Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

"Well-Growness" Of The Newborn And Factors Contributing To Low Birth Weight, Diane Buck Kruse Dnsc

Dissertations

The problem of determining risk factors and antecedents of birth weight is multifactorial. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pre-pregnancy health status, prenatal care, stress, negative life style practices, nutritional status during pregnancy, and placental perfusion on the well-growness of the newborn (birth weight) in five time orderings and to examine the interaction of these variables on each other. The theoretical framework was a physiologic one centering on the effects of the proposed variables on the well-growness outcome. This prospective study used a correlational design with path analytic techniques. A sample of 160 pregnant women …

Effective Changes In Hospital Patient Accounting Since The Prospective Payment System (Pps), Carol L. Francke

Dissertations

This is a multiple case study that examined three hospital patient accounting departments since the adoption of the prospective payment system (PPS). The cases were chosen based on similarities such as their size and dependence on government programs for reimbursement, interviews were conducted and documents were reviewed from 1985 and 1990. Measures of gross revenue days in accounts receivable and the ratio of the number of full time equivalents (FTEs) to patient encounters were used to determine whether these patient accounting departments were more efficient in 1990 than in 1985.

Despite their selection of different forms of adaptation, all three …

The Environment: Alive, Whole, Interconnected And Interacting, Dorothy Kleffel Dnsc, Mph, Bsn, Rn

Dissertations

Nurses frequently care for individuals whose conditions are related to destructive environmental influences. Although the environment is a central construct in the nursing paradigm, its definition is client oriented, circumscribed, and does not adequately explain situations emanating from the larger physical, social, cultural, political, or economic spheres of the environment. This research described an expanded, ideal, environmental nursing domain derived from selected upstream scholars whose work has addressed broad environmental dimensions. Using the concept of future search, once this idealized environmental domain is envisioned, the nursing profession can begin to discover the knowledge base that is needed in order to …

Integrating Chronic Illness Into One's Life: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Susan Rush Michael Dnsc, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

Chronic illness is currently the number one health problem facing the United States; however, little is known about the experience of making chronic illness a part of one's life, particularly from the perspective of the chronically ill person. If nurses are to assist people in living with chronic illness, then an understanding of this experience is essential. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore how chronically ill adults integrate chronic illness into their lives. Seventeen chronically ill adults were interviewed by the researcher, and asked to describe how they integrated chronic illness into their lives. Each interview …

A Clinical Trials Evaluation Of A Double-Blinded Protocol To Assess The Therapeutic Effectiveness Of Stimulant Medication Prescribed For Children Diagnosed Adhd, Ann V. Thompson

Dissertations

This clinical trials investigation developed and evaluated a protocol for determining the therapeutic effectiveness of medication prescribed for children diagnosed ADHD. The protocol included two separate baseline periods of two week durations, each of which were followed by four randomly assigned probes of one week duration, consisting either of Methylphenidate or placebo capsules. Baseline probes were unblinded, but medication and placebo probe trials were double-blinded. Therapeutic effect, expectancies, and integrity of the double-blind control were assessed through a battery of rating scales and forms completed by the parent, teacher and child at the end of each protocol week, including baseline …

The Lived Experiences Of Nurses' Interactions With Ethnically Diverse Clients: A Phenomenological Perspective, Colette R. York Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

This study explored the phenomenon of nurses' lived experiences while interacting with clients who were ethnically dissimilar to themselves in a variety of nursing care settings including acute care, ambulatory care and public health. This study is timely, especially in the county in which the study was conducted because of the ongoing influx of legal and illegal immigrants from diverse foreign geographic locales. Van Kaam's method for conducting phenomenological studies was employed for data gathering, categorizing and analyzing. Categories were stated in terms of perceptions and feelings. The most frequently stated perceptual moments included perceiving client ethnicities based on physical …

Effects Of Family Stress, Family Social Support, And Family Balance On Maternal Adaptation In Post Birth Families, Constance H. Blake Hansen Dnsc, Mn, Rn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of perinatal family stress, family social support, and family balance on post birth maternal adaptation. The birth of a new infant is a transitional event that causes stress to the individuals within the family and the family as a unit. The childbearing woman has been identified as the core of the expanding family. Her adaptive level is critical to the integration of the new infant into the family unit. Stress and support are important variables in maternal adaptation, yet the specific relationship of these variables as they relate to the …

The Relationship Between Prenatal Maternal Attachment, Postpartum Depressive Symptoms And Maternal Role Attainment, Eileen R. Fowles

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Quality Of Life Predictors: Heart Transplant Spouses, Eileen G. Collins

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Personal Meaning In The Elderly: A Heideggerian Hermeneutical Phenomenological Study, Diane Heliker

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Methylation And Chromatin Structure In The Regulation Of The O6-Methylguanine-Dna Methyltransferase (Mgmt) Gene In Human Glioma Cells, Joseph F. Costello

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Consumer Choices In Graduate Nursing Education At Andrews University, Catherine Keith Turner

Dissertations

Problem. Universities and colleges are increasingly interested in marketing strategies in order to improve enrollment. Nursing programs have likewise become more conscious of the need to be more market-oriented. Knowing the factors that influence consumer choices in higher education can enhance marketing strategies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the factors related to marketing nursing graduate education that affect consumer choices in a particular program. Of special interest was the nursing student population in the Andrews University Graduate Nursing Program.

Method. From the literature and from focus groups of a sample of the student population, data …

Detecting Malingered Psychotic Symptoms With The Rorschach Projective Technique, Kristin M. Batchelder

Dissertations

Problem. Criminal defendants may be strongly motivated to avoid prosecution by appearing mentally ill, and the malingering of psychotic symptoms is of special concern in legal proceedings. Much research has been conducted to determine accurate methods to detect malingering. These include clinical interviews, structured personality tests, intelligence tests, and projective techniques. This present study investigated the ability of specific variables on the Rorschach Projective Technique to detect malingered protocols.

Method. The 83 subjects in this study were restricted to male pre-trial defendants in the Federal Judicial system who were placed into three categories by diagnosis: (1) malingering psychotic symptoms, (2) …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Acquired Immune Deficiency : Beliefs, Knowledge, And Behaviors Of High-School Students Attending Seventh-Day Adventist Academies, Deborah L. Gray

Dissertations

Problem. Few attempts have been conducted to assess knowledge of HIV/AIDS in the adolescent population attending Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools. This present study was to investigate the HIV/AIDS-related beliefs, HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, and HIV/AIDS-related behaviors of adolescents according to gender, grade level, ethnicity, geographical location, and religious affiliation.

Method. The subjects for this study were 1,292 9th- through 12th-grade students attending selected non-boarding Seventh-day Adventist academies representing three geographical regions of the United States and the Virgin Islands. The survey instrument utilized was the "AIDS Survey for Students" obtained from the U.S. Center for Disease Control. Chi-square analysis was used to …

Intact Families With A Multiple Sclerotic Parent: Social And Emotional Adjustment Of Parents And School-Age Children, Jean A. Mccutchan

Dissertations

Problem Statement. Research on children with a multiple sclerotic parent has been minimal and until recently focused only on negative aspects. This study investigated how families successfully cope with multiple sclerosis (MS) and how their school-age children are affected, positively or negatively.

Methodology. This research used the case study approach with intact Caucasian families, 10 where the mother was the patient and 3 families where the father was the patient. The 20 children were ages 5 through 19. Following a clinical interview, the family members responded to the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-II, the Family Hardiness Index and the …

Efficacy Of Addiction Treatment In A Correctional Setting For Female Offenders As Measured By The Addiction Severity Index, Paul Robert Wiese

Dissertations

Problem. This study was designed to determine to what extent improvement following treatment for addiction was evident, and if treatment seemed causative in that outcome, for incarcerated female addicts. This study also explored the question of which treatment modality seemed most effective-- an education-only group, a comprehensive long-term treatment group, or a waiting-list control group. -- Method. The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) furnished scores on seven psychosocial areas for subjects. Hypotheses were tested with paired t tests. The means of the pre- and post-tests for the three groups were compared, as well as between group mean scores. Second, a …

Factors Associated With Women's Decisions To Obtain Routine Cervical Cancer Screening In A Prepaid Health Care System, Vicki Debaca Dnsc

Dissertations

The focus of this research study was to explore the factors affecting women's decisions to participate in preventive cervical cancer screening using a conceptual model proposed by Cummings, Becker, and Maile (1980). This descriptive-comparative study investigated the effect between the components of this model (age, education level, race, general barriers, psychological barriers, evaluation of health care, threat of illness, knowledge, social network) and the outcome variable of intent to participate in cervical cancer screening examinations. This study also examined whether there were differences in the predictor variables between two groups of women: those that have had a recent Pap examination …