Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy: Understanding Women's Decision-Making Process And Family Physicians' Views, Lemmese Alwatban

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explored women’s and family physicians’ experiences with Bio-identical Hormone Therapy (BHT). It aimed to develop a deeper understanding of women’s decision-making process in choosing this therapeutic modality, and the influence family physicians may have on this process. To capture the phenomenon under study, two complementary and sequential qualitative studies were conducted. The studies involved in-depth interviews with women using BHT and family physicians that care for this population. The collective findings of both studies demonstrated the complexity of menopause care. The findings illuminated the major factors involved in women’s BHT decision-making process. It also offered important information about …

The Cognitive Processes Underlying Affective Decision-Making Predicting Adolescent Smoking Behaviors In A Longitudinal Study, C. Anderson Johnson, Lin Xiao, Gilly Koritzky, Antoine Bechara

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This study investigates the relationship between three different cognitive processes underlying the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and adolescent smoking behaviors in a longitudinal study. We conducted a longitudinal study of 181 Chinese adolescents in Chengdu City, China. The participants were followed from 10th to 11th grade. When they were in the 10th grade (Time 1), we tested these adolescents’ decision-making using the IGT and working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT). Self-report questionnaires were used to assess school academic performance and smoking behaviors. The same questionnaires were completed again at the 1-year follow-up (Time 2). The Expectancy-Valence (EV) …

Family Refusals Of Registered Consents: The Disruption Of Organ Donation By Double-Standard Surrogate Decision-Making, Katrina Bramstedt

Katrina A. Bramstedt

Some countries such as Australia, Spain, Norway, Italy and Canada allow next of kin to override the consent of registered organ donor candidates if they personally do not concur with the donation desire of their relative. This form of surrogate decision-making represents a double standard in terms of the principle of substituted judgment (the surrogate's duty). Further, double-standard surrogate decision-making in the setting of organ donation is a slippery slope to unethical surrogate decision-making while patients are alive. Concerns about family distress and donor candidate revocation of consent can still be managed without permitting double-standard surrogate decision-making.

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy. The …

Enhancing Critical Thinking Disposition And Clinical Judgment Skills In Senior Bsn Students Via Electronic Interactive Simulation, Deborah Lynne Weatherspoon

Doctoral Dissertations

Problem
The problem investigated in this study was the lack of empirical evidence available regarding the effectiveness of electronic interactive simulation (EIS) for developing critical thinking disposition and clinical judgment skills in the senior baccalaureate nursing student.

Aim
The aim of this study was to identify an effective method of experiential learning simulation that may be independently accessed by the learner with a goal of enhancing critical thinking disposition and clinical judgment skills of senior baccalaureate student nurses (BSN).

Purpose
The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effects of EIS to traditional paper case studies on the …

Knowledge And Expectations Of Support People In Prenatal Genetic Counseling Sessions, Michelle A. Mcdougle

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Prenatal genetic counseling patients have the ability to choose from a myriad of screening and diagnostic testing options, each with intricacies and caveats regarding accuracy and timing. Decisions regarding such testing can be difficult and are often made on the same day that testing is performed. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider that the support people brought to an appointment may have a role in the decision-making process. We aimed to better define this potential role by examining the incoming knowledge and expectations of support people who attended prenatal genetic counseling appointments.

Support people were asked to complete a survey …

Mirebalais, Haiti Planning Initiative, Jack Wiggin, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Mirebalais Planning Initiative (MPI), a joint project of the Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston, Boston University, and the University of the West Indies, is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The initiative is a community-based participatory planning process designed to expand community leadership and decision-making capacity among community members in Mirebalais, Haiti.

Overcoming Erroneous Confirmation Bias, F. Matthew Mihelic

Faculty Publications

This paper will explore strategy for overcoming erroneous confirmation bias within the context of generalist versus specialist function as described in the paper entitled “Information Fusion and Quantum Logic in Family Medicine”.

The Acquisition And Usage Of The Sodas Problem Solving Method Among Adults At-Risk For Homelessness, Collin Edward Streetman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals experiencing extended homelessness face multifaceted risks in physical health, nutrition, substance use, mental health, continuing unemployment, and incarceration. Some of these adults may benefit from learning a problem-solving decision-making method to assist them in dealing with everyday problems they encounter. This study taught three men with extensive histories of homelessness, but who were currently housed, the SODAS problem-solving decision-making method, and assessed their ability to learn it and guide another adult in the use of the method in simulated role-play problem situations. The acquisition of SODAS from behavioral rehearsal training was evaluated using a multiple-baseline design across participants' role …

Influence Of Patient Characteristics On Perceived Risks And Willingness To Take A Proposed Anti-Rheumatic Drug, Richard W. Martin, Kelsey Mccallops, Andrew J. Head, Aaron T. Eggebeen

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The causes of the underutilization of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not fully known, but may in part, relate to individual patient factors including risk perception. Our objective was to identify the determinants of risk perception (RP) in RA patients and predictors of their willingness to take a proposed DMARD (DMARD willingness). Methods. A cross-sectional mail survey of RA patients in a community rheumatology practice. Patients were presented a hypothetical decision scenario where they were asked to consider switching DMARDs. They evaluated how risky the proposed medication was and how likely they would be to …