Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Development And Psychometric Testing Of An Instrument Measuring The Use Of Intuition By Nursing Students, Anita Joel Smith Phd, Mn, Rn

Dissertations

Measurement of intuition use among nursing students has not occurred because developed intuition measures have been designed specifically for experienced nurses. The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an intuition instrument for nursing students. An intuition instrument can provide the means to (a) determine if students use intuition in care providing activities and (b) measure intuition use over time. Instrument development included (a) concept clarification, (b) item development, and (c) psychometric testing. Intuition was defined as a nonlinear process of knowing perceived through physical awareness, emotional awareness, and/or through physical or spiritual connections. Content experts established …

Getting Back: Successful Rehabilitation After A Hip Fracture, Carole Florek Hair Phd, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

Fracturing a hip is a devastating experience for the older adult, and mortality and morbidity following a hip fracture are high among this vulnerable population. Mortality rates from 12 to 37 percent have been reported within one year after a hip fracture. It is estimated that 50 percent of individuals who experience hip fractures become partially dependent in activities of daily living, and 33 percent become totally dependent in activities of daily living. Reducing morbidity by improving rehabilitation outcomes is an important healthcare goal for older adults. Motivating participation in rehabilitation activities poses a challenge for professional caregivers. The purpose …

Prenatal Maternal Attachment: The Lived Experience, Regina Ann Leva-Giroux Dnsc

Dissertations

Prenatal maternal attachment and the practice of health promoting behaviors during pregnancy are considered universal phenomena to women. Yet, the understanding of these phenomena from the lived experiences of pregnant women has not been well researched. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of maternal attachment to the unborn child and how that attachment might relate to the practice of these behaviors during pregnancy. The participants in this study were ten English speaking women, college educated, professionally employed, who were pregnant for the first time. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the participants at 14–16 weeks and …

Role Perceptions Of School Nurses Who Work With Medically Fragile Students, Cay Chapman Casey Phd

Dissertations

In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that school districts were financially responsible to provide related services including nursing services, to medically fragile students. This decision applied to children attending public schools who have complex health problems and are tracheostomy dependent. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore role perceptions of eighteen school nurses caring for these children in classrooms. Six dimensions emerged from the data: Promoting Family/Nurse Connections, Adapting the Environment, Claiming Authority, “Standing Out There”, Striking a Balance and Experiencing Success. Promoting Family/Nurse Connections emerged as the central perspective, essential to implementing a plan of care. …

Resilience: The Lived Experience Of Elderly Widowers Following The Death Of A Spouse, Dorothy Battersby Crummy Phd, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Aged widowers are at risk for increased incidence of health problems and higher mortality rates following the death of a spouse. Mens' abilities for dealing with loss have been questioned, but little research has been done with this group. Surviving widowers provided significant insights illuminating the experience of resilience and providing relevant information regarding this population. Utilizing interpretive phenomenology, a methodology advocated by van Manen, in-depth interviews were conducted researching the lived experience of resilience among nineteen elderly widowers between 71 years and 100 years of age. Participants, identified by network sampling, lived independently and had survived the death of …

Development Of The Postpartum Smoking Questionnaire (Ppsq), Cynthia J. Gantt Phd, Msn, C-Fnp, Rn

Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Smoking also accounts for significant morbidity for others exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Many women stop smoking during pregnancy. Most women relapse to smoking following delivery, yet postpartum smoking issues have received little attention. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument, the Postpartum Smoking Questionnaire (PPSQ) using Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The belief-based items of the PPSR-Q were developed following content analysis of 35 individual, structured elicitation study interviews with postpartum women in the military healthcare system. Beliefs that prevented women …

Protective Care: Mothering A Child Dependent On Parenteral Nutrition, Lorie H. Judson Phd, Mn, Rn

Dissertations

Home care of technology-dependent infants and children has become an accepted and expected consequence of higher survival rates among critically ill newborns and children who develop chronic illnesses. One of the high-tech modalities which foster dependence of these infants and children is parenteral nutrition. Parenteral nutrition, also called total parenteral nutrition (TPN), supplies life-sustaining nutrients through a central venous catheter and requires the use of machinery to pump this fluid directly into the bloodstream. Due to the tremendous cost of prolonged hospitalization for these children, and the deleterious effects to the child, home care is considered an obvious and viable …

A Study Of Quality Of Life Issues In Community-Dwelling Elders, Kimberly S. Mcclane Phd

Dissertations

In the year 2000, there were approximately 35 million people in the United States who were 65 years of age or older, a ten-fold increase since 1900. The growth of this population has presented opportunities and challenges to American society. Health care needs, physical changes of aging, and the allocation of health care resources are several of the issues that need to be addressed (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2000). Quality of life measurement tools have been used to assess the health and social needs of aging people both in the United States and internationally since their conception in …

The Relationship Between Perspectives Ofspiritual Care And Organizational Climate In Seventh-Day Adventist Baccalaureate Nursing Programs In North America, Edelweiss Ramal

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perspectives of spiritual care held by students and faculty in Seventh-day Adventist baccalaureate nursing programs and their perception of the school climate and compare these between faculty and students, Seventh-day Adventists and non-Seventh-day Adventists, and males and females.

Methodology

The University Version of the Kettering School Climate scale and the Role of Spiritual Care in Nursing Subscale answered by 49 faculty and 159 students of nine Seventh-day Adventist baccalaureate nursing programs provided the data. Pearson correlation, one-way analysis of variance, and t tests at a .05 level of …

A Deconstruction And Reconstruction Of Advanced Nurse Specialisation And Education, Miriam E. Langridge

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to present issues and the paradoxes surrounding advanced nurse specialisation (ANS) and education, This study was conducted in two parts. Part A examined the prospective experiences of 13 registered nurses (RNs) who were advancing in an area of special is III ion: they were working in a specialist area of practice and studying in II course specific 10 their specialisation. Two rounds of interviews were completed over six-month intervals. Part B examined the data gathered from a focus group interview and follow-up feedback from 10 nurse executives as stakeholders. The intersubjective data from this …