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Biomedical subjects

C A Kopac

Publications and source records attributed to C A Kopac.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Gynecologic and reproductive services for women with developmental disabilities.

A two-phase study using mail-out questionnaires examined the availability and accessibility of gynecologic and reproductive services for women with developmental disabilities. First, 127 women with developmental disabilities responded to queries about the accessibility and type of available services, the providers of necessary care, and satisfaction with the services. The age range of the women was 18-80 years, with a mean age of 40 years. Of the women queried, 40% indicated that they had not received health education regarding gynecologic and reproductive needs, and 27% indicated that they disliked health education about such matters. In the second phase of the study, agencies that provide services to these women were queried about patterns of the providers, available services, and identified barriers, including financial problems, difficulty in finding a provider, family perceptions, and fear of and distaste for examinations. A surprising finding was that more than one-third of the reporting agencies indicated that questions about the identification and treatment of sexual abuse were not applicable to their agencies. The findings are discussed with an emphasis on identified barriers to care, available services, and the implications for nurse practitioner practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Skin tears in institutionalized elderly: an epidemiological study.

Skin tears in the elderly are a common alteration of aging skin integrity. Very little is found in the literature on the prevention, identification, and treatment of skin tears. During a six-month period, 154 skin tears were studied in a convenience sample of residents in a VA Nursing Home Care Unit and nine community nursing homes. Data were collected on demographics, medication use, laboratory tests, cognitive function, and activities of daily living (ADLs). Descriptive data on the skin tears were also collected and these tears were graded according to the Payne-Martin Classification System. Data analysis revealed an at-risk sample of very old, frail elderly who are predominantly women, dependent in ADLs, nutritionally compromised, and suffering from dementia. Risk factors associated with the occurrence of skin tears included stiffness and spasticity, sensory loss, limited mobility, poor appetite, polypharmacy, use of an assistive device, presence of ecchymosis, and a history of previous skin tears. Skin tears were small, occurred more frequently on the upper extremities, and half had no tissue loss. Most skin tears occurred in patient care bedrooms. The findings of this study provide an outline for the development of an at-risk profile, and establish the basis for educational programs for caregivers.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The environment and its relationship to the Type A behavior pattern in middle and old age, a pilot study.

21 men and 76 women between the ages of 68.0 and 97.0 yr. were administered the Geriatric Scale of Recent Life Events, the Jenkins Activity Survey, the Framingham Type A Scale, and a measure designed to assess factors in the environment believed to contribute to the development and maintenance of the Type A Behavior Pattern. Differences were found between the environment of old age and the retrospective middle-age environment. Results support that Type A behavior emerges in response to environmental elicitors.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Advanced health assessment in nurse practitioner programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the content, teaching methodologies, depth, and placement of advanced health assessment courses within nurse practitioner programs. Survey research was conducted with 140 schools of nursing listed in the Public Health Service/National Health Service Corp Nurse Practitioner Faculty Network in the United States. The majority of the schools reported that health assessment was taught as a course over an entire semester or quarter in their respective programs. A statistically significant difference was found between private and public institutions in that public institutions used computer assisted instruction (CAI) more often than their private counterparts. Qualitative data revealed that many nursing faculty believe a graduate-level health assessment course should incorporate the concept of differential diagnosis and focus on abnormal findings. Faculty described a wide range of student preparedness and indicated a need to incorporate more CAI and independent learning strategies. A number of faculty mentioned scarce resources and limited time to develop and test new strategies including use of the Internet. Findings reveal commonalties of content, course placement, credit allocation, and teaching strategies, as well as the challenges of diverse student preparation and limited resources.

Curriculum↗