Biomedical subjects
A S Kalayjian
Publications and source records attributed to A S Kalayjian.
Coping with Ottoman Turkish Genocide: an exploration of the experience of Armenian survivors.
This study explored the experiences of the survivors of the Ottoman-Turkish Genocide of the Armenians (1915-1923). Coping strategies, communication patterns and the impact of continuing Turkish denial of the events were the specific research areas. Semi-structured interviews were administered to 40 Genocide survivors, residing at two Armenian homes for older adults in the mid-Atlantic United States. Destruction of life, physical harm, deportation, pillaging, and loss of status were identified by respondents as stressors experienced. Religion, family, work, denial, and resignation were identified as coping methods and sources of survival. Most respondents had not discussed their experiences with others. When asked about their reactions to the Turkish denial, respondents expressed a range of negative affect, including resentment, hatred, and rage. When asked about sources of pride in their lives, respondents cited accomplishments such as surviving the Genocide, surviving as Armenians and procreating. The social, developmental, and psychiatric implications of the findings were discussed.
Armenian relief uses nursing process.
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Emotional and environmental connections: impact of the Armenian earthquake.
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Adopt-A-School Program: recruitment initiative of New York Counties Registered Nurses Association. District 13 education committee.
The goal of this program was to alleviate the existing nursing shortage in New York City by developing recruitment models appropriate for students in the City's high schools. The rationale was that well-informed nurses could create an attractive image of nursing by presenting programs to students, teachers, and guidance counselors. The program was successful in clarifying misconceptions and increasing the knowledge base regarding health issues and concerns and the role of the nurse.
Coping with cancer: the spouse's perspective.
This study explored coping difficulties experienced by wives of patients with a diagnosis of cancer. Concomitantly, the study explored the ways in which nurses intervened to help these wives. This study was designed as an exploratory study. The qualitative analysis made use of data derived from responses to open-ended questions presented to the respondents by the interview method. The study sample consisted of 40 wives who acknowledged experiencing coping difficulties in meeting the demands of everyday living as a result of their husband's diagnosis of cancer. Respondents were selected randomly from seven eligible representative settings located in the Mid-Atlantic region until the desired sample number was reached. Wives, who encountered the unexpected and uncontrollable situation of having a husband with diagnosed cancer, experienced a multitude of coping difficulties. In addition, wives underwent psychological disorganization, disequilibrium, and emotional imbalance. They attempted to cope with the resulting imbalance by using their habitual problem-solving behavior patterns and experienced difficulty when seeking situational supports. This, in turn, added to their stress. Wives also reported that their children had coping difficulties. Wives identified listening, talking, caring, availability of nurses to patients and patients' spouses, sensitivity, empathy, and honesty as essential helpful nursing behaviors. The study underscored the importance of viewing wives of cancer patients as unique systems in need of therapeutic support, and reaffirmed a view of nursing as the art of understanding the unique needs of individuals who are experiencing coping difficulties. This study also underscored the key role of psychiatric liaison nurses in providing supportive therapeutic interventions to the spouses of cancer patients as well as to the nursing staff.
Mental health outreach program following the earthquake in Armenia: utilizing the nursing process in developing and managing the post-natural disaster plan.
This article provides a description of the eight phases of the Mental Health Outreach Program (MHOP) cofounded by the author to address the needs of the surviving community following the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. For the purposes of the MHOP, the nursing process was expanded from five to eight phases: 1) preassessment, 2) assessment, 3) analysis, 4) community diagnosis, 5) planning, 6) implementation, 7) evaluation, and 8) remodification. A framework for assessing the level of trauma in an unfamiliar community (with its mnemonic acronym COPE), which was formulated by the author to expedite the assessment and implementation phases, is described. The article concludes with a set of recommendations for psychiatric mental health nurses in mitigating the negative impact and consequences of disasters.