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Biomedical subjects

C L Gilliss

Publications and source records attributed to C L Gilliss.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Predictors of general activity 8 weeks after cardiac surgery.

In this secondary analysis, the influence of mood states and self-efficacy beliefs on recovery of general activities 8 weeks after cardiac surgery were investigated. Study data were taken from a randomized clinical trial with 156 subjects who were either in an efficacy enhancement nursing care group (n = 75) or in a routine care group (n = 81). It was found that self-efficacy beliefs at time of hospitalization regarding ability to resume general activities after discharge, measured tension/anxiety at 4 weeks after surgery, and experimental group status explained 21% of the variation in self-reported recovery at 8 weeks.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Family nursing research: precepts from paragons and peccadilloes.

The authors present 10 precepts that address the successes, as well as complexities and shortcomings, found in family nursing research as it has been conducted over the past decade. Problems with methodology, data collection and aggregation, random variables, and consistency with the unit of analysis all present challenges to the proper conduct of family nursing research. The authors cite these and other concerns in a critical analysis illustrated by examples from the growing body of family nursing literature.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1991

Family nursing research, theory and practice.

The absence of critical dialogue regarding what constitutes family nursing prevents the further development of the specialty area of family nursing. In this essay, the author issues nine challenges faced by those who would contribute to the development of family nursing.

Family↗
PubMed1991

The family dimension of cardiovascular care.

Cardiovascular disease, like many other life-style-related health problems, is argued to have its origins related in part to health practices first learned in the family. Further, empirical work has shown that the responses of family members to the onset of acute cardiac symptoms contribute significantly to how quickly care is sought. Finally, considerable empirical evidence exists to suggest that families both aggravate and are affected by acute and chronic cardiac illness. Nonetheless, the involvement of the family in cardiac preventive or curative activities remains limited, and the ability of most nurses to appreciate the family as a unit and treat it as a client even more so. This paper describes the nature of family nursing vis-a-vis a cardiovascular event.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1990

Patterns of fecal coliform contamination in day-care centers.

During a six-month period, on four separate occasions, six licensed day-care centers had cultures taken from environmental surfaces as well as the hands of children and teachers. Fecal coliforms were recovered from 64 (9.5%) of the 675 surfaces sampled. Recovery rate was not influenced by a center's socioeconomic status, time of year, or presence of children who were not toilet trained. Recovery rates did differ significantly in different areas, with the kitchen showing a relatively high recovery rate (19%), and toys and toilets showing remarkably low rates (2% and 4%). Centers with formal hand-washing procedures had lower recovery rates than those without such practices. We also demonstrated a high recovery rate from hands of staff (16%); 6% of children had positive cultures. Contamination of hands and classroom objects is a potential source for the transmission of enteric diseases for children in day-care centers. A program directed at reducing contamination would be important in preventing the spread of diarrheal illness.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Nurse-monitored cardiac recovery: a description of the first 8 weeks.

Health problems and related patient management during early recovery after cardiac surgery are not well documented. As part of a larger study of recovery from cardiac surgery 75 patient-care giver pairs received telephone calls from nurses at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after discharge for the purpose of intervening to facilitate early recovery at home. After each call, nurses recorded detailed notes on the patients' progress and concerns. Content analysis of detailed nurses' recordings revealed the following predominant nursing actions: assessment, provision of support, reinforcement of predischarge teaching, referrals, and teaching. The five nursing diagnoses that occurred most frequently across the 8-week recovery period were altered comfort: pain; ineffective coping, individual; activity intolerance; sleep pattern disturbance; and altered nutrition. In response to these problems, patients managed and prevented health-related problems and engaged in health promotional and normalizing activities. By anticipating common problems in recovery, patients and care givers can be better prepared for going home. Similarly nurses can be better prepared to anticipate and respond to common recovery problems.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Improving family functioning after cardiac surgery: a randomized trial.

As part of a randomized clinical trial of in-hospital and postdischarge nursing interventions designed to facilitate the individual patient's recovery and improve the family's functioning after cardiac surgery, we followed 67 patient-spouse pairs for 6 months after surgery. Family health was appraised by using three pencil and paper measurements: the Family APGAR, the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale, and the Family Inventory of Resources for Management. Mixed-effects analysis of variance did not detect differences for the main effect of intervention group; however, the main effect of time was significant for both patients' and spouses' APGAR scores and for patients' Marital Adjustment Scale scores, suggesting a pattern of response during recovery from cardiac surgery.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Improving recovery following cardiac surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

To enhance individual and family health during recovery from heart surgery, this study employed nursing interventions based on self-efficacy and family stress theory during the hospitalization period and for 3 months thereafter. The effectiveness of the interventions were assessed through a randomized trial in which 67 prospective bypass and valve surgery patients, aged 30-77 years, and their spouses, were allocated either the experimental interventions or usual care and followed for 6 months. At 3 months post-surgery, the only statistically significant differences between the experimentals and controls were on perceived self-efficacy for lifting and tolerating emotional distress. At 6 months no significant differences were found on individual or family measures. Analyses revealed that age, gender and preoperative cardiac status significantly affected individual recovery. The study is continuing with a larger sample in order to explicate the recovery process and to better determine whether a low intensity nursing intervention can effect changes in individual and family recovery.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Family care in the coronary care unit: an analysis of clinical nurse specialist intervention.

A sudden and life-threatening illness requiring hospitalization and admission to the coronary care unit (CCU) can result in serious disorganization for the patient's family. This disorganization can become obvious to staff when family members are too anxious to hear important information about the patient or when families are unable to make decisions about the patient's treatment or disposition. Although CCU care is highly technical, it is not exclusively technical. Patients and their families need care that is considerate of the family group. In a case report, the Lazarus stress and coping framework is used to assess, intervene in, and evaluate care given to one family during an admission of a family member to the CCU. Although this framework is individually oriented and is particularly dependent on individual cognition, it proved useful for work with the described family.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Events leading to the treatment of coronary artery disease: implications for nursing care.

The selection of a particular treatment for CAD was found to be related to the severity of illness, patients who were more severely disabled by angina elected surgical treatment after vessel blockage was documented by angiography. Differential access to treatments was not described by study subjects and therefore cannot be evaluated as a contributing factor to the selection of treatment. Although most subjects participated in a therapeutic pharmacologic regimen, few patients in either group employed dietary or exercise programs to ameliorate CAD. Most patients received information about CAD and about surgery as a treatment option. This educational communication was directed by the cardiologist for a large majority of patients. Nurses were cited as information sources for surgical subjects only. In retrospect, more than half of the surgical subjects indicated a need for additional information. The decision regarding which type of treatment to have was made autonomously by most subjects, unlike the usual decision-making styles of families of surgical patients. A significantly greater proportion of surgical patients identified their family as a source of support during the elected treatment. Both groups described family changes specific to the illness and selected treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Data gathering by telephone. An application in a study of clinical nursing.

This article addresses the use of the telephone in collection of research data. First, the authors review the benefits and limitations of data collection by telephone as they are discussed in the literature. Collection of data by telephone has been favorably compared to data collection by mail and by home interview. Next, use of the telephone in a study of individual and family health outcomes from cardiac surgery is discussed. Telephone data collection produced higher rates of return at less expense than did mail return of data. Thus, the use of the telephone was an effective and economic technique for data collection.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗