Predictors of African American Women\u27s Perceived Health Status in the Context of Caring for a Relative With End Stage Renal Disease

The purposes of this study of African American women who were family caregivers of persons with end stage renal disease (ESRD) were to: (1) identify their perceived health status and changes in perceived health status since assuming the caregiver role, (2) document the association between objective health status and caregiver age, (3) document the relationship between age and perceived health status, (4) identify demographic and subjective and objective health factors that predict perceived health status, and (5) identify their health promotion behaviors. The design for this study was a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational secondary analysis of data obtained from 75 African American women caring for a relative diagnosed with ESRD. These women participated in a larger study designed to investigate the predictors of health and burden in 120 family caregivers of patients with ESRD. The current study included data collected using the following instruments: The Caregiver Demographic Data Form, Caregiver’s Perceived Health Form, Severity of Caregiver’s Disease Scale, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Overall, 28% of the caregivers rated their health as either fair or poor although most reported good health. Caregivers also reported several negative changes in health associated with the caregiving experience including decreases in exercise, energy, time for self, time for family and friends, and the amount/quality of sleep and increases in weight, and worry stress/tension. Forty-nine caregivers had scores of 0-15 indicating no signs of clinical depression; however, three caregivers (4.0%) had scores of greater than 31 which indicated severe distress. The mean body mass index for caregivers was 31.2 % indicating that on average this sample was obese. Reported health problems included hypertension (48%) and diabetes (24%). A significant weak positive correlation was found between perceived health status and caregiver age. Predictors of caregiver perceived health status indicated that five variables- number of prescription medications, number of physician office visits in the past 6 months, number of health problems, caregiver age, and total score of CES-D explained 31% (p=.000) of the total variance. Older caregivers on more prescription medications and with more provider visits, health problems and depressive symptoms reported the lowest perceived health status. The relatively small amount of perceived health status variance explained suggests that there are other factors that influenced the perceived health status of participating caregivers. The most common health behaviors reported by African American family caregivers were nutrition, exercise, modifying stress, spirituality/faith, following physician orders, and taking medication as ordered. Though participants reported multiple physical health problems most reported participating in health promotion activities and on average they perceived their health as good. There may be cultural and economic factors that explain this apparent dissonance between objective indictors of health and perceived health status of study participants. The health status of patients and families are the focus of nursing care and nursing research. End stage renal disease potentially affects the health of both patients and their caregivers. In this study caregivers reported multiple changes in health that could jeopardize their ability to continue to provide care. Findings from this study provide support for developing health promotion interventions that address the needs of understudied African American caregivers assisting persons with ESRD

Facilitators and Barriers to Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management Among Rural African American Adults

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify facilitators and barriers to self-management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among African American adults living in rural communities. Research indicates that African Americans experience higher rates of T2DM and diabetes-related complications than other ethnic groups. In Kentucky, diabetes is now the fourth leading cause of death by disease among African Americans. Methods: Twenty-two African American adults with T2DM were recruited from three churches in rural communities in Kentucky. Three focus groups were conducted to identify factors that made managing diabetes easier (facilitators) and factors that made managing diabetes more difficult (barriers). Demographic data were collected using a 15-item survey, focused on the participants’ personal, social and medical history related to T2DM. Results: Support was the primary facilitator of self-management. Support from family, friends, and health care providers which encouraged them to seek information and adhere to diet and medications helped with management. Identified barriers to self-management included fear, perceived beliefs about their health status, and difficulty making lifestyle changes. Discussion and Conclusion: T2DM is a serious health problem in the African American population. Interventions should be designed that focus on providing support for African Americans with T2DM. Additionally, interventions should focus on overcoming the identified barriers to assist them in taking control and feeling empowered to effectively self-manage T2DM

The case for measuring and reporting bilingualism in developmental research

Many children around the world grow up bilingual, learning and using two or more languages in everyday life. Currently, however, children’s language backgrounds are not always reported in developmental studies. There is mounting evidence that bilingualism interacts with a wide array of processes including language, cognitive, perceptual, brain, and social development, as well as educational outcomes. As such, bilingualism may be a hidden moderator that obscures developmental patterns, and limits the replicability of developmental research and the efficacy of psychological and educational interventions. Here, we argue that bilingualism and language experience in general should be routinely documented in all studies of infant and child development regardless of the research questions pursued, and provide suggestions for measuring and reporting children’s language exposure, proficiency, and use

Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas

This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin

Evaluating the effects of handmade cards on hospitalized patient\u27s health

This purpose of this study is to evaluate the intervention of giving handmade cards to patients in the hospital setting. In current research, there is a lack of study on possible interventions to facilitate or offer social support. This project is being undertaken to contribute to the field of Nursing in the area of Interventions. A current area of interest in Nursing is the health benefit of social support. Current research provides a great amount of evidence of social support in stressful situations by decreasing heart rate and blood pressure. Sociability is even an influential factor in preventing a cold. This study will add to nursing knowledge by determining the interventions affects physiological and/or psychological status of the hospitalized patient

A pilot study examining the effects of faculty incivility on nursing program satisfaction

Uncivil behavior in the classroom threatens the teaching-learning process. Research to date has focused on nursing student incivility in academia with little research examining the faculty role associated with incivility. Due to the lack of research examining faculty incivility toward nursing students, additional research in this area is indicated. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of faculty incivility on nursing students′ satisfaction with their Bachelor of Science Nursing (BSN) nursing program in a rural Southeastern state. Quantitative data was collected via surveys. Research questions included: (1) What percentage of senior nursing students report experiencing faculty incivility? (2) What is the relationship between faculty incivility and nursing students′ ratings of program satisfaction? (3) In what educational settings does perceived incivility toward nursing students occur? (4) How do nursing students respond to perceived faculty incivility? The results of this survey revealed that 35.3% of students had at least one nursing instructor that put them down or was condescending toward them during their educational experience. Furthermore, 20.7% reported that two or more faculty put them down or were condescending toward them. Collectively, the pilot study revealed that over half of the participants reported faculty behaving in a way that was perceived as uncivil. Incivility in the nursing profession has been an on-going problem. The high number (over half) of participating students reporting that they perceived that at least one nursing instructor had put them down or was condescending toward them during their educational experience raises additional concerns for the level of civility in nursing programs and the role modeling that is presented to students. It is imperative that nursing faculty and students interact professionally and establish effective communication patterns

Extending a Spectrin Repeat Unit. I: Linear Force-Extension Response

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations were used to calculate the elastic properties of a spectrin repeat unit. A contiguous α-helical linker was constructed by employing periodic boundary conditions, allowing a novel scheme for evaluating the thermodynamic force as a function of extension. By measuring the force-extension response under small extensions, spectrin was observed to behave primarily as an elastic material with a spring constant of 1700 ± 100 pN/nm. The implications of this spring constant, in terms of the properties of the spectrin tetramer, are also discussed