Thesis (Ed. D.)--Temple Baptist Seminary, 1997. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-213).

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-152).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Bernard L. Herman, Dept. of Art History. Includes bibliographical references.

Becoming a parent is a lifechanging event that can be demanding in todays' stressful living. Carrying babies with baby-carrier/baby-slings is becoming more and more acceptable in the society. To meet the requirements of promoting health and growth among children the nurse need greater understanding of parent's experiences of carrying their babies close with the help of a baby-carrier or baby-sling. The aim of this study was to exam parent's experience of carrying their child with the help of a baby-carrier or baby-sling. In this qualitative study eleven parents were interviewed with the help of a semi-structured question guide. Content analyse where used as a method and two themes emerged; Parent-perspective and Child-perspective. The parent's perception of using a baby-carrier or baby-sling was that it is a tool in everyday life as well as a good way to promote bonding and attachment. Parents need information about carrying babies with the help of a baby-carrier or baby-sling and desire it from healthcare professionals. The nurse specialist has a great responsibility in promoting good cooperation with parents and to promote health and growth for the children. It is therefore important that the nurse encourages parents to have their babies close. Using a baby-carrier or baby-sling is an easy tool that can help parents to have their baby close.

The facility under study has had a traditional postpartum and nursery, with different nurses for the mother and baby. A decision was made to change the care model to couplet-care (CC). CC is an evidence-based care model that promotes newborn care at the mother's bedside. Establishing an education and implementation plan is important to the success of the transition. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based education and implementation plan for CC implementation and to provide for staff barriers and pushback to change. The goals of the study were to identify an approach to implement evidence-based practice education that is efficient and sustainable. There is a paucity of literature available that describes how to plan and implement CC. However, Mercer's maternal role attainment provides ample evidence to support the nursing care model of CC. A survey was developed to determine the gaps in current knowledge of couplet-care. The survey was returned by 54% of the 67 staff nurses from the mother-baby unit. and revealed the need for definitions of CC, Family Centered Care, and the need to integrate role-playing into the education plan. Transformation theory is used to identify attitudes and biases to practice change that interfere with implementation. Reflective discussion was built into the education plan to assist with overcoming barriers to practice change. Using an evidence-based program plan for a nursing care model change may ease the transition of other mother-baby units to CC. CC provides an environment that supports healthy newborn attachment and subsequent healthy lifestyle.

Rapid aging of the majority and minority populations is occurring in the United States. Diverse aspects of aging, concerns of the aging of the baby boomer generation, and the heterogeneities among aging persons from diverse races and ethnicities have been examined in detail; however, there is a void in the literature that offers information about the aging of Chinese baby boomers. This qualitative study used a hermeneutic-phenomenological method to investigate the aging experiences of Hong Kong Chinese baby boomers who are residing in the United States. The findings of this study will possibly enhance the literature about the cultural parameters that relate to these persons' aging. The information can benefit counselors whose work involves this population. The results of this study are consistent, highlighting Hong Kong baby boomers' sensitivities to health issues, their perceived physiological changes and change in personality attributes, their desires to strengthen relationships with families and friends and to practice preventive healthcare, their concerns about losing independence, and persons that are important to their aging journeys such as children, spouses, and friends. From an existential perspective based on lived experiences (specifically corporal, temporal, spatial, and relational), the participants' subjective somatic experiences reflected some negative changes such as decline in memory and a lower level of energy. Their temporal sensibilities motivated them to do things that are desirable and meaningful. Their subjective sense of space would be the settings where they nurture their relationships and maintain their active lifestyles. Their relationships seemed to be marked by their longing to see their children often and to grow old with their spouses and friends. The findings indicate that these participants are negotiating their aging identities, autonomy, generativity, and integrity. The factors that protect these baby boomers, such as positive attitudes and sound health, are consistent with the adaptive means that relate to their aging. The importance of this investigation culminates in the cultural meanings of these findings, as they can enrich the counselor education knowledge base. Counselors must develop awareness and understanding of these meanings and integrate them into their work with baby boomer clients of Chinese descent. / School of Education / Counselor Education and Supervision (ExCES) / PhD / Dissertation

Background: Breastfeeding is a tremendously important public health topic. Breastfeeding is associated with a myriad of health benefits on nearly all levels within the social ecological model (infants, mothers, families, workplaces, communities and societies). Scientific evidence supports that breastfeeding is associated with decreased obesity and other very costly health conditions that occur across the lifespan. The World Health Organization published 10 guidelines that comprise the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative [BFHI] standards—which identify birthing facility-level elements that are associated with enhanced breastfeeding adoption rates. Methods: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which birthing facilities in Atlanta incorporate BFHI elements. Lactation policies among hospitals in the City of Atlanta with maternity wards were solicited, reviewed, and rated by two independent reviewers. Additional observations about environmental supports for breastfeeding were also noted. Results: Four out of 5 eligible hospitals provided their lactation policies for review (80%). Eight of out 10 BFHI elements were present in the 4 hospital policies. One element not present was distribution of reinforcing/educational materials to new mothers—although it was evident in an appendix. Another element that was not clearly stated in one policy was which states that breastfeeding initiation should occur within the first half hour after birth. Observations by reviewers included that ¾ (75%) of study sample were in the midst of drafting new policies. Another note was that ¾ (75%) of study sample was supported by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) effort—Best Fed Beginnings. Conclusions: This study is important as it addresses an unexplored question. Establishing such a baseline reveals that while nearly all the BFHI elements are present within the participating City of Atlanta hospitals, the administrative barriers that pursuit of BFHI accreditation poses should be considered. Given the fact that no hospital in Georgia has BFHI accreditation underscores an important new direction for public health researchers’ attention.

In the UK, only 1% of babies are exclusively breastfed to six months: this is one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the developed world. In response, trials have been set up to financially incentivize mothers to breastfeed for longer. However, we also know that 80% of women who stop breastfeeding in the first 1-2 weeks wanted to continue for longer: they are already incentivized to keep going. This project asks: what if health services invested in promoting breastfeeding more at the start, giving mothers the knowledge, support, and tools they need to continue, instead of incentivizing women at the end? The research methodology started with academic, expert and user research both qualitatively and quantitatively to gain insight and establish the design opportunity. The design direction was developed iteratively with sketches and prototypes, and continued user testing to reach the design solution.   The result of the project is a new service called best start, which addresses the issues mothers face throughout breastfeeding. The service helps to prepare and educate mothers during pregnancy, assists them through the crucial first weeks of breastfeeding, and supports them to the six-month milestone and beyond. Emphasis is placed on involving and educating the mother’s immediate family support network, and building her local peer support. The best start kit gives every mother the essentials to get started, and provides tangible tools to explain the key educational concepts to boost her knowledge to continue breastfeeding confidently.

Master of Philosophy in Public Health / This thesis is about the substantial service Karitane provided in the teaching of mothercraft to guide parents in the care of their young children in New South Wales. At first called the Australian Mothercraft Society, it emerged in New South Wales as a voluntary organisation in 1923, closely allied to New Zealand’s Plunket Society founded in 1907 by Sir Truby King. Karitane was at its most active in the 1940s when it provided over a quarter of Sydney’s residential mothercraft services. Its beginnings were overshadowed by conflict and the New South Wales Department of Public Health did not acknowledge Karitane until the 1960s. Until then Karitane was absent from the public record of services for mother and baby in NSW. Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs community and the Karitane Products Society in New Zealand supported Karitane before it integrated into New South Wales’ government supported health services. Throughout it delivered on its aims of teaching mothers ways of caring for infants, disseminating knowledge about the care of young children and preparing specialist nurses. The main theme of this thesis is the ‘moving frontier’ that is the boundary between the voluntary providers of health services and governmental provision of health services. Karitane’s development has depended on the politics of health care at Commonwealth, State and local levels. The secondary themes derive from the competition for scarce resources amongst the professional groups involved; doctors, nurses and health service administrators. Karitane’s experience has not been unique; it has followed a trajectory common to voluntary organizations providing personal care services through the twentieth century and it has conformed to trends in public health. Sometimes Karitane led the trends and sometimes it trailed; it adapted to circumstances but it retains a degree of independence. Shining through all the problems with resources are the human experiences of appreciative mothers who used Karitane’s services and the dedicated staff and supporters who provided mothercentred help with the care of infants. The mother/infant relationship continues to be a central concern for public health. This study of Karitane gives a longitudinal perspective on the contribution of a small band of skilled people with a clear mission to provide services to assist mothers with their babies and young children.

Master of Philosophy in Public Health / This thesis is about the substantial service Karitane provided in the teaching of mothercraft to guide parents in the care of their young children in New South Wales. At first called the Australian Mothercraft Society, it emerged in New South Wales as a voluntary organisation in 1923, closely allied to New Zealand’s Plunket Society founded in 1907 by Sir Truby King. Karitane was at its most active in the 1940s when it provided over a quarter of Sydney’s residential mothercraft services. Its beginnings were overshadowed by conflict and the New South Wales Department of Public Health did not acknowledge Karitane until the 1960s. Until then Karitane was absent from the public record of services for mother and baby in NSW. Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs community and the Karitane Products Society in New Zealand supported Karitane before it integrated into New South Wales’ government supported health services. Throughout it delivered on its aims of teaching mothers ways of caring for infants, disseminating knowledge about the care of young children and preparing specialist nurses. The main theme of this thesis is the ‘moving frontier’ that is the boundary between the voluntary providers of health services and governmental provision of health services. Karitane’s development has depended on the politics of health care at Commonwealth, State and local levels. The secondary themes derive from the competition for scarce resources amongst the professional groups involved; doctors, nurses and health service administrators. Karitane’s experience has not been unique; it has followed a trajectory common to voluntary organizations providing personal care services through the twentieth century and it has conformed to trends in public health. Sometimes Karitane led the trends and sometimes it trailed; it adapted to circumstances but it retains a degree of independence. Shining through all the problems with resources are the human experiences of appreciative mothers who used Karitane’s services and the dedicated staff and supporters who provided mothercentred help with the care of infants. The mother/infant relationship continues to be a central concern for public health. This study of Karitane gives a longitudinal perspective on the contribution of a small band of skilled people with a clear mission to provide services to assist mothers with their babies and young children.