PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L H Ganong

Publications and source records attributed to L H Ganong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

The church family and kin: an older rural black woman's support network and preferences for care providers.

Although kin and church are considered premier support sources for rural elders, few scholars have undertaken descriptive studies to explore the nature of rural Black elders' support networks and their preferences for in-home service providers. In the case study described in this article, methods of support network analysis and descriptive phenomenology were used to analyze data from five lengthy, open-ended interviews with a 94-year-old rural Black woman. The various groups and individuals of her network are labeled in her words, the network's supportive functions are described, and preferences for providers are noted. In addition, the varying structures of her home care experience with the support network members are described. Her attempts to voice and exercise her preferences for in-home service providers are explained in terms of two contrasting processes: preference uptake and preference suppression. Based on these findings, implications for appraising the appropriateness of rural elders' in-home services are discussed.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1999

Implementation of a patient-family pathway: effects on patients and families.

The purpose of this study was to discover whether implementation of a patient-family pathway with patients and families undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery impacted anxiety, information with care planning, and patient length of stay. Using an experimental design, a sample of 60 patients and family members was studied. Each patient and his or her designated family member received either the patient-family pathway or the hospital's standard care planning. Findings indicated no statistically significant differences in state anxiety or information with care planning between patients and family members receiving the patient-family pathway and those receiving standard care planning. There was no statistically significant difference in length of stay between the two patient groups. The results indicate that the CABG patient-family pathway has limited value to patients and families as measured in this study. Resources can be real-located to other uses that may have a more positive impact on the patient and family experience.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Effects of family structure information on nurses' impression formation and verbal responses.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of family structure information on how nurses (a) interpreted information, (b) gathered data, and (c) responded to a patient. Nurses were randomly assigned to see one of eight videotaped interviews portraying: married mother, married with no children, divorced mother, divorced with no children, unmarried mother, unmarried with no children, remarried with spouse's children (stepmother), and remarried with no children. The results indicate that the technical aspects of nursing may be affected only in a relatively minor way, but the affective dimensions of nursing care may be more detrimentally influenced by knowing about a patient's family structure.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The effect of clients' family structure on nursing students' cognitive schemas and verbal behavior.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate if nursing students stereotype clients on the basis of family status. In addition, the influence of information about the client's family status on students' predictions about the client's behavior, information sought from the client, recalled information, and verbal responses directed toward the client were examined. The participants were 83 nursing students from a large Midwestern university. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Brief written information about a female adult client with a vaginal discharge was provided and, after listening to an audiotaped interview between a nurse and the client, students completed a battery of questionnaires. They also responded verbally to questions asked by the audiotaped client. All information given to both groups was identical except for the client's family status. Results indicated that the client who was a married mother was perceived somewhat more positively than the unmarried mother client. Participants' perceptions were only somewhat consistent with cultural stereotypes about these family statuses. Information sought and information remembered about the client were greater when she was an unmarried mother. There were no differences in predictions of patients' behaviors and verbal responses.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Remarriage and health.

One hundred and five adult females and 100 adult males from the mid-Missouri area participated in a study to compare the health complaints of remarried women and men and to determine correlates of these health complaints. A structured interview format was used to gather information, and each subject completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Inventory of Family Feelings (IFF). No major health differences between women and men were found, although women experienced more changes in health complaints following remarriage than men did. Overall, the health of both men and women was affected most by their feelings toward one another and by having decision-making power within the family. For men, more decision-making power in the family and high marital satisfaction were associated with better health. For women, health was associated with positive feelings toward their spouse and less decision-making power. In addition, a woman's health was better with fewer children in the family and when all the children in the household were hers.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of nurses' and patients' perceptions of intensive care unit stressors.

This study was designed to compare intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' and patients' perceptions of the stressfulness of items in the environment for patients in an ICU. The sample consisted of 20 ICU patients and 23 registered nurses employed in the medical and surgical ICUs at a large midwestern university hospital. The patients were contacted 1 to 2 days after transfer from an ICU and asked to complete the Intensive Care Unit Environmental Stressor Scale (ICUESS), a Likert-type questionnaire designed to measure the stressfulness of commonly occurring items in the ICU environment. The nurses were asked to complete the same questionnaire as they believed an ICU patient would complete it. They were asked to complete the questionnaire after the completion of a shift worked in an ICU. A series of one-way ANOVAs were done to compare the patients' and nurses' responses. In every comparison, nurses rated the items as being significantly more stressful than did the patients. Items with the highest mean ratings by patients were: (1) having tubes in your nose or mouth; (2) being stuck with needles; (3) being in pain; (4) not being able to sleep; and (5) being thirsty. Patients and nurses also were asked to list the three most stressful items from the ICUESS. These responses were compared using chi-square tests for homogeneity. Nurses mentioned 'being tied down by tubes' and 'not being in control of oneself' significantly more times than did patients. The items 'being in pain', 'having tubes in your nose or mouth', and 'not being able to sleep' were listed most often by both nurses and patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Nursing students' stereotypes of married and unmarried pregnant clients.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of information about a pregnant client's marital status on nursing students' initial perceptions of the client, attributions of group stereotypes to the client, predictions of client behavior, data sought, and verbal responses toward the client. Forty-three undergraduate nursing students from a large Midwestern university volunteered to participate. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups, the "married client" or "unmarried client." Subjects viewed a videotape of a nurse interviewing a pregnant client and were administered a series of questionnaires. Following this, they were asked to respond in writing to five statements made by the videotaped client. Videotapes were identical except that one group was told they were viewing an unmarried woman and the other group was told the client was married. Results indicated that students evaluated the married client more positively than the unmarried client. Students' perceptions were consistent with several cultural stereotypes. In addition, students predicted that, if hospitalized, the unmarried client would have greater difficulty than the married client. There were no differences between groups in the information they would seek from the client or in responses towards the client.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Survey of stress management content in baccalaureate nursing curricula.

A survey of 276 National League for Nursing baccalaureate programs was conducted to assess the nature and extent of stress management content incorporated into baccalaureate nursing curricula. Roughly 10% of the sample indicated that they offer a separate course in general stress management techniques. In most programs, stress management content was incorporated throughout the curriculum in discreet instructional units. Respondents identified a variety of stress management methods taught in relationship to specific sources of work stress. The most instructional time was devoted to teaching students how to cope with interpersonal stressors; communication skills, group process skills, assertion skills, and conflict management were offered by most programs. Other content areas mentioned by at least 80% of the respondents included: death awareness, crisis intervention, change strategies, values clarification, recognizing stress, organizational skills, time management, and problem solving. The findings of this study are discussed in relationship to the literature on sources of stress in nursing. In addition, suggestions for future research are offered.

Assertiveness↗
PubMed1987

Integrative reviews of nursing research.

Integrative reviews of research are a valuable part of the process of creating and organizing a body of literature. It has been argued that integrative reviews should be held to the same standards of clarity, rigor, and replication as primary research. In this paper methods for conducting an integrative review are discussed. Seventeen reviews from nursing journals were examined and compared with a proposed set of criteria for reviews. The results indicated that the majority of integrative reviews in nursing fell short of primary research standards. Guidelines for conducting more rigorous reviews are presented.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

Stereotyping by nurses and nursing students: a critical review of research.

Thirty-eight empirical studies of stereotyping by nurses and nursing students were critically examined and discussed. The review was conducted and reported as though it were primary research. Subjects were the studies examined, methods were the reviewing procedure, data were attributes of the studies, and results were the conclusions drawn. The research on nurses' stereotypes has been characterized by: the use of one method of data collection, usually questionnaires; the measurement of the presence or absence of specific stereotypes; and nonprobability sampling techniques. There is some evidence that nurses stereotype other people based on age, sex, attractiveness, personality, diagnosis, social class, and family structure. Suggestions for adding to this body of knowledge are made.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Effects of children on parental sex-role orientation.

The predominant theories of gender-role development have focused primarily on childhood; socialization processes for gender roles are explained from birth through adolescence. The assumption appears to be that gender roles are developed in childhood and implemented, basically unchanged, in adulthood. There is evidence, however, that gender-role self-perceptions change in adulthood. This study investigates the effects of sex of children on parental sex-role orientation. More specifically, an attempt is made to determine if the presence of sons affects sex-role self-concept of parents more than the presence of daughters. The Bem Sex Role Inventory was administered to 153 parental dyads who had daughters only (n=41), sons only (n=41), or an equal number of both sons and daughters (n=71). Sex of child, especially sons, did appear to have an effect on parents' femininity. Fathers with sons have lower femininity scores than fathers with daughters only, and mothers with sons have higher femininity scores than mothers with daughters only.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

An examination of preconception health teaching by nurse practitioners.

Fifteen nurse practitioners in a Midwestern urban area in the United States of America volunteered to participated in a study which sought to determine what preconception self-care practices are taught to female clients at risk for pregnancy as a part of routine health maintenance. Subjects' teaching responses were compared to an investigator-developed model for preconception counselling. The subjects listened to an audiotape of a stimulus client-nurse practitioner interview. Their responses were audiotaped and categorized into the following categories: nutrition, vitamins, preconception weight, menstrual cycle review, alcohol, smoking, drug use, exercise, environment hazards, dental care, immunizations, and 'other'. Frequency counts of the teaching responses and a X2 analysis comparing teaching responses to expected teaching based on the PREPARED model (X2 = 78.01, P = 0.001) demonstrated a lack of teaching overall. The conclusion was reached that obstetrical care has not expanded into preconception counselling.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Nursing students' perceptions of a child: influence of information on family structure.

Sixty-eight undergraduate nursing students from a large university in the mid-western United States volunteered to participate in a study to determine nursing students' perceptions of a preschool-aged child when information about his family structure was presented. Subjects viewed a videotape of a 4-year-old male. Half of the subjects received written information that the child was from a two-parent family; the other half received written information that the child was a member of a single-parent family. Two instruments, the First Impressions Semantic Differential and the Predicted Behaviour of a Hospitalized Child Questionnaire, and a demographic data sheet, were completed by each subject. In general, a child believed to be from a two-parent family tended to be perceived more positively than a child believed to be from a single-parent family structure. However, when viewed as a potential patient on a hospital unit, no significant differences in perceived behaviours were reported.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Evaluation of a cardiac arrest simulation.

Prior to using a simulation strategy for educational and/or research purposes, it is essential to assess whether or not the simulation elicits responses one would expect in the "real" situation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stress-eliciting capacity of two variations of a simulated cardiac arrest situation. Twenty-seven senior baccalaureate students in nursing volunteered to participate in the study. Each subject was randomly assigned either to a simulation containing interpersonal stressors or a simulation containing environmental stressors. The simulations took place in a videotape studio equipped as an intensive care unit. All subjects were instructed via an audiotape recording to perform tasks similar to those undertaken by intensive care nurses in the context of a cardiac arrest situation. Pre-post measurements included: self-reported anxiety as measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (A-State), pulse rate, and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Task performance on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and on a medication memory activity also were measured. Since no significant differences in the dependent measures were found between the two groups, data from both groups were analyzed together. Univariate analyses showed significant pre-post increases in pulse rate (p less than .0001), systolic blood pressure (p less than .03), and self-reported anxiety (p less than .0001). No significant change was noted in diastolic blood pressure. Ratings on CPR performance and a medication memory task were well below expected performance standards. The implications of these findings for educational and research purposes are discussed.

Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate↗
PubMed1985

Family structure and dating behavior of adolescents.

This study investigated the effect of family structure on previous dating behavior of older adolescents, and examined the relationship of family structure, family relationship variables, and personal attributes to previous dating behaviors. Data were obtained from 96 males and 81 females enrolled in human development courses at two midwestern universities; 122 were from intact, nuclear families and 55 were from nonintact families. The Dating and Courtship Behavior Questionnaire, adapted from questionnaires by Winch (1949a) and Landis (1963), was administered to subjects during regular class periods. Family structure did not have an effect on number of partners or steadies, but adolescents from nonintact households began dating at younger ages than those from intact households. Personal attributes were more often related to dating behaviors than family structure or family relationship variables. Little support was found for the proposition that dating behaviors were affected by family structure.

Adolescent↗