Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J M Killen.
A significant proportion of patients in both acute and long-term care settings have difficulty in swallowing. These impairments may be temporary, progressive, or permanent in nature. Nurses are in a unique position to assess, coordinate, and manage a treatment regimen.
The purpose of this investigation was to determine how family roles changed after spinal cord injury of a child or spouse. Parental and spousal roles--including provider, child care and socialization, housekeeper, sexual, recreational, therapeutic, and kinship roles--were studied. Results indicated that, overall, families that experienced spinal cord injury did not significantly change in role functioning. In most instances, mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives continued to play roles that traditionally were a part of their family functioning. Spinal cord injury, however, was perceived by family members as a crisis event that lessened over time, but that for the majority of respondents continued indefinitely.