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Biomedical subjects

P K Nicholas

Publications and source records attributed to P K Nicholas.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Prostatitis: diagnosis and treatment in primary care.

Prostatitis refers to the inflammation and/or infection of the prostate gland, which occurs in several forms or syndromes and presents with varied etiologies, clinical features, and sequelae. The four common forms of prostatitis are acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, nonbacterial prostatitis, and prostatodynia. Differential diagnosis of prostatitis is based on history, physical exam findings, and, frequently, analysis of expressed prostatic secretions. Complaints may vary, but pain or discomfort in the rectal or perineal area is usually present. Clinicians in primary care settings should be knowledgeable about the types of prostatitis, etiology, and pathogenesis; the methods of diagnosis; and treatment/education issues.

Decision Trees↗
PubMed1996

Health care and nursing in Romania.

Health care and the nursing profession have been affected dramatically by political and socio-economic conditions in Romania. The Romanian Ministry of Health has recognized the health problems and barriers to care delivery which exist in the country, with several goals identified to improve the status of Romanian health care. This paper explores the critical issues which have impacted on health care and nursing in Romania.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1996

A behavioral medicine intervention in persons with HIV.

This study used a pretest-posttest preexperimental design to examine the effect of a 10-week behavioral medicine support group intervention in a sample of persons with HIV. Using Solomon's psychoneuroimmunologic framework, the 10-week behavioral medicine program focused on the mind/body interaction, the relaxation response, coping with illness, hardiness, and nutrition. Pearson correlation coefficients and t tests were performed on the pre- and postintervention measures of hardiness, social support, immune function, and perceived health status. Results of the study indicated that hardiness (preintervention) and CD4 counts (pre- and postintervention) were significantly correlated with health status; however, CD4 counts decreased over the course of the behavioral medicine program. Implications for nursing and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Social support, quality of life, immune function, and health in persons living with HIV.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social support and quality of life in individuals with HIV. Using a descriptive, correlational design, data were collected from 50 HIV-positive individuals who were: (a) participants in support groups at a behavioral medicine unit, (b) inpatient or respite care patients with HIV, or (c) respondents to advertisements at AIDS service organizations. Instruments used for data collection were the Personal Resource Questionnaire 85-Part 2 (Weinert, 1987), measuring perceived social support, and the Quality of Life Index (QLI) (Ferrans & Powers, 1985), measuring the sense of well-being in life including the satisfaction with and importance of life domains with four subscales: health and functioning, socioeconomic, psychological/spiritual, and family. The results of the study indicated that social support was significantly correlated with quality of life (r = 0.81, p < 0.0001). Further, HIV status (asymptomatic HIV, symptomatic HIV, AIDS) was significantly related to quality of life (p < 0.01). However, HIV status was not significantly related to social support. No significant relationship was found between CD4 counts and HIV status, CD4 counts and social support, or CD4 counts and perceived health status. However, CD4 counts were significantly correlated with scores on the QLI. The findings of the study indicate that social support and quality of life are significantly intercorrelated and that higher CD4 counts are related to quality of life in this sample of persons living with HIV. Further areas for research include evaluation of quality of life over the span of HIV disease and interventions aimed at enhancing or maintaining quality of life in persons across the spectrum of HIV disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of a problem-based access knowledge system using triangulation methods.

A microcomputer-based system designed to provide nurses and physicians access to expert synthesized knowledge in the area of pulmonary arterial waveform troubleshooting has been developed and implemented. Evaluation using triangulation methods show that there was a substantive increase in knowledge in both nurses and physicians.¿.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence and characteristics of pain in persons with terminal-stage AIDS.

A retrospective chart review was undertaken to collect and report data on the prevalence and characteristics of pain in persons with terminal-stage AIDS. A convenience sample consisting of 50 patient charts at a residential AIDS hospice was utilized. Data were collected from the McCaffery Initial Pain Assessment Tool (IPAT) (1983) which was completed at the time of each hospice admission. The IPAT is composed of 10 sections that collectively describe the patient's pain experience. Demographic and AIDS-related pathology data were also collected. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics to examine the incidence and characteristics of pain. Pain was experienced by a majority of the subjects in the sample. Pain levels for 'present pain', 'worst pain gets', 'best pain gets' and 'acceptable level of pain' are reported. Characteristics of pain including location, causal factors and verbal descriptors are reported. Implications for nursing practice and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

Hardiness, self-care practices and perceived health status in older adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among hardiness, self-care practices and perceived health status in older adults. A random sample of older adults (n = 72) was selected from the population of a small north-eastern town in the United States. Self-report data were obtained on the Health-Related Hardiness Scale as a measure of hardiness, the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire as a measure of self-care practices and the Visual Analogue Scale as a measure of perceived health status. It was hypothesized that older adults who had higher levels of hardiness and self-care practices would have a higher perceived health status and that hardiness and self-care practices combined would explain more of the variance in perceived health status than either variable taken individually. Statistical analyses supported the three hypotheses. The obtained significant correlation between hardiness and perceived health status was -0.68 (P < 0.001) (hardiness negatively scored). For self-care practices and perceived health status, the correlation was 0.46 (P < 0.001). The illness index, income and living circumstance accounted for 46% of the variance in perceived health status scores. Hardiness and self-care practices accounted for an additional 10% of the variance in perceived health status once these demographic and illness variables were controlled. Implications for nursing practice, education and research are discussed. Recommendations included replication of the study with a larger, more heterogeneous population. Suggestions for further investigation of the relationship between resistance resources such as hardiness and self-care practices and health status are presented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Self-care burden in women with human immunodeficiency virus.

The authors of this descriptive study used Orem's Theory of Self-Care to assess perceived demand for or change in universal and health-deviation self-care activity and the degree of difficulty ascribed to meeting that demand. Perceived demand or change in self-care and difficulty in self-care were measured using the Self-Care Burden Scale (Oberst, Hughes, Chang & McCubbin, 1991) and a structured interview. A convenience sample of 10 English or Spanish-speaking women with HIV infection utilizing a city hospital's outpatient immunodeficiency clinic were recruited. Of the health deviation self-care items, home medical/nursing treatments, special diet, and obtaining resources were the most burdensome categories. Universal self-care tasks with the highest burden scores were caring for children, physical activity, and work.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A collaborative program for international education.

A collaborative educational program for Japanese nurses was developed, which merged the resources of the practice and education settings at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Two concurrent programs were developed--Adult Health and Maternal-Child Health. These concurrent programs focused on content reflecting key areas in the realm of nursing practice and education in both Japan and the United States. Complementary clinical tours were an integral part of the program. This dyad of lecture and clinical experiences provided a forum to focus on issues relevant to nursing worldwide.

Humans↗