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Theresa A Beery

Publications and source records attributed to Theresa A Beery.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Experiences of college-age youths in families with a recessive genetic condition.

Growing up in a family with a recessive genetic condition can trigger questions about progeny effect. This study explored perceptions of family hardiness and information sharing by 18- to 21-year-olds about genetic risk. Semistructured interviews, the Family Hardiness Index (FHI), and a Family Information Sharing Analog Scale (FISAS) were used. Participants included 11 youths who had relatives with hemophilia and 4 with sickle cell anemia. Findings revealed seven themes: assimilating premature knowledge; caring for others, denying self; cautioning during development; experiencing continual sickness; feeling less than; magnifying transition experiences; and sustaining by faith. There was no significant correlation between total FHI and FISAS. However, there was a statistically significant difference in FISAS between genetic condition variance. Specifically, higher hardiness was found and information sharing correlated among college youths in families with hemophilia. Additional research can lead to nursing interventions to provide genetic information to youths in families for illness variance.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Accuracy of the precordial V-Quick patch in persons with cardiac or pulmonary disease.

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the equivalence of 12-Lead Electrocardiograms (EKG) obtained with the new V-Quick patch and traditional tab-style electrodes. Using a within-subject design, a convenience sample of 100 subjects with either cardiac or pulmonary disease underwent two 12-lead EKGs, one with the traditional tab-style electrodes and one with the precordial patch. Computer-generated measurements of waveform axes and amplitude were obtained for both EKGs. Comparison of mean and 95% confidence intervals revealed no significant differences in Q, R or S wave amplitude across the six precordial leads. Furthermore, a four-factor ANOVA found no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the Q, R and S wave amplitude between the type of electrode, gender and type of disease. A subset of 29 EKGs read by three experts found intra- (.90) and inter-rater (.84) reliability to be strong. In conclusion, the precordial V-Quick patch provided equivalent EKGs to those obtained using standard tab-style electrodes.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Sex differences in infection and sepsis.

Sex and gender-based differences in responses to infection and sepsis are evident. Estrogens increase immune function, sometimes to the point of inducing autoimmune disease. Testosterone suppresses immune function, sometimes leading to a worsened outcome following traumatic injury. Therapies using sex hormones to improve outcomes after sepsis and hemorrhagic shock and to reduce exacerbations of autoimmune diseases are being studied. Differences in sex hormone levels may not tell the whole story. Studies of immune function in girls and boys before puberty may be helpful. Differences found early might indicate that factors other than estrogen and androgen levels are contributing. Variations in societal role acculturation and exposures that are gender based also may be involved. Clinicians must consider sex and gender when attempting to determine the risk of infection, sepsis, and immune dysfunction in populations. Clinical applications of sex and gender differences are just beginning to occur with the genesis of sex hormone-based treatments. The large-scale efficacy of such treatments has yet to be reported. Innovative strategies based on sex or gender differences in immune responses may soon be available and may lead to essential data for clinical decision making. The impact of sex and gender differences on long-term health outcomes remains to be seen.

Female↗
PubMed2003

A candidate locus approach identifies a long QT syndrome gene mutation.

Long QT syndrome is an inherited disorder that results in lengthened cardiac repolarization. It can lead to sudden onset of torsades de pointes, ventricular fibrillation, and death. The authors obtained a family history, performed electrocardiograms, and drew blood for DNA extraction and genotyping from 15 family members representing 4 generations of an affected family. Seven individuals demonstrated prolonged QT intervals. The authors used polymorphic short tandem repeat markers at known LQTS loci, which indicated linkage to chromosome 11p15.5 where the potassium channel, KCNQ1, is encoded. Polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify the coding region of KCNQ1. During survey of the KCNQ1 coding region, a G-to-A transition (G502A) was identified. DNA from all clinically affected but from none of the clinically unaffected family members carried the G-to-A transition. The candidate locus approach allowed an efficient mechanism to uncover the potassium channel mutation causing LQTS in this family.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Focused life stories of women with cardiac pacemakers.

Biotechnical devices such as cardiac pacemakers are implanted into people to manage a range of disorders, yet comparatively little is known about the emotional impact of this experience. Women may have a unique response to implanted devices due to cultural messages about the masculinity of technology. In this qualitative study using Hall's focused life stories design, 11 women from teenagers to elders with permanent cardiac pacemakers were asked to describe their experiences using semistructured interviews. The themes that emerged are relinquishing care, owning the device, experiencing fears and/or resistance, imaging the body, normalizing, positioning as caretaker, finding resilience, and sensing omnipotence. Understanding what it means for women to live with an implanted biotechnical device may facilitate planning interventions to support their psychological and physiological health. Effective pacemaker function may depend, in part, on recipients' successful emotional attachment to the device.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

Spirituality in persons with heart failure.

Spiritual expression has been proposed as a dimension of quality of life. Persons with chronic diseases such as AIDS or cancer have described the value of spiritual expression in living with their illnesses. The authors examined the role spirituality plays in the lives of 58 people with heart failure being treated medically or by transplant. Instruments used included the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form 36 and Index of Well-Being measures of quality of life, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and the Relative Importance Scale. Combined spirituality scores predicted 24% of the variance in global quality of life. There were no significant gender differences in spiritual well-being or quality of life.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genetic practice, education, and research: an overview for advanced practice nurses.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to describe how the new genomic era will affect advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) patient care, education, and research. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: Given the exponential growth of genetic information and that 9 of the top 10 leading causes of mortality have genetic components (www.cdc.gov), it is imperative to educate advanced practice nurses about this salient topic. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS: Because few APRNs in practice or academia have had formal education on genetics, the first step of nursings' own gene discovery is recognizing that there is an ongoing need to understand state of the science genetic information to gain clinical and educational utility. OUTCOMES: By recognizing APRNs need to know genetics, APRNs will clamor within their workplace for continuing education about this dynamic information. It is critical knowledge for APRNs to classify risk based on family history, target individualized patient prevention and education, modify pharmacologic interventions, and refer when genetic testing is necessary. INTERPRETATION/CONCLUSION: This article stresses the timely relevance of applying genetics and genomics to practice, teaching, and research. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: APRNs need to maintain a place at the genetic table with all healthcare providers by developing strategies to expand this nursing knowledge to their practice, teaching, and research. Nurses need to be cognizant of the keen genetic value of family histories, how risk classification will individualize prevention recommendations, and the exciting role of pharmacogenetics, given many APRNs' prescriptive authority. Our core professional belief that each human is highly unique has probably never been more accurate than with the future in genetic and genomic nursing.

Genetic Testing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development of the implanted devices adjustment scale.

Advances in microelectronics have resulted in exponential growth in the number of implanted medical devices. Most people do well adjusting to their devices, but others show signs of depression and/or anxiety. The Implanted Device Adjustment Scale (IDAS) was developed to measure how well a person is adjusting to an implanted device. First, a pool of items was generated and reviewed by 2 panels of clinicians and psychometricians for content validity. The revised version was then administered to a small sample that provided information about problematic items. Finally, a convenience sample of 45 persons (66% males) with implanted devices (18 pacemakers only, 37 cardioverter/defibrillators) completed the revised IDAS twice. After deleting weak items, the Cronbach alpha was 0.90. No age, gender, or device differences were found. Test-retest reliability was 0.92. The IDAS may be useful to evaluate how well a person is adjusting to her/his device. This may lead to more timely and appropriate interventions to improve outcomes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An exploratory study of body awareness in persons with heart failure treated medically or with transplantation.

Heart failure is a chronic disabling problem afflicting a growing number of adults. These individuals experience episodes of exacerbation demonstrated by increasing shortness of breath, fatigue, and fluid retention. The symptoms often develop in a slow and insidious manner making perception of worsening difficult to determine. Theoretically, an increase in body awareness may help individuals recognize symptoms of worsening heart failure earlier, but it is not known whether increased body awareness leads to somatization, an abnormal dwelling on body symptoms. This study was conducted to describe body awareness in 90 persons with heart failure or after transplant. We found that the Body Awareness Quesionnaire was a reliable measure of this concept in this sample. When body awareness was examined for age, gender, and treatment (HF or transplant) group were examined, no significant differences were found. Furthermore, there were no significant relationships between body awarenss and negative moods such as anxiety, depression, or anger. Interventions to enhance body awareness may be a fruitful new direction that will improve symptom recognition without increasing somatization in persons with heart failure.

Affect↗