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Biomedical subjects

N E Ervin

Publications and source records attributed to N E Ervin.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Preventing adverse outcomes: a population focus.

This article discusses the concept of risk from an epidemiological viewpoint as well as that of vulnerable populations. Three components of resource availability are pertinent to the concept of risk of a population: social status, social capital, and human capital. These components are illustrated through an example of a project to reduce preventable adverse health outcomes and increase competency in self-care among residents of an inner-city community. Activities and outcomes of the project are discussed.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1999

Competency in community-oriented health care. Instrument development.

To competently deal with changes in the health care system, health professionals for the future must have expanded abilities and new attitudes. Education of health professionals for community-oriented health care (COHC) is being promoted as one approach to achieve this focus. This article reports on the development and testing of the Community-Oriented Health Care Competency Scale, which measures knowledge, attitudes, and intention to practice COHC. Results of testing demonstrate adequate reliability for a new instrument: an alpha coefficient of .95 for the Knowledge subscale, .68 for the Attitude subscale, and .93 for the Intention to Practice subscale. Content Validity of the instrument is based on the literature review, focus group sessions, and expert opinion. The instrument may be used to assess competency of health professions students in COHC, but continued testing is needed.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1996

Model for a nursing center: spanning boundaries.

The article provides an example of spanning organizational and professional boundaries to improve care in a medically underserved community through the development of a nursing center. Descriptions of the practice and organizational models demonstrate how each was tailored to the specific community. Using Andersen's behavioral model of families' use of health services and objectives for the year 2000, the impact on access to care and population outcomes are evaluated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Agency and research team co-operation: an exploration of human territoriality.

The purpose of this paper is to alert researchers and agency staff to potential conflicts that may arise during research projects conducted in busy community-based agencies. Within a framework of human territoriality, key factors in avoiding such conflicts are explored. Territoriality is the defence against intruders of an area of land which is considered to be owned. For humans, something owned includes space, objects, ideas, privileges or rights. Key territoriality concepts explored in the paper are: the private domain, encompassing a privacy retreat and personal space; and the public arena which includes psychological space and action territory. Examples of violation of the types of territory are examined and suggestions for prevention of conflicts are provided.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1993

Nurses' attitudes towards primary health care: development of an instrument.

In many countries nurses are the largest group of professionals providing health care. If health care is to be provided following a primary health care philosophy, nurses must be among the leaders in making the change in the way health care is delivered. To be effective nurses must develop positive attitudes towards primary health care and incorporate its principles into practice. The purpose of this paper is to present the development and testing of an instrument to measure nurses' attitudes towards primary health care. The instrument has 35 items divided into five domains based on the principles of primary health care. Two scales, one for attitude and one for importance of concept of professional role, are scored on six-point Likert scales. Initial psychometric evaluation resulted in alpha coefficients of 0.07 to 0.58 for the domains; 0.70 for the attitude scale and 0.93 for the importance scale. Details are provided on the measures taken to establish validity of the instrument. Plans for future testing are included.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1993

Application of a model for public health nursing program planning.

Community health nurse (CHN) specialists have advanced educational preparation in both nursing and the public health sciences. They are called on to perform numerous advanced practice roles in public health and other community agencies, one of which is program planning. To perform this role effectively, CHN specialists should use conceptual models to guide application of the nursing process in a population-based practice. One such model developed by a nurse for use in planning community health programs is the McLaughlin model. It was used to address the community diagnosis of risk for childhood lead poisoning, a long-standing public health problem currently receiving renewed attention from federal public health authorities. Applications of conceptual models in practice settings can test such model's efficacy, enrich the scientific basis of community health nursing practice, and ultimately improve the health of the community.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1992

Stressors in the workplace: community health nurses.

A survey questionnaire based on seven categories of stressors was completed by 67 community health nurses from three community health nursing agencies. Responses identified major sources of stress as factors associated with quantitative work overload, uncooperative family members and clients, unfamiliarity with situations, inability to reach physicians, and personal situations. These findings were corroborated by the nurses' responses to open-ended questions. The intensity of stressors was significantly different by age group in that older nurses experienced less stress. The findings of this study have implications for management of patients, organization of workloads, and policy decisions in community health nursing practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Development of a public health nursing quality assessment measure.

The Ervin Quality Assessment Measure (EQAM) is a newly developed instrument that assesses the quality of in-home public health nursing care based on experts' reviews of client/family records. The 14 criteria for quality care included in the EQAM instrument were established based on the input of five nurse experts. A generalizability study of data from EQAM evaluations of 52 client/family records found that the instrument demonstrated a high degree of dependability and a modest degree of interrater agreement. Future studies will examine the usefulness of the EQAM in home health care agencies and possible practical applications of this research instrument.

Nursing Audit↗
PubMed1989

An epidemiological approach to community assessment.

An epidemiological approach to community assessment is useful for students and practicing nurses. Shamansky and Pesznecker's definition of community is applied to the community assessment process in order to provide an organized framework for data collection, data analysis, and community diagnosis. We applied the framework to an actual community in a case study format.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1985

Mothers' health beliefs and use of well-baby services among a high-risk population.

The relationship between mothers' health beliefs and use of well-baby services among a poor, minority, high-risk population is reported. Data were collected from 61 black mothers attending a maternal-child clinic by interviews at the first and sixth months after the birth of their infants. The analysis focused on four health beliefs (susceptibility, severity, benefits, and efficacy) and two health behaviors (clinic visits and immunizations during the first 6 months). Although mothers' health beliefs were not predictive of clinic visits, health beliefs at the sixth month accounted for 30% of the variance in the number of immunizations. This relationship was dominated by perceived efficacy of immunizations and perceived benefits of well-baby services. The findings indicate a need to consider the nature and extent of possible changes in relationships between health beliefs and health behaviors over time.

Adolescent↗