Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Correlates And Infant Mortality: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Among Black Women In The United States, Paulette Aubrey

Masters Theses

Often referred to as "cot death" or "crib death," sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the single leading cause of infant death in infants aged 28 days to 1 year of life. Although the exact etiology of SIDS remains unknown, epidemiological studies have identified risk factors associated with higher rates of SIDS. In this study, the relationship between sudden infant death syndrome and maternal education among black women who gave birth in the United States during 1983 was examined.

The population for this study consisted of black infants who were born in 1983 and died before their first birthday. Among …

Structuring Support For Volunteer Commitment: An Aids Services Program Study, Taryn Lindhorst, Ronald Mancoske

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Since the AIDS epidemic began over a decade ago, the bulk of services for people living with HIV in the community setting have been provided by volunteers. Volunteers are confronted with the stigmatized status of people with HIV and must learn to manage multiple crisis issues. This paper describes research on volunteerism in a buddy program for people living with AIDS and the perceptions of volunteers about the structural supports of the volunteer program. Issues around perceptions of stress and the relationship between bereavement and volunteering are explored.

Home Safety-The Challenge To Public Health, Ray Ranson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Home accidents are now a leading cause of death and injury particularly in young children and the elderly. For example, 3.1 million accidents occur in the home every year in the United Kingdom with no signs of diminishment. More effective systems of accident recording, monitoring, investigation, intercollaboration and education are urgently needed to redress this epidemic. More attention needs to be given to preventive safety design in architect training and adoption of home safety design standards and legislation. The major threat to public health which home accidents represent must not go unchallenged.

Aids Prevention Through Printed Media: Knowledge And Communication Behaviors Of Gay College-Aged Males, Cheryl L. Knight

Masters Theses

AIDS prevention research has established the effectiveness of multiple component group interventions. It has not identified whether the effectiveness is due to the format of the intervention (i.e., rehearsal, feedback, etc.) or its instructional content. This study investigates the impact of instructional content delivered in the inexpensive and readily obtained printed medium. Thirteen gay or bisexual college-aged men received an information pamphlet and an AIDS-related communication skills training booklet. Subjects were evaluated on measures of knowledge, safe and risky behaviors, and communication behaviors in each of three assessment sessions. Visual analyses and repeated measures analyses of variance did not support …

The Use Of Musical Wind Instruments As An Expiratory Therapy With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients, Ellen R. Griggs Drane

Masters Theses

The use of musical wind instruments as an expiratory therapy with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients was compared to the traditional inspiratory treatment of the Inspiratory Muscle Trainer (IMT) during a twelve week pre - posttest study. Sixteen subjects, attending an out patient respiratory rehabilitation program, were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, receiving musical wind instruments, or the control group, receiving the IMT.

Measures for the study were: Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) and Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) as measured by the Pulmonary Function Test; physical endurance measured by the Twelve Minute Walk Endurance Test; …

Official Documentation Of A Sexually Transmitted Disease (Std): An Empirical Assessment, Dennis L. Peck, John W. Bardo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using data from clinic records of patients examined and treated at a public health facility, the reporting of unconfirmed cases is examined and the correspondence between public health profiles of patients at risk to sexually transmitted disease and the data are discussed. Implications relating to the findings and to public health policy are also discussed.

The Mexican American Elderly And Barriers To The Utilization Of Health Care Services, Kathleen Anne Hoekstra

Masters Theses

The utilization of health care services by the Mexican American elderly is low compared to the severity of their health problems. This thesis examines the sociocultural factors which affect the interaction of the Mexican American elderly and mainstream health professionals. Included is a brief history detailing discriminatory practices, a description of traditional Mexican cultural practices and attitudes, and an exploration of the cultural barriers which limit access to health care.

Dual-Purpose Activity Versus Single-Purpose Activity In An Institutionalized Geriatric Population, Rita M. Yoder

Masters Theses

The use of purposeful, goal-directed activity has traditionally been a central theme for occupational therapy. In dual-purpose activity the participant has two goals: successful task completion and the making of adaptive responses in the activity process. This study compares the extent to which a dual-purpose activity (stirring for the purpose of exercise and baking cookies) enhances performance in contrast to a single-purpose activity (stirring for the purpose of exercise alone) in an institutionalized geriatric population.

Thirty women between 70 and 92 years of age were randomly assigned to either the single- or dual-purpose activity. Duration, exertion, and discontinuities were measured …

The Use Of Guided Imagery And Progressive Relaxation In Treating Hemodialysis Patients For Dietary Compliance, James B. Morrissey

Dissertations

Studies have confirmed that many hemodialysis patients experience numerous psychological difficulties as a result of their physical illness. One behavioral manifestation of these psychological states is noncompliance to imposed dietary restrictions. In spite of life threatening implications, many hemodialysis patients find it very difficult to maintain dietary compliance.

Recently, guided imagery and progressive relaxation have been used as methods to assist clients to overcome negative psychological states. In most cases, the treatments are adjunctive to on-going counseling or psychotherapy. The purpose of this investigation was to test the idea that guided imagery and progressive relaxation alone can be successfully used …

The Social And The Emotional In The Etiology Of Childhood Lead Poisoning, Harris Chaiklin, Barbara S. Mosher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Childhood lead poisoning has been characterized as a silent epidemic. Significant social, emotional, and economic factors play a role in its etiology. Differential intervention in this problem is predicated on understanding the relative role of these causes.

A Study In Self-Defeat: The Public Health Venereal Disease Clinic, Joseph F. Sheley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper relates the results of three months of participant observation and interviews in a public venereal disease clinic. The research was directed toward assessment of the relationship of clinic efficiency (a smoothly operating bureaucratic clinic) and clinic effectiveness (a major reduction of illness within a community). The venereal disease clinic is described as an efficient and well planned health unit with three major objectives: a) checking the increase of V.D. through preventive medicine; b) detection and treatment of V.D. within the community; and c) provision of health services to lower S.E.S. segments of the population. Research results indicate that …

A Substance Abuse Prevention Plan Proposal For The State Of Michigan, William Lucien Macleod

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Transforming The Orientation Of A Health Organization Through Community Involvement, Sharon Pastor Simson, Laura J. Bleiweiss

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Health organizations have been oriented to meeting needs and fulfilling demands which are perceived and defined by physician providers (Freidson, 1970 Stevens, 1971). Organizational goals, services, structures, and processes of operation were formulated in accordance with the interests, values, and concerns of provider-members. Latent to this provider orientation was the assumption that professional members were the ones most qualified to determine what was best for the organization and for its consumers (Freidson 1971). In recent times, however, numerous social changes have occurred on a societal level and within the institution of medicine (Hepner, 1972; Somers, 1971; Rosengren and Lefton, 1969). …

Maternal/Infant Care: A Systems Approach To Organizational Structures And Services Of Community Agencies, Nancy B. Carlson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.