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Biomedical subjects

K Smyth

Publications and source records attributed to K Smyth.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Elders' attitudes and behavior regarding ComputerLink.

ComputerLink is a set of telecommunications modules designed to provide information, decision making assistance, and communications support to caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease. Over 19 months, each of the 47 AD caregivers had 12 consecutive months of access. There were a total of 3875 accesses to the AD caregivers' ComputerLink. Attitudes toward ComputerLink were assessed. Subjective and objective measures of use also were captured. ComputerLink users held generally positive attitudes towards the use of the computer network and tended to under-report the number of times they accessed the system.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factor analysis of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire for African American women.

The purpose of this study was to determine the factorial structure of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire for African American women. A sample of 656 African American women living in the southeastern United States, ranging in age from 22 to 64 years (M = 39.6 years), completed the questionnaire. All were employed, with a mean annual income of $24,300. Factor analysis produced three factors, Active Coping, Avoidance, and Minimize the Situation, that accounted for 67% of the total variance. These factors were compared with the eight factors of the Ways of Coping questionnaire reported by Folkman and Lazarus (1980), which was derived from a sample of middle-aged White subjects. The factors that emerged suggest the need for possible revision of the instrument or the development of a new one.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders: implications for minority populations.

The experience of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias in minority populations must be understood in the epidemiological, diagnostic, treatment, and care contexts which surround it. This article describes those contexts, and offers an analysis of how efforts to improve the management of dementia among minorities are likely to be affected by them. An overview of the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of AD and related disorders is presented; current and proposed health care services are described; and planning and policy considerations which result from the nature, epidemiology and care demands of dementia are reviewed. We conclude with a series of recommendations for the enhancement of our healthcare system to meet the needs of minorities with dementia.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Type A behavior pattern and hypertension among inner-city black women.

Inner-city Black women were administered Rosenman and Friedman's A-B interview and invited to discuss stress experiences and traditional coronary heart disease risk factors while their blood pressure was monitored at two-minute intervals. Results revealed the essential reliability of the A-B classification for the sample and demonstrated a general congruence with type A behaviors reported in previous (mostly white male) samples. While type A Black women were not significantly more likely to be hypertensive than type B women, analyses of the intrasubject blood pressure variability revealed an interaction between A-B and hypertensive-normotensive status. Consistent with earlier findings, hypertensives were more variable than normotensives, but this was true only for type Bs; type As were intermediate and not differentiated in their variability. This finding calls attention to the possible adaptive function of type A behavior among stress inner-city Black females and raises the question of whether Rosenman and Friedman's personality theory might be objectionably simplistic.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Type A (coronary-prone) behavior and transient blood pressure change.

A study was conducted to delineate further the physiological mechanisms underlying the type A behavior pattern's influence on coronary heart disease. It was suggested that while chronically elevated blood pressure is apparently not associated with overall A--B distinctions (at least not for males), acting in a type A fashion may be accompanied by temporary increases in blood pressure. Changes in the speech characteristics of 33 black inner-city women during the A--B interview and subsequent unstructured dialogue were analyzed at one-minute intervals and correlated with concomitant blood pressure measurements. Differences in the speech characteristics of women classified type A as opposed to B were consistent with recent studies of white males (e.g., type As spoke significantly faster than type Bs). Further, within-subject blood pressure elevations were significantly associated with louder/more explosive, longer speech episodes. Additional research is urged which examines biochemical and physiological changes as a function of type A behavior considered as a transient state as well as a relatively enduring trait.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of a decade of nursing practice research: 1977-1986.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the research focus, theoretical bases, research designs, statistical methods, and research findings of nursing practice research, 1977-1986. A secondary purpose was to assess the fit of nursing practice research topics within the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association's (NANDA) taxonomy. The sample consisted of 720 articles that met the definitional criteria of nursing practice research from six major refereed journals in nursing that primarily publish nursing research. Findings showed that 95% of research in nursing in the last decade was conducted by nurses as first authors, over half with doctoral degrees. Funded research increased as well as the trend toward multidisciplinary research and multisite studies. One-third of the studies focused on nursing intervention, and two-thirds were assessment-oriented. Although use of nursing conceptual models increased over the decade, theories or models from psychology, physiology, and sociology were used most often. There was an increase in use of sophisticated research methods and better reporting of reliability and validity. The use of NANDA as a taxonomy for classifying nursing practice research was assessed.

Authorship↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Engagement-involvement and blood pressure change: a methodological inquiry.

In a study that examined further Singer's model of engagement-involvement in a community nursing setting, 31 black inner-city women conversed informally with a nurse while their blood pressure was monitored at two-minute intervals using a Hoffman-LaRoche Arteriosonde. Type A (coronary-prone) and hypertensive subjects were judged to not display greater engagement than type B and normotensive subjects, respectively. Within-subject correlations between observers' ratings of engagement and blood pressure showed substantial differences across subjects. Nevertheless, for correlations based on engagement judgments corresponding to the minute immediately preceding the blood pressure determination the mean within-subject values ranged from .14 to .32 (mean = .20) and were all significantly different from zero. Attention is directed to the need for refining the criteria used for judging engagement and to identifying patients for whom increased engagement may invalidate blood pressure measurements in a clinical setting.

Blood Pressure↗