilitated by exposure to a role model couple in a group situation. The role discussion component utilized a tool that allowed each partner to identify his/her responsibility for the treatment plan.;The hypothesis of the study was that couples who participated in a role supplementation program would have a higher level of marital functioning than couples who did not participate in role supplementation. …

The Effect Of A Change Intervention Within The Framework Of Organization Development On The Frequency Of Use Of Nursing Diagnosis, Sandi Nuberg Gladstone

Masters Theses

Although 64% of the 32 registered nurses who comprised the staff of a pediatric unit had been formally educated in the use of nursing diagnosis, only 27.4% of individualized additions to the nursing care plans were accepted nursing diagnoses. An intervention based on Change Theory as incorporated in an Organization Development framework was initiated to increase the addition of accepted nursing diagnoses to the standard nursing care plans. The effect of the process was followed through the audit of 229 nursing care plans over a thirteen month period using a time series design. Following the intervention, 74.4% of individualized entries …

Patient Perception Of Severity Versus Actual Clinical Severity In Acute Myocardial Infarction (Coronary Care, Cardiac Rehabilitation), Denise Kay Busman

Masters Theses

Myocardial infarction affects many people each year. Patients begin to form ideas regarding their myocardial infarction and perceive elements of their environment shortly after admission to the Coronary Care Unit (Runions, 1985). One of the ideas formed concerns the severity level of their myocardial infarction. The pupose of this study was to identify factors contributing to patients' perceptions of the severity level of their myocardial infarction and in turn compare these perceptions with predicted clinical severity. Numerous studies have explored patients' psychosocial reactions and adaptation to coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction. However, few studies identify patients' perceptions of events …

Music: A Nursing Intervention For Increased Intracranial Pressure, Carol Roberts

Masters Theses

Individuals with increased intracranial pressure (ICP) from all causes are subject to periods of marked increased intracranial pressures. Research since the 1960's has focused primarily on pathophysiologic causes and on variations between pathologies. Since 1978, nursing research has identified increases in ICP with patient-related activities such as suctioning, vagal stimulations, positioning, turning, noises, and emotive conversations. The use of therapeutic touch has been identified as a nursing intervention that correlates with a lowering of ICP. Since auditory pathways have been shown to be intact even in severely brain-injured individuals, the use of music (the universal language) may be effective in …

A Comparison Of The Nurse's Perception Of The Priority Needs Of The Spouse As They Relate To Those Identified By The Spouse, Kathleen A. Johnston

Masters Theses

Twenty-five spouses of patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) with diagnoses of Myocardial Infarction (MI), Rule Out MI, or Angina Pectoris were asked to Q sort 45 "need statements" to reflect their priority needs within the first 72 hours of admission to the CCU. Seventeen nurses caring for the 25 patients were instructed to sort the statements as they felt the spouses would do so. The data were submitted to factor analysis and three factors emerged; the Shared Factor, the Nurse Factor, and the Spouse Factor. The majority of nurses in this study were associated with a factor …

Reducing Chemotoxic Stomatitis In Cancer Patients With A Self-Care Oral Hygiene Protocol, Ruthann Brintnall, Jerilyn Binder

Masters Theses

A Pretest-Posttest Control Group design was used to examine the effectiveness of a self-care management approach to reduce the severity of chemotoxic stomatitis. Orem's nursing model. Levin's self-care theory, and Magoon's constructivist research methodology were employed as the theoretical framework. Subjects, 24 short-stay or out-patient oncology clients, were all beginning treatment with known stomatotoxic agents. Buccal cultures were taken to determine changes in normal oral flora during stomatitis.

The experimental group received information and direction for a systematic oral hygiene protocol. Post-chemotherapy oral assessment score means of the experimental group were significantly better (p

Alteration In Growth And Development: A Nursing Diagnosis Validation Study, Cynthia Peltier Coviak

Masters Theses

A professional profile questionnaire and a case study questionnaire depicting a child with delayed development was mailed to 200 nurses of the Michigan Nurses Association Division of Maternal and Child Health. Of the 60 respondents, 27 (45.8%) indicated a diagnosis in the category of altered development as primary diagnosis for the child and 50 (83.3%) indicated a diagnosis in this category as either primary or secondary diagnosis for the child.

Expertise scores based on level of education attained, years of experience in maternal-child health and in nursing, and experience with children were found to be significantly related to diagnosis of …

Recipients Of A Parents Supporting Parents Program: Commonalities And Concerns, Joyce Derhammer

Masters Theses

This descriptive study was one component of a research project conducted at a large medical center in the midwest. The purpose of this study was to identify common characteristics and perceived concerns, with their relationships, of a population of parents who had received a volunteer parents supporting parents (P.S.P.) service. This service was offered to new parents in an attempt to increase the potential for positive parenting.

Common characteristics found in this group of P.S.P. recipients were: married, first baby, mid-twenties in age, mentally and physically healthy with positive feelings about their own parents, their labor and delivery, and this …

The Relationship Between Social Support, Coping Style, And Emotional Status Among Individuals With Cancer, Undergoing Chemotherapy, Dina I. Hamati

Masters Theses

A cross section descriptive study was conducted to examine the relationship between social support, coping style, and emotional status among individuals with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. A questionnaire schedule consisting of social support, coping style, and emotional status was administered to subjects during their office visits to an oncologist. No significant relationships were found between social support, coping style, and emotional status. A significant correlation was found between those patients who had more affection, affirmation, and aid from their support system and the amount of guilt experienced by those patients (p = .05).

Patients who did not finish high school used …