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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003. / Includes tables and questionnaires. Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 28, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Centre for Perinatal Health Services Research, School of Public Health. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1989. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-194).

Background: In the United States, minorities are numerous and account for 28% of the population. It is well known that some of the cultural elements are related to the patients’ health. Therefore, it is an obligation of healthcare providers to become culturally competent to improve minorities’ overall healthcare. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to assess the cultural attitudes, skills, and knowledge of undergraduate and graduate respiratory therapy (RT) students at an urban university located in the southeastern United States. METHODS: The study used a descriptive exploratory design with a self-reporting survey. The survey instrument used was a short version of the Cultural Competence Self-Assessment “ASK” (Attitude–Skills–Knowledge) Scale. The survey was administered to a convenience sample of first and second-year BSRT and MSRT students attending an accredited RT program. The survey consisted of 24 items on a five-point Likert scale. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test. RESULTS: Fifty-three students were surveyed; around two-thirds of the respondents were female. Sixty-eight percent of respondents were BSRT and 22% were MSRT students. First-year students accounted for 56.6% of the respondents and second-year students accounted for 43.4%. The majority of the respondents were under the age of 25. The respondents reported to be ready to practice in the attitude and skills subscale (4.49±.49, 4.20±.62 respectively) but they need practice based on the knowledge subscale (3.80±.86). The statistically significant findings were found between first-year and second-year respondents in the skills subscale, knowledge subscale, and the total scale. However, there were no statistically significant difference between BSRT and MSRT students. CONCLUSION: This study found that respondents made progress throughout the RT program. Also, it found that level of education has no effect on cultural competency. This may be because student’s level of cultural competence improves as they advance in their clinical course work and their educational training. The results may assist RT educators to recognize the students’ needs for more information to improve their cultural competency.

M.Cur. / 28-week premature infants are usually born with Respiratory Distress and need ventilator support in order to survive. However, because of all the associated complications of ventilation of premature infants, it is the practice in the NICU's in this studies to extubate these infants as soon as possible to either nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) or nasal cannula (nc). For this study the choice of ventilation was High-Frequency Oscillation (HFO). It is known that during HFOV, Fi02 and MAP constitute the oxygenation needed to ventilate these infants. During weaning the Fi02 is reduced to :s 30% and the MAP gradually to :s 8-10 cm H20 to enable extubation. There are not enough guidelines as to the ideal MAP at which to extubate a HFOV 28-week premature infant to nCPAP or nco The purpose of this study was, firstly, to determine the recommended optimal MAP to successfully extubate a 28-week HFOV premature infant to either nCPAP or nc and, secondly, to formulate guidelines and recommendations for use by the attending neonatal nursing staff, doctors and clinicians for optimal nursing and management of the HFOV premature infant. This is a non-experimental quantitative study with a retrospective, descriptive survey, case study design. All 28-week premature infants that were initially ventilated on a HFOV during the period May 2000 to September 2002 in two private Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Gauteng and extubated to nCPAP or nc were incorporated into this study. The study was done in 3 phases. The first involved an in-depth literature survey in which the physiological and biographical variables that were included in the data collection instrument were identified. The second phase involved collecting the data from the infant's medical files, analysing the data and identifying any correlation of the data. In the third phase guidelines and recommendations for neonatal nursing staff, doctors and any attending clinicians were formulated. The initial settings of the HFOV, as well as the settings at a MAP of 8 cm H20, and the settings of the HFOV prior to extubation were recorded and analysed. The premature infant's initial blood gas and peripheral saturation after commencement of ventilation, as well as at a MAP of 8 cm H20 and prior extubation were recorded and analysed. The physiological stability of the premature infants, 12 hours after extubation, formed the criteria of successful extubation and any need for re-intubations was considered failure criteria. There are a lack of protocols and guidelines for neonatal nurses, doctors and clinicians as to guide them in the nursing of HFOV 28-week premature infants. The analysed data assists in drawing up guidelines for nursing the 28-week premature HFOV infant.

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Childhood asthma is one of the commonest chronic respiratory conditions in developed communities. Chest physiotherapy has traditionally been one of the interventions used mainly after an attack and for a relatively short-period on an outpatient basis. The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of physiotherapists and caregivers about the importance of chest physiotheraphy in asthmatic children in Kigali. To achieve this aim the author attempted to identify the perceived benefits of chest physiotherapy for asthmatic children among caregivers; to determine the perception of physiotherapists about the importance of chest physiotherapy for asthmatic children and; to identify the physiotherapists experiences with doctors referrals and the caregivers compliance in the management of asthmatic children. / South Africa

Critical care nursing is a speciality that continues to evolve and transform. Critical care nurses of the 21st century routinely care for the complex, critically ill patient, integrating sophisticated technology with the accompanying psychosocial challenges and the ethical conflicts associated with critical illness – while, at the same time, addressing the needs and concerns of the family. Providing nursing care in such a dynamic and fast-track unit can pose various challenges for the critical care nurse. Professional nurses are the backbone of any health-care system. The quality of nursing directly affects the patients’ outcomes, and nursing care must therefore be rendered meticulously. Mechanical ventilator support is routinely needed for critically ill adults in these care units and is also a common therapy in sub-acute and long-term care settings. The care of the mechanically ventilated patient is the core of a professional nurse`s practice in the critical care unit. The mechanically ventilated patient presents many challenges for the professional nurse, while the critical care unit poses as a stressful environment for the professional nurse as well as the patient. The objectives of this study therefore were to explore and describe the lived experiences of professional nurses while caring for mechanically ventilated patients, and to develop recommendations to support professional nurses while caring for mechanically ventilated patients. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of professional nurses working in a critical care environment. Guba’s model was utilised to verify data and to ensure trustworthiness of the study. Ethical principles were adhered to throughout this research study. With the analysed data, recommendations were to support professional nurses while caring for mechanically ventilated.

An optimal and feedback control routines were developed in this thesis to control simulations of a respiratory system with a muscle and lung compartments. The optimal model was used to find the alveolar ventilation and the Van der Pol constants (𝛼, 𝜔, and 𝛆) that could be used in the body during the steady-state of exercise for each workload. Then, the feedback control model was used to simulate the transient exercise states. The alveolar ventilation was calculated in the feedback control model using a proportional (mean) and a derivative (rate) control. Then, the Van der Pol constants were found from the alveolar ventilation found in the optimal routine. In addition, simulations were done in the steady-state for 3 %, 5 %, and 6 % carbon dioxide inhalation. Once the controller constants had been found, the transient-state of the feedback model showed great promise as the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide did not become more than 3.8 % greater then the value that is maintained in the body. The carbon dioxide inhalation tests came within 3 % of the experimental values given by Reynolds (1972). The results from this thesis show that using a Van der Pol oscillator as the breather in the model seems to keep the partial pressure of arterial CO₂ around the value that is maintained in the body for aerobic exercise and CO₂ inhalation. / Master of Science

An improved digital computer model of the neonatal respiratory system was developed. Using previous models as a basis, important improvements were made in order to accurately simulate infant blood gas chemistry and its effect on respiratory and circulatory control. The model is divided into five physiologic compartments: heart, brain, lungs, tissues, and cerebrospinal fluid compartment. Respiration is a function hydrogen ion concentration in the medulla and oxygen tension and hydrogen ion concentration in the aorta. Cardiac output is a function of oxygen and carbon dioxide tension in the brain and oxygen tension at the tissues. Major improvements in this model include an advanced carbon dioxide dissociation relationship and a complex blood buffer system. It also is able to simulate treatment of respiratory distressed infants with bicarbonate infusion and respirator therapy. In addition, it has a simplified variable time delay. In order to evaluate the model, an attempt was made to simulate an actual infant. Results indicate that while the model is an improvement over previous attempts, it is still deficient in some areas in its ability to simulate actual infants. More comparisons with actual data must be made to accurately evaluate the model. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2008. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1454478. ProQuest document ID: 1580779071. Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-27)