Nursing Commons^™

Experiences Of Nurses And Midwives During The Ebola Outbreak In Liberia, West Africa, Erhuvwukorotu S. Kollie

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The 2014 – 2015 Ebola outbreak in the West African region resulted in many deaths and has been responsible for devastating health and socioeconomic upheaval. The decision of nurses and midwives whether or not to render care during outbreaks is vital for the containment of the disease. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses and midwives during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia. A grounded theory method based on Corbin and Strauss (2015) and Charmaz (2014) was used, resulting in a conceptual model describing the process involved in the work decisions made by the study participants. …

The Efficacy Of An Audio Program And Discussion Guide In Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding In Cameroon, Africa, Kathryn R. Reinsma

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: In the Northwest Region of Cameroon, approximately 90% of women initiate breastfeeding; however, only 34% continue exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended six months (Kakute, et al., 2005; WHO, 2008). Entertainment-education is a mass-media communication strategy of placing educational information into media such as television programs, movies, and radio programs (Siegel & Lotenberg, 2007). This form of behavioral change communication has proven effective in addressing health-related issues in developing countries.

Purpose: The aim was to design an audio program and discussion guide to test the hypothesis that an audio program and discussion guide improves exclusive breastfeeding knowledge, beliefs, benefits, self-efficacy, …

Identified Barriers To Well Child Care For Homeless Children Under Age Thirteen, Judith G. Riemer

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers perceived by homeless families to well child care for their children under age thirteen and to determine if there is a relationship between perceived barriers and duration of homelessness. Using an investigator-modified version of Melnyk's Barriers Scale and a demographic measure, a convenience sample of homeless families (N = 53) from three transitional shelters in two southern California counties were surveyed via questionnaire. Barriers to well child care for homeless children were identified. No relationship was determined to exist between duration of homelessness and perceived barriers using a measurement of correlation.

Evaluating The Effect Of Family Stroke Education On The Anxiety Levels Of Families Of Stroke Patients, Keri Lynne Kuniyoshi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

[Abstract Not Included]

Association Of Drinking-Related Locus Of Control And Treatment Outcomes In Female Alcoholics, Patricia A. Townsend

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

[Abstract Not Included]

The Effects Of An Intervention Program On Nursing Burnout, Maria Rosa-Morales

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The risk for professional burnout has become commonly recognized and in the past several years has been a focus of research efforts. Nursing is one of the professions generating a high level of stress which results in burnout.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of an intervention program for nurses who felt they were experiencing burnout. Nursing burnout was defined as a chronic condition of stress among nurses, which leads to a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. The design used was a true experiment. Fifty-two nurses served as voluntary participants who …

Smoking Behavior Among Alabama Student Nurses : The Role Of Behavioral Beliefs And Normative Referencing, Judith Rausch

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of smoking behavior for the senior student nurses in the state of Alabama using Ajzen and Fishbein's Theory of Reasoned Action. Smoking prevalence by level of educational preparation and selected health behaviors were examined for relationship to cigarette use.

A sample of 11 schools of nursing were selected from Alabama's 34, using a random numbers table. There were 13 total programs as two of the schools had both A.D. and B.S. nursing programs. Thirty-two percent (N=555) of senior A.D., B.S. & diploma students nurses in Alabama responded to an 87 item …

The Effect Of Electroshock On The Passage Of Bacteria From A Contaminated Transducer Past A Protective Membrane Into A Disposable Chamber Dome, Patricia K. Taylor Pothier

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Infection related to use of Intra-arterial Hemodynamic Monitoring Devices is a serious complication. In an attempt to decrease the risk of infection presterilized chamber domes were developed to isolate the patient vascular system from the pressure transducer. Users were informed by manufacturers of the domes that routine decontamination of transducer heads was not necessary. Since the development of these disposable chamber domes infection outbreaks have continued to occur. Epidemiological investigation has implicated contact transmission of bacteria due to poor handling techniques in some outbreaks. However, in other outbreaks the source of the epidemic was found to be contaminated transducer heads …

Facilitation Of C.O.P.D. Patient Compliance In Self-Administration Of Medical Modalities Through In-Hospital Specialized Education Program, Elizabeth Maddox

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

[Abstract Not Included]

The Effect Of Nursing Discharge Counseling Sessions On The Pre-Discharge Anxiety Level Of The Neurotically-Depressed Female In A Community Hospital Setting, Deborah Snyder Galasso

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Discharge from the hospital has been identified as a time when patients are in need of additional nursing support. The prospect of leaving the protective hospital environment to return to the home environment with its life stresses can cause anxiety. This study was designed to test the effect of a nursing intervention, discharge counseling sessions, on the anxiety level of the neurotically-depressed female prior to discharge.

The null hypothesis guiding this study was: nursing discharge counseling sessions will have no significant (α=0.05) effect on the pre-discharge anxiety level of the neurotically-depressed female in a community hospital setting. The State-Trait Anxiety …

The Effect Of Post-Hospital Nursing Intervention On Success In Breastfeeding, Melinda Hoskins

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to compare the proportion of women in the experimental group who had a successful breastfeeding experience following post-discharge nursing intervention with the proportion of women in the control group who had a successful breastfeeding experience without nursing intervention. Criteria defining success in breastfeeding were established before the study. Chi-square analysis was used to test for significance with the preset level of significance being α = 0.05. The sample comprised 25 mother-infant dyads with 12 in the experimental group and 13 in the control group. Both groups were similar in type of delivery (spontaneous or …

Relationship Between Some Demographic Characteristics And Adverse Reactions Experienced By Women Undergoing A Therapeutic Abortion While Awake, Karen K. House

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

With the liberalization of abortion laws by the Supreme Court in 1973, American women have been able to obtain therapeutic abortions in hospitals and out-patient clinics in ever increasing numbers. With the increased number of women seeking abortions the medical field has responded with abortion procedures that are safe and relatively quick. With the speed doctors use to perform the procedure, many women may wish to take advantage of the medically safer method of abortion under local anesthesia. However, some women are unable to withstand the psychological and physical stress associated with a therapeutic abortion while awake. It would be …

The Effect Of Programmed Instruction About Pacemakers Given In The Hospital Setting On The Immediate And Delayed Retention Of Information On Patients With Permanent Cardiac Pacemakers, Ann Ekroth, Eileen Zorn

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A convenience sample of nineteen patients composing group A, hospitalized for initial placement of permanent cardiac pacemakers, was studied. A programmed instructional test was prepared by the investiga- tors for this population. The question under study was, does programmed instruction for pacemaker patients affect immediate and delayed recall of information? Patients were pre-tested, presented with the programmed instruction package and given a post-test immediately upon completion of the package. They were retested later to evaluate retention level. An IQ test was administered at the same time as the pre-test. Statistical analysis using t-tests indicated significant differences between pre-test scores and …

Consumer Satisfaction With Services In A Mental Health Center, Sandra M. Hare

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

An exploratory study was done with descriptive comparative components to examine the levels of consumer satisfaction at a mental health center, and there was also the intent to determine if satisfaction or dissatisfaction in one area of service affected the general satisfaction level. In addition, other variables and demographic data included in the questionnaire were examined.

Data collection was done by the use of a 23-item questionnaire that was administered to three departments of service, Outpatient, Drug Abuse, and Day-care, at North Orange County Mental Health Services. The sample group consisted of any adult in treatment who had made three …

Evaluation Of A Special Teaching Program With Ambulatory Cardiac Patients, Mary L. Mcgregor Minns

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study was designed to test the hypotheses that ambulatory cardiac patients given a special teaching program would have increased understanding about their medication, make fewer medication errors, and know more about undesirable effects and how to handle them than patients not included in the special teaching program. Forty-one ambulatory cardiac patients were, after a random start, alternately assigned to an experimental or to a control group. All the patients were taking one or more of three different medications before hospitalization, during their hospital stay, and after their discharge. Three medications, digoxin (lanoxin), lasix, and nitroglycerin, were studied. The program …

A Descriptive Study Of Women's Attitudes Towards Obtaining Or Not Obtaining Papanicolaou Smears, Linda J. Shults

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

It was the purpose of this study to identify the attitudes of a selected group of women which influenced their participation in Papanicolaou testing. These attitudes were inferred from the reasons women gave for obtaining the test. The subjects were randomly selected from the telephone book of a medium-sized town in Southern California. The 135 women who participated in the telephone interview were considered to be the respondents in the study.

A review of the literature revealed that through the annual use of the Papanicolaou smear, approximately 11,000 deaths every year from uterine and cervical cancer could be prevented, Attitudes …

Daily Temperature Rhythm In Hospitalized Female Patients, Phyllis L. Mcelmurry

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The study was designed to determine the hour when temperature peaks occur in adult hospitalized females, and to find if factors such as age and natural or surgical menopause with replacement therapy affect the thermal circadian cycle. Previous studies indicated that the temperature peak occurs in afternoon or early evening, but there were no investigations to determine if aging, sex, or menopause affects the temperature cycle.

The sample included 62 female patients, 29 between 21 and 62 years of age, and 33 between 65 and 90 years. Each subject admitted to the study was screened against fifteen qualifying criteria. Some …

Exploration Of The Incidence Of Identified Emotional Disorders In Selected General Hospitals Of Nebraska, Arlene M. Van Horn

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A descriptive-comparative survey using content analysis of medical records has been done to determine the frequency with which emotional disorders are identified by medical personnel in the population hospitalized in small general hospitals in north-central Nebraska.

A systematic, random sample of medical records was taken from two hospitals arbitrarily included in the study on the basis of bed capacity and distance from mental health facilities.

Each medical record that was reviewed has been placed in a category based on whether an emotional disorder was identified in it by the medical personnel, or whether it contained recorded behaviors that could indicate …

The Effect Of Nutrition Education On The Diet Of Pregnant Teenagers, Dorothy Whiteside

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

For optimal growth and development during the teens, there needs to be sufficient intake of food to meet the nutritional requirements. Pregnancy during that time increases the nutritional needs. Studies have shown that teenage girls generally have poor eating habits, not meeting the nutritional requirements.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether special nutrition education classes would improve eating habits of a group of pregnant teenagers. Case studies were used as the method to report the findings. A health education class in a special day program for pregnant girls was used as the setting for this study. The …

Using A Participating Relationship To Improve Teen-Age Unwed Mother's Self-Esteem, Linda Gail Reeves

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The study was to provide an approach to help teen-age unwed mothers increase their feelings of self-esteem and thereby attain a conceptual buffer for better coping with life. Self-esteem was defined as individual perception of the worth of oneself relative to that of significant others. The hypothesis tested was that the participating relationship a community health nurse has with a teen-age unwed mother will significantly increase the mother's self-esteem as measured by statistical Q-Sort analysis.

A convenience sample of twenty teen-age unwed mothers was obtained from referrals from San Bernardino County Health, Welfare, and Probation Departments. The girls were between …

Depression And Uncooperativeness In Public Health Patients, P. Sherrill Baugher, Nancy Lynn Swan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine whether uncooperative behavior and a quantitative measurement of depression exist in the same patient in a public health nurse's caseload. Seven full-time public health nurses were randomly selected from the San Bernardino Public Health Department staff. They reviewed their caseloads and selected all the patients who met the general criteria.

Patients were then classified as cooperative or uncooperative based on the following specific criteria: (1) gives unreliable information, (2) uses the nurse as a "buffer" between helping agencies, (3) demands immediate gratification of requests in a stressful situation, (4) makes only token …

Sensory Stimulation To Produce Micturition In The Cerebral Vascular Accident Patient, Mary Alice Pearce

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

An experimental study was conducted in a university and a convalescent hospital using eight female CVA patients with urinary incontinence to test the hypothesis that the experimental technique of icing and brushing LI dermatome skin area would increase the probability that the CVA patient would void within a prescribed time and place. A modified one group method was used in which the patient served as her own control by participating in two types of bladder training programs over an eight to twelve hour period for four consecutive days. Program A used the experimental technique; Program B omitted the experimental technique. …

Contamination Of Stuffed Cloth Toys On A Pediatric Unit, Virginia Lois Fowler, Dynnette Nelson Hart

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of the study was to determine if cloth stuffed toys used by children in the pediatric unit of Loma Linda University Hospital carry microbacterial pathogens that are the same type as those pathogens found in the throat of the child using the toy. A second purpose was to determine how long the selected pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Diplococcus pneumonia, survive on the same cloth toys as used in the selected hospital. Throat cultures were taken of twenty-four patients and each patient was given a cloth stuffed toy selected to be studied. Cultures of the toys were …

Incidence Of Staphylococcus Aureus On Fomentation Covers, Yvonne Badgley Mcdaniel

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study was to ascertain whether fomentation covers were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus prior to being placed on a patient receiving a hydrotherapy treatment.

From a review of literature on the subject of the Staphylococcus aureus organism and from studies of hospital-acquired staphylococcal infection it appeared that: (1) researches had used various techniques for making cultures from fabrics, (2) the Staphylococcus aureus cultures may react in varying ways to the laboratory tests making the classification somewhat difficult, (3) the problem of hospital-acquired staphylococcal cross-infection was present, (4) the role played by the environment in hospital-acquired infections was controversial, and (5) …

Altered Body Image Following Radical Mastectomy, Julia Lee Anne Mcconnell

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to identify reactions and adjustments to the altered body image following radical mastectomy. It was felt that nurses could be of more assistance to women facing this experience if they knew and understood the common reactions which occur.

Other studies have indicated that major areas of adjustment focus upon dress and appearance. Sexual and social relationships, and curiosity of others. The disruption of a body image makes necessary certain adjustments in the individual's perceptions of himself.

The method of research in this study was descriptive survey with the use of partially structured interviews. Thirty-five …

The Preparation Of Nursing Care Guides From A Study Of Nursing Problems In African Rural Hospitals, Edith L. Gillham

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study was conducted to make nursing care guides which can be used by African students of nursing in making individualized nursing care plans. The nursing problems which were met in African rural hospitals served as a basis for the nursing care guides. Data for the study were obtained through questionnaires which were airmail to ten rural hospitals in Africa. Eight of the hospitals responded to the questionnaires.

The types of employees, the hospital facilities, and diseases of patients hospitalized during 1963 were studied. Special emphasis was placed upon the nursing problems found in the hospitals. These items were employed …

Falls Sustained By Patients In A Selected Nursing Home, Katty Joy Fenton

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study was done to learn how the incidence of falls was related to certain, selected factors such as ambulatory state, sex, location of occurrence and time of occurrence in the nursing home chosen for the study and to make recommendations for increasing the safety of nursing home patients.

The descriptive-survey was the method used in the study. The data were made available in the form of 235 incident reports which had been collected over a five-year period in the selected nursing home. There were 213 of these records which described falls of various types so the study was limited …

A Study Of Door Pulls On Isolation Carts In A General Hospital For Evidence Of Contamination, Mary Alice Harper

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of the study was to find out if isolation carts were serving as a means of cross infection. Literature pertaining to sources of possible contamination on hospital units written in the past five years were reviewed.

Using the descriptive survey as the method of study, effort was made to find out if isolation carts were a means of cross infection on the hospital unit. Two laboratory cultures were obtained from both door pulls on all isolation carts used by nursing units. This was done over a three month period from December 12, 1963 to March 11, 1964. The …

A Survey Of Patient-Centered Health Teaching Programs In A Selected Group Of Medical Institutions, Marian Davenport Hamilton

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to find out what patient-centered health teaching programs are currently being carried on in medical institutions belong to the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Self-Supporting Institutions. This organization is composed of representatives of the General Conference of the church and representatives of various private enterprises. Objectives of medical institutions belonging to this organization include care of the sick, and the improvement of patents' health through education of the patient.

A descriptive survey included all A. S. I. medical institutions licensed for overnight care of patients. These institutions were located in 29 states. The survey was …

Identification Of Needs In High Risk Prematures Significant To Public Health Nursing Follow-Up, Vida Francis

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Experts in the field of prematurity have stressed the needs for an intensive follow-up program for premature infants after discharge from the hospital and cited the important role that public health nurses can play. It was hypothesized that there are needs of the high risk premature infant significant to public health nursing follow-up.

The descriptive survey method and an interview schedule was the selected manner for obtaining necessary data. The sample was chosen from high risk premature infants attending the Premature Clinic at the White Memorial Hospital. The selected infants had birth weights of 1,500 grams or less, were under …