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Biomedical subjects

J J Fitzpatrick

Publications and source records attributed to J J Fitzpatrick.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Preliminary investigation of the reliability and validity of a tool for the assessment of body position and motor activity.

A recently developed tool which symbolically records body position, gross motor activity, and the intensity of this activity has potential for use in a variety of settings. To examine the instrument for interrater reliability and validity, activity of 14 children engaged in normal play was observed and recorded by two raters. Scores obtained were compared to actometer scores. The technique, it was concluded, is a reliable and sensitive method of assessing and recording changes in body position and activity levels which warrants further study in other situations.

Biomechanical Phenomena

Development of definitions for taxonomy II.

In the process of placing diagnoses into Taxonomy I, certain inconsistencies became apparent. Inadequate definition of both diagnoses and human response patterns, lack of defining characteristics, and inconsistency in the levels of abstraction within the taxonomic hierarchy made the task of assigning a diagnosis to a taxonomic pattern difficult. Ambiguity in the definitions of the nine patterns resulted in ambiguity in the basic foundation, which affected the entire structure. The Taxonomy Committee, before evaluating the current structure, had to make the following decisions regarding the current human response patterns: (1) Should the nine human response patterns be retained for further taxonomic work? and (2) If they are retained, what should be the first step in examining Taxonomy I-Revised? This second article in a series of four will familiarize the readers with the process and decisions by which Taxonomy II of the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) is evolving through the work of the Taxonomy Committee. This article also will identify the specific problems encountered in the development of Taxonomy I and Taxonomy I-Revised, and describe the steps establishing the validity of the process of formation of the nine human response patterns.

Classification

Axes: focus of taxonomy II.

A number of persistent issues in the nursing diagnosis community have challenged the ability of one nursing diagnosis taxonomy to account for nursing's practice. The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) Taxonomy Committee, charged with the preparation of one taxonomy for all, has struggled with some of these issues and has initiated development of axes. The issues, figuratively speaking, become the axes. The axes are intended to describe the dimensions of the human condition. This article, third in a series of four, describes the process and development of the proposed axes.

Age Factors

Endowed chairs in nursing.

Two distinguished scholars discuss aspects of endowed chairs: Joyce Fitzpatrick provides a brief history of the practice and explains how endowed chairs preserve academic freedom and nursing's place in scientific inquiry. M. Elizabeth Carnegie recounts a brief history of endowed chairs in the U.S. and relates her own experiences gained from filling endowed chairs in nursing.

Faculty, Nursing

A follow-up study of the reliability and validity of the motor activity rating scale.

This study compared and extended the evaluation of reliability and validity of the Motor Activity Rating Scale (MARS) for observing and symbolically recording body positions, body movements, and intensity of body movements. In contrast to a previously reported study, the movement of relatively inactive individuals was observed. High interrater reliability and statistically significant correlations between MARS movement scores and actometer scores were again observed.

Aged

Relaxation technique to increase comfort level of postoperative patients: a preliminary study.

Effectiveness of a relaxation technique to increase the comfort level of patients in their first postoperative attempt at getting out of bed was tested on 42 patients, aged 18 to 65, who were hospitalized for elective surgery. Study group patients were taught the relaxing technique; control group patients were not taught the technique. Each group had an equal distribution of cholecystectomy, herniorrhaphy, and hemorrhoidectomy patients. Blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rates of subjects in both groups were compared prior to surgery and after the postoperative attempt to get out of bed. Subjects' reports of incisional pain and bodily distress were measured via a pain and distress scale after their attempt at getting out of bed. Amount of analgesics used in the first 24 hours following surgery was examined. Mean differences in report of incisional pain and body distress, analgesic consumption, and respiratory rate changes were statistically significant, supporting the hypothesis that use of a relaxation technique to reduce muscular tension will lead to an increased comfort level of postoperative patients.

Adolescent