Thesis (Licenciada en nutricion y dietica) Universidad Technica del Norte. Escuela de Nutricion y Dietetica. / Abstract in Spanish and English.

Theses (Ph. D.)--Marshall University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains vi, 108 pages Bibliography: p. 100-108.

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Ecuador, a country of multi-ethnic culture, has very acute health problems, especially in rural areas where two out of every three poverty-stricken Ecuadorians live. 77% of the population under 18 years of age is under the poverty level. The greater part of the indigenous population inhabits the rural areas of the Andes and the Amazon. 76% of children in the rural Andes are poor. Little Afro-Ecuadorian boys and girls also face severe disadvantages where, in the rural areas, poverty climbs above 70% of the population under 18 years of age. Academic desertion is another factor that affects especially the young women, who have to assume agricultural and communitary jobs due to the adult men's migration to the cities. In areas of indigenous population, chronic malnutrition in those who are under five years of age ascends to 65.3% while the national average reaches 49.4%. Another at-risk group is expecting mothers. Of every 1,000 births, 70 will die before living one year, and for every 100,000 births, 198 mothers die. The Province of Imbabura is rich in alimentary production and has hot, cold, and temperate climates which in turn contribute to a diversity of cultivated products. Nevertheless, the polarization of wealth and the existence of classes with low income levels lessen the possibility of acquiring good nutrition. To this is added the individual nutritional customs and beliefs of each culture that do not allow adequate nourishment in communities which are principally indigenous, Mestizo, and Black. Indigenous, Mestizo, and Black communities have very small parcels of land (minifundios or "small farms") which they cultivate with few resources and tools. This destines the majority for living conditions of extreme poverty. The majority of Mestizos are unemployed or semi-employed, have limited health services, and lack a basic sanitary infrastructure. Another minority group is the Blacks, the majority of whom cultivate fruit and legumes, who also have limited health services and a barely acceptable sanitary infrastructure. In addition, all of these people are victims of racism and federal neglect, and claim the highest rates in general, infant, and maternal mortality in the country. This reality makes difficult the development of adequate training activities which bring about the improvement of the nutritional state of the designated at-risk groups: nursing babies, children under five years of age, and pregnant women. Facing this lacerative situation, and thanks to the support of the EZRA TAFT BENSON Institute (Agriculture and Food Institute. Brigham Young University), we designed this study to determine the understanding, attitudes, and practices in nutritional traditions and beliefs of mothers of nursing babies, children under five years old, and expecting mothers. These three groups were analyzed within the three ethnic groups in the communities of Chota, La Gangotena, and Chilcapamba-communities selected randomly and because of their ethnic populations. In the mothers of the three ethnic groups, we found similar beliefs regarding certain foods. But, there are also discrepancies regarding other recommended and prohibited foods. Diets have a lack of indispensable foods such as vitamins and minerals. Even though these goods are produced in the communities, they are not administered due to stronger ancestral traditions and beliefs. This study provides profound knowledge of their nutritional traditions and beliefs, and with the results, an appropriate intervening proposition may be formulated. The proposition will permit the bettering of alimentary and nutritional conditions in nursing babies, children under five years, and pregnant women by ethnic groups. The Universidad Ténica del Norte has complied in this manner with the social commitment assigned by the State for improving the quality of life of Ecuadorians in general and of the groups studied in particular.

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Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Education, 1993? / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-343).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 216-231.

Thesis (M.S.)--Purdue University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-44).

Thesis (MTech (Nursing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / The most common cancer in women worldwide is breast cancer. It is also the leading cancer affecting women in South Africa. When breast cancer is detected early, it improves the outcome of the disease and reduces mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, beliefs, attitude and practice of breast self-examination among female university students. The objectives were, to explore the levels of knowledge of female university students on breast cancer and breast self-examination; to ascertain the beliefs of female university students on breast cancer and breast self-examination; to examine the attitudes of female university students toward breast cancer and breast self-examination and to determine if female university students regularly practice breast self-examination. A Mixed method descriptive design was used for this study. The selected site for this study was a higher education institution in the Western Cape. The population included all female university students in the Western Cape. The sample was female university students studying in the selected higher education institution who reside on the institution’s campus. Convenience sampling was used to select the sample. Two methods were used to collect data; these were questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. Questionnaires were analysed by the use of Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Frequency Distribution was used to analyse descriptive statistics. Interviews were transcribed and analysed by using coding and thematic analysis. Participants lacked knowledge on breast cancer risk factors, as majority of them only knew about family history being a risk factor. Majority of the participants had never been educated by their healthcare provider on breast cancer and its screening. Most of the participants had never examined their breast before. Most of the participants who did not examine their breast did not have any knowledge on how to do BSE. Education on breast cancer and cancer as a whole should be initiated in high schools and higher institutions of learning as part of their curriculum. Posters on breast cancer screening and breast self-examination should be put up at public places and campuses. Breast awareness campaigns must be done every month not only in October which is the breast cancer awareness month. Health care professionals should give information on breast cancer to women when they visit the hospital or health centre

Understanding how women learn during pregnancy is the foundation for planning prenatal education programs. To date, adult educators have not investigated, in any depth, the learning process during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to examine learning during pregnancy and relate this learning to learning outcomes. The principal research questions were: "What are the learning patterns of pregnant women?" and "What is the relationship between learning and health behavior of pregnant women?" It is unknown whether learning during pregnancy is directly associated with behavior or mediated through health beliefs. The objectives of this research were to identify pregnant women's health behaviors, learning patterns, and health beliefs. The three health behaviors examined in this study were eating, drinking, and smoking. These behaviors were operationalized in terms of their outcomes: weight gain, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use. These factors are amenable to an education intervention and are behavioral risk factors associated with low birth weight. The process of investigating learning patterns consisted of identifying: what was learned during the pregnancy, which resources were utilized, what advice was given, what amount of time was spent in learning, who initiated the learning episodes, and what learning transaction types emerged. Determining learning transaction types was based upon an adaptation of Tough's (1979) concept of planners and Knowles's concept of self-directed learners. The process of investigating health beliefs consisted of identifying pregnant women's concerns, perceived risk, perceived use of the information, and perceived barriers, defined according to an adaptation of the Health Belief Model. The principal hypotheses of the study were: (1) self-initiated learning will be positively correlated with knowledge scores, (2) self-initiated learning will be positively correlated with ideal health behaviors, and (3) health beliefs will be positively correlated with ideal health behaviors: ideal weight gain during pregnancy, reduced alcohol consumption, and reduced cigarette smoking. The research, an ex post facto design, involved a one hour structured interview with women within the week following delivery of their infants in hospital. A proportional sample of 120 primigravidas was selected from seven hospitals with average number of monthly births greater than 100. Reporting of results was based upon 120 interviews conducted as part of the main sample and eight interviews conducted during the pilot study. Pilot responses were included because these responses were similar to responses provided by the main sample, with the exception of health belief data. One case was excluded from the sample, making for N = 127. Data analyses were based upon the entire sample N = 127, with the exception of health belief measures. Since alcohol and smoking health belief questions were administered to drinkers and smokers and since health belief measures related to weight gain, alcohol, and smoking were missing data, health belief analyses were based upon N=123 for weight gain, N = 88 for alcohol, and N = 43 for smoking. Women had spent an average of forty-one hours learning about weight gain, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use during pregnancy. The principal resources used were: reading materials, physicians, family members, and prenatal classes. The majority of pregnant women had engaged in other-initiated learning episodes in the one to one setting, that is with a health professional, family member, or friend. Self-initiated learning about weight gain was associated with higher knowledge scores and ideal prenatal weight gain (p≤0.05); and, weight gain health beliefs were negatively correlated with ideal prenatal weight gain (p≤0.05). Finding a negative correlation, in contrast to the predicted positive correlation, may have been due to the fact that in a retrospective study the behavior precipitated reporting of health beliefs. Other-initiated learning about alcohol was associated with higher knowledge scores and reduced alcohol intake (p≤0.05); however, alcohol health beliefs were not associated with reduced alcohol intake. For smoking, neither self-initiated nor other-initiated learning was associated with knowledge scores or reduced cigarette smoking; however, a low degree of perceived risk was predictive of reduced cigarette smoking (p≤0.05). Knowledge about tobacco use was positively correlated with health beliefs, suggesting that learning may be indirectly related to smoking behaviors. This study contributes to the knowledge about learning during pregnancy by providing a descriptive profile of learning patterns during pregnancy, and by examining the relationship between learning, health beliefs, and behavior. Fostering a learning environment which stimulates self-initiated learning may assist women reach ideal weight gain during pregnancy. For alcohol, encouraging health professionals, family members, and friends to initiate learning about the hazards of consuming alcohol during pregnancy seems warranted. Self-initiated learning may not be superior to other-initiated learning but may be topic specific, due to the nature of the health behaviors examined. Identification of women's smoking health beliefs seems warranted during prenatal education. Further research is required to better understand the role of learning with respect to changing smoking behaviors during pregnancy. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate