The Influence of Feminist Philosophy on Nursing Practice

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98167/1/j.1547-5069.1990.tb00222.x.pd

The Benefit Corporation: An Economic Analysis with Recommendations to Courts, Boards, and Legislatures

The benefit corporation legislation can be seen as a system of new formal rules, which at once seeks to complement and increase the effectiveness of the corporate social responsibility and sustainable business trends, and also disrupt the longstanding, informal constraint of shareholder wealth maximization. This legislation is designed to reduce transaction costs for both consumers and investors who subscribe to the ethical consumer and impact investing trends, respectively

Comfort in Labor and Midwifery Art

To examine the phenomenon of comfort in the context of childbirth. Enhancement of comfort for laboring women is a valued outcome of nursing and midwifery care. Interventions that increase comfort during labor support a woman's effort to participate more fully in the birth thereby keeping her more aware of her body, emotions, and experience. Organizing construct : The concept of comfort is analyzed and defined in the context of laboring women. Comfort studied from a feminist perspective is suggested. Sources : A literature review of nursing, midwifery, and medical texts from the 1920s to 1998 provides information about labor, pain in labor, and goals of providers caring for laboring women. Research articles focusing on comfort are identified as they relate to the concept of comfort in labor. Writings of contemporary feminist authors provided the ideas for designing the study of comfort from a feminist perspective. Methods : To develop a theory of comfort during labor, early nursing and midwifery texts were searched to identify goals of care. The meaning of comfort was analyzed from the early 1920s to the present by concept analysis. Validation of findings was sought from publications on comfort research. Findings : Comfort can exist in spite of great pain and nurses and midwives may be able to assist laboring women to achieve a level of comfort during labor. Intervening to promote the comfort of laboring women can empower these women during birthing. Conclusions : For clinicians caring for birthing women, particularly midwives, promotion of comfort is a high priority. Increasing comfort can redefine the meaning of pain in childbirth. Increasing comfort may create a decreased need for medical interventions and lower costs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73658/1/j.1547-5069.1999.tb00425.x.pd

Indices for studying urinary incontinence and levator ani function in primiparous women

• Urinary incontinence (UI) is a complex phenomenon that is prevalent in pregnant and parous women and requires the use of sophisticated measures to adequately reflect functioning of the continence system. • The purpose of this study was to develop reliable and valid measures of UI and levator ani function for use in research and clinical settings. • A Leakage Index (LI) and a Levator Ani Function Index (LAFI) were developed using data from a longitudinal study of primiparous women. Reliability and validity tests were conducted to: (i) estimate the internal consistency reliability of each index, (ii) determine whether the indices captured change in continence status and pelvic floor function during pregnancy through 1 year postpartum, and (iii) estimate association between the indices as a test of predictive validity. • Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.72 to 0.84 for the LI and from 0.53 to 0.79 for the LAFI across the six data collection time points of the study. Average LI scores increased late in pregnancy and decreased postpartum, though not significantly. Average LAFI scores decreased significantly at 35 weeks gestation ( t  = 4.84, P  = 0.000) and increased significantly at 12 months postpartum ( t  = −3.51, P  = 0.002) relative to baseline. The LI and LAFI were significantly associated at 20 weeks gestation (Pearson r  = −0.40, P  = 0.007) and at 6 weeks postpartum (Pearson r  = −0.33, P  = 0.029). • The findings suggest the LI and LAFI are reliable and valid measures of UI and levator ani function in primiparous women, which can be used with confidence in clinical and research settings.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75514/1/j.1365-2702.2003.00747.x.pd

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Demographic Factors Influencing Cervical Cancer Screening Behavior of Zimbabwean Women

Aims: The aims of this study were (1) to estimate what proportion of rural females had received cervical screening, (2) to assess knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and demographics that influence cervical screening, and (3) to predict cervical screening accessibility based on demographic factors, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes that influence cervical screening. Methods: The study sample consisted of randomly selected, sexually active, rural females between 12 and 84 years of age. Five hundred fourteen females responded to an individually administered questionnaire. Results: Of the 514 participants, 91% had never had cervical screening and 81% had no previous knowledge of cervical screening tests; 80% of the group expressed positive beliefs about cervical screening tests after an educational intervention. Females who were financially independent were 6.61% more likely to access cervical screening compared with those who were dependent on their husbands. Females in mining villages were 4.47% more likely to access cervical screening than those in traditional rural reserve villages. Females in resettlement villages were 20% less likely to access cervical screening than those in traditional rural reserve villages. Conclusions: Accessibility of screening services could be improved through planning and implementation of screening programs involving community leaders and culturally appropriate messages. The government should incorporate the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in its immunization program for adolescents, and health education should be intensified to encourage women and their partners to comply with diagnostic and treatment regimens.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90451/1/jwh-2E2010-2E2062.pd

Continence for Women: Evaluation of AWHONN's Third Research Utilization Project

To develop an evidence-based protocol for initial evaluation and treatment of urinary incontinence and to design procedures that would facilitate the protocol's implementation into clinical practice. Design : Descriptive report of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Continence for Women Project. Setting : Twenty-one public, private, and other women's health sites. Participants : Women in ambulatory care settings ( N = 1,474) provided demographic statistics. Methods : The protocol was developed, sites were selected, site coordinator training was provided, data collection was facilitated by project-specific tele-forms, and the overall process was evaluated by the science team. Main Outcome Measures : Site representation, patient representation, site coordinator feedback on the training program, and site coordinator experience during project implementation. Results : The process yielded a representative mix of site and patient diversity appropriate for testing of the protocol. Site coordinators felt well-prepared to implement the protocol and experienced increased professional satisfaction because of therapeutic benefits achieved for patients and positive collaboration with physicians. Conclusions : The Continence for Women Project demonstrated the potential for developing and testing evidence-based protocols for clinical practice when the resources of an organization such as AWHONN and the research community are combined.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74617/1/j.1552-6909.2000.tb02751.x.pd

Nurse Engagement and Contributions to the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Initiative

CTSAs are mandated to follow a multidisciplinary model. Requests for applications direct responsive applications to “integrate clinical and translational science across multiple departments, schools,” listing disciplines in addition to medicine such as engineering, nursing, and public health. This inventory of nurse engagement in CTSAs describes the extent of nursing's CTSA engagement from the perspective of participating nurse scientists within individual CTSAs, including institutional/national contributions and best practices that foster a multidisciplinary model. Of the 50 CTSAs affiliated with a nursing school, 44 responded (88% response rate). Of the ten CTSAs not affiliated with a nursing school, four responded (40% response rate). Overall funding success rates of nurse applicants are: TL1 fellowships 81%, KL2 fellowships 54%, and nurse‐led pilots 58%. At most CTSAs nursing is contributing to the accomplishment of the CTSA mandate. The strongest categories of contribution are community engagement, implementation science, and training. Best practices to enhance multidisciplinary collaboration are: (1) inclusion of multiple disciplines on key committees who meet regularly to guide individual core and overall CTSA strategic planning and implementation; (2) required multidisciplinary co‐mentors (ideally from different schools within the CTSA) on training grants and as co‐investigators on pilot projects; and (3) documentation of multidisciplinary activity in annual reports.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98323/1/cts12020.pd

Impact of behaviour and lifestyle on bladder health

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98122/1/ijcp12143.pd

Knowledge, practice, and barriers toward cervical cancer screening in Elmina, Southern Ghana

Aims: The aims of this study were: 1) to assess the level of knowledge of women about Pap smear tests, 2) to determine the practices of women regarding Pap smear tests, and 3) to determine the barriers to Pap smear tests in Elmina, Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 392 randomly selected sexually active females aged 10–74 years using structured interview questions. The Institutional Review Board of the University of Cape Coast gave ethical approval for the study and informed consent was obtained from participants. Data were analyzed with SPSS software (v19.0) using frequencies, chi-square test, and exploratory factor analysis. Results: The results revealed that 68.4% had never heard about cervical cancer, 93.6% had no knowledge on the risk factors, nine (2.3%) reported multiple sexual partners and being sexually active as risk factors, and 92% did not know about the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. The majority (97.7%) had never heard of the Pap smear test. Only three (0.8%) women out of 392 had had a Pap smear test. Reasons for seeking a Pap smear test included referral, fear of cervical cancer, and radio campaigns. A significant association was found between institutional and personal barriers and having a Pap smear test. Conclusion: Comprehensive education on cervical cancer screening and removal of access barriers are critical in reducing risk associated with the disease and promoting women\u27s health

Provider Support of Spontaneous Pushing During the Second Stage of Labor

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74899/1/0884217505281904.pd