Biomedical subjects

Sharon Andrew

Publications and source records attributed to Sharon Andrew.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Magnitude of change in cardiac health-enhancing behaviours 6 months following an acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: The adoption of health-enhancing behaviours is essential to reduce the likelihood of recurrent coronary events. AIMS: This study assessed the magnitude of health behaviour change 6 months following a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and examined differences between cardiac rehabilitation attendees and non-attendees. METHODS: One hundred and six first AMI patients (males n=76, Australian-born n=71) participated in a 6-month follow-up of a descriptive longitudinal survey. Data on non-smoking behaviour, weight normalisation, adequate physical activity, low dietary fat intake, medication adherence and cardiac rehabilitation attendance were collected. The magnitude of change in health-enhancing behaviours from baseline to follow-up was calculated. RESULTS: Whilst there was an overall increase in health-enhancing behaviours at the 6-month follow-up (P<0.001), nonsmoking behaviour, low dietary fat intake and medication adherence were more likely to be achieved than adequate physical activity and weight normalisation. Attendees at cardiac rehabilitation were more likely to report positive lifestyle change (P=0.001) and feeling healthier (P=0.040) than non-attendees. CONCLUSION: The wide variation in the adoption of health-enhancing behaviours at the 6-month follow-up suggested that participants were selective about which behaviours they changed. Cardiac rehabilitation personnel need to emphasise the importance of undertaking all health-enhancing behaviours in order to maximise their multiplicative benefits.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2006

Academic performance in nursing students: influence of part-time employment, age and ethnicity.

AIM: This paper reports a study examining the influence of age, ethnicity and part-time employment on nursing students' academic performance for second year pathophysiology and nursing practice subjects. BACKGROUND: Age and ethnicity are known to be significant predictors of academic achievement among nursing students. The endemic nursing shortage has increased the impetus to diversify, resulting in more mature-age students and students from diverse ethnic and cultural groups in nursing programmes. There is increasing pressure for nursing students to participate in part-time employment whilst undertaking higher education, and this may affect their academic performance. METHODS: A prospective, quantitative survey design was used to collect data from a regional university in Australia over a 2-year period from 2001 to 2002. A total of 267 nursing students were included in the study. FINDINGS: More than three-quarters (78%) of second year students were participating in paid employment, with the majority in nursing-related jobs. Of those working, half did so more than 16 hours per week during the semester. Students who were not in paid employment had the highest academic achievements in both pathophysiology and nursing practice. Age was positively related with academic performance, but hours of part-time employment and ethnicity were negatively associated with academic performance, with the amount of time spent in paid employment being the strongest predictor of academic performance in both pathophysiology and nursing practice. CONCLUSION: Working more than 16 hours per week had a detrimental impact on the academic performance of nursing students. More importantly, this study shows that nursing-related employment is not advantageous to students' academic performance, even for a nursing practice-based subject. If the current practice of employing nursing students in clinical settings is to continue, this experience needs to be aligned to the academic curriculum if it is to be beneficial to students' knowledge and skill acquisition.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Triangulation as a method for contemporary nursing research.

The complex nature of phenomena investigated by nurses demands the use of a multifaceted approach to develop nursing knowledge. Triangulation offers a rigorous methodological framework by which to achieve this aim. The authors describe the historical and philosophical underpinnings of triangulation and outline considerations in relation to applying it in contemporary nursing research.

Bias↗