Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L J Duckett.
Handwashing is a simple procedure that is critical to prevention and control of infections, yet many health care workers (HCWs) do not practice hand hygiene according to recommended guidelines. The Handwashing Assessment Inventory (HAI) is a self-report instrument that is designed to measure the motivational schema of HCWs for handwashing.
Covariance structures analysis is often used in nursing research to appraise statistical models reflecting complex human health processes. The model selection approach in covariance structures analysis is designed to select the "best" model from a specified set of theoretically defensible, competing alternatives, all of which are viewed as approximations. Model selection criteria explicitly incorporate both model misfit in the population and sampling error to evaluate the set of models. The result is that interpretability of model parameters and goodness-of-fit are enhanced simultaneously. Relative merits of the model selection approach are identified in light of technical concerns, parsimony, and use of scientific theory in nursing.
Insufficient milk is a poorly understood problem that is often identified as a major reason for early discontinuation of breastfeeding. This study explored the relationship between anemia and insufficient milk in 630 first-time mothers. The frequency of anemia (postpartum hemoglobin < 10 g/dL) was 22 percent. Anemic mothers reported a higher level of symptomatology associated with insufficient milk and were more frequently classified as having insufficient milk syndrome. Mothers with the syndrome reported a shorter period of full breastfeeding, and weaned at an earlier age. They identified not having enough milk, baby nursing too often, and baby not gaining enough weight as the main reasons for discontinuing breastfeeding, compared with baby's disinterest and conflicts with school or work as main reasons among mothers not reporting symptoms related to insufficient milk syndrome. The study results suggest that anemia is associated with the development of insufficient milk, which in turn, is related to duration of full breastfeeding and to age at weaning.
This prospective, longitudinal study was conducted to describe the experiences of 82 primiparas who breastfed longer than 12 months. They were compared with 541 primiparas who weaned their infants within the first year. Greater age, education, and weeks of exclusive breastfeeding were associated with longer duration of breastfeeding. More than two-thirds (68%) of the women who breastfed longer than one year returned to employment before their infant was 1 year old. The most frequently chosen reason for long-term breastfeeding was that breastfeeding was a special time for mother and baby that the mother was not ready to give up. Nearly half of the women reported breastfeeding their babies on demand. At 12 to 15 months, 54 percent of the babies slept in a crib in a separate room, and 37 percent slept in the same bed with their mother all or part of the night. Most mothers (57%) considered their support group to be slightly or moderately important in influencing their decision to breastfeed beyond a year, and 10 percent considered it to be extremely important. The major themes that emerged from women's comments were the importance of being strong in the face of social unacceptability, development of a close mother-child bond, and the naturalness of breastfeeding beyond 12 months. Health caregivers should recognize the emotional and interpersonal aspects of long-term breastfeeding, support the breastfeeding relationship, and avoid contributing to the development of "closet nursers" so that women may feel free to discuss their concerns about their child's health.
A group of primiparas who combined breast-feeding and employment are described in terms of how they felt about the experience, the difficulties they encountered, factors that affected their total duration of breast-feeding, and patterns of feeding while separated from their infant. These women are contrasted with primiparas who weaned prior to returning to work and those who remained homemakers. Of the 619 women included in the analyses, 499 (80.6%) of the women returned to work or school by 12 months postpartum and 288 (46.5%) continued to breast-feed after returning to work. Women who combined breast-feeding and employment were older, had more years of education, worked fewer hours per week, and more worked in professional jobs than those who weaned prior to returning to work. A number of women who chose to express breast milk only at home thought they would have had problems with having enough time and finding a place to express and to store expressed milk had they tried to express breast milk at work. The overwhelming majority of women who combined breast-feeding and employment felt that it was worth the trouble, that they would recommend it to others, and that they had done something special for their infants that no one else could do. The findings suggest that nursing interventions and workplace accommodations could assist more women to experience the benefits and rewards of continuing to breast-feed after returning to employment.
The severe shortage in nursing and significant decline in enrollments in schools of nursing present unique challenges. One way the University of Minnesota School of Nursing responded to this challenge was by initiating an honors program. The development and implementation throughout the first year are described. Funding, admission and graduation requirements, faculty work load, and the difficulties of introducing flexibility into typically highly structured undergraduate professional degree programs are addressed. Implications for the future are presented.