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Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Meaning Of Quality In Living Service Environments: An Analysis Of The Experiences Of People With Disabilities, Elderly People And Service Workers, Ruth Marquis Jan 1998

The Meaning Of Quality In Living Service Environments: An Analysis Of The Experiences Of People With Disabilities, Elderly People And Service Workers, Ruth Marquis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of both people with disabilities and elderly people and to identify their perceptions of quality as it relates to living in a service or being supported by a service to live in the community. The study was naturalistic in design and used a phenomenological approach and inductive analysis. It involved immersion in living services for a two year period, in-depth interviews with people living and working in services and participant observation. Fifty service users between the ages of twenty-one and ninety-six, and twenty-six service workers between the ages of twenty-six …


Rural Palliative Care Nursing: A Modified Grounded Theory Study, Ruth Mcconigley Jan 1998

Rural Palliative Care Nursing: A Modified Grounded Theory Study, Ruth Mcconigley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This paper presents the findings of a study of rural palliative care nurses in Western Australia. The numbers of rural centres in Western Australia offering palliative care services are increasing; however at present there is little empirical data available about the roles of the nurses involved. This study was undertaken to begin to correct this deficit. The study examines basic social processes associated with the role of rural palliative care nurses and identities issues that affect the nurses’ professional practice. A modified grounded theory approach was used to form a conceptual framework that describes rural palliative care nursing. Theoretical sampling …


Predicting The Severity Of Radiation Skin Reactions In Women With Breast Cancer, Davina Porock Jan 1998

Predicting The Severity Of Radiation Skin Reactions In Women With Breast Cancer, Davina Porock

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Skin reactions are unavoidable side effects of radiotherapy for breast cancer that may limit the amount of treatment a patient is able to receive. As well, the discomfort associated with the treatment may negatively affect the patient's quality of life and their willingness to complete a course of treatment that typically extends over seven weeks. Prior literature suggests that variations in patients' tissue reactions to radiation may be related to Individual patient characteristics. Before health care providers can intervene to prevent or minimise skin reactions, a clinical model that helps predict which patients will experience more skin reactions is needed. …


Women's Perceptions Of Birth Centre Care: A Qualitative Approach, Karen Coyle Jan 1998

Women's Perceptions Of Birth Centre Care: A Qualitative Approach, Karen Coyle

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe women's perceptions of the care they received in a birth centre, compared to their previous experiences in a hospital. Australian statistics indicate that five percent of childbearing women now choose to receive care in a birth centre setting. Clinical outcomes of birth centre care are now well documented, but there is limited empirical data about women's experiences of this model of care. Seventeen women, who had recently given birth in a birth centre, and had previously experienced care in a hospital setting, were interviewed about their care experiences. Using content analysis, …


Young Families' Utilisation, Self-Perceived Requirements, And Satisfaction With Child Health Services In The City Of Belmont, Western Australia, Ailsa M. Munns Jan 1998

Young Families' Utilisation, Self-Perceived Requirements, And Satisfaction With Child Health Services In The City Of Belmont, Western Australia, Ailsa M. Munns

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The expectations of young families regarding care they would like to receive from community nurses working in the child health area is affected by the relationship between those expectations, utilisation and sociocultural factors such as family type, family composition and ethnicity. These factors influence family dynamics, needs, functioning and interactions with the wider community. A descriptive study with both quantitative and qualitative components was used to identify and analyse the self-identified requirements of young families utilising Child Health Services in the Belmont area, Western Australia, and their patterns of utilisation. Twenty five women who had a child or children under …


Women's Perceptions Of Successful Breastfeeding During The Early Stages Of Being A Mother, Shelagh Lawrence Jan 1998

Women's Perceptions Of Successful Breastfeeding During The Early Stages Of Being A Mother, Shelagh Lawrence

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this qualitative study, guided by Rubin's Model was to describe women's perceptions of successful breastfeeding during the early stages of being a mother. The transition to motherhood marks a time of great developmental change in a woman's life. Infant feeding is an important aspect of this adaptation to the maternal role. The physiological benefits of breastfeeding for mother and baby are well documented, but there is limited research on the psychological advantages of breastfeeding for the mother. This Masters research was a discrete part of a larger research project entitled the Perth Metropolitan Breastfeeding Study. This project …


A Systematic Evaluation Of Methods To Separate X- And Y- Bearing Sperm, Jacquelyn Irving Jan 1998

A Systematic Evaluation Of Methods To Separate X- And Y- Bearing Sperm, Jacquelyn Irving

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This project was initiated to determine if was possible to enrich either X- or Y- bearing sperm, and hence to preselect the sex of a child. Two of the possible reasons why couple might want to select the sex of a child are firstly because of a family history of an X-linked recessive genetic disorder, which usually only affect sons, and secondly families who have had several children of one sex. For this study, men with three or more children of the same sex were recruited following the publication of an article in The West Australian newspaper. The percentage of …


Exclusion Mapping Of Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Third Locus, Eoin Thompson Jan 1998

Exclusion Mapping Of Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Third Locus, Eoin Thompson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this research was to perform exclusion on a rare form of hereditary autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). To-date, two genes for ADPKD have been identified: PKDI which has been localized to the short arm of chromosome 16 and PKD2 which has been localized to the long arm of chromosome 4. However, a small number of families have been reported that have not shown linkage to either of these two loci, thus suggesting the existence of at least one additional locus (PKD3). Two families that are affected with ADPKD and do not show linkage to PKDI or …


Accident Experience Of Commonwealth Government Employees In Western Australia : 1 June 1993 To 2 December 1995, David R. Wright Jan 1998

Accident Experience Of Commonwealth Government Employees In Western Australia : 1 June 1993 To 2 December 1995, David R. Wright

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This quantitative study documents, analyses and discusses the accident experience of Commonwealth employees in Western Australia from 1 July 1993 to 2 December 1995 as recorded on 1663 accident report forms. The research addresses the problem of lack of knowledge of accidents in the Commonwealth sector of the Western Australian work force. Its purpose is to identify possible areas of health and safety improvement and highlight where accident frequency may be reduced. Risk management is adopted as a conceptual framework to explore categories of accident related data, including month of year, time of day, day of the week of accidents, …


Validation Of The Barkemeyer-Callon-Jones Malingering Detection Scale: The Ability Of A Scale Differentiate Simulating Malingers From Controls And Prior Litigants From Those With No Litigation Experience Within A Sample Of Men Who Have All Suffered Chronic Low Back Pain, David Curnow Jan 1998

Validation Of The Barkemeyer-Callon-Jones Malingering Detection Scale: The Ability Of A Scale Differentiate Simulating Malingers From Controls And Prior Litigants From Those With No Litigation Experience Within A Sample Of Men Who Have All Suffered Chronic Low Back Pain, David Curnow

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Chronic low back pain costs the community, and several authors have suggested that individuals often attempt to exaggerate chronic low back pain. Currently no reliable and valid scale for assessing malingering in chronic pain populations exists, and there is a large difference in opinion on the ability of experts using clinical judgment to detect malingering. The current study seeks to provide a validation for the BarkemeyerCallon-Jones Malingering Detection Scale (MDS) which has purported to be able to identify individuals attempting to malinger neurological conditions and pain. A simulation design was used, as in previous research, because it is difficult to …


Fitness To Stand Trial In Australia: The Investigation And Comparison Of Clinical Opinion And Legal Criteria, Miranda P. Hogg Jan 1998

Fitness To Stand Trial In Australia: The Investigation And Comparison Of Clinical Opinion And Legal Criteria, Miranda P. Hogg

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The extent to which Australian psychologists and psychiatrists are cognisant of the legal standard for Fitness to Stand Trial (FST) was investigated. 198 psychologists from The Australian Psychological Society (APS), and 125 psychiatrists from The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) responded to a survey. Psychiatrists identified a greater number of legal criteria than psychologists. This finding extended across clinicians who had experience in the evaluation of fitness to stand trial and those who did not. No difference was found between psychologists and psychiatrists for mentioning irrelevant or insufficient considerations. However, a within-group analysis revealed that the …


Early Discharge Planning : Primiparous Women's Perceptions Of Their Readiness For Going Home, Graeme N. Boardley Jan 1998

Early Discharge Planning : Primiparous Women's Perceptions Of Their Readiness For Going Home, Graeme N. Boardley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Early discharge for women after childbirth was introduced in Australia approximately ten years ago. Early discharge involves going home from hospital within three days of giving birth. Since its introduction, early discharge has been the subject of much debate. Previous research has argued the cost effectiveness and safety of early discharge, but little has been done to examine this phenomenon from the human aspect. An exploratory study of first time mothers, in an early discharge programme was undertaken to address how these women felt in relation to their readiness for going home. A purposive sample of twenty Caucasian, English speaking …