Apartheid, stress and illness: The demographic context of distress reported by South African Africans

This study examines the relationships between apartheid and the distress experienced by adult urban-dwelling Africans in South Africa. The effects of apartheid are conceptualised and measured as social and economic disadvantage, and this operational definition is justified by a review of the socioeconomic and health aspects of apartheid policies and practices. Distress is conceptualized and measured as (1) exposure to stressors and (2) experiences of ill health. Data was collected from 147 subjects. Analyses indicate that the effects of apartheid (represented by socio-economic disadvantage) are significantly related to the experiences of distress (represented by stress and illness) for black South Africans. Multivariate analyses suggest also that the relationships between disadvantage and distress are more complex than a simple and direct relationship between two variables.apartheid stress illness South Africa

Public Health Nurses\u27 Decision Making in Canada, Finland, Norway, and the United States

The purpose of this study was to describe the decision-making processes of 369 public health nurses in Canada. Finland, Norway, and the United States, and to discuss any differences observed among these countries. The results indicate that public health nurses used different decision-making models on the job and that these models varied considerably. Five different decision-making models were identified, each exhibiting features of different decision-making theories. The differences between decision making of public health nurses in different countries were statistically significant. The differencies in decision making appear to be due to differences in health care systems in the 4 countries and the nature of the nursing task and context