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Biomedical subjects

J M Youngblut

Publications and source records attributed to J M Youngblut.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Characteristics of a child's critical illness and parents' reactions: preliminary report of a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationships between parents' reactions to the pediatric intensive care unit admission of a child and characteristics of the child's illness. METHOD: A convenience sample, consisting of 16 mothers and 13 fathers of 16 children aged 5 years and younger, was used. The Pediatric Risk of Mortality scale was used to measure severity of illness. Parental reactions were measured at about 24 hours after the child's admission with the Parental Stressor Scale: PICU and the Parental Concerns Scale. RESULTS: Mothers' concerns and stressors were not related to the child's Pediatric Risk of Mortality score. However, fathers reported greater concern about the child's experience and about parenting as the child's Pediatric Risk of Mortality score increased. CONCLUSIONS: Parents' reactions to their child's critical illness and admission to the pediatric intensive care unit were not related to characteristics of the child's condition in this small sample. Future research needs are suggested.

Adult

Parent stress associated with pediatric critical care nursing: linking research and practice.

This paper connects research findings to nursing practices that may be helpful when working with stressed parents of critically ill children. Theories and concepts foundational to understanding parental stress related to pediatric critical care are reviewed. Research findings particularly associated with parent role stress are introduced, and suggestions for using these findings to design nursing interventions are presented.

Humans

Emergent admission to the pediatric intensive care unit: parental concerns.

To identify parental concerns when a child is suddenly admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, 17 parents of ten critically ill children were interviewed using a structured format between 20 and 36 hours after admission about their concerns around the time of admission and at the time of interview using the Parental Concerns Scale. The individual concern items receiving the highest ratings were the child's survival, the possibility of mental or physical impairment, the child's diagnosis, and the amount of pain experienced by the child. Total concern scores decreased over time for both mothers and fathers when the child's prognosis was good and, for mothers only, when the child had an infectious illness rather than accidental injuries. Implications for nursing practice are discussed.

Adolescent

Maternal employment effects on family and preterm infants at three months.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal employment status and the mother's degree of choice and satisfaction regarding her employment status on family functioning and on the preterm infant's development at three months chronologic age. Families with preterm infants (N = 110) were categorized as employed, nonemployed, and on leave of absence based on the mother's employment status at three months postpartum. There were no significant differences across employment groups on family functioning and child development. The infant's motor development was positively correlated with number of hours employed per week and degree of choice for the employed mother families, but negatively correlated with choice for the nonemployed mother families. These results suggest that maternal employment may not be detrimental for infants born prior to term. Indeed, it may be beneficial, especially if the mother has a choice in the matter.

Employment

Data management issues in longitudinal research.

Much of the existing literature about the research process has neglected data management. While design, instrumentation, sampling, and analysis are important parts of the process, paying attention to the issues surrounding data management is crucial to the success of the study. Data entry and analysis are facilitated when the details of data structure and management are decided before data collection begins.

Database Management Systems

Factors related to maternal employment status following the premature birth of an infant.

A sample of 110 two-parent families whose preterm infants were less than 37 weeks gestation, appropriate for gestational age, and free of major congenital anomalies were recruited from two level-III intensive care nurseries. At 3 months postpartum, 40 mothers (36.4%) were employed, 15 (13.6%) stated they were on a leave of absence, and the remaining 55 mothers (50%) were not employed. Although not significantly different on demographic or infant morbidity variables, employed mothers were significantly more employment-oriented and reported less choice and satisfaction with employment status than nonemployed mothers. In addition, employed mothers were employed more hours prenatally and reported prenatal plans to be employed sooner after the infant's birth than nonemployed mothers. Employed mothers also perceived more support from others for their employment and greater financial necessity and availability of child care than nonemployed mothers. Higher scores on employment orientation were correlated with higher maternal education level, fewer children, more hours employed, higher total support for their employment, higher financial necessity, and less choice and satisfaction with employment status.

Adult

A psychometric analysis of the Family Environment Scale.

Psychometric properties of the Moos (1979) Family Environment Scale (FES) were studied in a sample of 73 two-parent and 19 single-parent families. Mothers and fathers completed the FES questionnaire while the child in the family closest to 11 years old was administered the FES in an interview. Moos reported initial internal consistency estimates (Kuder-Richardson 20s) between .64 and .79. In this study, KR20s ranged from .24 to .75 for the entire sample, and differences among mothers, fathers, and children in the KR20s calculated for each group were found. Although Moos hypothesized three dimensions into which the 10 subscales fall, confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL VI did not support this assertion.

Adult