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Biomedical subjects

Lynne A Hall

Publications and source records attributed to Lynne A Hall.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Testing a published model of health-related quality of life in heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with heart failure is compromised and associated with increased mortality and rehospitalization. Inadequate conceptualization of variables related to HRQOL has hampered clinicians' efforts to enhance HRQOL. The purpose of this study was to test the Wilson and Cleary model (WCM) of HRQOL in patients with heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from 293 patients with heart failure were analyzed to determine the best multivariate HRQOL model given variables derived from WCM. HRQOL was measured using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). Health perception, symptom status, and age predicted the total MLHFQ (P < .0001) and the emotional scale (P < .0001), and health perception, symptom status, New York Heart Association predicted the physical scale (P < .0001). Health perception was a mediator of the effect of symptom status on HRQOL. Functional status was not a mediator of the effect of symptom status on health perception. CONCLUSION: The most influential variables associated with HRQOL were the subjective variables: health perception and symptom status. Objective variables proposed by WCM to drive the model were not significant predictors. Mediator effects hypothesized in the WCM were not fully demonstrated in this sample. Thus modification of the WCM is warranted.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Testing an intervention to reduce negative thinking, depressive symptoms, and chronic stressors in low-income single mothers.

PURPOSE: To test the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral group intervention in reducing depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and chronic stressors in low-income, single mothers at risk for depression. DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized, controlled prevention trial was conducted with 136 low-income, single mothers with children between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Each participant was screened before enrollment and was determined to be at risk for depression. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. The experimental group was invited to participate in a 4- to 6-week cognitive-behavioral group intervention. Data on depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and chronic stressors were collected via self-report questionnaires from control and experimental groups at baseline, 1 month, and 6 months after the intervention to assess the effects of the intervention. FINDINGS: Compared with those in the control group, women who received the intervention had a greater decrease in depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and chronic stressors; these beneficial effects were maintained over a 6-month period. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate the effectiveness of this cognitive-behavioral group intervention and show the beneficial effects of reducing negative thinking via the use of affirmations and thought-stopping techniques.

Adult↗

The manuscript option dissertation: multiple perspectives.

Based on our experiences at the University of Kentucky, the manuscript option dissertation is clearly a win-win situation from every angle. Other doctoral programs may find this approach invigorating. The ultimate benefit is the rapid dissemination of new knowledge to healthcare professionals for application to practice.

Academic Dissertations as Topic↗

Negative thinking and the mental health of low-income single mothers.

PURPOSE: To test a conceptual model of predictors of depressive symptoms in low-income single mothers with children from 2 to 6 years of age. DESIGN: Data were collected from September 2000 to October 2002 as part of the baseline data collection for a larger study in the eastern part of the United States. A volunteer sample of 205 women who were at risk for depression was recruited. METHODS: Each woman completed a survey that included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Crandall Cognitions Inventory, and the Everyday Stressors Index. FINDINGS: More than 75% of the participants scored at least in the mild depressive range on the Beck Depression Inventory or in the high depressive range on the CES-D. Negative thinking mediated the relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms and partially mediated the relationship between chronic stressors and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with earlier research by this team. Negative thinking is an important factor in the development of depressive symptoms in at-risk women. As a symptom, negative thinking might be more amenable to nursing intervention than to interventions focused on reducing chronic stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Parental bonding: a key factor for mental health of college women.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of parental bonding to the mental health of college women aged 18 to 24 years. A cross-sectional study of a volunteer sample of 246 college women was conducted. Data on depressive symptoms, negative thinking, self-esteem, and parental bonding were collected via self-report. Maternal care was the strongest predictor of all four mental health indices. Paternal overprotection predicted scores of three of the four mental health measures. Women with optimal maternal and paternal bonding profiles (high care/low overprotection) had fewer depressive symptoms, less negative thinking, and higher self-esteem than women with other bonding profiles. The findings have implications for prevention, screening, and intervention to enhance the mental health of college women.

Adult↗

Using a 0-10 scale for assessment of anxiety in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) often experience anxiety, an emotion that predicts adverse physiologic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a single-item anxiety assessment instrument, the Anxiety Level Index (ALI), is a valid alternative to the State Anxiety Index (SAI) or the anxiety subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) for assessing state anxiety for patients with AMI. In this prospective multicenter study, 243 inpatients with AMI rated their anxiety using the SAI, the anxiety subscale of the BSI, and the ALI. Anxiety Level Index scores were compared to SAI and BSI anxiety subscale scores. There were moderate, positive correlations between the SAI and the ALI (rs = 0.52, P < .001), and between the ALI and the anxiety subscale of the BSI (rs = 0.45, P < .001). Although ALI scores were moderately and significantly correlated with scores on the SAI and the BSI anxiety subscales, the results of the Bland-Altman method indicate a lack of construct validity of the single-item measure. The quest continues to construct a simple self-report measure of anxiety that is appropriate for critically ill patients with AMI.

Adult↗

Testing the psychometric properties of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important outcome in patients with heart failure. One of the most commonly used instruments to measure HRQOL in this population is the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (LHFQ). Although the psychometric properties of the LHFQ have been tested, the results do not definitively support the psychometric soundness of the instrument. OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychometric properties of the LHFQ. METHOD: Data from 638 patients with heart failure were used to assess the reliability, homogeneity, representativeness, discriminative ability, and construct validity of the LHFQ before and after deletion of 5 items that showed lack of representativeness and contributed to inadequate factor structure. RESULTS: Cronbach's alphas for the LHFQ Total and subscales were greater than .80. Interitem correlation coefficients in 17 of the 21 items, item-total correlation coefficients in 20 items, and discriminative ability in all items were acceptable. The total and both subscales of the LHFQ differentiated New York Heart Association functional groups. The Physical subscale was moderately related to the physical measures (the Specific Activity Scale and symptom status), whereas the emotional subscale was weakly related to the measures. The results of item p level testing and factor analysis demonstrated that 7 items were consistently problematic and 5 items were recommended to be deleted. The results of the reliability, homogeneity, and construct validity after deletion of these items demonstrated that the psychometric properties of the LHFQ were improved as a result. DISCUSSION: The initial results provided additional support for the reliability and substantial evidence for the validity of the LHFQ. However, the results of item and factor analyses did not fully support the psychometric soundness of several items. The psychometric properties of the LHFQ after deleting these items were improved. These results could provide researchers and clinicians a more useful measure of HRQOL.

Activities of Daily Living↗