Biomedical subjects

D Weekes

Publications and source records attributed to D Weekes.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Gender differences in sleep patterns for early adolescents.

PURPOSE: To describe gender differences in self-reported sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness in an urban sample of early adolescents (11-14 years of age). METHODS: One hundred and forty-four racially diverse sixth- to eighth-grade students responded to an investigator-developed sleep questionnaire. Variables included school night and weekend sleep patterns as well as factors that influence sleep and daytime sleepiness, such as sleep/wake routine and alcohol and caffeine consumption. RESULTS: Boys consumed significantly more caffeinated beverages than girls, but this did not correlate with self-reports of waking after sleep onset. Caffeine intake was significantly related to self-reported parasomnias. Significant gender differences were found for self-reports of daytime sleepiness. There were also large variations between weekday and weekend sleep schedules. Weekday wakeup time for boys was significantly later compared to girls. Those who reported consumption of alcohol during the past week were likely to fall asleep in the classroom before lunch. Girls, who awakened earlier than boys on school days, were more likely to report falling asleep on the way home from school. CONCLUSIONS: These descriptive data support the need for further investigation into the relationship between caffeine intake and parasomnias, as well as into the observed gender differences.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Perceptions of the mammography experience.

The 1993 projections for breast cancer indicate a morbidity of 183,000 women with a mortality rate of 18%. Mammography is one of three approaches available for the early detection of breast cancer. However, underutilization has been reported and attributed to pain associated with the procedure, the expense to the consumer, and lack of referral by physicians. Other reasons for the low utilization rates include fears on the part of the woman of a positive diagnosis, radiation, and a possible mastectomy. This study provides an analysis of the responses of a convenience sample of 272 women, aged 30-90 years, to two open-ended questions about the mammography experience. The words and phrases women used to describe the mammography experience and the sensations experienced in their breasts during mammography were subjected to content analysis. The results of this study suggest that the word descriptors women use to describe their experience during mammography are highly individualistic and may not be totally captured by numeric or descriptive rating scales of pain intensity.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

A Delphi study of pediatric oncology nurses' facilitative behaviors.

Using a classic Delphi methodology, this study identified the nursing behaviors and interventions that oncology nurses rated as most important in facilitating the patient's, parents', and siblings' coping efforts with the effects of disease and treatment. Random selection of 300 pediatric oncology nurses resulted in a final sample of 69 nurses who completed all 3 rounds of the Delphi. The majority of the nurses were younger than 35 years of age, had less than 10 years of experience, were educated with at least a bachelor's degree, and practiced in an all-oncology setting. Twenty-eight facilitative behaviors were identified for the child with cancer, 25 for the parents, and 25 for the siblings. Results of this study support previous research on patient, parent, and sibling coping.

Adaptation, Psychological↗