Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1984.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lunds Universitet, Malmö, Sweden, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lunds Universitet, Malmö, Sweden, 1994. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of hardiness in health perception and psychosocial adaptation in adult hispanics with chronic hepatitis C (n = 32). The Health Related Hardiness Scale and the Psychosocial Adaptation to Illness Scale were administered to 32 adult hispanics diagnosed with chronic heptitis C at a gastroenterology center. The results indicate that a comparison of subjects with low and high hardiness scores did not reveal significant differences on any of the PAIS domains (health care orientation, sexual relationships, psychological distress, vocational, domestic and social environments). Furthermore, hardiness subscales of control and committment did not have any influence on patient's psychosocial adaptation nor in its domains. However, a comparison of subjects with low and high challenge scores indicates that those with low challenge had lower total psychosocial adaptation scores (M = 5.55, SD = 2.13) than subjects with high challenge scores (M = 4.24, SD = .67) ,t = (1, 30) = 2.34, p < 0.05. Differences were also found for the domains of health care orientation, psychological distress, social and vocational environment. Lastly, there were significant differences on perceived health rating (poor, fair, and good) for the total hardiness score (F = (2,29) =5.49, p < 0.05), control (F =(2,29) = 4.09, p < 0.05), committment (F=(2,29) = 3.76, p < 0.05) and challenge (F=(2,29)= 4.92, p < 0.05). Thus, those patients who rated their health as poor had lower hardiness levels. Findings have implications for promoting hardiness for better health perception and in certain aspects of psychosocial adaptations in adult hispanics with chronic hepatitis C.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes special study report entitled: Technical aspect in planning out-patient department. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis investigates the understanding of health needs of women in rural Nepal using a participatory action research (PAR) framework. This framework was evaluated using a multiple case study design. The cases were women's groups being observed and researched by the researcher. The thesis is concerned with developing and evaluating the PAR methodology and is thus second order research i.e. it considers the process of researching research and the issue of multiple perspectives is an important feature. The justification of the use of a PAR framework is to be found in the forms of research that takes place 'with' people. The distinction between PAR methods and other qualitative methods is a philosophical one (Tolley and Bentley, 1996) between the roles played by the researcher and researched. The researcher "outsider" and participants "informants" are partners, sharing and learning together. The work is divided into two stages. The first is to determine the usefulness of the PAR framework in helping participants make assessments of their health needs, analyse their situation, develop strategies for solving problems themselves, and implement their own action plans. The second is to reflect on the research process itself, which allows for generation and testing of the methodology. This thesis has enhanced the contribution to the literature in this field. A development of the PAR framework emerged called the Health Analysis and Action Cycle (HAAC), via evaluating the PAR framework. The HAAC was found to be useful in allowing women's groups to assess their health needs, plan and take action to improve their health situation. For example, five of the six groups considered the importance of diarrhoea and developed strategies to reduce the incidence of diarrhoea in their communities. The sixth group's work centred on reducing the incidence of respiratory illness in their community. All the groups were able to assess, plan and implement projects to improve their environmental and hence health situation. The research stimulated collective action and empowerment of women participating in the research as it was the first time women had worked together to identify issues of diarrhoeal disease and respiratory illness and introduced preventative measures within their community. The HAAC approach, an additional innovation in this field, has relevance to the current theory and practice debate within the development sector. The model developed has possible implications for t~e concept of developing 'partnership' within the health and development sector and the development of emergent evaluation through developmental decision science.

In this thesis, the relevance and practical value of discourses about reproductive rights to women living in a rural area of Zimbabwe are examined. Policy documents indicate that the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council's (ZNFPC's) community based distribution service is based on principles of respect for particular definitions of reproductive rights and, concomitantly, a degree of women's reproductive self determination. In contrast, recent analyses of post Independence government action suggest that, as citizens of Zimbabwe, women are generally defined as dependants of men. This raises questions about the impact of the context of women's citizenship on the interpretation and realisation of reproductive rights through the family planning programme. Field work data focuses on the interpretation of policy and the consequent practices of local level health workers as well as women's interactions with health workers and their implications for reproductive self determination within household relations. It is suggested that health workers' actions result in the differential realisation of reproductive rights for particular social groups. Health worker relations with clients, in turn, reinforce differences between women in terms of the extent to which they are able to exercise reproductive self-determination within household relations. State employed health workers, in effect, act as policemen of private reproductive decision making. The use of an analytical framework of rights and citizenship highlights the relatively neglected issue of the political system in which family planning programmes are embedded. It is argued that health worker accountability to village populations is as important as the content of policy in determining the realisation and practical value of discourses about reproductive rights to rural women.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2007. / Title from title page screen, viewed on March 11, 2008. Dissertation Committee: Thomas P. Crumpler, Ellen A. Spycher (co-chairs), Anita P. Bohn, Nancy J. Bragg. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-218) and abstract. Also available in print.