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Biomedical subjects

E Ahmann

Publications and source records attributed to E Ahmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Home apnea monitoring and disruptions in family life: a multidimensional controlled study.

We used data from telephone interviews and mailed questionnaires to examine 12 aspects of family life among 93 families with infants considered at high risk for sudden infant death syndrome and on home apnea monitors and a matched comparison group with infants not requiring monitoring. Using logistic regression to control confounding variables, we found that case mothers were at an increased risk of poor health, but we found no other significant differences in family life between the two groups.

Apnea↗
PubMed1986

An annotated bibliography on respite care for children and families.

With an increasing emphasis on home care, more and more children with severe disabilities and chronic-acute health impairments will be cared for at home. Care of these children places great financial, physical, and emotional strains on families. Adequate support for families is essential to prevent costly rehospitalization, foster placement, or worse. Respite care is a supportive service that is an important part of every effective plan for home care. This bibliography offers annotations on a range of materials directly addressing or closely related to the topic of respite care for children and families. The bibliography will be useful for the reader searching for general material on the topic as well as the reader interested in specific aspects of respite care, including family perceptions, program models, funding issues, and training. Annotations on articles, reports, books, and some government materials are provided. Additionally, a listing of training materials, and where they can be obtained, is provided without annotations after the bibliography.

Bibliographies as Topic↗
PubMed1983

There's no place like home.

Many children with chronic illness or handicapping conditions may not need continual or frequent institutional care, provided that suitable home care services are available. Yet, planning and experimentation with the concept of pediatric home care is just beginning on both the national and local levels and the concept of home care has yet to become widely understood and accepted. As a result, health planners and policy markers often fail to realize the potential advantage of home care to children, to families, and to society. Instead of seeing it as the most humane and effective way of caring for the chronically ill child, they see it as an increased financial burden. They also lack the perspective needed to realize that home care is ultimately the most cost-effective health care alternative, since it involves investing in people rather than in buildings or equipment. This report attempts to disseminate more widely the concept of home care by recounting a 2-year experience with a hospital-based pediatric home care service.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of home apnea monitors.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the frequency of use of home apnea monitors, reasons for not using them, and factors associated with their use among families of infants for whom home monitoring had been prescribed. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, including a telephone interview to collect demographic data and a mailed questionnaire to obtain data on monitor use. SETTING: The apnea clinics in two tertiary-care centers. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-three families (representing an 80.9% response rate) with infants considered at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome and requiring home monitors. Infants with tracheostomies or bronchopulmonary dysplasia and families with monitored twins, a mother known to be drug addicted, or no home telephone were excluded. RESULTS: Of concern were that 23.1% of mothers reported using the monitor 12 or fewer hours per day and that 10.8% believed their infants did not need a monitor. Of 11 variables examined, only color change in the infant was associated with frequency of monitor use. CONCLUSIONS: Clear, consistent communication with families regarding the use of apnea monitors is essential to improve compliance with proper monitoring techniques.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Review and commentary: two studies regarding giving "bad news".

Informing parents of the diagnosis of a chronic illness or disability in their child can be a difficult task. At the same time it is critical that the informing is done well. Two studies examining parental reactions to the "informing interview" (Krahn, Hallum, & Kime, 1993; Garwick, Patterson, Bennett, & Blum, 1995) support the conventional considerations that both parents, in a two-parent family, should be together when told of their child's diagnosis; parents should be informed early on; simple, direct language without medical jargon should be used; and the informing professional should be both empathetic and supportive of parental emotional expression. These studies raise additional considerations including the importance of meeting with parents in person, informing parents in a private setting, pointing out the child's strengths as well as limitations, and individualizing both the communication style and information shared. Cross cultural considerations, while not addressed in either of these studies, require attention to language interpretation, meaning assigned to the diagnosis, and potentially differing treatment preferences. In all cases, nurses should evaluate the effectiveness of the informing interview in relation to the family's affective and information needs. Each of these considerations should be part of the process of an informing interview.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Exploring language about families.

When we work with families in health care settings, it is important to be aware of the way we communicate. Often overlooked is how the language we use to describe and understand families affects how we work with them. The language we use in thinking about a family can shape our perceptions of the family and may affect how we approach working with them. The language we use in describing a family to another health care provider can affect how that person will perceive and approach the family. The language families hear us use can affect families' perceptions of themselves, their perceptions of us, and, consequently, how they relate to us. In Project Copernicus' Family Centered Communication Skills: Facilitator's Guide (Edelman, Greenland, & Mills, 1993), an activity entitled "Watch Our Language" explores commonly used negative terminology about families and guidelines for better language. This exercise has been used with groups of nurses and other health care providers at several conferences and has generated thoughtful brainstorming about negative language related to families, its impact on families, and its impact on the nurses working with them. Those participating in the workshops explored better terminology about families and brainstormed a list of selected family strengths which are shared here.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Promoting normal development in school-age children and adolescents who are technology dependent: a family centered model.

Normal life experiences foster development and encourage psychological and social competence in children. This article describes a family-centered approach to developmental assessment and intervention with the aim of normalizing the life experiences of school-age children and adolescents who are dependent on or assisted by medical technology.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family impact of home apnea monitoring: an overview of research and its clinical implications.

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical applicability of research findings related to home apnea monitoring. METHOD: A critical review of descriptive and explanatory research on family impact of home apnea monitoring. FINDINGS: Strengths and limitations of the research are identified. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical practice implications of the research findings are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developmental assessment of the technology-dependent infant and young child.

Appropriate developmental intervention for the technology-dependent infant or young child has its basis in a carefully designed and thorough assessment. The role of the nurse is central in this process. This article guides the nurse through an analysis of developmentally relevant medical considerations, an examination of tolerance and endurance, the determination of developmental level, an approach to working with families, and the process of translating assessment data into intervention plans.

Child Development↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thinking critically about family-centered home care nursing.

Family-centered care is receiving increasing attention. Nowhere is this approach to care more fitting than in the home care setting. Yet, in this setting, critical questions arise that test the boundaries of family-centered practice. Nurses must address these questions, and must engage in dialogue both with other nurses and with family members as part of thinking critically about family-centered home care nursing.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Resources for family-centered care: an annotated bibliography.

Understanding and implementing family-centered care becomes easier as nurses are exposed to both the concept and examples of the concept in practice. An annotated bibliography of articles, books, films, training materials, and newsletters will be useful to individual nurses, nurse-educators, and nurse administrators.

Family↗
PubMedDate not supplied

"Chunky stew:" appreciating cultural diversity while providing health care for children.

The United States does not have as clear a generalized culture as more homogenous nations. For this reason, cultural competence is an important goal of nursing practice. Culture and ethnicity affect access to care and use of health care services. The cultural biases of the health care system must be acknowledged so that nurses can dialogue effectively with families who may have different perceptions. Cultural differences in the perceived meaning of illness affect both help-seeking behavior and approaches to caring and curing. Cross-cultural communication includes attention to language differences and jargon, as well as sensitivity to the family's values and preferences. Intervention plans for the child should be developed in conjunction with the family and should reflect their choices and address their concerns.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family-centered care: the time has come.

The concept of family-centered care was first introduced in 1987. Since that time, legislation has mandated its implementation, training materials have been developed, and it has come to be considered "best practice." It is time now for pediatric nurses to learn strategies for implementation of family-centered care.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family-centered care: shifting orientation.

To practice in a family-centered manner requires nurses to shift from a professionally-centered view of health care to a collaborative model that recognizes families as central in a child's life and their values and priorities as central in the plan of care. Nursing strategies to promote the family's role as primary caregiver for their child include recognizing and accepting diverse styles of family coping, helping families recognize their strengths and methods of coping, reassuring parents regarding their essential role, and facilitating family involvement and caregiving. The use of communication models such as LEARN and the Nursing Mutual Participation Model of Care can facilitate collaborative parent-professional relationships. A brief review of research on families of children critically or chronically ill implies that care for children and their families can improve when family-centered practices are implemented in health care settings.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Home apnea monitoring and risk factors for poor family functioning.

As part of a comprehensive study on the impact of home apnea monitoring on family functioning, we undertook an in-depth analysis of risk factors for poor family functioning in 93 families of monitored infants. A multistep correlation and regression analysis was used to examine the ability of 16 demographic, infant, family, and monitor-related variables to predict poor functioning in each of 12 different aspects of family life. Of note was the fact that monitor-related variables failed to be important predictors of poor family functioning. Rather, previous family problems and low satisfaction with social support were the most broad and powerful predictors of poor functioning. To enhance the capabilities of families to manage the added responsibility of home monitoring, clinicians might wisely assess both of these aspects of family life and then target extra support services to families identified to be at risk in these areas.

Adult↗