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This research project is a study of 227 Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana. These 227 churches were identified by the Regional Office of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana as being fully cooperative with the work within the Region. The project was conducted in two parts or phases. Phase 1 was a study of the churches based upon statistical data which the churches reported to the Yearbook. Phase 2 was a study of the attitudes of selected leaders within these 227 churches. It should be noted in the beginning that this study does not tell the complete story of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana. Any such attempt to tell all the story must take into account the churches which have withdrawn from the relationship with the Regional and National ministry. This study concerns only the 227 churches currently involved and seeks to tell the story of these churches. This report seeks to be descriptive in character. One section in Chapter 2 dealing with anomia is analytical. The funds for this project were made available by Christian Theological Seminary with money provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. 1

Self-reported health depends on the internal frame of reference and on response styles. One way of studying this dependency is using anchoring vignettes. Response shift effects are assumed to induce a negative correlation between self-reported health and the health assessments attributed to the vignettes. Method: A representative sample of the German adult population (N = 2,409) was selected. Participants were asked to rate their health state and the health states of two rather complex vignettes representing patients with several health complaints on a 0-100 scale. Results: The mean score of self-assessed health was M = 76.20 (SD = 20.6). There was a very small positive correlation between the assessment of the vignettes and the self-assessed health state (r = .12). After controlling for a proxy of objective health, measured in terms of chronic conditions, the relationship remained slightly positive. Chronic conditions were only marginally associated with the assessments of the vignettes (0 conditions: M = 44.8; ≥ 2 conditions: M = 42.2). Conclusions: The lack of the postulated association between self-reported health and vignettes’ ratings means that we cannot derive tools to correct the subjective ratings for differential use of frames of reference.

Violence against women is a problem in all countries in the world, including the small autonomy of the Åland Islands. The violence ranges from psychological threats to femicide. In the Åland Islands the issue has been placed on the agenda of politicians and the authorities, while reports about severe violence against women have been brought to the public. In Åland no scientific research on violence against women has been performed. The overall aim of this dissertation is to gain a deeper insight into how battered women in Åland are cared for by nurses, and how the official organizations have responded to the government policy directives. In this thesis, the first study, a descriptive survey, describes how nurses identify and support battered women. In the second and third studies, the method of grounded theory was used to explore the experiences and perceptions of nurses and battered women of violence against women. In the fourth study a case study approach was used to explore government policies for intimate partner violence. The main findings in this thesis are that battered women used health services to receive help. We found that nurses identified and supported abused women, even though services for these women were inadequate. Nurses were willing to help the women, but they often lacked support. Battered women reported that they received ad hoc help. They were often left alone, dependent on a nearby person to escape, survive, and recover. Another finding was that the Government of the Åland Islands demanded that the official organizations should allocate services to battered women, but the organizations’ response to the directives had some limitations. From a public health perspective, the phenomenon presents an urgent challenge. Overall, the public health community can and should contribute greatly towards the understanding, prevention, and control of violence by applying and adapting already constructed principles, and by implementing strategies. / Våld mot kvinnor är ett problem som förekommer i alla länder I världen inkluderat det lilla autonoma området Åland. Fenomenet kan jämföras med terror. Våld mot kvinnor utövas i former från hot till mord. På Åland har problemet lyfts fram både genom politikers som tjänstemäns agendor, samtidigt som rapporter om allvarligt förekommande våld mot kvinnor rapporterats till allmänhetens kännedom. Våld mot kvinnor har inte studerats genom vetenskaplig forskning på Åland. Huvudsyftet med denna avhandling är att uppnå fördjupade insikter angående hur våldsutsatta kvinnor bemöts av sjukskötare och hur de offentliga organisationerna agerat utifrån regeringens direktiv. I denna avhandling är den första studien en beskrivande undersökning som beskriver hur sjukskötare identifierar och hjälper våldsutsatta kvinnor. Den andra och tredje studien har använtgrounded theory för att studera sjukskötare och våldsutsatta kvinnors erfarenheter och uppfattningar angående våld mot kvinnor. Den fjärde studien en case study studie har undersökt regeringens riktlinjer angående våld mot kvinnor. Huvudfynden i denna avhandling visar att våldsutsatta kvinnor söker hjälp från hälsovården. Vi fann att sjukskötare identifierar och stöder våldsutsatta kvinnor även då servicen var otillräcklig. Sjukskötare var villiga att hjälpa kvinnorna men de saknade ofta själva stöd. Våldsutsatta kvinnor rapporterade att de erbjöds en hjälp som de uppfattade som ad hoc. De var ofta lämnade ensamma helt beroende av en närstående person för att kunna fly, överleva, och återhämta sig. Ett annat fynd var att Ålands landskapsregering hade uppmanat de offentliga organisationerna att erbjuda service till våldsutsatta kvinnor, men organisationernas respons var begränsade. Fenomenet utgör en akut utmaning sett utifrån ett folkhälsoperspektiv. Slutligen, de ansvariga för folkhälsan i samhället kan och borde bidra med förståelse, prevention, och kontroll av våldet genom att tillämpa och anpassa redan konstruerade principer, och genom en implementering av åtgärder.

Att motivera människor att volontärarbeta är en växande utmaning för många ideella organisationer. För att på längre sikt kunna behålla volontärer i en organisation är det fundamentalt att förstå vad som motiverar dem. I denna kvantitativa studie var syftet att undersöka vad som motiverar individer att arbeta som volontärer i en secondhand-verksamhet. Ett strategiskt urval resulterade i sju butiker där 181 enkätsvar samlades in, en svarsfrekvens på 91 procent. Resultatet visade bland annat att volontärerna motiverades av både altruistiska och egoistiska orsaker. De positiva sociala aspekterna i volontärarbetet nämndes frekvent som viktigaste motivation. Vidare återfanns flera samband mellan att känna sig respekterad som volontär och att känna stolthet över att vara en del av organisationen. Dessa båda fungerade som motiverande anledningar. En av slutsatserna var att volontärarbete bidrar till förbättrade sociala förhållanden och en känsla av meningsfullhet för volontärerna själva. / Motivating people for volunteer work is a growing challenge for many nonprofit organizations. In order to be able to retain volunteers in an organization in the longer term, it is fundamental to understand what motivates them. In this quantitative study, the purpose was to investigate what motivates individuals to work as volunteers in a second-hand business. A strategic selection resulted in seven stores in which 181 questionnaires were collected, a response rate of 91 percent. The results showed, among other things, that volunteers were motivated by both altruistic and selfish reasons. The positive social aspects of volunteering were frequently mentioned as the main motivation. Furthermore, there were several connections between feeling respected as a volunteer and feeling proud of being part of the organization. These both served as motivating reasons. One of the conclusions was that volunteering contributes to improved social conditions and a sense of meaningfulness for the volunteers themselves.

Self-reported health depends on the internal frame of reference and on response styles. One way of studying this dependency is using anchoring vignettes. Response shift effects are assumed to induce a negative correlation between self-reported health and the health assessments attributed to the vignettes. Method: A representative sample of the German adult population (N = 2,409) was selected. Participants were asked to rate their health state and the health states of two rather complex vignettes representing patients with several health complaints on a 0-100 scale. Results: The mean score of self-assessed health was M = 76.20 (SD = 20.6). There was a very small positive correlation between the assessment of the vignettes and the self-assessed health state (r = .12). After controlling for a proxy of objective health, measured in terms of chronic conditions, the relationship remained slightly positive. Chronic conditions were only marginally associated with the assessments of the vignettes (0 conditions: M = 44.8; ≥ 2 conditions: M = 42.2). Conclusions: The lack of the postulated association between self-reported health and vignettes’ ratings means that we cannot derive tools to correct the subjective ratings for differential use of frames of reference.

A descriptive survey to identify factors influencing relapse of psychiatric outpatients in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape was undertaken. A questionnaire was used to collect data from family caregivers who were relatives of psychiatric patients receiving their monthly medications from two rural clinics. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. A total number of 92 family caregivers participated. Respondents reported side effects of psychotropic drugs, poor family role, poor referral system, lack of home visits, non-compliance and stigmatization as major factors contributing to relapse of psychiatric outpatients. Active involvement of caregivers in follow up care of their relatives is effective in fostering collaboration between the psychiatric hospitals and patients with the common goal of relapse avoidance. It is recommended that adequate provision of resources in conjunction with health education is effective in enhancing collaboration towards prevention of relapse in psychiatric patients. This would promote team work among patients, caregivers and health care providers. / Public Health / M.A. (Public Health)

A descriptive survey to identify factors influencing relapse of psychiatric outpatients in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape was undertaken. A questionnaire was used to collect data from family caregivers who were relatives of psychiatric patients receiving their monthly medications from two rural clinics. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. A total number of 92 family caregivers participated. Respondents reported side effects of psychotropic drugs, poor family role, poor referral system, lack of home visits, non-compliance and stigmatization as major factors contributing to relapse of psychiatric outpatients. Active involvement of caregivers in follow up care of their relatives is effective in fostering collaboration between the psychiatric hospitals and patients with the common goal of relapse avoidance. It is recommended that adequate provision of resources in conjunction with health education is effective in enhancing collaboration towards prevention of relapse in psychiatric patients. This would promote team work among patients, caregivers and health care providers. / Public Health / M.A. (Public Health)