Biomedical subjects

Shirley Cudney

Publications and source records attributed to Shirley Cudney.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Chronically ill rural women: self-identified management problems and solutions.

OBJECTIVE: To add to the knowledge base of illness management of chronically ill, rural women by describing the self-identified problems and solutions reported by women participants in the online health-education segment of the Women to Women (WTW) computer outreach project. METHODS: WTW is a research-based computer intervention providing health education and online peer support for rural women with chronic diseases. Messages posted to the online chat room were examined to determine the women's self-management problems and solutions. RESULTS: The self-identified problems were: (1) difficulties in carrying through on self-management programmes; (2) negative fears and feelings; (3) poor communication with care providers; and (4) disturbed relationships with family and friends. The self-identified solutions to these problems included problem-solving techniques that were tailored to the rural lifestyle. Although not all problems were 'solvable', they could be 'lived with' if the women's prescriptions for self-management were used. DISCUSSION: Glimpses into the women's day-to-day experiences of living with chronic illness gleaned from the interactive health-education discussions will give health professionals insights into the women's efforts to manage their illnesses. The data provide health professionals with information to heighten their sensitivity to their clients' day-to-day care and educational needs.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Management of chronic illness: voices of rural women.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and cost of chronic illness globally and in the United States of America continue to escalate and the day-to-day management of these conditions presents a major challenge. The burden of chronic illness disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as women and those living in rural areas. AIM: To add to the knowledge base of illness management by chronically ill rural women through examining their individual perceptions of the illness experience. METHOD: The Women to Women project provided a nursing research-based computer intervention model for conducting support groups, providing health education, and fostering self-care, via personal computers and evaluated its effect on the women's psychosocial health. FINDINGS: Fatigue and pain were the major physical symptoms that impacted the women's quality of life, with depression and stress being the primary emotions they experienced. The characteristics of humour, hope, and courage were key in their successful adaptation to living with chronic illness. CONCLUSIONS: The women's voices relate how they manage their illness responses and adaptation mechanisms. The data provide nurses with information to heighten their sensitivity to clients' day-to-day needs and experiences. It will assist them in their designing and planning of interventions that will enable clients to adapt and to have the best quality of life possible within the limitations of their chronic illnesses. The data are also important to nurses involved in rural research and theory development concerning self-management and adaptation to chronic illnesses.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Social support in cyberspace: lessons learned.

The lessons learned from the implementation of phase one of Women to Women (WTW1), a research-based computer outreach program for rural women with chronic illness, and their influence on the development of phase two of Women to Women (WTW2) are discussed in this article. The changes implemented in WTW2 included moving from the FirstClass delivery platform to WebCT; increasing the intra- and interdisciplinary nature of the team by adding nurse experts in Web skills and women's health and non-nurse colleagues in family finance and nutrition; expanding the geographical area to be served from Montana to adjoining states; developing health teaching units that harness the internet as the major source of ever-current health information; including a control group in the study design; and selecting more pertinent, repeated measurement instruments to assess psychosocial variables.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of a computer intervention on the psychological status of chronically ill rural women: preliminary results.

BACKGROUND: Adaptation to chronic illness is a lifelong process presenting numerous psychological challenges. It has been shown to be influenced by participating in support groups. Rural women with chronic illness face additional burdens as access to information, healthcare resources, and sources of support are often limited. Developing virtual support groups and testing the effects on psychosocial indicators associated with adaptation to chronic illness may help remove barriers to adaptation. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of a computer-delivered intervention on measures of psychosocial health in chronically ill rural women including social support, self-esteem, empowerment, self-efficacy, depression, loneliness, and stress. METHODS: An experimental design was used to test a computer-delivered intervention and examine differences in psychosocial health between women who participated in the intervention (n = 44) and women in a control group (n = 56). RESULTS: Differences between women who participated in the intervention and controls were found for self-esteem, F(1,98) = 5.97, p =.016; social support, F(1,98) = 4.43, p =.038; and empowerment, F(1,98) = 6.06, p =.016. A comparison of means for depression, loneliness, self-efficacy, and stress suggests that differences for other psychosocial variables are possible. DISCUSSION: The computer-based intervention tested appears to result in improved self-esteem, social support, and empowerment among rural women with chronic illness. Descriptive but nonsignificant differences were found for other psychosocial variables (depression, loneliness, self-efficacy, and stress); women who participated in the intervention appeared to improve more than women in the control group.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Social support in cyberspace: the next generation.

The goal of the Women to Women Project (WTW) is to help chronically ill rural women to adapt to their long-term illnesses by providing support and health information via computers. The specific aims are to (1) assess the impact of the computer-based intervention on psychosocial health (self-efficacy, self-esteem, empowerment, social support, stress, depression, loneliness), computer literacy skills, and health knowledge; and (2) analyze the computer exchanges for insights to explicate the complex process of adapting to chronic illness within the rural context. Participants are 240 rural women with a chronic illness who reside in rural areas of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Preliminary data analysis suggests that the intervention is helping to improve the women's ability to adapt to their chronic illnesses. The WTW intervention model has the potential to effectively connect these women in a program of support and education.

Adaptation, Psychological↗