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Biomedical subjects

Anne E Norris

Publications and source records attributed to Anne E Norris.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Condom use by male, enlisted, deployed navy personnel with multiple partners.

STUDY QUESTION: Condom use by male enlisted personnel deployed on an aircraft carrier in spring 2002 who reported having casual sex partners in foreign ports and (1) only a steady partner, (2) only casual sex partners, or (3) both steady and casual sex partners in the home port. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey, with analysis of the subsample reporting multiple partners (n = 378). RESULTS: Sexual behavior was less frequent and condom use was higher in foreign ports (p < 0.0001). Men involved with both steady and casual partners used condoms less consistently than did those involved with only casual partners (p < 0.05). Sexual behavior also varied with the type of partner (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Navy strategies promoting condom use in foreign ports appear effective. New strategies are needed for home ports and for men involved with both steady and casual partners.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Culturally relevant HIV interventions: transcending ethnicity.

Over the last 2 years, the co-authors produced an HIV prevention film for teens in collaboration with four African American women living with HIV. However, there were initially concerns that the experiences and prevention messages in the film would not be relevant to women of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Pretesting of the film was completed with African American and Latina teen girls; adult women who were HIV providers of various ethnicities and cultures; and adult Latina, Cape Verdean, and White women as well as adult Haitian men and women. Findings indicated that cultural relevance was strong for individuals who shared gender identity and socioeconomic status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Sexual relationships, condom use, and concerns about pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases.

As we move further into the 21st century, there are increasing numbers of teenagers and young adults infected with sexually transmitted diseases and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Aside from sexual abstinence, condom use is the best way to protect oneself from sexually transmitted diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Participants in this study were predominantly female, predominantly Caucasian psychology students who experienced sexual intercourse with an opposite sex partner in the past year. Slightly fewer than half of these participants reported condom use at their last episode of vaginal intercourse and type of partner did not affect their condom use, nor did concern about human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and sexually transmitted diseases. Findings such as these challenge advanced practice nurses to generate innovative strategies to promote condom use in all types of relationships. We propose that teaching about the link between cervical cancer and lack of condom use could be one of these new strategies.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The experience of African American women living with HIV: creating a prevention film for teens.

The personal and social costs of HIV are well documented. What remains unknown is the effect of public disclosure of HIV status on the individual who is doing the disclosing. This study describes the experience of four African American women living with HIV who participated in the development of an intergenerational education intervention for African American adolescent girls. These women suggested that they be filmed discussing the "dark side" of HIV in an effort to create an intergenerational education intervention that would alter the risk-taking behavior that they observed in young women in their community. After a rough cut of the film was completed, these women viewed the film and participated in a focus group during which they discussed what it was like to reveal and revisit their own painful experiences associated with becoming infected and then living with HIV. Findings from content analysis of transcribed dialogue included the following positive themes: (a) self-acceptance by telling one's own story and hearing the stories of the other women, (b) a sense of liberation by disclosing publicly one's image and message and letting go of others' judgments, (c) feeling supported by meeting other women who share the same experience, (d) value of using the film to impact or save young people from the pain one has experienced. A negative theme emerged related to personal pain in reliving the individual's history with HIV.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Depression trajectories in relatively recent immigrants.

This longitudinal study of 253 ever-depressed former Soviet immigrants (1) examined the life circumstances, demographic characteristics, and immigration demands of individuals whose depression lifted, or who remained or became depressed over a 2-year period; and (2) investigated whether immigration demands, local relatives, age at immigration, gender, education, employment, and marital status differed among the three groups. Depression was determined based on depression scores at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. Forty-three percent of the sample remained depressed, 26% became depressed, and 30% had their depression lift over the course of 2 years. The three groups did not differ with regard to demographic characteristics or loss of employment or a negative change in marital status over the 2-year study period. They did differ with respect to the presence of local family and immigration demands (P <.05). Those who remained depressed were less likely to have family in the area and had the highest immigration demand score at both time points. However, the effect for presence of local family was not significant when immigration demands were included in the analysis (P =.32). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures revealed that the group whose depression lifted experienced the greatest change in immigration demand scores over the 2-year study period. Our findings argue that clinicians should not expect immigrants' depression to always decrease over time and should assess depression by asking about immigration demands, even if depression was not present during an earlier clinical encounter.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sexual abstinence and the Sexual Abstinence Behavior Scale.

INTRODUCTION: Nurses may choose to promote sexual abstinence, particularly when they are working with young adolescents. However, it is difficult to know how to intervene because sexual abstinence has not been well defined in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometrics of a four-item measure of sexual abstinence behavior (the SABS) that both registered nurses and advanced practice nurses may find useful in their practice. METHOD: African American, middle school students (n = 113) completed a self-administered questionnaire during their health education class. The questionnaire contained the SABS along with items assessing demographics, sexual behavior, and psychosocial variables related to sexual behavior. RESULTS: Psychometric analysis supported SABS reliability (alpha =.73) and validity. For example, SABS scores correlated with perceived negative consequences of teen sex (r = 0.38) and sexual abstinence self-efficacy (r = 0.48). DISCUSSION: Although the SABS is still in a preliminary stage of development, it is useful for assessment purposes and for directing registered nurses and advanced practice nurses toward specific behaviors they may want to promote when teaching sexual abstinence to their young adolescent patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Who knows more about condoms? A comparison between nursing students, education students, and at-risk adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine knowledge regarding appropriate use of condoms and lubricants among three groups: female at-risk adolescents, nursing students, and education students. METHODS: Study participants were 236 adolescents: 65 recruited through community agencies, 79 female nursing students, and 92 female education students. These participants completed anonymous questionnaires concerning lubricants, general condom knowledge, and sexual experience. RESULTS: Neither nursing students nor education students were more knowledgeable than adolescents not enrolled in college. All participants were about as likely to think unsafe lubricants were safe as they were to think that safe lubricants were unsafe. Personal experience with vaginal intercourse and condom use was associated with increased knowledge (p < 0.05). However, 27% to 66% of participants who had used condoms answered the lubricant questions incorrectly. IMPLICATIONS: Nursing students need more education about condoms and condom lubricants if they intend to teach patients effectively. Moreover, nurses should not assume that youth are knowledgeable about appropriate condom use based on their level of education or sexual experience.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

To transform or not transform skewed data for psychometric analysis: that is the question!

BACKGROUND: Although data transformation is generally recommended, its benefits of have not been widely studied. This report reviews evidence regarding the costs and benefits of transforming skewed data with respect to two statistics commonly used in psychometric analyses: the Cronbach alpha and the Pearson product-moment correlation. METHODS: Data describing 758 immigrants from the former Soviet Union who completed a Russian language version of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used to demonstrate the effects of transformation. More than half (55%) of the SCL-90-R items had a problematic skew. The Cronbach alpha and the Pearson product-moment correlation were calculated for original item responses as well as for square root and log transformations of these responses. Sample size (full, 30%, 20%), transformation type (square root or log transformation), and transformation method (sum items first and then transform, transform items first and then sum) were manipulated to evaluate the relevance of these factors to transformation. RESULTS: Regardless of sample size, neither the Cronbach alpha nor the Pearson product-moment correlation showed a difference between original and transformed data, with one exception. When items were transformed first before being summed in the calculation of the Pearson product-moment correlation, inconsistently higher (+.05) or slightly lower values (-.01) were observed relative to those created with the nontransformed data across the different sample sizes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that data transformation is not always needed or advisable when the Cronbach alpha or Pearson product-moment correlation is calculated for instruments with skewed item responses.

Adaptation, Psychological↗