O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar se as mães de crianças com cardiopatia congênita utilizam a espiritualidade/religiosidade como estratégia de enfrentamento e se utilizam de forma negativa ou positiva. Também avaliou a qualidade de vida destas mães e suas associações com as estratégias de enfrentamento além das variáveis: idade, estado civil, profissão, primeira cirurgia e já ter realizado outras cirurgias, tempo de internação, conhecimento sobre a data da cirurgia e grau de escolaridade. Foi aplicado um questionário semi estruturado com o objetivo de obter dados referentes à religiosidade/espiritualidade, o instrumento que avalia a qualidade de vida WHOQOL-bref (World Health Organization Quality of Life - versão abreviada) e o instrumento CRE (Coping Religioso Espiritual) que avalia aspectos relacionados à: religiosidade/espiritualidade. A amostra foi composta por 48 mães de crianças portadoras de cardiopatia congênita que encontravam-se internadas aguardando procedimento cirúrgico. O presente estudo demonstrou através dos achados descritos que ser mãe de uma criança portadora de doença crônica, assim como a cardiopatia congênita, é um fato estressante devido às freqüentes internações, mudança na rotina, ansiedade com a cirurgia, medo da perda, entre outros. Estas mães diante desses eventos utilizam estratégias religiosas positivas e que estas estão correlacionadas com qualidade de vida / The present study aimed to evaluate whether mothers of children with congenital heart disease use spirituality or religiosity as a coping strategy and are used negatively or positively. We also evaluated the quality of life of these mothers and their associated coping strategies besides their variables: age, marital status, occupation, first surgery and other surgeries that were already performed, length of stay, knowledge of the date of surgery and schooling . We applied a semi-structured questionnaire in order to obtain data on religiosity or spirituality, the instrument that assesses the quality of life WHOQOL- BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life - short version) and the instrument CRE (Religious Coping Spiritual) which evaluates aspects related to: religiosity or spirituality. The sample consisted of 48 mothers of children with congenital heart disease who were hospitalized awaiting surgery. The present study demonstrated by the findings reported to be a mother of a child with chronic illness, as well as congenital heart disease, it is a stressful fact due to frequent hospitalizations, change in routine, anxiety with surgery, fear of loss, among others. These mothers before these strategies use positive religious events and these are correlated with the quality of life

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore the life experiences of multiparous teenage mothers at selected communities in the Eastern Cape Province. The population for this study was pregnant teenage mothers aged 12-18 years having at least one previous pregnancy, living in the catchment areas of the provincial hospital of Bizana in the Alfred Nzo District of the Eastern Cape Province. Data were collected through 12 semi-structured individual interviews using a selfdeveloped interview schedule. The transcribed interviews were analysed by means of thematic analysis, using the five stages according to Terre Blanche, et al. (2006), namely familiarisation, inducing themes, coding, elaboration, and checking. Subcategories were grouped into 12 categories and five main themes. Findings on the life experiences of the multiparous teenage mothers are described according to the main themes, namely the everyday life of the teenage mothers, cultural practices leading to pregnancies, factors contributing to pregnancies, challenges experienced by teenage mothers, and messages from the teenage mothers. Recommendations focus on the role of social services to engage the multidisciplinary team and the community to assist in the empowerment of young mothers to break the cycle of multiparous teenage pregnancies and the negative impact thereof on the lives of young mothers. / Health Studies / M. P. H.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Prospective epidemiologic evidence indicates that both stressful life events (SLEs) and depression are associated with an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Even though stressful life events (SLEs) and depression co-occur and may act together to influence cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, these psychosocial factors have been mainly examined in isolation. For instance, depression may moderate the relationship between SLEs and CVD outcomes. I hypothesized that depressive symptoms would potentiate the deleterious effect of SLEs on subclinical atherosclerosis. This hypothesis is plausible, given that depressed adults exhibit exaggerated and prolonged sympathetic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and inflammatory responses to stress, which in turn could promote atherosclerosis. As compared to their nondepressed counterparts, depressed individuals may also be more likely to engage in maladaptive methods to cope with SLEs (e.g., increased tobacco use, alcohol use, and consumption of low-nutrient, energy dense foods), which could also promote atherosclerosis. I examined cross-sectional data from 274 to 279 (depending on the outcome measure) older, African American adults (mean age = 66 years, 67% female) with no evidence of clinical CVD or dementia who participated in the St. Louis African American Health-Heart study (2009–2011). Number of SLEs was assessed using the Life Events Calendar, a structured interview. From this interview, a continuous SLEs variable was computed (number of adult SLEs: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11+). Severity of depression symptoms was measured using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Two measures of subclinical atherosclerosis were obtained: carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT; assessed by ultrasonography) and coronary artery calcification (CAC; assessed by multi-detector computerized tomography). I conducted linear (CIMT) and logistic (CAC) regression models, first adjusted for demographics (age, sex, education) and then fully-adjusted (demographics; mean arterial pressure; low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); hemoglobin A1c; BMI; tobacco use; diabetes diagnosis; and use of antihypertensitve, lipid lowering, antidiabetic, and antidepressant medications). No main effects of SLEs or HAM-D were found for CIMT or CAC. There were also no SLEs by HAM-D interactions for CIMT or CAC. Because the current results are largely inconsistent with prior literature and there is a paucity of studies utilizing African American samples, future research is needed to examine the independent and interactive associations of SLEs and depressive symptoms with measures of subclinical atherosclerosis. If the present results are replicated, it may suggest that SLEs, depressive symptoms, and their interactive effect are not cardiotoxic among African American adults.

This article builds upon previous theoretical work on job loss as a status passage to help explain how people's experiences of involuntary unemployment affected their mental well-being during the 2009-2010 economic recession. It proposes a middle-range theory that interprets employment transitions as status passages and suggests that their health and well-being effects depend on the personal and social meanings that people give to them, which are called properties of the transitions. The analyses, which used a thematic approach, are based on the findings of a qualitative study undertaken in Bradford (North England) consisting of 73 people interviewed in 16 focus groups. The study found that the participants experienced their job losses as divestment passages characterised by three main properties: experiences of reduced agency, disruption of role-based identities, for example, personal identity crises, and experiences of 'spoiled identities', for example, experiences of stigma. The proposed middle-range theory allows us to federate these findings together in a coherent framework which makes a contribution to illuminating not just the intra-personal consequences of unemployment, that is, its impact on subjective well-being and common mental health problems, but also its inter-personal consequences, that is, the hidden and often overlooked social processes that affect unemployed people's social well-being. This article discusses how the study findings and the proposed middle-range theory can help to address the theoretical weaknesses and often contradictory empirical findings from studies that use alternative frameworks, for example, deprivation models and 'incentive theory' of unemployment.

Violent cnme is among the most prominent distinguishing characteristics of South African society, it has a severely traumatising effect on the populations concerned. Based on research :findings and existing literature, this study explores traumatic effects of violent crime on the most intimate associate of the victim (the partner). Accordingly, this study deals with the much-neglected topic of secondary trauma, by focusing on the following aspects of or conditions associated with violent crime and the secondary victim: cognitive, emotional and relational effects the experience of trauma, loss, vulnerability, depression and acute stress. It reveals that, depending on the severity of the incident, its consequences for the partner of the victim may range from post-traumatic stress to acute stress or secondary traumatic stress. From the similar results returned for primary and secondary victims, it is apparent that in the future, both victim and supporter should have their needs addressed with equal emphasis. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Councelling)

The prevalence of divorce within society is reflected in the rising divorce rate worldwide. Consequently, divorce has become more accepted, although adolescents from divorced families are considered at risk for maladjustment. The aim of this study is to give a voice to adolescents who have experienced their parents' divorce and to highlight their resilience despite the challenges they faced. The epistemological framework is social constructionism. In-depth interviews with two adolescents who have experienced the divorce of their parents were undertaken. The method of analysis used was `Thematic content analysis'. The participants' stories were recounted through the lens of the researcher in the form of themes. Recurring themes in these stories were elucidated and linked with the literature. This study allowed rich and detailed descriptions about adolescents' experiences to emerge, which the researcher hopes will broaden the therapeutic understanding of the complexities of divorce for the adolescents who survive it. / Psychology / MA (Clinical Psychology)

This study investigated the relationship between specific psychosocial factors and susceptibility to the common cold in a sample of 124 distance runners. A cross-sectional survey design was used to assess the role of life events, coping, hardiness, training workload and competition frequency in the athlete's risk of infection. Using correlational statistical techniques, it was found that the magnitude of recent life changes and the avoidance coping strategy of denial were positively related to self-reported symptoms of the common cold. Furthermore, a significant inverse correlation was observed between hardiness and symptom duration scores. However, approach coping, training workload and competition frequency were not significantly related to the dependent measures. The results of this study suggest that certain stress-related psychosocial factors are associated with susceptibility to the common cold in distance runners. Several strategies for the prevention and treatment of upper respiratory tract infections in this group are implied by these findings. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-26T12:51:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ledaravagnani_dissert.pdf: 406508 bytes, checksum: 8f26d3c0c1b70a9355d7d3bcc7052283 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2002-10-07 / A qualidade de vida tem sido freqüentemente estudada em pacientes crônicos e as estratégias por eles utilizadas para lidar com a doença e tratamento parecem influenciar seu bem estar geral. Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar a percepção do paciente sobre qualidade de vida em dois momentos diferentes, pré e pós-transplante renal, e identificar as estratégias de enfretamento utilizadas por ele após o transplante. Foram objetivos específicos do estudo: 1. Caracterizar pacientes submetidos à transplante renal; 2. Comparar qualidade de vida de pacientes transplantados com enxerto funcionante nos pré e pós cirurgia; 3. Identificar principais estressores e estratégias de enfretamento nesses pacientes. Métodos: no período de outubro de 1999 a janeiro de 2002, foram estudados 17 pacientes (nove do sexo feminino), com idade entre 23 e 55 anos (im: 38 anos; dp: 8,12), submetidos a transplante renal (doadores vivos e cadáver) que evoluíram com enxerto funcionante, com segmento no período de 3 m- 29 meses. Nota de Resumo Foram utilizados na avaliação o inventário de qualidade de vida sf-36, inventário de enfretamento e um roteiro de entrevista (pré pós-transplante). Resultados: não houve diferença significante entre avaliação de qualidade de vida nos períodos pré pós-transplante para as variáveis investigadas pelo sf-36. Os principais fatores de estresse/preocupações foram: efeitos colaterais das medicações, consulta médica, alterações da imagem corporal e o tempo de hospitalização. Os pacientes tiveram tendência a utilizar mais estratégias de enfrentamento centradas na emoção, isto é, formas mais subjetivas de lidar com as dificuldades. Reavaliação positiva da situação foi a estratégia de enfretamento mais utilizada. As menos utilizadas foram fugas e esquiva do problema. Conclusão: o transplante renal não pareceu influenciar a qualidade de vida dos pacientes, havendo indicação que a qualidade de vida pode ser comprometida mesmo após o transplante, pelo estresse em relação à saúde e aos efeitos colateria do tratamento.

El estudio KIDSCREEN Seguimiento analizó los cambios en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) en una muestra representativa de niños y adolescentes españoles de 8 a 18 años de edad y sus padres, que contestaron un cuestionario inicial vía postal en 2003 y el de seguimiento en 2006. Además se estudiaron los cambios en salud mental y su impacto sobre la CVRS, así como los factores predictivos del uso de servicios sanitarios. La mayoría de dimensiones de la CVRS presentó un empeoramiento moderado y generalizado, sobre todo en las niñas y en la etapa puberal. El empeoramiento en la salud mental se asoció a un mayor deterioro de la CVRS. En general, la declaración de morbilidad fue el factor con mayor poder predictivo del uso de servicios sanitarios a los 3 años de seguimiento. Algunos factores socioeconómicos fueron determinantes del acceso al especialista y el dentista. / The KIDSCREEN Follow-up study analysed changes in health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a representative sample of Spanish children and adolescents from 8 to 18 years old and their parents and who answered a mail-posted questionnaire at the baseline (2003) and follow-up (2006). In addition changes in mental health and its impact on changes on HRQL and predictors of healthcare services use were analysed. Most of the dimensions of HRQL showed a generalized and moderate worsening, especially amongst girls at the pubertal phase. The worsening in mental health was associated with a higher deterioration in HRQL. In general, the strongest predictive factor on the use of healthcare services was reporting morbidity. Some socioeconomic factors determined the access to specialists and dentist.