Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Florida, 2004. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 102 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 2004. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 33 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2006. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 243 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1985. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves [507]-538.

Persistent infection with certain subtypes of Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary cause of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women worldwide. Uptake of HPV vaccines in the targeted Canadian female population has been lower than anticipated. This study’s primary objective was to determine undergraduate women’s perceptions about HPV vaccination. A total of 401 female University of Ottawa undergraduate students completed a newly developed cross-sectional web survey. The prevalence of HPV vaccination was 49%. While the overall attitude towards receiving the vaccine was positive, vaccinated respondents had more favorable attitudes toward the vaccine. Lack of vaccine knowledge and cost were the primary barriers that have prevented HPV vaccination among non-vaccinated respondents. Offering HPV vaccination for women aged 18 to 25 presents a strategy for addressing suboptimal vaccination coverage in the targeted female population and may reduce health inequities demonstrated by variations in cervical cancer incidence within jurisdictions.

This exploratory study examined the phenomenon of loss as expressed by the spouses of myocardial infarction patients. The purpose of the study was to describe the thoughts, feelings, actions and observable behaviours of the spouses from the initial impact of illness to six weeks post myocardial infarction and to develop a framework, based on the literature, which related the concept of loss to the experience of spouses of M.I. patients. The study was conducted with a convenience sample of 12 spouses, ten women and two men, whose partners had experienced their first myocardial infarction. Using a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions, the investigator interviewed each subject four times over a six week period; from the initial impact of illness to approximately six weeks post myocardial infarction. Each interview covered three content areas: thoughts, feelings and actions. Broad open-ended questions were used to elicit data on the spouses thoughts, feelings and actions. During the interview the investigator observed the verbal (type, quality, characteristics of speech, focus of conversation) and non-verbal (activity, eye contact, body language, appearance) behaviours of the spouses. An empirical inductive approach was used as the methodology for this study. Data coding and analysis were approached using the constant comparative method, an inductive method of discovering grounded theory developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The findings revealed that the spouses experienced behaviours in response to loss that were common and formed a pattern through time. Three distinct phases were identified: Phase I The Event and Initial Spousal Response; Phase II Reaction to the Event; Phase III Impact of the Event. The phases were described further in light of the constructs formulated from the literature review: (1) Reactions to Loss; (2) The Elements of Loss; (3) The Meaning of Loss. This study was designed to provide insight into understanding the event of a myocardial infarction within the context of the phenomenon of loss. The findings supported the use of a loss framework for assessing the reactions of spouses who are threatened with the death of their partner. Nurses are in a critical position to assist spouses experiencing loss. Implications and recommendations for nursing education, practice and research were delineated in light of the conclusions of the present study. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

Bakgrund   Vaccin är en bidragande faktor till att folkhälsan hålls på en god nivå, både nationellt och internationellt. Trots det förekommer misstro till vaccin, och när föräldrar väljer att avstå vaccinationer till sina barn ökar risken att återinföra smittsamma sjukdomar i samhället. Om anledningarna till tveksamhet kan identifieras kan sjuksköterskans arbete individanpassas och personcentrerad vård tillämpas, vilket i sin tur kan bidra till att föräldrar kan göra hälsosamma val för sina barn. Syfte  Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att beskriva orsaker till föräldrars tveksamhet inför att vaccinera sina barn. Metod  En icke-systematisk litteraturöversikt genomfördes där 18 vetenskapliga artiklar inkluderades. Artiklarna inhämtades från databaserna PubMed och CINAHL med hjälp av olika sökord och kvalitetsgranskades därefter utifrån Sophiahemmet Högskolas bedömningsmall. Med hjälp av en integrerad dataanalys kunde resultatet redovisas i kategorier samt subkategorier. Resultat Resultatet presenterades genom tre huvudkategorier och åtta subkategorier. De tre huvudkategorierna var: sjukvård och sjukvårdsystem, föräldrars kunskapsbehov samt sociologiska faktorer. De åtta subkategorierna var: information från sjukvårdspersonal, ekonomiska faktorer, kunskapsluckor och missuppfattningar, informationskanalers inverkan, föräldrars uppfattning om vaccinets osäkerhet, oro för biverkningar, livsstil och livsåskådning samt demografi. Slutsats Resultatet visade att det fanns flera olika orsaker till varför föräldrar var tveksamma till att vaccinera sina barn. De främsta anledningarna var att föräldrar saknade tillit till sjukvården, att det förekom kunskapsluckor och missuppfattningar samt att det sociala livet påverkade föräldrars attityder kring vaccinationer. För att kunna bemöta föräldrar individanpassat och stärka föräldrarnas hälsolitteracitet bör sjukvårdspersonal arbeta personcentrerat. / Background Vaccine is a contributing factor to maintaining a good level of public health, both nationally and internationally. Despite this, there is mistrust of vaccines, and when parents choose to give up vaccinations to their children, the risk of reintroducing communicable diseases into society increases. If the reasons for doubt can be identified, the nurse's work can be individualized and person-centered care applied, which in turn can contribute to parents being able to make healthy choices for their children. Aim The aim of this literature review was to describe the reasons for parents' hesitation in vaccinating their children. Method A non-systematic literature review was conducted which included 18 scientific articles. The articles were obtained from the databases PubMed and CINAHL with the help of various keywords and were then quality checked based on Sophiahemmet University's assessment template. With the help of an integrated data analysis, the results could be reported in categories and subcategories. Results The results are presented through three main categories and eight subcategories. The three main categories were: healthcare and healthcare systems, parent´s knowledge needs and sociological factors. The eight subcategories were: information from healthcare professionals, economic factors, knowledge gaps and misconceptions, impact of information channels, parents' perceptions of the vaccine's insecurity, concerns about side effects, lifestyle and outlook on life, and demographics. Conclusions The results showed that there are several different reasons why parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children. The main reasons were that parents lack confidence in healthcare, that there were knowledge gaps and misconceptions and that social life influence parents' attitudes about vaccinations. To be able to respond to parents individually and strengthen the parents' health literacy, healthcare staff should work person-centered.

Even though a plethora of research is devoted to explicating caregivers' experiences, comparatively there is a dearth of information about care recipients. The purpose of this study was to further theoretical and empirical understanding of care recipients' experiences within care relationships. Specifically, this study was concerned with identifying the strategies elders use to seek care and how the processes and characteristics of individual, interpersonal, and structural levels interact to affect elders' care seeking. A synthesized symbolic interactionist and life span developmental framework informed the research. Multiple qualitative field work methods (semi-structured interviews, participant observation, focus group) were utilized to collect information about care recipients who were representative of the variety of care relationships within a life care retirement community. The care seeking process emerged as a sequence of activities engaged in as elders elicited care from others and negotiated care with others. Of most conceptual interest, however, was elders' dependency work: The work elders engaged in as they not only sought care for a specific need but also situated each care occasion within past experiences of care and future possibilities for care. Dependency work was agency in action, serving to define the everyday lives of elders involved in care relationships. The findings of this study suggest the need for viewing care recipients as agents, actively being with others in their delicate dance of dependency.

Psychoeducational interventions are designed to assist clients to learn about their condition, to enhance their self-care practices, to promote well-being and prevent complications and to ultimately maintain or improve their life quality. Although results of individual and of meta-analytic studies supported the beneficial effects of psychoeducational interventions on multiple health-related outcomes for various client population, investigators expressed concerns regarding the quality of single-study reports. The most important criticism is the lack of explicit reference to a theoretical model guiding the design of the study, the selection of expected outcomes of the interventions, and lack of explicitly stated causal linkages between interventions and outcomes. In this research project, a comprehensive framework was developed and empirically tested as a model for evaluating the effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions, namely self-help classes, uncertainty management, and a combined intervention. Direct and moderating effects of extraneous variables (personal characteristics, severity of illness and resources), intervening variable (state anxiety) and intervention variables (components of psychoeducation and strength of intervention) on outcome variables (cognitive, behavioral, psychological and quality of life) were hypothesized. An experimental repeated measures design was used to test the hypothesized effects. Fifty-six women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant therapy were randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups. Data were collected at six points in time. Hierarchical linear modeling approach was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that although the interventions were effective in producing desired changes in selected outcomes, their effects were moderated by various extraneous and intervening variables. Education, sense of mastery, symptom extension, work status, size and use of social support strengthened the effects of the interventions, while trait anxiety, marital status, and number of symptoms experienced weakened the effects of the interventions on cognitive, behavioral, and psychological outcomes. Based on these findings, clinicians are encouraged to attend to the mode of delivery, intensity, and timing for implementation of the intervention, and to the characteristics of the intervener and clients, when planning, implementing, and evaluating psychoeducational interventions.

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