A Correlational Pilot Study of Fatalism and Self-efficacy among Appalachians with Type II Diabetes Mellitus.

Despite the vast amount of research regarding type II diabetes, little is known about the relationship between fatalistic beliefs and self-efficacy in individual self-care among adult Appalachians with type II diabetes. As a result of multiple predisposing risk factors that include high rates of obesity and poverty, as well as a lack of access to preventative care services, the prevalence of diabetes is very high in this region and has become a major health issue. In addition, a history of exploitation and lack of diverse economic development has profoundly influenced the cultural beliefs of those living within the region, which has resulted in Appalachians being collectively described as fatalistic. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation between fatalistic beliefs and self-efficacy in self-care among adult Appalachians with type II diabetes exists. A survey was created that assessed three concept areas pertaining to both fatalism and self-efficacy in self-care: emotional distress, religious/spiritual coping, and perceived self-efficacy. The survey was administered to participants being treated for type II diabetes at a rural clinic in northeast Tennessee. Expected correlations were found when comparing both emotional distress and perceived self-efficacy with religious and spiritual coping. However, an unexpected positive correlation was found when comparing emotional distress with perceived self-efficacy. In conclusion, this study did not demonstrate the hypothesized negative correlation between fatalism and self-efficacy, and the results found are not attributable to a larger population due to the small sample size obtained

Memory Training and Cognition in Posttreatment Patients With Cancer

Excerpt: THE STUDY CONDUCTED by McDougall, Becker, Acee, Vaughan, and Delville (2011) concluded that patients with cancer receiving memory training posttreatment had an inherent benefit in performance on cognitive tests and that this finding provides an evidence-based intervention for providers to use when treating postchemotherapy patients exhibiting symptoms of cognitive deficit. However, the findings in this study do not support this conclusion for two reasons