Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Health Locus Of Control And Spiritual Well-Being Of Participants In Narcotics Anonymous, Melinda Hamlin

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to determine the relationship between health locus of control and spiritual well-being of participants in Narcotics Anonymous .

Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain's (1983) Modeling and Role- Modeling provided the conceptual framework. The sample was composed of 20 men and women who were participants in Narcotics Anonymous and 18 years and older. Data were collected by a gatekeeper to maintain anonymity. Three questionnaires were used: Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and a Demographic Data Sheet. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation procedure, and content …

Spiritual Needs Of Chronically Ill Elders: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Susan Cox Hammond

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning and significance of the spiritual nature and needs of chronically ill elders.

Nutrient Intake And Urine And Serum Calcium Response To A Low Calcium Diet And Repletion, Nancy Roberts

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A high percentage of American women do not consume the Recommended Dietary Allowance for calcium. Marginal intake of calcium (Ca) in the years when peak bone mass is being formed may have a detrimental impact on bone later in life. This study looked at the effect of low Ca intake and other dietary components on serum and urine values of Ca as well as the response to repletion.

Seventeen free-living females, age 21 to 30 years, were placed on a low Ca diet (/day) for 22 days after a baseline of intake >800 mg/day for at least 6 weeks. Calcibind …

Effect Of Therapist-Initiated Versus Self-Initiated Vestibular Stimulation On Vocalization In Children With Autism, Carol L. Maddox

Masters Theses

Therapist-initiated vestibular stimulation was compared to self-initiated stimulation to determine their relative effects on vocalization in children with autism. Vocalizations produced during table-top activities were also compared to those produced during vestibular stimulation. Two children with autism participated in the study. Vestibular stimulation was provided by a hammock swing. All vocalizations were recorded during a total of thirteen 15-minute test sessions.

Results indicated that in this study: (a) There was no significant difference in quantity of vocalizations produced during self-initiated versus therapist-initiated vestibular stimulation, and (b) there was a significant increase in vocalizations during vestibular stimulation as compared to during …

Concentration Of Leukotrienes B4 And C4 In Human Periradicular Lesions, Elisabetta Cotti

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The 5-lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid such as leukotrienes (LT) B₄ and C₄, are potent mediators of inflammation. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the concentrations of LTB₄ and LTC₄ in human periradicular lesions. Specimens from asymptomatic and symptomatic patients were obtained and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Periradicular tissues from unerupted third molars as well as chronically inflamed gingival tissues were also obtained, frozen and were used as negative and positive controls respectively. The concentrations of LTB₄ and LTC₄ were determined by the reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography. Representative …

The Effects Of Problem-Solving Skills Training With Chronic Schizophrenic Patients, Asiah Mayang

Masters Theses

Problem-solving skills were taught to aggressive and frequently secluded chronic schizophrenic inpatients of a psychiatric hospital. A pre-intervention/post-intervention experimental-control group design was utilized. Eighteen patients were randomly assigned to three groups: six were assigned to the “treatment group” and received problem-solving skills training involving instructions, modeling, feedback, role-playing and social reinforcement; six were assigned to the “interaction” group, involving social interactions with the trainer only; and six were assigned to the “control” group, involving no treatment or interaction with the trainer. Improved problem-solving skills on both familiar and novel video-taped skits were observed for the treatment group, but not for …

Applying The Matching Law In A Sheltered Workshop, Kristin Elizabeth Skousgard

Masters Theses

This study assessed the validity of the matching law in an applied setting. It manipulated extraneous reinforcement and measured the rate of rocking in a 24-year-old developmentally disabled man. The resulting data were compared to that predicted by the matching law.

The results were important in three ways: (1) extraneous reinforcement systematically affected rocking in an applied setting in the manner predicted by the matching law, (2) a clinically undesirable behavior decreased in frequency, and (3) this decrease occurred in the absence of direct intervention on the target behavior. Thus, to a slight degree, scientific, practical and humanitarian goals were …

Solitary Aerobic Exercise As A Treatment Of Unipolar Depressive Disorders In Women, Lisa Ann Romano-Neal

Masters Theses

The effects of solitary aerobic exercise on depressive symptoms were tested on four women diagnosed with unipolar depressive disorders. A multiple baseline design was employed. The subjects individually participated in uniform one hour aerobic workouts three times a week for five to eight weeks. Heart rate measures were monitored through the utilization of the physical working capacity test with the Monark 818E Professional Ergometer. Predicted volume oxygen uptake (VO2 max) measures at post-treatment did not increase in two of the four subjects when compared to pre-treatment VO2 max measures. The mean percentage of depressed adjectives endorsed showed minimal reductions on …

Standing Time While Engaged In An Upper Extremity Activity Versus Standing Time While Not Engaged In An Upper Extremity Activity, Wendy A. Smith

Masters Theses

The standing time of recent (within four weeks) cerebral vascular accident subjects while engaged in an upper extremity activity (tile trivet) was compared to the same subjects standing time while not engaged in an upper extremity activity. The subjects from a rehabilitation center ranged in age from 30 to 85 years. For each subject three sessions were randomly recorded for each condition. Lights were connected to the knee and buttock pad so that, if activated, they alerted the data collector that the subject was leaning.

The findings from this study indicated that subjects stood longer while engaged in upper extremity …

Differences In Values And Goals Of Occupational Therapy Students, Margaret A. Danka

Masters Theses

This study compared professional values and goals of three levels of occupational therapy students: (1) seniors in baccalaureate programs (n = 337), (2) students in professional master's programs (n = 95), and (3) students in post-professional master's programs (n = 62). Demographic characteristics and factors influencing career choice were also examined.

Significant differences were found among the three student groups for three professional goals: (1) contributing to theory, (2) doing research, and (3) educating occupational therapy students, and four professional values: (1) intellectual stimulation, (2) exciting life, (3) comfortable life, and (4) helpfulness. The demographic differences among the three student …

Nursing Care Through The Eyes Of The Patient, Donna May Fosbinder Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Ethnographic methods were used to examine the nurse-patient interaction for the purpose of developing descriptive and explanatory theory of patient satisfaction based on patients' perceptions regarding their nurses' interpersonal skills. A private acute care hospital was the setting for 40 patients and 12 nurses who were study participants. Four processes provided the framework for the themes that emerged: "translating," "getting to know you," "establishing trust," and "going the extra mile." I labeled the action of nurses informing, explaining, instructing, and teaching patients the translation process. Informing and explaining were described by both patients and nurses as very important to the …

Improving The Documentation Of Patient Progress In A Mental Health Facility Through The Use Of Training And Feedback, Maria Sonia Acosta

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various conditions, including staff training and feedback to improve the documentation of patient progress in a mental health facility. Forty nursing staff members participated in this study. Subjects were «posed to one of three experimental conditions. Subjects in the training-only condition received two hours of training on how to write progress notes. Subjects in the training plus feedback condition received two hours of training and weekly feedback in the form of group performance graphs and verbal explanation of their progress. Subjects in the third condition served merely as …

Self-Preserving: Patterns Guiding The Experience Of Interpersonal Conflict For Female Nursing Faculty, Kathleen L. Harr Dnsc, Msn, Rn, C

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify a substantive theory to explain and predict interpersonal conflict as it is experienced by nursing faculty. Gaining an understanding of this process may assist faculty and administrators of nursing education programs in dealing with interpersonal conflict in more constructive and helpful ways. It may also provide the basis for further development of formal theory and the potential for theory testing. The grounded theory method described by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Glaser (1978) guided data collection and analysis. The sample was comprised of 18 full-time nursing faculty members from the field site …

The Effect Of Locus Of Control On The Procrastination Behavior Of College Students, Eileen Debra Rudnick

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between locus of control and the Procrastination behavior of individuals in an academic setting. Investigated in this study was the relationship between the two aspects of procrastination, the delaying of a task and the psychological distress that results from that behavior, and locus of controls in terms of an internal or external generalized belief.

The Adult Nowicki - Duke Locus of Control scale and the Procrastination Assessment scale - Students were given to 267 undergraduate students between the ages of 17 and 48 at Pittsburg State University. The data …

Security And Involvement In The Parent-Adolescent Relationship, Susan J. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was the investigation of the dynamics which occur in relationships between parents and their adolescent children. Two hundred and eighty-four adolescents from local high schools were surveyed using the Acquaintance Description Form for Adolescents. They were also asked to take home the Parental Response Questionnaire for their parents to complete. Of these, responses were received from one hundred and seven parents.

Previous research has suggested that differences exist between relationships maintained by adolescent children and their mothers and fathers, particularly on the variables of security and involvement. Fathers have traditionally been described as less secure …

Comparison Of The Modal Frequency Levels Of Nonsmoking And Cigarette Smoking White Females Between The Ages Of Forty And Fifty Years, Janis Mae Kaufman

Dissertations and Theses

Acoustical analyses have been utilized to ascertain the functional status of the laryngeal mechanism for clinical management of communication disorders. In particular, the modal frequency level (MFL), defined as the fundamental frequency most often used by an individual in the act of spontaneous speech, is one measurement used to determine if a person's pitch level is adequate. Two other pitch measurements used in the voice assessment are the maximum frequency range (MFR) and the optimum pitch level (OPL). Information is needed to provide guidelines for pitch levels as part of the voice evaluation for adult females of different ages. It …

A Comparison Of Two Vocabulary Tests Used With Normal And Delayed Preschool Children, Lynn Safadi

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists between mean standard scores of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R) (Dunn and Dunn, 1981) and the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT) (Gardner, 1979) for children in several diagnostic categories. The subjects used in this study were 45 preschool children ranging in age from 36 to 47 months. These subjects were divided into groups of normal, expressively language-delayed (ELD) and normal children with a history of expressive language delay (HELD).

Well-Being Of Elderly Women: Rural-Urban Differences, Betty J. Gale Dnsc, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

Using a stress-coping theoretical framework, this path analytic study examined the effects of hardiness, self-esteem, social support, and stress on coping, service utilization, and well-being of elderly women. Fifty-five rural and fifty-five urban females living in the community comprised the sample whose mean age was 75 years. The overall level of well-being of these women was high. Hardiness was associated with greater social support and well-being. Self-esteem was related to lower stress. Hardiness and self-esteem were also associated with decreased use of emotion-focused coping. Stress had a positive relationship with service utilization and a negative relationship with well-being. Problem-focused coping …

The Essential Characteristics Of Advocacy Associated With The Nurse-Client Relationship: The Client's Perspective, Victoria Louise Cole Schonlau Dnsc, Mpa, Bsn, Rn

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe clients' lived experiences of advocacy associated with the nurse-client relationship. The sample consisted of ten non-hospitalized adults, 19 to 72 years of age, who had a hospitalization or ambulatory relationship with a registered nurse within the previous six months. Data were gathered via interviews initiated with the same open-ended question. Georgi's five step method was used for data analysis. Four essential characteristics of advocacy associated with the nurse-client relationship were identified. Described by clients as nurse attributes, behaviors, and actions, they were labelled: Competent Knower, Competent Doer, Humanizer, and Communicator. Clients …

The Experience Of Female Nurses Being Cared For: A Phenomenological Analysis, Sharon Lu Skinner Shetlar Dnsc, Ms, Bsn, Rn

Dissertations

The focus of this phenomenological inquiry was the question: What is the meaning (essential structure) of the experience of being cared for as lived by female nurses? The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experience of being cared for. Phenomenologic methodology was used for this study. Data analysis was patterned after the guidelines set out by Colaizzi, and Miles and Huberman. Fifteen female nurses described their experiences of being cared for during two interviews with the researcher. Through analysis of the first audio-taped interview metathemes describing the phenomena and a unity of meaning emerged. During the …

Developmental Sentence Scoring Sample Size Comparison, Peggy Ann Callan

Dissertations and Theses

In 1971, Lee and Canter developed a systematic tool for assessing children's expressive language: Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS). It provides normative data against which a child's delayed or disordered language development can be compared with the normal language of children the same age. A specific scoring system is used to analyze children's use of standard English grammatical rules from a tape-recorded sample of their spontaneous speech during conversation with a clinician.

The corpus of sentences for the DSS is obtained from a sample of 50 complete, different, consecutive, intelligible, non-echolalic sentences elicited from a child in conversation with an …

Assessment Of Lipid Extraction From Human Bone On Subsequent Demineralization, Jaeeun Lee

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of various solvents m removal of lipids from human bone, and to determine the effects of lipid extraction on subsequent acid solubilization of the mineral components of bone. Specifically, the following processing steps were studied; 1) ground human bone was de fatted in various ethanol / water mixtures, and / or chloroform / methanol ( 2: 1, v:v ), 2) ground human bone which had lipids extracted ( in absolute ethanol ) and bone which had not had lipids extracted were demineralized using vanous concentrations of hydrochloric acid to assess …

A Comparative Analysis Of Pediatric And General Hospital Nurse Recruitment Practices, Rebecca Parsons Scott

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this study is a comparison of the National Association of Health Care Recruiter's annual recruitment survey with a duplicate survey that was sent to pediatriconly acute care hospitals. The goal was to determine differences between the recruitment and retention statistics found in all hospitals compared to those found in pediatriconly hospitals. Also, a major consideration was to find correlations among the variables in nurse recruitment and retention that might lead to a better understanding of what influences the recruitment budgeting process and how recruitment dollars might be spent most efficiently.

There was no significant difference found between …

Activation In Vitro Of Transfer Rna-Guanine Ribosyltransferase By Protein Kinase C, Panayota Eriotou

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to isolate and purify the enzymes, transfer RNA-guanine ribosyltrasferase and protein kinase C, and to determine whether the phosphorylating enzyme activates the insertion enzyme in vitro. Transfer RNA-guanine ribosyltransferase lost activity within several days after isolation and total, complete reactivation was accomplished in the presence of protein kinase C. This demonstrated that ribosyltransferase's instability is related to the degree of its phosphorylation. It is proposed that modification of tRNA is controlled by protein kinase C. Deactivation of the insertion enzyme leads to hypomodified tRNA which in turn is associated with neoplasia. Potential use …

Assessment Of Maternal Substance Abuse And Neonatal Exposure, Carol Jean Dauenhauer Giese

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Infants born to adolescent and young adult mothers who abuse substances, are at high risk for chemical dependency and its sequelae. There is a need to identify such infants and their mothers so that intervention will be available to them. The purpose of this study was to develop a systematic approach to evaluate mothers and infants for potential drug use and improve the quality of the nurses decisions.

This research project involves two sub-projects. In Part A, a Substance Abuse Assessment Tool (SAAT) was developed. The hospital nurses used the SAAT March 1, 1990, through April 12, 1990. The incidence …

The Effects Of Moderate Exercise Training On Nutrient Intake In Mildly Obese Women, Leann Onasch

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The relationship between moderate exercise training (five 45 min sessions/week, brisk walking at 62+2% V0_2max for 15 weeks) and changes in nutrient intake was investigated in a group of 36 sedentary, mildly obese women, conducted using a two (exercise, EX and nonexercise, NEX groups) x three (baseline, six-, 15-week testing sessions) factorial design, with data analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. The pattern of change over time between groups for kilocalorie intake tended to be different between groups [F(2,68)=2.50,p=0.089] with the EX group experiencing a significant decrease versus baseline by 15 weeks. Significant group x time interactions were found for …

The Assessment Of Phonological Processes : A Comparison Of Connected-Speech Samples And Single-Word Production Tests, Susan A. Pinkerton

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if single-word elicitation procedures used in the assessment of phonological processes would have highly similar results to those obtained through connected speech. Connected speech sampling provides a medium for natural production with coarticulatory influence, but can be time-consuming and impractical for clinicians maintaining heavy caseloads or working with highly unintelligible children. Elicitation through single words requires less time than a connected-speech sample and may be more effective with highly unintelligible children because the context is known, but it lacks the influence of surrounding words. Given the inherent differences between these two methods …

Analysis Of Cholesterol Screening Practices, Jane Mattina

MSN Research Projects

Cardiovascular disease, which consists of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular accidents, affects over 82 million American adults and is currently the leading cause of death in the United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies high-blood cholesterol as one of the main risk factors in the development of these diseases. Furthermore, 71 million Americans report having a high-blood cholesterol level, yet only about one third of those people have it under control (CDC, 2014c). The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) guidelines recommend that adults 20 years or older be screened …

Characteristics Of Hospice Nurses And Nurse Clinicians In Primary Care Settings, Glenda Avery

MSN Research Projects

Literature review revealed that hospice nurses and primary care nurse clinicians were similar in nursing philosophy, practice, and professional qualities suggesting that a hospice setting may be a new role dimension for primary care nurses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare demographic characteristics, personality characteristics, and death anxiety levels among hospice nurses and primary care nurse clinicians. The conceptual framework was Modeling and Role Modeling by Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain (1983). A descriptive ex post facto design was used to answer five research questions. The 16 PF Personality Factor Questionnaire, Temp1er Death Anxiety Scale, and the Demographic …

Needs Of Home Health Clients As Perceived By The Client, The Family, And The Nurse, Ashton J. Lastrapes

MSN Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the needs of the home health client as perceived by the client, the primary family caregiver, and the primary home health nurse case manager. The similarities and differences of these perceptions were determined. Also, the influence of socioeconomic factors and health locus of control on these perceptions were explored. The theoretical framework which guided this study was Orem's (1985) self-care model. This study is a replication of original research by Smith (1986). Using a descriptive, comparative design the convenience sample was of 21 clients, their family caregivers, and their nurse case managers …