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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Patients' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Nurse Practitioners, Laurie Maxwell Dec 1997

Patients' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Nurse Practitioners, Laurie Maxwell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Since the advent of the role of nurse practitioner in the mid 1960s, nurse practitioners have practiced in traditional settings such as health departments, clinics, and physicians' offices. More recently, nurse practitioners have been utilized in non-traditional settings such as the emergency department. Some studies have been done that support the theory that nurse practitioners can function effectively in this setting; however additional studies are needed on this topic. The purpose of this study was to explore patients' attitudes toward the use of nurse practitioners and to determine what patient variables were related to these attitudes. More specifically, this study …


Characteristics And Resource Utilization Of Patients Of A Proprietary Home Health Agency In Rural South Central Kentucky, Linda Sewell Dec 1997

Characteristics And Resource Utilization Of Patients Of A Proprietary Home Health Agency In Rural South Central Kentucky, Linda Sewell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The home health industry's introduction to managed care raises the prospect of reduced access to health care and poor outcomes for a vulnerable segment of our population—the rural elderly. Before effective intervention strategies can be accurately evaluated, a clearer picture of the sociodemographic features and home care service consumption is needed for this understudied group. The study was intended to provide a basis for future research into the evaluation of alternative methods of delivering effective care in terms of outcome and decreased cost for this population. A retrospective descriptive analysis was made of the patient record for the first six …


Personality Types Of Registered Nurses Employed In A Rural Community Hospital, Tina Snodgrass Dec 1997

Personality Types Of Registered Nurses Employed In A Rural Community Hospital, Tina Snodgrass

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify the personality types of registered nurses in a rural community. An extensive literature review revealed that no studies, utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to identify personality types, had been conducted with rural nurses. Jung's Psychological Type Theory was the theoretical framework for the study. The MBTI operationalizes Jung's theory and was utilized to determine the most frequently occurring personality types of the nurses. A descriptive study was conducted at a 68 bed acute care hospital. The sample consisted of 40 experienced registered nurses working in staff positions within the hospital. Sensing, …


Maternal Age: Influence On Length Of Gestation And Birth Weight, Charlotte Bratcher Dec 1997

Maternal Age: Influence On Length Of Gestation And Birth Weight, Charlotte Bratcher

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The findings indicated no significant differences among the age groups in relation to infant birth weight nor in relation to the risk factors of smoking, maternal weight gain, trimester of first entry into prenatal care, or marital status They did indicate a significant difference [F(2,85) = 4.1364, p < .05] between the oldest and the youngest group (CD = 3.37, a = .05) in relation to gestational length. These findings are significant for healthcare providers in rural areas, since much of the previous research had been done in highly urbanized or inner city settings.


The General Well-Being Of Recreational Drug Users: A Sub-Analysis Of The Drugnet Survey, Jennifer Reneau Nov 1997

The General Well-Being Of Recreational Drug Users: A Sub-Analysis Of The Drugnet Survey, Jennifer Reneau

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Issues related to substance use/abuse and mental health are significant public health concerns. Substance abuse is considered an individual and community mental health problem. The relationship between substance use and positive mental well-being, however, is less well understood. The purpose of this study was to describe the mental well-being of a sample of occasional, recreational drug users. Drugnet was an on-line survey of recreational drug use by non-deviant adults via the WWW. Volunteer subjects completed the survey over the internet between March and September 1997. Mental health was assessed utilizing the General Well-being Schedule (GWBS). A complete demographic profile of …


Rural Acceptance Of The Nurse Practitioner, Mary Branstetter Aug 1997

Rural Acceptance Of The Nurse Practitioner, Mary Branstetter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The rural community has lacked adequate healthcare providers for the past thirty years. Collaboration between physician and family nurse practitioner is an option for meeting the need for delivery of primary healthcare in the rural community. A descriptive design was used to describe the acceptance of the nurse practitioner by patients living in rural southcentral Kentucky who utilize the services of the community hospital. Every fifth inpatient and outpatient discharge was mailed the Kviz Assessment Questionnaire and a demographic survey. The questionnaires (N = 842) were mailed over a four week survey period with reminder postcards mailed to each survey …


The Relationship Between Meaning In Life And The Occurrence Of Drug Abuse: An Epidemiological Retrospective Study, Ben Howard Aug 1997

The Relationship Between Meaning In Life And The Occurrence Of Drug Abuse: An Epidemiological Retrospective Study, Ben Howard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Humans have been using plant-derived drugs for as long as we have recorded history. Significant negative consequences related to drug abuse have occurred in the areas of health, social issues, family relations, legal systems, and economic productivity. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between meaning in life and drug abuse. An epidemiological, retrospective study was performed to compare personal meaning in life between individuals receiving inpatient treatment for drug abuse and a group of non-drug abusing controls. Study participants completed the Purpose-In-Life Test and Life Attitude Profile-Revised. On both instruments, the inpatient drug abusing subjects were …


The Beneficial Effect Of Vitamin E And Selenium During Experimental Chagas' Disease, Yue Hou Aug 1997

The Beneficial Effect Of Vitamin E And Selenium During Experimental Chagas' Disease, Yue Hou

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study was conducted to determine if vitamin E and selenium could have a positive synergistic effect during experimental Chagas' disease. In the first phase of the study, 25 female C3HeB/FeJ mice were infected with a Brazil strain of Trypanosoma cruzi while receiving vitamin E supplementation of 0 IU/kg, 200 IU/kg, 400 IU/kg, 600 IU/kg, 800 IU/kg in their diets. In the second phase, 20 female C3HeB/FeJ mice were infected while receiving 400 IU/kg vitamin E plus selenium supplementation of 2 ppm, 4 ppm, 8 ppm, 16 ppm in their drinking water. The results demonstrate that vitamin E does …


A Preliminary Analysis Of Health Lifestyles Between International Students And American Students At Western Kentucky University, Mei Zhu Aug 1997

A Preliminary Analysis Of Health Lifestyles Between International Students And American Students At Western Kentucky University, Mei Zhu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research was to assess the lifestyle of international students at Western Kentucky University (WKU) and to compare the lifestyles of international and American students and subgroups of international students. The Lifestyle Questionnaire (LSQ), was a 26-item personal health lifestyle test, which had six sections (nutrition, exercise, smoking, alcohol and drugs, safety, and stress). The test-retest reliability of LSQ was evaluated by Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) and was .89. During October and November 1997, 55 international students and 64 American students at WKU finished the LSQ. Significant differences were found between the American student group and the …


Health Risk Behaviors In Rural Adolescents At Two High Schools Located In One Kentucky County, Melinda Hann Jun 1997

Health Risk Behaviors In Rural Adolescents At Two High Schools Located In One Kentucky County, Melinda Hann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many adolescents throughout the United States practice health risk behaviors that place them at risk for serious health problems. Despite the high incidence of reported adolescent health risk behaviors, no reports have been published to document the current risk to rural adolescents in individual counties of Kentucky. The purpose of this retrospective descriptive study was to identify the health risk behaviors of rural adolescents from two high schools in one county in Kentucky and to compare the two schools to determine if the health risk behaviors of these students were the same or different. The study was accomplished through analysis …