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Rosanna DeMarco

Publications and source records attributed to Rosanna DeMarco.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Reshaping the practice environment: the importance of coherence.

Today's nurse leader is challenged to create a practice environment that fosters multidisciplinary collaboration, professional development, and a culture of safety. Fostering a sense of coherence among staff nurses about their place within the nursing department and the department's place within the broader organization id essential to the development of such environments. When nurses have a sense of coherence about their work setting, they are more likely to feel confident that their care of patients and families is fully supported by the organization in which they work. The authors describe the concept of coherence, discuss findings from a preliminary study regarding attributes that may contribute to coherence in individual nurses, and describe systems ans programs that have been implemented in a large academic medical center to foster a sense of coherence in individual nurses, the nursing department, and the institution as a whole.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2004

Nursing and academic merit: is there a fit?

Academic workplaces for nursing faculty who are primarily White women present many opportunities to excel. In this article, we offer a gender-specific examination and critique regarding what nursing faculty do well and why this may not be recognized. We also suggest solutions for placing value on what nursing faculty bring to this work setting.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2004

Staff & client perceptions of unit quality: a pilot study.

This pilot study compared psychiatric health care team members' perceptions of unit quality with discharged clients' perceptions of quality of care received on the unit. The staff members were from four different service units in one acute care psychiatric facility. The study used the Perceptions of Unit Quality (PUQ) scale, a valid and reliable outcome measurement instrument, developed by Cronenwett. Most quality assurance instruments that exist have focused on individual caregivers' or service-specific views of quality, but the PUQ scale allows quality assurance data that represent team performance to be described through team perceptions of quality. Results of this pilot study suggest that use of the PUQ scale, in conjunction with clients' perceptions of unit quality, may be a legitimate approach in continuous quality improvement efforts in psychiatric-mental health care centers.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2004

Culturally relevant HIV interventions: transcending ethnicity.

Over the last 2 years, the co-authors produced an HIV prevention film for teens in collaboration with four African American women living with HIV. However, there were initially concerns that the experiences and prevention messages in the film would not be relevant to women of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Pretesting of the film was completed with African American and Latina teen girls; adult women who were HIV providers of various ethnicities and cultures; and adult Latina, Cape Verdean, and White women as well as adult Haitian men and women. Findings indicated that cultural relevance was strong for individuals who shared gender identity and socioeconomic status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Lesbian use and abuse of alcohol: results of The Boston Lesbian Health Project II.

The Boston Lesbian Health Project II, a national survey of 1139 self-identified lesbian women, found higher rates of drinking alcohol, heavy alcohol intake and self reported alcoholism than in national studies of women in general. Several known risk factors for alcoholism were higher in lesbians who self defined as alcoholic in this sample: family history of alcoholism and drug abuse, rape and childhood sexual abuse and report of having made a suicide attempt. These findings are consistent with other studies that found a high rate of drinking alcohol, alcohol abuse and problem drinking among lesbians. The reasons for these findings are not clear and further research is needed to continue to explore the reasons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Taking action in communities: women living with HIV/AIDS lead the way.

For the past 5 years, a successful collaboration of a medical center, a community-based HIV/AIDS service organization, a university school of nursing, and women living with HIV/AIDS in an inner city community resulted in a series of educational programs1 for women living with HIV/AIDS, their family, friends and caregivers. These programs were intended to provide inner-city women who were living with HIV/AIDS with knowledge and new insights from the voices of their peers. Topics focused on their self-care and empowerment so that they could take control of their wellness and their health care while remaining in their community. The efforts made in launching the collaborative educational series created trusting relationships between academic, clinical, and community service agencies, professional caregivers, and the recipients of their care. The most significant contribution belonged to the women living with HIV/AIDS themselves: After the programming they turned their health and life experiences into "action" by planning a research project that will test the efficacy of an intergenerational HIV prevention program for adolescent women of color in their community in the future.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed2003

Perceptions of senior baccalaureate nursing students and nurse leaders. A look at elements of success in the workplace.

This article compares the perceptions of senior baccalaureate students and nurse leaders (administrators, managers, academic leaders, and advanced practice nurses) regarding the qualities that are needed to be successful in the current nursing shortage. The congruence between the two groups' responses validates the importance of valuing practice-oriented-education as well as the power within and between the education and practice arenas to strategize and solve problems together at a highly tumultuous time.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

Two theories/a sharper lens: the staff nurse voice in the workplace.

AIM OF THE PAPER: This paper (1) introduces the two theoretical frameworks, Silencing the Self and the Framework of Systemic Organization (2) describes the design and findings briefly of a study exploring spillover in nurses utilizing the frameworks, and (3) discusses the process and value of theory triangulation when conducting research in the context of complex nursing systems phenomena where gender, professional work, and gender identity merge. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: A research study was designed to analyse the actual workplace behaviours of nurses in the context of their lives at work and outside work. An exploration of theoretical frameworks that could direct the measurement of the phenomena in question led to the use of two frameworks, the Framework of Systemic Organization (Friedemann 1995) and the Silencing the Self Theory (Jack 1991), and the creation of a valid and reliable summative rating instrument (the Staff Nurse Workplace Behaviours Scale, SNWBS). DESIGN/METHODS: A descriptive correlational design was used to measure behaviours between work and home. RESULTS/FINDINGS: There were statistically significant relationships found between workplace behaviours, family behaviours, and silencing behaviours as measured by the two separate scales measuring framework concepts. CONCLUSIONS: Although both theories had different origins and philosophical tenets, the findings of a research study created an opportunity to integrate the concepts of each and unexpectedly increase and broaden the understanding of spillover for women who are often nurses.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The experience of African American women living with HIV: creating a prevention film for teens.

The personal and social costs of HIV are well documented. What remains unknown is the effect of public disclosure of HIV status on the individual who is doing the disclosing. This study describes the experience of four African American women living with HIV who participated in the development of an intergenerational education intervention for African American adolescent girls. These women suggested that they be filmed discussing the "dark side" of HIV in an effort to create an intergenerational education intervention that would alter the risk-taking behavior that they observed in young women in their community. After a rough cut of the film was completed, these women viewed the film and participated in a focus group during which they discussed what it was like to reveal and revisit their own painful experiences associated with becoming infected and then living with HIV. Findings from content analysis of transcribed dialogue included the following positive themes: (a) self-acceptance by telling one's own story and hearing the stories of the other women, (b) a sense of liberation by disclosing publicly one's image and message and letting go of others' judgments, (c) feeling supported by meeting other women who share the same experience, (d) value of using the film to impact or save young people from the pain one has experienced. A negative theme emerged related to personal pain in reliving the individual's history with HIV.

Adaptation, Psychological↗