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Biomedical subjects

E M Menke

Publications and source records attributed to E M Menke.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

School-aged homeless sheltered children's stressors and coping behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to examine the stressors and coping behaviors of school-aged homeless children staying in shelters. A secondary analysis of interview data from 30 children, between the ages of 8 to 12 years, was used to delineate the stressors and coping behaviors. Homeless, family, self, peer, school, and violent behavior were the stressor categories derived from content analysis. The children expressed more stresses in the homeless, family, and self categories than in the other 3 categories. The coping behaviors from the content analysis were categorized by using Ryan-Wenger's (1992) coping taxonomy. The majority of the children's coping responses were in the social support, cognitive avoidance, and behavioral distraction categories. Nurses should assess each child's stressors and coping behaviors when providing care to homeless children, and assist the child in alleviating some stressors by strengthening one's coping behaviors.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

What is known about the health of rural homeless families?

Families represent the fastest-growing subgroup of the homeless population. Most of the research has focused on urban homeless families and not on rural homeless families. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics and health of rural homeless families in Ohio. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to study 76 families who had 125 children under 12 years of age. An interview schedule, the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the SCL-90-R were used to collect data. The majority of the mothers perceived themselves and their children as having no physical health problems. Twenty-four of the children were behind on their immunizations. Forty-four (52%) of the children under 6 years of age had DDST scores that indicated they might have developmental lags and 15 of the children over 4 years of age had CBCL scores that indicated they might have behavioral problems. The reported use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes was high for this group of mothers. Strategies are included that nurses can use in working with rural homeless families.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Chronic hemodialysis patients' perceptions of stress, coping, and social support.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe chronic hemodialysis patients' perceptions of stressors, coping methods, and social support. DESIGN: A descriptive survey design was used. SAMPLE/SETTING: The convenience sample consisted of 129 hemodialysis patients who ranged in age from 20 to 87 years. Subjects were obtained from two hospital-based and two freestanding outpatient hemodialysis centers in the Midwest. METHODS: During a hemodialysis treatment, each subject participated in an audiotaped structured interview that had seven open-ended questions about stressors, coping methods, and social support. These interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with content analysis. RESULTS: Subjects used multiple coping methods such as acceptance, optimism, maintaining control, seeking support, and staying active to handle 62 stressors, which included physiological complications, psychosocial concerns about hemodialysis, and restrictions. Subjects positively evaluated their support and discussed concerns for support persons and needs for more support. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses can conduct ongoing assessments of hemodialysis patients' stressors, coping, and social support so that they can assist patients to alleviate stressors and attain or maintain effective coping methods and support resources. Research can focus on development and testing of specific nursing interventions to assist hemodialysis patients to cope with stressors and strengthen their social support.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

The health of rural homeless women with young children.

More than 30 percent of the homeless are families with children; however, little is known about these families, particularly rural homeless mothers with children. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of rural homeless mothers, their physical and mental health, and their health care practices. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to study a sample of 76 rural mothers with children younger than age 13. An interview schedule and the SCL-90-R were used to collect data about these families. The majority of the families had been homeless for more than four months, 46 percent were woman-headed, 17 percent of the mothers reported having a physical health problem, and only 3 percent had scores on the SCL-90-R that were indicative of needing additional evaluation for possible mental health problems. The use of drugs was higher than expected, which puts both the mothers and their children at risk for health problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Case management of homeless families.

Homeless families are the fastest growing subgroup of the homeless population. They have multiple health care needs that can be best met by the community clinical nurse specialist. Nursing actions must be planned based on an assessment of this group's unique service needs. Interventions require the use of individualized delivery strategies such as case management, which necessitates that the clinical nurse specialist develop specialized skills in both service stimulation and system advocacy.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The mental health of African-American and Caucasian-American women who are homeless.

1. Nurses can use research findings to educate other health professionals about homeless subcultures with attention to specific cultural and socioeconomic needs, as well as to develop interventions for homeless women. 2. Minority women are more susceptible to homelessness as they experience increased poverty levels and are often single mothers. Of all minority women, African-American women are the most vulnerable to physical and psychological illness. 3. In this study, 75% of the subjects had scores on a psychological assessment test that indicated they needed additional psychological testing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Stressors and coping behaviors of homeless, poor, and low-income mothers.

Homeless mothers and their children have become a highly politicized issue. This article presented a study comparing the stressors and coping behaviors of homeless women with their domiciled counterparts, low-income and poor mothers. The results of the study indicated that although homeless, poor, and low-income mothers cope in a similar manner, homeless mothers were considerably more disadvantaged in terms of education, family size, and work history, and were besieged by many more stressors. These results suggest that CHNs must design interventions that are not only interdisciplinary in nature and use the expertise of many professional groups but also influence the communities' political and decision-making bodies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1981

School-aged children's perception of stress in the hospital.

This article is based on a research study of hospitalized school-aged children's perception of stress. Forty-two different stimuli were identified through the use of a projective-type game developed by the investigator. The findings of the study did not support the hypotheses that there is a relationship between the stimuli that children perceive as stressful and their preparation for hospitalization nor their length of time in the hospital.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of the stressors and coping behaviors of homeless, previously homeless, and never homeless poor children.

The purpose of this study was to compare the stressors and coping behaviors of homeless, previously homeless, and never homeless poor school-aged children. Content analyses of interview data from 132 children were used. Forty-four (68%) of the homeless children identified at least one stressor related to being homeless. The three groups of children were similar in regard to stressors related to the family, self, peers, health, school, and environment. In regard to the violent behavior category, significantly more of the previously homeless and never homeless children expressed stressors compared to the homeless children. Significantly more previously homeless and never homeless children identified more social support coping behaviors compared to the homeless children. The three groups of children did not differ in regard to the use of behavioral and cognitive coping strategies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluating a support group for perinatal loss.

PURPOSE: This study attempted to determine if a support group intervention makes a difference in grief reactions of parents who have experienced a perinatal loss, and describes what parents perceived as being helpful and not helpful in handling the loss. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, retrospective, two-group research design was used. The independent variable was having attended or not having attended a perinatal loss support group. METHODS: A convenience sample of 121 participants (n = 67 in support groups; n = 51 not in support groups) was obtained from a mail survey to families who were on a perinatal loss support newsletter mailing list. The participants completed the Hogan Grief Reactions Checklist and a demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in parents' grief reaction scores between the two groups, but there were some differences in grief scores by gender and ethnicity. In both groups, the parents perceived their spouse, their extended families, and their friends as "most helpful." Physicians were perceived as "least helpful." CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Grief is very individual, and not all individuals may benefit from a support group. When suggesting a support group or any intervention, timing and a caring approach are essential.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Homeless children: interdisciplinary drug prevention intervention.

Homelessness among children has been called a national tragedy. Homeless children, by virtue of their unique situation, are particularly vulnerable for early initiation of and sustained participation in substance abuse behaviors. The authors describe homeless children in relation to drug abuse etiology research, discuss current prevention strategies, suggest necessary components of an interdisciplinary prevention curriculum for homeless preschool children, and delineate methods for delivering the curriculum to the children. Nurses, given their unique role in the healthcare delivery system as well as a holistic world view, are in an unparalleled position to facilitate the design and implementation of such curricula.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The mental health of homeless school-age children.

PROBLEM: The mental health of homeless school-age children. METHODS: A convenience sample of 46 homeless children between the ages of 8 and 12 years completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and each child's mother completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). FINDINGS: Fifty-seven percent of the children had depressive symptoms and 26% needed additional evaluation for mental health problems. Overall, the CDI and CBCL scores indicated that gender or ethnicity are not related to the children's mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The mental health of homeless schoolage children should be assessed, as they may be at risk for mental health problems.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparative study of homeless, previously homeless, and never homeless school-aged children's health.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to compare the mental health, physical health, and healthcare practices of homeless, previously homeless, and never homeless poor school-aged children. The sample was comprised of 134 children who ranged in age from 8 to 12 years. The children participated in health assessments and completed two psychometric tests: the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) (Kovacs, 1985) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) (Reynolds & Richmond, 1985). Their mothers completed the Child Behavior Problem Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach, 1991) and participated in an interview. The homeless (n = 67), previously homeless (n = 30), and never homeless children (n = 37) were similar in regard to their health assessment findings, reported health problems, healthcare practices, and CBCL scores. The proportions of homeless and previously homeless children with CDI scores in the clinical range were significantly greater than the never homeless poor children. The homeless children had significantly higher anxiety scores than the previously homeless and never homeless children. All three groups of children were at risk for physical and mental health problems; however, the findings suggest that school-aged children who experience homelessness may be at greater risk for depression and anxiety than never homeless poor children.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The experience of homeless female-headed families.

Eighty-five percent of homeless families are headed by single women who are extremely vulnerable and at risk for poor physical, emotional, and social health. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to describe the experiences of 16 women in homeless female-headed families. These women participated in tape-recorded interviews. The themes that emerged from the interviews were a loss of freedom, a sense of being different, feeling down, maternal survival, and living under pressure. Being homeless was compared to a nightmare in which one does not know what will happen or where one will be from day to day. Implications for nursing practice and research are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Identification of stressors and use of coping methods in chronic hemodialysis patients.

To explore relationships among treatment-related stressors, coping methods, and length of time on hemodialysis the Baldree, Murphy, and Powers (1982) study was replicated. Sixty-eight subjects completed the Hemodialysis Stressor Scale and the Jalowiec Coping Scale. Although Baldree et al. reported no significant difference in ratings of physiological and psychosocial stressors, results of this study showed that physiological stressors were more troublesome than psychosocial stressors, t = 10.85, p less than .0001. Subjects used problem-oriented coping more often than affective methods to handle stress, t = 10.93, p less than .0001, supporting the Baldree et al. findings. The results did not duplicate previous study findings of no significant relationships between stressor and coping scores. Total hemodialysis stressor scores were related to total coping scores, r = .43, and physiological stressors to affective coping, r = .38. However, psychosocial stressors were associated with affective-oriented, r = .43, and problem-oriented coping, r = .33. Length of time of hemodialysis was associated with problem-oriented coping, r = .26.

Adaptation, Psychological↗