A growing body of literature links religion to a variety of beneficial health outcomes, but many aspects of the influence of religion on health attitudes and behaviors remain uninvestigated. Most existing work linking religion to health focuses on the United States and other Western contexts, and examinations of reproductive, maternal, and child health are notably absent from research seeking to clarify the relationships between religion and health. This dissertation explores the influences of religious beliefs and behaviors on reproductive, maternal, and child health in Uzbekistan, a theoretically and practically useful context for this study. In this project, I seek to enhance understandings of connections between religion and health by incorporating insights from demographic literature on religion and reproduction and from the body of work on the religion-health connection. In order to answer questions about overall associations between religion and reproductive, maternal, and child health as well as questions about the specific pathways through which religion comes to affect health, I draw on both quantitative and qualitative analyses. I conduct quantitative analysis using secondary survey data collected in 1996 and 2002 in order to address questions related to patterns in the observable relationships between religious affiliation and aspects of reproductive, maternal, and child health in Uzbekistan. To answer questions about mechanisms of religious influence, I turn to qualitative data (observation, focus groups, and in-depth interviews) collected over an 11 month period in two locations (urban and rural) in Uzbekistan. The findings indicate that religion constitutes an important influence on women’s and men’s decisions relating to multiple aspects of reproductive, maternal, and child health in the Uzbek context. The effects of religious beliefs and behaviors on these decisions have the potential to be both beneficial and detrimental to health outcomes, often operating through ideas about gender and familial roles, attitudes about health care utilization, and conceptions of health as a factor of overriding religious importance. The findings are relevant for assessing the utility of previously hypothesized mechanisms linking religion to health and reproduction and suggest several new directions for theorizing about these connections. / text

Section A provides an overview of the literature investigating the relationship between parental mental health and child physical health within populations of children with chronic childhood illness. Evidence for whether this relationship definitively exists, as well as the potential pathways through which this relationship could operate, is evaluated. Carers of children with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) can experience burden and psychological distress, which has been shown to impact on the child's physical health. Section B is an empirical study aiming to assess the validity and reliability of the Paediatric Renal Carer Burden Scale (PR-CBS) , a 51 item psychometric measure designed to assess carer burden in carers of children with CKD. Factor analysis indicated retention of 21 items representing 5 factors; Illness worries (8 items), Impact on self (5 items), Impact on child (3 items), Responsibility (3 items) and Institutional burden (2 items). Together they explain 53% of the total variance. Internal reliability for both the full scale and sub-scales were acceptable. Convergent validity was demonstrated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Caregiver Strain Questionnaire and the scale was reported by respondents as being acceptable to complete. The PR-CBS has been shown to be a valid and reliable scale and as such is a clinically relevant tool with which to identify burdened carers and provide additional psycho-social support so as to ensure best outcomes for both carer and child. Section C provides a critical evaluation of the research process and reflections from the researcher on learning throughout the process of the study as well as clinical implications and future research directions.

To compare health care use from neonatal discharge to 18 months corrected age of two groups of extremely preterm children (< 26 vs. 26-29 weeks of gestation), we used a province-wide database containing neonatal and follow-up data on 254 infants (77% of survivors) born at < 29 weeks of gestation and cared for at 3/6 neonatal units in Quebec in 2003-2004. Neonatal data were abstracted from medical records by trained personnel. At 18 months corrected age, neurodevelopmental status was assessed by psychologists and paediatricians. Data on health care use were collected from charts and parent interviews. Descriptive statistics are provided and logistic regression analysis was carried out to evaluate perinatal and social determinants of re-hospitalization and frequent use of health services resources. Results show that 57% of infants born at < 26 weeks (n=49) and 49% of those born at 26-29 weeks (n=205) were re-hospitalized, mostly for respiratory illness. Both groups used a significant amount of health resources: 61% vs. 59%, respectively, received physical or occupational therapy, 29% vs. 17%, respectively, required long-term rehabilitation, 38% vs. 28%, respectively, used prescribed medication, and 59% vs. 33%, respectively, required home medical equipment (home oxygen, apnea monitors, orthopaedic devices and visual aids). Risk of re-hospitalization was associated with severe brain injury, use of an apnea monitor, and older age at neonatal discharge. Multiple birth, severe brain injury, suspected neonatal sepsis, and single-parent household were independently associated with the risk of using health care services above average. These results highlight the importance of resource allocation to preterm infants for medical and rehabilitation services after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Nursing) -- University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-199). Free to UCDHSC affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-95). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1940.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 2006. / LICL has E-Thesis 0017 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis equivalent (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1947.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1987. / "A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirents for the degree ..."