Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-108). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-113). Also available in print.

Thesis--University of Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliography.

The purpose of this research study was to describe managerial guidelines to support parents with the hospitalisation of their child in a private paediatric unit. The study explored and described: · the nursing care experiences of parents regarding the hospitalisation of their child in a paediatric unit; · managerial guidelines to support parents with their lived experiences of their child’s hospitalisation in a private paediatric unit. To achieve the purpose and the objectives of the research, an interpretivephenomenological qualitative approach was used in the research design and method. Various questioning methods were employed during this study. Parents were invited to take part in unstructured individual interviews to ascertain parents’ experiences of their child’s hospitalisation. A narrative diary was used as the second method of questioning and parents were asked to narrate their lived experiences of their child’s hospitalisation in a private paediatric unit. During the study the researcher kept field notes as she participated in the fieldwork. The data obtained was then incorporated into existing literature during the conceptualisation phase. The population and sampling for this study consisted of seven parents who took part in the interviews and 15 parents who completed the narrative diaries. Purposive sampling was used to achieve saturation of data. The model of Guba and Lincoln (1985) was used to ensure trustworthiness. Ethical considerations were maintained throughout the study and consent was obtained from the respondents. The recommendations of the research were that attention should be given to: · empowering parents to participate in certain aspects of their child’s care to the extent and intensity that they feel comfortable with, recognising parents’ strengths and intrinsic characteristics and minimising feelings of parental guilt created by social roles; · guiding nursing personnel to plan the discharge process effectively; · including parents in the unit routine and managing resources whilst promoting cost containment; II · interpersonal relationships in the paediatric unit, with special emphasis on fostering a trusting and caring relationship between parents and nursing care professionals · promoting the communication of information by using a communication style that ensures parents receive adequate information; and · creating a safe, therapeutic environment for parents, where parents can be comfortable with adequate facilities and minimal external stimuli. / Prof. K. Jooste

D.Cur. / Hospitalisation can be very traumatic for children – and this is especially true for the child admitted to a haematology-oncology unit. These children are subjected to an environment which they do not understand, nor have any control over, they are faced with many unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells and they have to undergo frightening and often painful procedures. In South Africa, there are no associations responsible for monitoring the environment that children are subjected to in hospital; neither does any Child Life Specialists, Hospital Play Therapists or scientifically based programs exist that can ensure that the psychosocial needs of children in hospital are met. The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model for the facilitation of support for children through the mobilisation of resources according to their needs in a haematology-oncology unit in the private healthcare sector of South Africa. The following research questions were asked: • What are the needs of children in a haematology-oncology unit? • What are the resources that can be mobilised so that the needs of these children can be met? • How can support be facilitated for children in a haematology-oncology unit? During this study a theory generating, sequential explanatory (consisting of a quantitative field study followed by qualitative model development), explorative, descriptive as well as contextual research design was used. A model was developed according to the method of theory generation as explained by Chinn and Kramer (1995:77-102) and involved the following steps: Concept analysis (which includes concept identification as well as concept definition and –classification); description of the links and relationships between the concepts and a description and evaluation of the model. It became evident that children in a haematology-oncology unit are robbed of all feelings of control and choice in the situation, resulting in a sense of powerlessness. For this reason, the focus point of the model was changed to include the empowerment of children in a haematology-oncology unit as the main focus of the model. The final model aims at the facilitation of support in order to empower children in a haematology-oncology unit in the private healthcare sector of South Africa.

The components of a quality assurance program for smaller hospitals in British Columbia have been defined. These components have been defined by a comparison of the normative standards as determined in the literature and by a survey of administrators. Sixteen administrators of predominantly acute-care, accredited, 20-50-bed hospitals in B.C. were surveyed. Twelve of these administrators were surveyed twice. A new requirement for accreditation was introduced by the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation (C.C.H.A.) called the Quality Assurance Standard (1985). This Standard required that quality assurance (QA) programs be established in every department or service in the hospital. The Standard does not give a clear description of the QA functions for each individual department in a smaller hospital. An important and relevant list of specific functions for a QA program were identified at various C.C.H.A. seminars held across Canada in late 1983 and early 1984. The literature review indicated that there were a number of controversial issues affecting the implementation of the QA Standard. In spite of many methodological problems associated with quality measurement and assurance, most hospitals will adopt a quality assurance model. The first survey asked the administrators to define the purpose, goals and objectives of a QA program. They were also asked to determine the QA functions for four areas: hospital board, dietary, nursing and pharmacy. Administrators were asked to identify who in the hospital is primarily responsible for the overall QA program and for the QA program in four areas; the problems and benefits encountered when trying to implement a QA program; and their opinion of the new QA requirements for accreditation. The second survey asked the administrators to assign a priority to those functions identified in Round I. The empirical findings were then compared with the normative standards. With some exceptions, the empirical data were consistent with the normative standards. The empirical findings shows that there are problems related to implementing a QA program but at the same time there are a number of benefits related to the program. The priority ratings of the functions indicated areas of high or low importance to the administrator. It is likely that these priority ratings are useful for planning when alternatives must be considered during this time of fiscal restraint. Government policies along with the strong voluntary support of accreditation programs make it vitally important that suitable models for implementing QA are developed. The Doll model is suggested as a basis for implementing QA. Further areas for research are presented. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to compare a tour-based preadmission preparation programme for young children to a video-tape-based programme. Subjects were 30 English speaking children who were admitted to Surrey Memorial Hospital, a community general hospital in Surrey, B.C. The children were admitted for elective surgery which required an overnight stay. The children and their parents participated in the programmes three days to two weeks prior to the child's scheduled surgery. Half of the children and their parents were taken on a tour of the paediatric ward and laboratory. The other group was shown a video-tape made at the Surrey Memorial Hospital, which depicted the hospitalization of a boy and girl for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Both treatments were followed by a discussion and play period. The two groups were not found to differ on sex, previous hospitalizations, types of surgical procedure, length of stay, length of anaesthesia, or prehospital personality as measured by a modification of the Post-hospital Behavior Questionnaire (Vernon, Schulman, & Foley, 1966). However, the tour group was found to contain more younger children (under 6 years of age) than the video group. No significant differences were found between the two groups on the self-report, behavioural, or physiological outcome measures, except for incidence of postoperative vomiting. The video group vomited less than the tour group. Questions concerning the validity of the Hospital Fears Rating Scale and the modified Posthospital Behavior Questionnaire for this age group are raised in the discussion. Complicating factors, such as small sample size, lack of a control group, and lack of control over physiological data collection are addressed in this chapter. Confounding factors, such as a preoperative teaching class and the discussion groups, are also addressed. Finally, the impact of Preadmission Programmes and practical considerations in choosing a programme are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This research examined how the needs of elderly women are being met in the hospital setting. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with eleven women between the ages of 70 and 93 who had had a hospital stay in the previous year. Data analysis revealed that the system failed to attend to participants' age specific needs. This failure created gaps in care which were particularly troubling for elderly female patients whose frailty made them susceptible to additional health problems. Participants received inadequate care in such areas as bathing, walking assistance and help with eating. Hearing impairments and denture issues were at times overlooked. These gaps in care caused participants to view a hospital stay as a matter of survival. Participants developed strategies to cope with gaps in care which included lowering their expectations, developing support networks and relying on family members to meet their basic needs and advocate on their behalf. Recommendations for change include identifying elderly women as a vulnerable patient population and defining the problems they face as structural issues as opposed to individual problems. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

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