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Biomedical subjects

L S Eller

Publications and source records attributed to L S Eller.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Strategies for self-management of HIV-related anxiety.

This study examines the frequency and effectiveness of commonly used strategies for self management of anxiety in an international sample of 502 participants from Norway (n=42, 8%), Taiwan (n=35, 7%), and the US (n=426, 85%). An activities checklist summarized into five categories of self-care behaviours including activities/thoughts, exercise, medications, complementary therapies, and substance use determined self-care behaviours. Ratings of frequency and effectiveness for each self-care activity were also included. Praying received the highest overall rating of effectiveness of any self-management strategies included in this study at 8.10 (scale 1 to 10), followed by meditation (7.37), exercising (7.32), using relaxation techniques (7.22), cooking (6.98), and walking (6.90). An analysis of effectiveness scores for each self-care strategy by country reflected a wide variation. The three most effective anxiety self-care strategies reported by participants from Norway included exercise (7.31), walking (6.96), and reading (6.44). Highest ratings of effectiveness by participants from Taiwan included talking with others with HIV (6.0), attending support groups (6.0), and exercising (6.0). US participants allocated highest ratings of effectiveness to complementary/alternative therapies, including praying (8.10), meditating (7.43), and using relaxation techniques (7.35). Regardless of the country, watching television and talking with family and friends were the two most frequently reported strategies. These strategies for self-management of HIV-related anxiety are important for clinicians to be aware of in the care of persons with HIV/AIDS.

Adult↗

Quality of life in persons living with HIV.

This study investigated the effects of selected variables on quality of life (QOL) in persons living with HIV. Eighty-one HIV-positive adults completed a demographic questionnaire, the Sickness Impact Profile, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and a fatigue visual analog scale. Blood samples were collected for CD4+, CD8+, and CD16+ Lymphocyte numbers. Based on an expanded psychoneuroimmunology model, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which four blocks of variables predicted variance in quality of life. These included sociodemographics, depression, immune status, and fatigue. Findings revealed that work status, depression, and fatigue predicted 58% of the variance in QOL in persons with HIV Findings support the need for routine assessment and management of depression and fatigue in persons living with HIV.

Adult↗

Effects of cognitive-behavioral interventions on quality of life in persons with HIV.

This study explored the effects of cognitive-behavioral interventions on quality of life in persons with HIV. In a randomized, 3 x 3 block design, 69 participants were assigned to a guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation or control group. Following brief instruction, subjects practiced their respective intervention over six weeks. Post intervention, perceived health status, but not quality of life, was significantly different across treatment groups. Findings suggested differential effects for guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation, with larger effects for those at mid-stage disease and for low frequency users of guided imagery.

Adult↗

Guided imagery interventions for symptom management.

For the past several decades, papers in the nursing literature have advocated the use of cognitive interventions in clinical practice. Increasing consumer use of complementary therapies, a cost-driven health care system, and the need for evidence-based practice all lend urgency to the validation of the efficacy of these interventions. This review focuses specifically on guided imagery intervention studies identified in the nursing, medical and psychological literature published between 1966 and 1998. Included were 46 studies of the use of guided imagery for management of psychological and physiological symptoms. There is preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of guided imagery in the management of stress, anxiety and depression, and for the reduction of blood pressure, pain and the side effects of chemotherapy. Overall, results of this review demonstrated a need for systematic, well-designed studies, which explore several unanswered questions regarding the use of guided imagery. These include the effects of different imagery language, symptoms for which guided imagery is effective, appropriate and sensitive outcome measures, method of delivery of the intervention and optimum dose and duration of the intervention, and individual factors that influence its effectiveness.

Anxiety↗

Testing a model: effects of pain on immunity in HIV+ and HIV- participants.

In this study, the cold pressor test (CPT) was used to test a model of the effects of acute pain on 10 HIV+ and 10 HIV- adults. Participants were exposed to the CPT for a maximum of 5 minutes. Blood samples were collected immediately before, immediately after, and 1 hour after the CPT. Variables included immune measures (CD4+, CD8+, and CD16+ 56+ lymphocyte number, CD4+ CD8+ lymphocyte ratio and NK cell cytotoxicity), cardiovascular reactivity (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure), anxiety, perceived pain intensity and perceived self-efficacy. Effects of pain were generally consistent across HIV+ and HIV- groups, with no between-group differences across time in immune responses, state anxiety and diastolic blood pressure. Within-subjects differences across time averaged over both groups were significant for NK cell cytotoxicity, CD8+ and CD16+ 56+ lymphocyte numbers, anxiety and heart rate. Significant nonlinear trends were observed for CD16+ 56+ lymphocyte numbers, NK cell cytotoxicity and state anxiety in both groups and for heart rate in the HIV+ group only. Perceived pain intensity was significantly associated with state anxiety (r = .65), systolic (r = -.56) and diastolic (-.52) blood pressure and CD4+ lymphocyte number (r = .48). Heart rate and trait anxiety were significantly associated with all immune variables. Associations were positive for CD4+ lymphocyte number and inverse for all other immune measures. Associations between perceived self-efficacy and both perceived pain intensity and anxiety were inverse, as predicted, but not significant. Overall, the direction and strength of observed relationships provided some support for the theoretical model on which the study was based. Generally, responses to acute pain were consistent and did not differ by HIV status.

Acute Disease↗