Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Ibogaine On Morphine: Induced Modifications Of Palatability, Hardy Joseph Rideout

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The ability of the potential anti-addictive agent ibogaine to module the morphine-induced modification of quinine and sucrose palatability was assessed utilizing the taste reactivity test. Ibogaine (40mg/kg) was administered 24 hr prior to an injection of morphine (2 mg/kg), followed 30 min later by a 5 min intraoral infusion of 0.05% quinine solution (Experiment 1) or 10% sucrose solution (Experiment 2). Treatment with morphine enhanced the palatability of both quinine and sucrose solution. Morphine reduced the aversiveness of quinine solution during the 5 min of testing and enhanced ingestive responding to sucrose solution, however, only during min 1 of the …

Children Who Witness Mother-Assault: An Expanded Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Conceptualization, Peter John Lehmann

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The impact on children who witness mother-assault was conceptualized as an expanded posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an exploratory research study testing this formulation was carried out. The current conceptualization was based in part on the work of V. Wolfe and associates who utilized a model whereby a number of mediating factors were thought to determine adjustment to traumatic. An important part of their model was the utilization of the Type I and II trauma typologies of Terr (1990, 1991). These typologies were used to measure the PTSD symptoms of children in response to the severity and course of mother-assault. …

What Are The Perceived Needs Of Parents Of Critically Ill Neonates?, Linda B. Corliss

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify needs of parents during the hospitalization of their critically ill neonate. Studies indicate that parents of critically ill neonates are under a certain degree of stress and that sources of stress are identifiable by parents and equated to needs and the importance of those needs.; This study used an exploratory, descriptive design to document the needs of parents while also identifying variables that influenced those needs. Parents of 29 critically ill neonates (n = 53) were interviewed using a revised version of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) designed by Molter …

Perceptions Of Discharge Planning Needs : A Study Of Discharge Planning In The Mental Health Setting, Michael P. Finn

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Major mental disorder, with prolonged periods of dysfunction that require long term care, is an issue of concern amongst mental health professionals. Although substantial effort and resources are devoted towards returning mentally ill individuals to the community, one of the most distinctive and consistent features of the persistently mentally ill (PMI) is their high rate of readmission to hospital. Existing studies into discharge planning revealed that no research had been undertaken to determine if this is the case in Western Australia. This study sought to investigate perceptions of discharge planning held by patients, carers, nurses and allied health workers involved …

A Mathematical Model To Describe Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Within Western Australia, Kevin Dennis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This work is primarily aimed at determining the effect that an immunisation policy Is likely to have on the incidence of Haemophllus influenzae Type B (HIB) and systematic HIB in Western Australia. There was a significant effort made to collect data pertinent to the estimation of parameter values but since HIB has only been a notifiable disease since 1992, there was a distinct lack of relevant data available. Private communication with individual’s such as Dr Jeffrey Hanna and Dr Beryl Wild resulted in practical information being obtained that was used to estimate certain parameters. The deterministic mathematical models within the …

Factors Influencing Western Australian Clinical Registered Nurses In Discharge Planning, S. R. Suiter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A descriptive quantitative study was conducted to determine what factors nurses considered when discharge planning, and how these factors compared with factors identified in the literature as being effective in planning for discharge. This study was undertaken because with the intended Prospective Payment System (PPS) of funding to hospitals, it is essential that Western Australian Clinical Registered Nurses are able to prepare patients for discharge effectively to prevent the financial burden of cost outliers and re-admissions. Anderson and Steinberg ( 1984) in their studies of factors that influence the cost of hospital care for the elderly, found that the results …

Assessment Of Limb Perfusion By Measurement Of Toe Temperatures With A Skin Probe In Patients With Intraaortic Balloon Pumps, Jacqueline Hawkrigg

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Assessment of peripheral perfusion is one of the most important aspects of care associated with nursing patients receiving intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) therapy. The validity of traditional methods of assessing peripheral perfusion based on colour, warmth, circulatory return, and quality of pedal pulses has' been questioned because of their subjective nature. Consequently, there is a need to identify a reliable quantitative method of monitoring peripheral perfusion in patients with IABPs. Measurement of toe temperatures by use of a skin probe has long been established as a reliable quantitative indicator of the state of lower limb perfusion in critically ill patients …

Attitudes Of Nurses To Palliative Care In Nursing Homes In The Perth Metropolitan Region, Lynne Cohen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Zanna and Rempel (1988) have proposed that attitudes are a summary evaluation of an attitude object based on three classes of information, namely: cognitive information, affective information and behavioural information. This model has mainly been tested in the social groups and social policies area investigating two classes of information: cognitive and affective, and therefore there is a need for research to test the validity of this model in other areas. The present study applies the model to the area of palliative care in nursing homes. 76 directors of nursing, 76 clinical nurse specialists, and 76 nursing assistants working in nursing …

Art Therapy In The Paediatric Oncology Setting: An Assessment Of The Feasibility Of Art Therapy To Address The Psychosocial Needs Of Paediatric Cancer Patients, Anthea Carboni

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

It is well recognised that children with cancer have special needs. Art therapy has been shown to be effective in meeting some of these needs. An exploratory study was conducted to assess the feasibility of art therapy to address the psychosocial needs of paediatric cancer patients in a medical setting where art therapy has not been practised before. A qualitative research design was used to investigate the research questions, using interviews as the main instrument. Subjects were recruited from the oncology team of a metropolitan children's hospital. The sample of thirteen informants consisted of representatives from the medical, nursing and …

Triage In Health Department Of Western Australia Accident And Emergency Departments, Geraldine M. Riordan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A survey of triage systems used in Health Department of Western Australia accident and emergency departments was undertaken to examine differences in practices between departments with and without designated triage nurses (TNs). One questionnaire surveyed 93 nurses in seven departments with TNs, a similar second questionnaire surveyed 89 nurses in 16 departments without TNs, and a third questionnaire was used in a structured telephone interview of receptionists in hospitals without TNs. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations and ranges with common themes identified for open ended questions. The study was guided by Donabedian's systems evaluation model. The …

The Lived Experience Of Nurses Caring For The Dying, David M. Byrne

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The study reported in this thesis describes and analyses the lived experience of caring for the dying amongst nine (9) nurses in a hospice setting. The research was established within the context of published literature on the subject of caring for the dying from nursing. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was chosen as the most appropriate for this study, in order to describe and interpret the understanding and shared meanings nurses have in the care of the dying. The major mode of data collection in this study was by in depth interview of nine (9) nurses, which was supplemented by the …

The Implementation Of A Needleless Iv System And Its Impact In Needlestick Injuries, Renée Gadilhe Childers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

No abstract provided.

Automatic And Controlled Information Processing In Alzheimer's Disease, Linda S. Carozza

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research investigation explored the cognitive processing operations of 18 healthy elderly (HE) subjects and 12 Alzheimer's Disease (AD) subjects in the mild clinical stage of the disease in their performance on a semantic priming task involving semantic lexical activations of both automatic and controlled processing natures.

Relatively little conclusive evidence has been documented regarding the relative roles of attention and memory processing in the lexical-semantic impairment of Alzheimer's Disease. A lexical decision processing task was implemented to investigate the effects of normal aging and neuropathological damage of Alzheimer's Disease on subjects' semantic priming abilities. The research design was based …

The Effect Of Eccentric And Concentric Training On The Size And Strength Of Human Skeletal Muscle, Haydn J. N. Mcdonald

Theses : Honours

The objective of this study was to determine if the high forces generated through eccentric contractions, and the subsequent damage sustained, contributes to greater growth and force increase in human skeletal muscle than other contraction types, and whether damage from eccentric exercise effects the increase in torque and muscle size expected after a progressive concentric strength training program. 20 healthy subjects were split into four groups which participated in 3 different training protocols, with one group serving as the control (C). Groups underwent either concentric training (CT), eccentric damage (ED), or a combination of the two protocols (DC) with the …

Is There A Difference In Cortical Representation Between Dominant And Non-Dominant Arm Muscles Of Elite Badminton Players?, Dylan J. Edwards

Theses : Honours

Training for sport involves the development of skill and coordination. The physiological changes associated with skill acquisition are complex and at present poorly understood. One of the areas in the central nervous system thought to be involved with skill acquisition is the cerebral motor cortex where localised areas are responsible for controlling specific muscle groups. Learning or improving a motor skill may require reorganisation of the cortical areas controlling relevant muscles to accommodate the new skill. To test this idea we studied a group of elite badminton players that were highly skilled in their dominant playing arm. Transcranial magnetic stimulation …

Effect Of Exercise Induced Muscle Soreness On The Motor Control Properties Of The Biceps Brachii, Alan J. Pearce

Theses : Honours

The objective of this study was to note the time course changes for up to 28 days on the motor control properties of biceps brachii muscle following a bout of eccentric exercise. Eight subjects (5 male, 25-40 years of age) performed 35 maximal voluntary eccentric contractions with the non-preferred arm of the elbow flexors through 130° of extension of 90°s^-1. Voluntary electromyographic (EMG) activity and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were recorded via surface electrodes placed over the belly of the biceps brachii muscle. Maximal isometric strength was measured at 90° elbow flexion. …

Practice Nurses And Hepatitis B : Preventative Actions And Their Relationship To Health Beliefs, Helen Le Sueur

Theses : Honours

Hepatitis B is a major, largely undiagnosed disease in the community and nurses working in doctors' surgeries (practice nurses) undertake many clinical tasks which may expose them to the Hepatitis B virus. Using the Health Belief Model as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this correlational-descriptive study was to determine what actions are taken, by practice nurses in Western Australia to protect themselves against Hepatitis B, and to what extent their health beliefs contribute to those actions. A response rate of 59% (118) was obtained from an anonymous, confidential questionnaire sent to a random sample of 200 practice nurses in …

The Supply Of Needles And Syringes To Injecting Drug Users : Attitudes And Practices Of Pharmacists In Western Australia, Heather June Newbey

Theses : Honours

Since 1986 in Western Australia many pharmacists have been supplying needles and syringes to injecting drug users as part of the governments's harm minimisation policy to prevent the spread of HIVI AIDS and other blood-borne viruses, particularly the more recently recognised hepatitis C. This practice was technically illegal, although officially condoned, until May 1994. Adequate baseline data not was available concerning needle and syringe supply or the attitudes of pharmacists concerning this issue. In this study a mail survey of Western Australian community pharmacists was conducted to determine the proportion of pharmacists currently supplying needles and syringes to injecting drug …

Influence Of The Label Intellectual Disability On Trainee Disability Service Providers' Impressions, Dianne Rosemary Mckillop

Theses : Honours

Labels can be identifiers of deviance from social norms and values as well as cognitive heuristics. Labelling theory proposes that deviancy labels create a perception of a stereotypical master status (Becker, 1963), which biases perceivers' impressions. The master status principle of labelling theory is analogous to the schema-based models of impression formation proposed by social psychology. The opposing view is that individual characteristics influence social perception to a greater extent than labels. The present study investigated the master status prediction of labelling theory using a social psychological framework. Empirical and theoretical evidence suggests that the perceptions of the people who …

Postdischarge Surveillance Of Surgical Wound Infection By Telephone Interview, Robyn Taverner

Theses : Honours

Many postoperative wound infections are not being detected by traditional methods of surveillance of hospital acquired infections, due to decreasing length of hospital stay Unless some form of postdischarge surveillance is undertaken, rates of hospital acquired infections will he underestimated. While Infection Control Practitioners are aware of this problem, implementation of postdischarge surveillance is hampered by lack of research into suitable cost-effective methods. This study describes the implementation and feasibility of postdischarge surveillance by telephone interview and compares rates of infection in a private hospital before and after discharge. During a five month period a systematic sample of 300 clients …

Localisation Of The Gene For A Novel Form Of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease In An Isolated Population, Kaite Honeyman

Theses : Honours

Localising the gene for a previously undescribed autosomal recessive form of CMT involved the use of a relatively new approach to rapid genome screening based on the identification of segments which are inherited identical by descent (IBD) from common founding ancestors. It is most feasible for populations which have been founded relatively recently (say less than 25 generations) and which have remained relatively isolated either geographically or culturally. The method is not suitable for highly inbred populations, that is with first and second cousin matings, as many segments will be inherited by chance. It appears to be a suitable screening …

Nmda Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Plasticity In Developing Mammalian Visual Pathways, Gregory S. Perens

Theses and Dissertations

Precise connections in many mammalian nervous systems require a great deal of remodeling during development. In the visual system, many excess synapses are originally formed in the lateral geniculate nucleus and striate cortex. Only the correct set of axon terminals are retained during normal development, while imprecise ones withdraw. The mechanism by which only correct axons are retained requires neural activity, and may be regulated by specific receptors at synapses.

The transmission of neural signals at these synapses is carried out in part by the glutamate-activated NMDA receptor. It is hypothesized that NMDA receptor activation plays a crucial role in …

Psychological Types And Temperaments: A Correlational Study Using The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator And The Temperament Inventory, Ronda F. Daugherty

Master's Theses

Problem

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant relationship between the construct of psychological types, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and temperaments, as measured by the Temperament Inventory (TI).

Method

A non-random sample of 113 individuals completed a demographic questionnaire, the MBTI, and the TI. The results of each preference score of the MBTI and the scores on each of the four temperaments from the TI were compared using a canonical correlation analysis.

Results

There is a significant relationship between the MBTI's psychological types and the TI's temperaments. A preference for …

Perceptions Of Control And Satisfaction With Hospital Birth Experiences For First-Time Mothers, Clelia Tedeschi

Theses : Honours

Satisfaction with childbirth is associated with women's future emotional wellbeing. This study examined whether first- time mother's antenatal expectations, postnatal evaluations of control during labour and delivery, and the discrepancy between expectations and evaluations were significant predictors of women's satisfaction with their childbirth experiences. The effect of medical interventions (e.g., obstetrical interventions and pain relief medication) on women's perceptions of control and satisfaction was also examined. The purposive sample of eighty first-time mothers, mean age 26 years (excluding women who had caesareans) delivered at the public hospital where they attended antenatal classes. During their fourth antenatal class women completed a …

Long Term Restoration Of Peak Torque, Endurance And Muscle Activation Post Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Darryl Alan Turner

Theses : Honours

In recent years, Accelerated Rehabilitation (A.R.) protocols have been used following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (A.C.L.) reconstructions, the longer term effects of these programs are seldom analysed. This study examined musculoskeletal mechanisms that might affect long term functional restoration, the control subjects (n = 19) of mixed age and gender, had no previous knee deficiencies and were recreationally fit. The experimental subjects (n = 17) had undergone intra-articular A.C.L reconstruction, using bone patellar-tendon bone grafts performed by the same surgeon and had also participated in the A.R. protocol, similar to that described by Shelbourne and Nitz (1990). The experimental group attended …

Estimates Of Elderly At Nutritional Risk From The Determine Your Nutritional Health Checklist: The 1994 Northeast Florida Nutrition Screening Initiative, Lynn Marie Brokiewicz

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined associations among the nutritional risks, the risk levels, and the ages of independently living elderly. The Checklist of the Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI) was administered to a purposive sample of 1004 Northeast Florida elderly to estimate an age-profile at risk for malnutrition. Checklist nutritional scores (cumulative of ten risks) were grouped into risk levels of low (scores 0-2, 64.3%), moderate (3-5, 29.5%), and high (6 and greater, 24.2%). Within each level, Checklists were grouped by respondents' age into young-old (60-74), old-old (75-79), and fragile-old (80-102). Eight nutritional risks' distribution across risk levels was significantly greater in respondents …

Chief Executive Officer Turnover In U.S. Hospitals, Whittington Lee Bowers

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The annual rates of hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO) turnover are important to track and evaluate for several reasons. Like other industries, the extent of hospital CEO turnover on an aggregate level is an indicator of the current instability and pace of change within the hospital industry. Sudden large changes in leadership trends can indicate broad changes in the industry, and small changes can indicate a general satisfaction with the status-quo. Since hospitals still dominate and have considerable influence over other sectors of the health care industry, the extent of hospital leadership changes, and the causes of those changes, are …

Predictors Of Nclex-Rn Success Post 1988, Marie E. Rogers

Masters Theses

This ex post facto correlation design study was completed to compare the relative ability of the National League for Nursing Diagnostic Readiness Test (NLN-DRT), nursing non-clinical grade point average, overall grade point average, and pre-nursing grade point average in predicting NCLEX-RN success. Records of 95 graduates from a particular associate degree nursing program were reviewed. The Pearson r identified the NLN-DRT to have the strongest correlation with NCLEX-RN success. All the independent variables had a high degree of correlation with one another. The multiple regression analysis revealed that the NLN-DRT accounted for 25% of the variance in NCLEX-RN success. The …

A Comparison Study Of The Effects Of Methods Of Pain Control On Client Outcomes, Susan K. Cristofori

Masters Theses

A correlational ex post facto design was used to study the relationships between methods of pain control and client perception of pain, achievement of the physical therapy regime and length of stay following total joint replacement surgery. Continuous epidural infusion and patient controlled analgesia (PCA) were the pain control methods examined in the study.; Perception of pain was measured using a 6-word descriptor verbal rating scale. Achievement of physical therapy was measured using the activity criteria on the case care map used at the study hospital. Length of stay was measured using daily census records. (1) The study site was …

The Effect Of Support Groups On Aids Patients, Karen Bouwman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to answer the following question: Will individuals with HIV/AIDS have the same or decreased levels of anxiety and hopelessness after participating in a support group? A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. A convenience sample consisted of 40 persons with HIV/AIDS attending a large support group which met on a weekly basis. Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and Beck's Hopelessness Scale (HS) were administered to the participants. Six weeks later, the HS and SAI were repeated. A Social Support Inventory was also given to assess the subject's perceived satisfaction with the support group. Based on …