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Biomedical subjects

Y Bar-Tal

Publications and source records attributed to Y Bar-Tal.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Which stress matters? The examination of temporal aspects of stress.

In this study, the impact of past experiences, present stressors, and expectations of future stress on psychological distress were explored. Participants were 38 male and 41 female spouses of patients hospitalized with non-life-threatening diseases. Participants completed questionnaires on which they appraised past, present, and future stressors and described their levels of psychological distress. Five models of the relationships between appraisals of past, present, and future stressors with psychological distress were examined. Only one model was confirmed by the data. It suggests that an appraisal of past stressors affects the appraisal of present stressors only indirectly, through its effect on the appraisal of future stressors. This model also maintains that only the appraisal of present stressors affects psychological distress directly. The implications of these findings for stress research are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Effect of intended treatment on anxiety and on reaction to electric pulp stimulation in dental patients.

Fear and anxiety are common emotional concomitants of acute pain that increase the perception of noxious events as painful. In the present study, 92 patients who were about to undergo various dental treatments (calculus removal, filling, root canal treatment, and extraction) were evaluated comparing the level of their dental anxiety and pain expectation from the intended treatment to their reaction to electric pulp stimulation. The data indicate that patients differ significantly in their dental anxiety levels and in their expectation to experience pain according to the following hierarchy (in descending order): extraction, root canal treatment, filling, and calculus removal. Anxiety and amount of pain expected from treatment correlated significantly with each other, but no simple correlations were found between anxiety and actual pain measures recorded after pulp stimulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Parkinson's disease symptoms--patients' perceptions.

Self-assessment is significant for the accurate evaluation of patient' needs. This study examined the frequency and severity of symptoms reported by 39 patients with Parkinson's disease and compared them with symptoms suggested by the literature and by specialists as bothering Parkinson's patients. Four categories of symptoms were examined: (a) motor disability or activity loss, (b) mental change, (c) psychosocial difficulties, and (d) nonspecific symptoms. The findings show that there was correspondence between expert judgements and subjects' reports regarding symptoms such as dyskinesia/tremor as well as walking, freezing gait, and changing position. Symptoms such as dressing self, getting in/out of bed, morning stiffness and deficit in cognitive sequencing, which experts described as characteristic of Parkinson's disease patients, bothered subjects less. In general, patients mental and psychosocial symptoms were higher in their frequencies and perceived severity than problems of performing activities of daily living.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Nursing staff responses to violent events in closed psychiatric wards: a comparison between attributional and cognitive-neo-associationistic analyses.

This paper examines the behavioural response of nursing staff in psychiatric wards to a patient's violent behaviour towards a staff member as a function of whether the patient's behaviour was presented as arbitrary or not. The participants were 133 nurses. They were given two vignettes describing an arbitrary and a non-arbitrary behaviour of a patient and were asked what the typical response in their ward to each event would be. The results show that when the patient's behaviour was perceived as arbitrary, staff was believed to respond with a therapeutic reaction more frequently than to non-arbitrary behaviour. Moreover, participants' professional characteristics played a greater role in the non-arbitrary scenario. It is suggested that a therapeutic response to a patient's violent behaviour requires a recognition that the patient's behaviour is consistent with his/her role as a patient. The implication of these results for Berkowitz & Heimer's (1989) cognitive-neo-associationistic analysis is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The moderating effect of age on self-care.

The study examined the moderating effect of age on the relations between symptom severity, self-care and others' care, patients' perception of the extent of problem solution, their satisfaction with the solution, and their perception of control over their health. Participating in the study were 121 female and 167 male chronically ill patients. Results indicated that age did play a major role in the relations between self-care and others' care and self-care outcomes. The young population sought maximum relief of symptoms with minimum effort from the self. The elderly, in contrast, could be said fo maximize control because what was important for them was not to depend on others but to be self-sufficient in solving their health problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Clinical decision making of experienced and novice nurses.

Decision making is an important daily nursing activity. Given contradictory past findings concerning the ease of use cognitive schema for reaching decisions among experts and novices, we chose to examine consistency of information as a parameter that may clarify the process of decision making. Ninety-two experienced nurses and 65 nursing students rated their decisional difficulty and levels of certainty in reaching a diagnosis for two scenarios: one including consistent information and one providing information that was partly inconsistent with the given diagnosis. For the consistent information, students showed more difficulty and less certainty in the given diagnosis than the experienced nurses. The inconsistent scenario was perceived as more difficult by nurses in comparison to students. The cognitive processes responsible for these results are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The moderating effect of demographic variables on coping effectiveness.

In spite of the theoretical recognition regarding the role of coping as a moderator, empirical findings indicate that it has only a modest effect as such. This study was designed, therefore, to examine the moderating effect of demographic variables (DV) on coping effectiveness, i.e. active cognitive coping, avoidance coping and active behavioural coping. The study sample was comprised of 12 male and 65 female patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were treated in three outpatient clinics of large hospitals in Israel. Findings suggest that demographic variables do play an important, and somewhat surprising, role in the effectiveness of coping strategies to temper psychological distress. Of the various demographic variables studied, marital status was found to have a significant effect on active cognitive coping and avoidance coping, and adherence to a religious belief system was found to have a significant effect on avoidance coping. The implications of the results for coping effectiveness are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Social support: how does it really work?

This study examines social support effect on stress and adaptation through the mediating effect of control. Participants in the study were 12 male and 65 female rheumatoid arthritis patients who were being treated in the outpatient clinics of three large hospitals in Israel. Findings suggest that social support did have a significant effect on stress and adaptation, though this effect was through the mediating effect of control and not as a buffer as was suggested previously. Implications of the results for nursing science are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

The moderating effects of structural characteristics of wards in general hospitals on the relationship between professional management and quality of care.

The present research examined the moderating effects of three structural characteristics of wards: ward type (surgical vs medical), size, and hospital size on the relationship between professional management and quality of nursing care (QNC) on the ward. The sample consisted of 119 wards situated in general hospitals in Israel. The results of the three regression analyses show that only hospital size, had a moderating effect. Further analysis of the interaction showed that the effect of professional ward management on QNC was greater in large than in small or medium-sized hospitals. In addition, ward size was found to have a great effect, i.e. larger wards had lower QNC. Finally, in all three analyses professional management achieved significance, that is, better management is associated with higher QNC.

Health Facility Size↗
PubMed1993

Quality nursing care survey, 1988-1990.

In a quality nursing care survey conducted in Israel, 1988-1990, the four nursing process components were examined. The survey covered 13 hospitals with 119 medical and surgical wards, in which the nursing care quality for a sample of 2065 patients was assessed. Instruments used were (a) the Patient Classification Form, to assess patient dependency level, and (b) Monitor--an index of the quality of nursing care for acute medical and surgical wards [Goldstone et al., Polytechnic Products, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1982], a British adaptation of the Rush Medicus methodology [Jelinek et al., US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare, 1974]. The survey process involved orientation of the hospitals' senior staff, and training of participants in the administration of patient classification and of Monitor. The highest quality nursing care was found in "Meeting the patient's physical needs"; the lowest in "Assessment and planning of patient care". Factors chosen for possible influence on quality of nursing care were: patient dependency category, type of ward (medical, surgical), ward size and hospital size. The most influential factor was found to be the patient dependency category.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Perceptions and attitudes of academic nursing students to research.

Tel Aviv University students' perceptions of nursing research activities were examined. Specifically, the research concentrated on attitudes, role perception, ability and behavioural intention to perform research in the future. It was found that nurses in all stages of their academic studies, viewed research activities favourably on all four measures. Differences, however, were shown on the subjects' rating of their ability to perform research, their attitudes and their intentions to engage in research activity, according to their job level and academic level. No differences were found on the four measures when examined by work domain or clinical area. The multiple regression analysis showed that the best predictor of the intent to do research was the perception of ability, followed by the perception of research as part of the nursing role and the subjects' attitudes towards research.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Assessment of the abuse liability of buspirone in recreational sedative users.

The abuse potential of buspirone, a new dopaminergic antianxiety drug, was evaluated by assessing its subjective effects in standard (10 mg) and high (40 mg) doses. These were compared with methaqualone (300 mg), diazepam (20 mg and 10 mg), and placebo in 24 casual recreational sedative users. Addiction Research Center Inventory scales measuring euphoria, sedation, dysphoria, and abuse liability were used as dependent measures. Groups of subjects received all treatments in randomized order in six weekly 4-hour sessions. Compared to placebo, methaqualone caused elevated scores on euphoria, physical sedation, and abuse liability scales compared to placebo, while 40 mg buspirone caused increased physical sedation, increased physical and mental dysphoria, and lower abuse liability scores. Overall, buspirone at 40 mg appeared unlikely to be reinforcing to recreational illicit drug users; the 10 mg dose was not discriminable from placebo or 10 mg diazepam. Diazepam at 20 mg showed some euphoriant effect compared to placebo.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Identifying the coping behaviours used by nurses in intensive care.

This study examines the use and perceived effectiveness among nurses of five coping styles: problem-focused coping, positive appraisal, help seeking, avoidance and aggression. Subjects were asked how they would cope with a conflict between themselves and a physician in the ward. The relationship between the coping behaviour and subjects' professional characteristics was explored. The subjects were 128 intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU) nurses. The results indicate that more experienced nurses use coping strategies less and may experience more burnout. The study also shows that nurses who participate in professional extra-curricular activities tend to choose more effective coping strategies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗