This study was undertaken in February and March of 1975 in order to provide in depth analysis of those seeking hospital admission. It is a descriptive study of requests for voluntary admission to Oregon State Hospital. Special care was taken to incorporate the study in such a way that the current admitting procedures would not be rearranged or changed in any way. Essentially the study asks the questions: Who makes self-requests for hospitalization? Where do they come from? When? How do they get there? Why do they come? What is the history of their contact with other community agencies for service or previous hospitalizat ion? How does the hospital respond to the requests? In order to better understand the dynamics of the requesting population, attention was focused on: The possible differences between those individuals admitted and those denied admission. The comparisons of requests for first admission and readmission. The relationship of age and sex differences to the other findings in the study

Since the war on drugs in the 1980s, the United States has seen an exponential rise in the number of imprisoned individuals. This increase has been particularly dramatic for women. Nationwide, the population of women in prison has grown by 834% over the past 40 years, more than double the growth rate of men. Compared with incarcerated men, women in prison have higher rates of substance abuse, histories of physical and sexual abuse, mental illness, infectious disease and chronic illness. Most women in prison are defined by a challenging intersection of lower socioeconomic status and largely racial, ethnic, and minority gender status. This combination of identity factors both contributes to their health disparities and influences their experiences with health care. Given that the majority of women in prison are of reproductive age, gynecological care is a central aspect of women’s overall health care. However, women in prison are a small minority of the overall incarcerated population, and because of this, their gender-specific health needs are frequently unacknowledged. Using a feminist epistemology, this qualitative multiple case study provides an examination of the experiences of women before prison and in prison with gynecological care and prison staff’s experiences providing this care. The Gelberg Andersen Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations is adapted here for the study of women in prison. The model explains factors enabling and impeding women’s utilization of health care services, including previous health care experiences, prison infrastructure, and personal autonomy. Women in contact with the criminal justice system face difficulties accessing health care both outside and inside prison. Barriers on the outside included lack of health insurance, being addicted to drugs, and prioritizing children’s needs first. On the inside women cited a lack of confidentiality, the absence of trust in providers, and the inability to participate in treatment decision-making. In the case of women in prison, multiple external oppressions result in internalized negative beliefs. Such feelings of powerlessness, lack of control, curtailed agency, and threatened self-worth ultimately influence how women experience gynecological care in prison. Policy, practice and research implications are provided to meet the gender specific health needs of women in prison.

The purpose of the study was to describe the relationship between in-home health care services for elderly patients who were recently discharged from inpatient care and re-hospitalization rates. The design was descriptive and the hypothesis was that the provision of in-home health care services would mitigate a decline in the health status, of an elderly patient, following discharge from inpatient care and prevent re-hospitalization.

The intent of this research project was to discover the barriers that exist in this community when a woman attempts to access prenatal care. A concern for the well being of the children in the community and a belief in the importance of early intervention to enhance outcomes inspired the idea for this project.

The health care industry is currently experiencing many changes. Managed care is altering the way health care is delivered through advances in technology and new approaches in financing. As part of this transition, importance will be placed on patients becoming better consumers and participants in determining their health care service needs. The focus of this study is on the non-compliant patient and the many factors that revolve around this topic.

This study assessed the relationship of variables from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with intentions to use condoms at next sex and action planning for condom use for main partners and for casual partners among an online of men who have sex with men (MSM) in a Midwestern state. The purpose of this study was to investigate variables of TPB among an online sample of HIV negative, Midwestern MSM and assess significant predictors of intentions separately by casual partners and main partners. Next, action planning was assessed as a potential variable to address the intention-behavior gap. The sample was recruited through an online social networking site, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) - themed statewide newspaper and website. Participants completed an online survey that took 15-20 minutes to complete. Items assessed variables related to the TPB as well as action planning, stages of change, alternative strategies to reduce risk of HIV, and demographic variables including age, urban or rural residence, and HIV status. The results revealed that all TPB variables were strongly, significantly related for both casual and for main partners. The final regression models to predict intentions to use condoms at next sex accounted for 62% of the variance for main partners and 68% for casual partners. The regression models to predict action planning differed by partner type. For main partners, perceived behavioral control and intentions were significant predictors and explained 40% of the variance in action planning. For casual partners, self-efficacy was the significant predictor in the final model and explained 72% of the variance. Potential reasons for the differences in models by partner type for action planning are offered. Action planning is suggested as a potential mediating variable between intention and behavior that requires further research. Implications for HIV prevention interventions with MSM are discussed in light of reduced funding for low incidence states.

This was an exploratory-descriptive study of fifty children afflicted with myelomeningocele, ages one through six, who were known to the Myelomeningocele Clinic of the Crippled Children’s Division. The study identified the degree of multiple physical, emotional, and environmental stress factors that families must be prepared to cope with. The study identified eleven factors felt to play an important role in family dynamics and how they related to the families response to their child with myelomeningocele. The factors were tested and found to be valid by the use of a pre-test on ten case records. Medical records were then obtained from the Crippled Children's Division for chart review purposes and the appropriate material was recorded. Scores were developed that indicated the degree of stress ranging from minimal involvement to maximum involvement. The study found that a majority of the families in the sample live within commuting distance to needed medical services, have transportation available to them and generally utilize the necessary medical care appropriately. The remainder of the study showed, however, that families could be expected to face a variety of other problems that could only serve to increase family stress. Most of the families had limited financial resources. Over one-half of the families needed special education for their children. A majority of families had no medical insurance. Fifty-eight percent of the families were found to have additional stressful problems to cope with e. g., marital stress, sibling rivalry, additional ill members, etc. Added to this was the information that the child with myelomeningocele was found to be greatly involved in a multiplicity of medical problems at many different levels of functioning. e. g., orthopedic, bowel, neurosurgical, etc., that would be expected to add to the already stressful family dynamics. Among the recommendations developed was a plea for the expansion of the satellite clinic concept, development of parent groups on a geographical basis, development of educational programs for educators and community service personnel, brief orientation programs for parents with the goal of helping them understand and integrate the health care system that they find themselves in.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not adults with psychotic disorders, who were formerly in foster care, are more likely to report a lesser quality of life as compared to a matched sample with no history of foster care.

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to psychotropic adherence regimens in clients with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI). Medication non-adherence perpetuates the cycle of psychotic episodes, which leads to rehospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness.

The purpose of this study was to examine health literacy and treatment adherence among Latinos with end stage renal disease. Health literacy has been overlooked as one of the factors that affects one's ability to comply with the physician's prescribed medical treatment.