Graduation date: 1985

The purpose of this research was to explore patients' perceptions of services provided by hospital dietitians. The two-phase study included: (1) personal interviews of thirty-one patients to determine service attributes believed important when receiving a dietitian's service, and (2) development of a survey instrument, NUTRI-SERVE. Responses were obtained from 103 inpatients and 107 outpatients to identify service dimensions, differences in rating dimensions by patient group and gender, and relationships between dimensions, satisfaction, and recommendation of services. Results of personal interviews via qualitative analysis were used to develop NUTRI-SERVE. The survey format was a seven-point agreement scale. The instrument was reviewed for face validity and pilot tested. For the hospital survey, patients were randomly selected and surveyed by telephone; response was 87%. An a priori analysis approach was utilized examining dimensions with factor analysis to assess unidimensionality. Service dimensions: rationale, teach, motivate, care and consideration, reliability and responsiveness, and support staffphis outcome dimensions: learn and belief in the dietitian resulted. The factored scales demonstrated reliability. Outpatients rated service and outcome dimensions significantly more favorably than inpatients. Male outpatients rated and recommended the majority of services and outcomes significantly higher than female outpatients. The support staff dimension was rated highest by patients, while the teach dimension was rated lowest. The lowest rated outcome was learn. Inpatients and outpatients equally rated satisfaction with the dietitian's services favorably. Service and outcome dimensions were highly correlated. Motivate was the strongest driver for satisfaction and recommendation of services. Care and consideration was the strongest driver for motivate. Satisfaction with handouts was a driver for outpatient service dimensions, while satisfaction with the diet instruction room was a greater driver for inpatients. A customer service model was developed from these dimensions. This research provides insight into patients' perspective of service quality relating to hospital dietitians. It suggests satisfaction with dietetic education in an outpatient setting is strongly related to successfully learning the diet. This could be a useful management and marketing tool for dietetic managers, educators, and dietetic interns. Further research using NUTRI-SERVE is recommended to explore demographic and regional perceptions of service quality in dietetics. / Graduation date: 2003

The original response of Americans to the National Recovery Administration (NRA) was almost unbounded enthusiasm in mid-1933. But the enthusiasm of the public, business and labor for the NRA noticeably declined by early 1934 and it continued to decline until the NRA was declared unconstitutional in May of 1935. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the response of Oregon to the NRA followed that of the nation. Focusing mainly upon the Portland metropolitan area, this study is based on information drawn from newspapers and other primary source materials available for the period during which the NRA was in existence. While this study does not purport to be a definitive analysis of the response of Oregon to the NRA, it does, hopefully, outline the general reaction of that state as a whole. The response of Oregon to the NRA roughly parallels the nation’s. The public, the business community, and the labor movement in Oregon responded to the NRA much in the same fashion as their counterparts nation-wide.

Menopause is a critical life-cycle transition for women, and is associated with osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, leading causes of morbidity and mortality in US women. Efforts to curb symptoms of menopause include HRT and ERT, although conflicting evidence exists linking ERT and HRT with the risk of breast cancer. Physicians attitudes and preferred mode of treatment have been extensively studied, but with the increased utilization of nurse practitioners in the field, a new paradigm is being established. The overall goal of this study was to assess the nurse practitioners knowledge and attitudes about menopause, hormone replacement therapy and estrogen replacement therapy. More specifically, the objectives include to: 1) determine methods of patient education for menopausal women; 2) examine whether attitudes of menopause are predictors of preferred modes of treatment; and 3) determine whether demographic factors of nurse practitioners are predictors of preferred modes of treatment. A random selection of nurse practitioners from the state of Oregon were mailed a self-administered survey along with a stamped, addressed envelope. The questionnaire focused on knowledge of menopausal treatments, attitudes of menopause, continuing education in the menopause research, and methods of patient education. Follow-up surveys were mailed to non-responders at two and four-week intervals following the first mailing. Response rate was 60% with a sample size of 192. Results describe the management practices of nurse practitioners and what influenced their prescribing and management practices. The influences included the following factors: perceptions about adequacy of formal education, continuing education and attitudes about menopause and managing menopause. Only 47.4% of the respondents felt that their formal education in menopause treatment and protocols was adequate. When asked how they treated women, a majority (64.6%) of the nurse practitioners depended on the women and her beliefs about menopause, HRT, and ERT when they considered how they cared for a menopausal women. Sixty-one percent were very likely to take time during a visit to discuss the changes a woman was going through, while 23.7% were most likely to answer questions if the client had any, otherwise leave the introduction of menopause to the client. When contraindications were present, all nurse practitioners were less likely to prescribe both ERT and HRT. A surprising trend was the high number of participants who were uncertain about how they would prescribe when contraindications were present. In summary, this study describes Oregon nurse practitioners attitudes about menopause, the perceived adequacy of their formal education, and likelihood of prescribing ERT and HRT. Since almost 50% of the nurse practitioners felt their education was inadequate in menopause, a systematic analysis of masters level nurse practitioner programs in the area of menopause and menopausal treatments is needed. Ideally, a nationwide survey comparing physicians and nurse practitioners prescribing practices would help quantify differences between the two types of health care providers. / Graduation date: 1997

Between 1905 and 1915 the aeroplane was tested at exhibitions and became a practical machine. Some observers, however, greeted this technological marvel with ambivalence. Skeptics felt that if the aeroplane could alter common perceptions about natural laws, it might also challenge time honored ideals and attitudes about the nature of man. In response, newspapers and magazines fashioned the aviator's image. The aviator was daring yet responsible, romantic yet reasonable. Some writers and reporters believed that an aviator's self-confidence and high moral character contributed to control in the air. By controlling the aeroplane with mastery and grace, an aviator remained master of the machine and an example of a proper way to adjust to technological changes. Oregonians witnessed significant aviation events between 1905 and 1915. Oregon's newspapers and magazines analyzed the aviator's struggle for control at exhibitions in a manner consistent with coverage in national publications. The aviator was a birdman, a new type of man, triumphant over technology and natural forces, in part because he possessed the noblest human qualities. After 1912 the aviator's image changed. Technological advance made spirals and loops anachronistic. The idea that an aviator was in complete control had been shattered at exhibitions where many had been killed. These deaths did not lessen the aviator's daring appeal, but they did lead to questions about their sanity. With the advent of world War I people could no longer believe that an aviator was a responsible steward for the aeroplane. Governments and businesses took greater interest in the aeroplane, and the aviator's appeal as an individual in a personal struggle for control diminished. Most bibliographical sources consulted were primary. Newspapers, magazines and manuscripts were studied extensively because contemporary accounts focused on cultural responses to the aeroplane. Modern secondary sources often detail technological advances but pay little attention to the aviator's image. This study presents a look at the cultural changes that came with the aeroplane and asserts that the building of the aviator's image was one response to fears about change.

Graduation date: 1993

Today in the United States, herbal supplements are growing increasingly popular, however, little is known about the safety and efficacy of these products. This study contributes to the growing body of information about the prevalence of herbal supplement use among young adults (18 to 24 years) and the beliefs young adults hold about herbal supplements in relation to their dietary attitudes and behaviors. A self-administered, four-part questionnaire was mailed to a geographically representative sample of 298 young adults (18 to 24 years) residing in Oregon; 205 questionnaires were usable (69% response rate). There was an equal ratio of male and female respondents, half students and half non-students, the majority being Caucasian (93%), with a mean age of 21.5 years. Nearly 60% of the sample reported using herbal supplements (n=122). Thirty-seven percent were sometime users (less than weekly) and 22% were regular users (at least weekly). More female respondents reported using herbal supplements (69%) than did male respondents (49%). Respondents who were White or Asian/Pacific Islander were the only ethnic groups that reported using herbal supplements regularly. Users were more educated than non-users, however use was very similar among students and non-students. Herbal supplement use also was very similar between respondents having different residencies. Familiarity with different herbs was positively related to level of herbal supplement use. Regular users were familiar with the greatest number of herbs, followed by sometime users. Herbal supplement users tended to have more healthful lifestyle characteristics than non-users. Frequency of fast food patronage was negatively related to level of herbal supplement use. The median number of times a fast food restaurant was patronized was lower among regular users of herbal supplements than among those who did not use supplements or used them less often. The median number of times breakfast was eaten also seemed to be slightly higher among regular users than other groups. Other healthful lifestyle characteristics, such as BMI and drinking in moderation, did not tend to be more healthful among herbal supplement users. The results were mixed on smoking behavior. Regular users of herbal supplements were no more or less likely than non-users to smoke, but non-users were less likely than sometime users to smoke. Regular users of herbal supplements tended to think herbal supplements are useful for certain health parameters more often than sometime users and non-users. Most regular users of herbal supplements agreed herbs are useful for maintaining good health (89%) and preventing/treating common illnesses like colds (85%). Almost two-thirds also thought herbs are useful for preventing serious chronic illnesses (61%) and insuring a well-balanced diet (65%). Attitudes toward the effectiveness, convenience, and expense of taking herbal supplements in comparison to eating a balanced diet as ways of staying healthy were related to herbal supplement use. Herbal supplement users did not appear to have positive attitudes towards herbs when comparing herbs to a well-balanced diet. Only 11% of users thought that herbs are more effective than diet as ways to stay healthy, and users were more likely than non-users to think herbs are more expensive ways to stay healthy. However, both levels of users were more likely to think herbal supplements are more convenient than diet. Attitudes about the effectiveness, safety, expense, naturalness, potency, and personal control of taking herbal supplements in comparison to prescription medications was related to level of herbal supplement use. In general the trend was for users to be more likely to have positive attitudes toward herbs and less likely to give a "don't know" answer. Eating the recommended number of food guide pyramid servings of fruits and vegetables as well as eating a greater number of nutrient rich vegetables was not related to herbal supplement use. However, a somewhat higher percentage of herbal supplement users tended to meet the fruit and vegetable recommendations than nonusers of herbal supplements. Stage of change in relation to vegetable intake was related to herbal supplement use. As respondents' herbal supplement use increased, so did the likelihood of classifying themselves into one of the action stages of change for vegetable consumption. Stage of change for fruit consumption was not related to herbal supplement use. Choice to stop using herbs if they were pronounced unsafe by a governmental agency was not related to level of herbal supplement use. However, 17% of sometime users and 16% of regular users reported that they would continue to use herbs even after they were pronounced unsafe by a governmental agency. The results of this study clearly show that there is a high prevalence of herbal supplement use among young adults in Oregon, and those who are using herbal supplements seem to have a strong belief in the herbs they are taking. With the limited knowledge on herbs' safety and efficacy, young adults need to be educated about the herbs they are using. Hopefully, the information from this study can help health professionals identify which young adults might be using herbal supplements in order to educate them on making smart choices about herbs, and smart choices about their overall health. To inform young adults about the herbs they are using, additional research on herbal supplements' potential benefits and harmful side effects is needed. / Graduation date: 2002