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Biomedical subjects

R J Fehring

Publications and source records attributed to R J Fehring.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Psychological and spiritual well-being in college students.

Two separate correlational studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between spirituality and psychological mood states in response to life change. In the first study a spiritual well-being index, a spiritual-maturity scale, a life-change index, and a depression scale were administered to 95 freshman nursing students. The spiritual well-being index was composed of two sub-scales; a religious well-being and an existential well-being scale. In the second study a spiritual-outlook scale and the Profile of Mood State index was added to the above tests and administered to 75 randomly selected college students. The results demonstrated a weak positive relationship between life change and depression. unlike a previous study, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and spiritual outlook showed strong inverse relationships with negative moods suggesting that spiritual variables may influence psychological well-being.

Adolescent

Physical fitness of physical therapy students.

Physical fitness norms do not exist for physical therapists or physical therapy students. This lack, in part, reflects the complexity of physical fitness and the scarcity of data reported on physical fitness norms of other populations. This report describes the methods used and the results obtained for 16 physical fitness factors of 98 female and 13 male physical therapy upperclassmen and discusses the implications of physical fitness in the practice of physical therapy. Means, standard deviations, ranges, and percentile rankings are given by sex for each of the 16 fitness factors. The purpose of this study was to begin to establish physical fitness norms. As physical fitness norms are established, it will be possible to determine how norms of physical therapists and physical therapy students compare with established values.

Adult

Methods used to self-predict ovulation. A comparative study.

Time of ovulation as detected by a self-test of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine was compared with time of ovulation as detected by self-observation of cervical mucus. Twenty regularly cycling women monitored their cervical mucus and urine LH for two complete menstrual cycles. Of the cycles that had an LH surge, 100% were on the peak day of cervical mucus or within three days before the peak day. Self-observation of cervical mucus, therefore, can be an accurate method of determining optimal fertility.

Adult

New technology in natural family planning.

In recent years, several new devices have been developed to help women achieve or avoid pregnancy. These devices include computerized basal body temperature thermometers, electronic fertility monitors, and chemical and hormonal ovulation detection kits. This article describes these new fertility devices and discusses their effectiveness and impact on helping women understand and control their fertility.

Body Temperature

Multinational validation of anxiety, hopelessness, and ineffective airway clearance.

The effective use of nursing diagnosis internationally depends in part on incorporating language and cultural difference into the common language of nursing. International validation studies can provide a basis for this effort. This study tested three diagnoses--anxiety, hopelessness, and ineffective airway clearance--through multinational validation. The Diagnostic Content Validity (DCV) model was used to collect data from critical care nurses in six countries. Defining characteristics rated as critical (greater than .80) by the total sample were dyspnea for ineffective airway clearance and panic and nervousness for anxiety. No critical defining characteristics for hopelessness were identified. DCV ratios for all defining characteristics are compared by country.

Airway Obstruction

Effects of biofeedback-aided relaxation on the psychological stress symptoms of college students.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Benson's relaxation technique (BRT) with Benson's technique augmented with GSR biofeedback (i.e., biofeedback-aided relaxation, BAR) on the psychological stress symptoms of well college students. Seventy-eight normotensive college students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the BRT group, the BAR group, and a control group. The BRT and BAR students were asked to practice their respective relaxation technique daily for an eight-week period. Pre- and postintervention, all subjects were administered a state-anxiety inventory and a profile-of-mood state (POMS) test. Posttest analysis indicated that the BAR group had significantly lower state anxiety and POMS than the BRT and control groups (p less than 0.05). It was evident from the results that BAR did augment BRT in lowering psychological stress symptoms. Part of the effectiveness was due to the expectation of relief on the part of the BAR group. It was recommended that nurses study the effects of BAR in clinical settings.

Adult