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Biomedical subjects

K H Morin

Publications and source records attributed to K H Morin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Using research to establish protocols for practice: a statewide study of acute care agencies.

The purpose of the study was to examine research utilization practices relative to developing and revising practice protocols in acute care agencies in Delaware. Nurse leaders in 13 acute care agencies identified resource nurses most familiar with the development and revision of agency protocols. Thirty-two resource nurses from 11 agencies, representing critical care, emergency, general medical, general surgical, obstetric, and psychiatric nursing, were interviewed. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. Examples of research-based protocols, defined as those supported by research citations, were obtained. The authors found that the majority of protocols submitted, although referenced, were not research-based. Most institutions used textbooks and standards to support nursing practice protocols. The authors concluded that nurses who are responsible for developing and revising agency protocols were not familiar with the use of research findings to guide the development or revision of protocols and were unsure what constituted the "use of research."

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Mothers' responses to care given by male nursing students during and after birth.

PURPOSE: To describe the rationale maternity patients use in determining whether to accept care by a male student nurse. Information about the activities that women are comfortable having male nursing students perform is inconsistent and the reasons for women's comfort or discomfort are unclear. Furthermore, little is known about what factors patients consider when assigned a male nursing student. Yet, knowledge of such factors can enhance understanding and guide the selection of students in maternity units. DESIGN: Focused ethnography using a purposive convenience sample of 32 women, aged 20 to 40 years, who spoke English, and who had given birth to normal newborns in one small community hospital in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Patients were excluded if they or their infants were in an unstable physical or mental condition. The study was conducted in 1995. METHODS: The women were interviewed using a semi-structured format. FINDINGS: Data from participants pertained to personal and contextual factors. Personal factors were perception of postpartum self and personal feelings. Contextual factors were student characteristics, establishment of relationships, nursing care activities, and partner viewpoint. CONCLUSIONS: Women during and after giving birth have definite thoughts about male student nurses caring for them. Nurse educators should consider these when assigning men. Educators should encourage professionalism and competence in their students.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Promoting gynecologic health in young and middle-age women.

A holistic approach to gynecologic health addresses more than the physical problems associated with the reproductive organs and breasts. The article presents information about selected gynecologic health issues for young and middle-age women (17 to 60 years) in a context that considers other aspects of the client, such as the woman's age, life style, health behaviors, culture and ethnicity, and education. Strategies to promote gynecologic health are discussed in relation to these aspects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

A replication study of experienced graduate nurse faculty orientation offerings and needs.

A recent study indicated information about expectations regarding research, peer review and evaluation, promotion, course content, and student evaluation in orientation programs for a predominantly undergraduate faculty sample was absent. This direct replication and extension study determined whether similar results exist for seasoned graduate nurse faculty. Of 240 questionnaires returned, 66 met sample criteria. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire. Results indicate 79% received an orientation, lasting an average of 3 days. The mode, however, was 2 days. Fourteen topics were addressed. Data provide additional information regarding the scope of orientation for nursing faculty. Orientation programs that better meet the needs of all nurse faculty need to be developed.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1997

The influence of ostomy surgery on body image in patients with cancer.

A one group repeated measures design was used to describe changes in body image in 45 patients treated with ostomy for bowel or bladder cancer. Body image was measured preoperatively and at two postoperative points: 1 month and in 6 months or postclosure. The Body Cathexis Scale, Draw-a-Person, and subjective responses to open-ended questions were used. There was a significant difference in Body Cathexis scores between the immediate 1 month postoperative period and 6 months later (F(2, 88) = 3.13, p = .049). Body image scores did not change significantly between the preostomy and first postostomy measures. Qualitative data suggested that cancer diagnosis and its associated concerns were paramount on subjects' minds preoperatively and thus negatively influenced body image before the creation of the ostomy. Although altered body image is an appropriate nursing diagnosis for patients with ostomy in both the preoperative and postoperative periods, other issues may be dominant especially in the preoperative period.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Managing fear associated with nursing in urban environments: first steps.

Improvement of the health of the nation demands that we prepare nurses to deliver care to those within our urban settings. Yet students frequently are uncomfortable visiting clients in urban settings. Our initial efforts were to refine the Environmental Comfort Scale (Carter, Carroll, & Hayes, 1994), an instrument developed to measure comfort levels in various urban scenarios. This article reports the results of this instrument refinement as well as the inductive process leading to the initial conceptualization of a model that addresses threats to safety. These threats, in turn, generate fear of nursing in community-based settings. The study participants were 120 volunteer junior students in a baccalaureate nursing program. The Environmental Comfort Scale II was administered to students at the beginning of an orientation session prior to their initial clinical nursing course. The instrument consisted of 15 items: 3 demographic items, 11 items asking students to rate their level of comfort and of fear in relation to various urban situations, and 1 open-ended question. Analysis of data led to conceptualization of two factors that could influence comfort levels in the urban environment. The first factor was personal-emotional (affective) and the second factor was cognitive (objective). The interaction and interdependency of these two factors led to the creation of a model.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Obese and nonobese postpartum women: complications, body image, and perceptions of the intrapartal experience.

Obesity continues to be a major health problem. The purpose of this descriptive study was to ascertain if differences existed between obese and nonobese postpartum women in relation to obstetric complications, body image, and perceptions of the intrapartal experience. In this study, obesity was found to be a significant predictor of pregnancy-induced hypertension. Additionally, as obesity becomes more pronounced, the likelihood of pregnancy-induced hypertension increased and body image became more negative. Perceptions of the intrapartal experience were not altered by obesity, however.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Seeking success: effective orientation programs for experienced faculty.

Experienced faculty who change academic positions must adjust quickly to a new academic and clinical setting. Although strategies to facilitate integration for faculty new to the role are available, integrating experienced faculty presents a different challenge, and these strategies are not available in the literature. This article presents relevant orientation strategies for both clinical and academic settings.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1994

Experienced faculty orientation offerings: do they meet faculty needs?

The purposes of this descriptive study were to identify existing orientation protocols for seasoned nurse faculty who change academic positions and which orientation protocols these faculty perceived helpful. Subjects were drawn from 460 NLN-accredited generic baccalaureate programs. All subjects (N = 372) had a minimum of three years' prior teaching experience and were employed at the institution within 1990-91 and 1991-92. A two-part questionnaire, adapted from Mills (1983), was used. Some form of orientation was offered to 81% of the sample, with 27% reporting an orientation of less than one day. Topics addressed by orientation programs for the majority of the sample included conceptual framework and curriculum; teaching and library resources; and organizational structure. Areas not addressed included introduction to local nursing organizations and the community in general. Results suggest that experienced faculty receive some form of orientation. The scope is limited, with such topics as clinical placement and student evaluation omitted.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing students' perceived threats to safety in the community: instrument refinement.

The shift to community-based practice presents challenges to traditional nursing education. One such challenge is that of student safety. The authors discuss the continuing efforts to develop an instrument to assess student perceptions of threats in the community as well the findings of a pilot study. Analysis of the data indicates that the Environmental Comfort Scale III is valid, reliable, and easy to administer and interpret.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prepregnant weight and weight gain during pregnancy: relationship to functional status, symptoms, and energy.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of prepregnancy weight and pregnancy weight gain to functional status, physical symptoms, and physical energy. DESIGN: Longitudinal panel, with data collected at the end of each trimester. Functional status was measured by the Inventory of Functional Status-Antepartum Period; physical symptoms, by the Symptoms Checklist; and physical energy, by a one-item question. Self-reported weight and height were used to calculate body mass index (BMI), using the formula weight[kg]/height[m2]. SETTING: Women's homes. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred twenty-two women, whose pregnancies were low-risk, drawn from a larger study. RESULTS: Women were classified by prepregnancy BMI as underweight (BMI < 19.8), normal weight (BMI = 19.8-26.0), or overweight (BMI > 26.0). The groups did not differ in weight gain by trimester, for an average total weight gain of 30.56 lb (SD = 10.18, range = 1-64) (p > .05), with overweight women therefore gaining less weight on a percentage basis (M = 16.87%) than women who were of normal weight (M = 23.58%) or were underweight (M = 26.02%) (p < .00005). The groups did not differ in functional status, physical energy, or number or type of physical symptoms. Women who gained more than the recommended amount of weight for their prepregnant weight group had a lower level of 3rd trimester functional status than those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Individual counseling of women regarding food intake and excessive weight gain during pregnancy needs to be reconsidered in light of these findings.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Perinatal outcomes of obese women: a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature addressing the effect of obesity on pregnancy outcomes and to identify practice and research implications. DATA SOURCES: Computerized searches in Medline and CINAHL, as well as references cited in articles reviewed. Key words used in the search were as follows: pregnancy and obesity; pregnancy complications; weight gain and pregnancy; weight gain and complications; fat distribution and pregnancy and complications; and obstetrics and obesity. STUDY SELECTION: Articles and comprehensive works from indexed journals in the English language relevant to key words and published after 1978 were evaluated. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted and organized under the following headings: methodologic issues; physiologic adjustments; antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum and newborn outcomes; and cost. DATA SYNTHESIS: Obese pregnant women experience more gestational diabetes, neural tube defects, preeclampsia, induction, primary cesarean, and postpartum infection than pregnant women who are not obese. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women who are obese are at increased risk for certain complications during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Little is known about the effect that fat distribution (upper versus lower, which is influential in nonpregnant populations) has on obstetric complications. Even less is known about obese pregnant women's perceptions of risk, changes in lifestyle, functioning, health behaviors, and symptoms experienced during pregnancy.

Female↗