Financial constraints lead to innovation by IPPF.
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Communication↗
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Results for “Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice”
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Ambulatory Care Facilities↗
A social cognitive model for health education/health promotion practice.
AIM: To investigate the place and validity of contemporary social cognitive models for health education practice in nursing settings and, in doing so, develop and put forward a specific model for this purpose. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: The last decade or so has seen a marked increase in the amount of health educational/health promotional activities that nurses are expected to undertake. This has followed on from concerted calls to make health education a familiar and recognized part of nursing practice. Despite this, past and current evidence identifies that nurses have been, and continue to be, ineffective and inconsistent health education practitioners. Where health education activity does take place it tends to centre specifically on social cognitive behavioural change strategies. Subsequently, it is argued here that any failure on the part of nurses successfully to apply health educational initiatives into practice has been compounded by the lack of any nursing-specific social cognitive model process. This paper seeks to redress this imbalance by putting forward the case for such a model, developing it, and demonstrating how it can be incorporated into the practice setting. METHOD: A systematic review of the literature has been conducted and the article draws upon this in order to develop an evolving theoretical perspective for health education practice. The proposed model has evolved from this new perspective. Development of this model has drawn on contemporary social cognitive behavioural models--using them as a means to develop a further conceptual framework for nursing. CONCLUSION: Social cognitive behavioural models are valuable tools that nurses can incorporate routinely into existing frameworks of practice. The proposed model is designed to make the adoption of health-related behavioural change in clients easier and more realistic. If the current situation continues whereby social cognitive behavioural models are not adopted as a concerted and routine part of nursing practice, then nursing may well continue to fall behind other health professions in the discipline of health education.
Attitude to Health↗
Reading habits of infection control coordinators in the United States: peer-reviewed or non-peer-reviewed evidence?
BACKGROUND: Because evidence-based health care is taking on increasing importance, we surveyed a national sample of infection control coordinators on their reading habits to discern which and how often various media are utilized. METHODS: Infection control coordinators at 797 hospitals in the United States were mailed a survey asking which peer-reviewed journals and other publications they subscribe to, their perception of the quality of the infection control articles provided by each, and the extent to which they use various resources for their work. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 74%. Infection control coordinators spend a mean of 3.6 hours/week reading journals or periodicals. Resources identified as most useful included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site (52%), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC) text (11%), and the APIC e-mail list (8%). Proportion of subscribers was highest for the American Journal of Infection Control (84%) and Infection Control Today (72%). The top 3 journals ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 for quality of infection control articles were Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (8.0), the American Journal of Infection Control (7.5), and the New England Journal of Medicine (7.4). The American Journal of Infection Control (85%) and Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (72%) were the most frequently used peer-reviewed sources of information, whereas Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (85%) and Hospital Infection Control (63%) ranked at the top for non-peer-reviewed periodicals. CONCLUSION: Infection control coordinators devote limited time to reading and critically appraising published evidence and rely heavily on sources that provide rapid access to information or evidence summaries, suggesting a growing need for easy-to-read, reliable sources of information about evidence-based infection prevention and control practices.
Attitude of Health Personnel↗
Finding a path through the health unit: practical experience of Ugandan patients.
Finding one's way through a health facility is not necessarily an easy task for Ugandan patients. Our understanding of how people succeed in doing so, and of the obstacles they encounter on their way, is incomplete if we focus only on the cognitive level of the clinical encounter. Much research in public health and medical anthropology implicitly works with the notion that agency is located in the mind and that cognitive understanding is a precondition for practice. Based on material from eastern Uganda, this article explores the practical experience of Ugandan patients and their relatives and reflects upon the ways in which this notion of agency has often caused us to confuse the spectator's point of view with the actor's point of view. Thus, as Pierre Bourdieu has argued, we are made to look for answers to "questions that practice never asks because it has no need to ask them."
Adult↗
Knowledge and practice pattern of non-allopathic indigenous medical practitioners regarding tuberculosis in a rural area of India.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge and practice patterns of non-allopathic indigenous medical practitioners (IMPs) regarding tuberculosis (TB). METHODS: Seventy-four IMPs practising in Naraingarh block, a rural area of Haryana State, India, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. RESULTS: Fifty-four per cent (40/74) of the IMPs saw two to five TB patients every month. Sixty-one per cent (46/74) reported that they based their diagnosis of TB on symptoms alone, whereas 38% use diagnostic tests such as chest X-ray, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and sputum examination. Forty per cent of the IMPs reported that alcohol was the cause of TB, 36.5% cited smoking and 17.6% reported infection as the cause. Only 34% (25/74) of IMPs reported that they treated TB patients, while the rest said that they referred such cases to nearby hospitals. Anti-tuberculosis drugs used by IMPs were isoniazid, rifampicin and streptomycin, but none of them knew the dosage of the drugs, the duration of treatment or the correct regimen. Sixty-four per cent of the 25 IMPs reported using ayurvedic medicines. CONCLUSION: Considerable proportions of TB patients seek IMPs for cure of TB, while the knowledge and practice of IMPs is inadequate.
Adult↗
Personal awareness of domestic violence: implications for health care providers.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate how many Californians know a victim of domestic violence, to examine their knowledge of certain characteristics of the violence, and to estimate and examine such knowledge among specific demographic groups. METHOD: A total of 3713 California adults (similar numbers of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and other Asian Americans) completed a random-digit-dial interview. Respondents were asked whether a friend, relative, or coworker had been threatened or harmed by an intimate partner. Weights were applied to the cross-sectional sample to obtain estimates for the general population. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regressions were used with the full sample. RESULTS: Nearly half (45.5%) of the adult general population of California knows a victim of domestic violence (DV); 40.5% know a woman and 5.0% know a man. More than one-third of the population (35.7%) knew the victim while the abuse was happening. Although 86.5% of those who reported knowing a DV victim indicated that the victim incurred physical harm, only 18.3% of the injured victims were reported to have sought medical care. Gender was the most consistent respondent predictor: Men were less likely to know someone who was a victim of DV and to have specific information about the violence. Ethnic differences were fewer, but distinctions among groups were documented. CONCLUSIONS: Knowing a victim of DV is common among California adults. Implications for medical practice are discussed in terms of the ethnicity, gender, and work force status of the population served and geographic location of the medical practice.
Adult↗
Latino male attitudes and behaviors on their spouses' and partners' cancer-screening behavior: focus group findings.
The following is a report of the first phase of exploratory research growing out of a parent grant on breast and cervical cancer screening among Latinas in Colorado. This paper reports data gathered from 14 focus groups conducted with Latino (Mexican, Mexican-American, and other Hispanic) males to identify their supportive and nonsupportive attitudes and behaviors toward their spouse's breast and cervical cancer screening. The men represent a cross-section of Latino males, yet the findings presented here are strongly suggestive and not representative of Latinos as a whole. Latinos exhibited three distinct modes of knowledge and attitudes toward their partners' health-seeking efforts. The first mode was characterized by limited knowledge, a lack of information, and for some, disinterest or even disdain. Those in the second mode can be considered "generalists" who knew only generalities concerning their wives' health states and practices. The third mode includes Latino males who were genuinely interested in seeking "meaningful ways" to promote their partners' health and well-being. These long-time married couples seemed to have strong relationships highlighted by a genuine concern for each others' well-being, including their health problems. The younger cohorts were generally unconcerned about their spouses' breast and cervical cancer screening and lacked knowledge in the area. As age and educational level increased, so too did the general awareness and knowledge of breast and cervical cancer increase. Most Latinos, however, lacked specific knowledge about screening, the procedures, or the recommended frequency of such examinations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adolescent↗
Long-term married couples' health promotion behaviors: identifying factors that impact decision-making.
Knowledge about health promotion behaviors and their determinants in older individuals is scant. Even less is known about persons in long-term marriages, although a growing interdependence in health decision-making has been suggested. The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of health promotion activities in older adults who were in long-term marriages. Pender's Health Promotion Model and a proposed re-conceptualization of Pender's interpersonal influences were used to guide selection of study variables. Perceived barriers and perceived self-efficacy, two behavior-specific cognitions, and relationship quality and social support, proposed interpersonal influences, were hypothesized to predict participation in health promotion behaviors. A convenience sample of 80 individuals in long-term marriages was recruited. Regression analysis identified four predictor variables as explaining 31% of the participation in health promotion behaviors: relationship quality, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and social support. Implications for nursing practice and for further research are discussed.
Aged↗
Survey of smoking knowledge, attitudes and practice in school children in Honduras.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to survey Honduran pre-adolescent knowledge, perceptions and experience regarding smoking. METHODS: A 12-item survey was administered in the classroom to fifth and sixth grade students. The main outcome measures were a description of demographic factors, personal smoking experience, knowledge of health risks, attitudes about tobacco use and perceived sources of information. RESULTS: A total of 225 students were surveyed. The majority were aware that smoking is bad for health, and most reported never having smoked. Most viewed smoking as ugly. Friends and family were selected as the major source of information. CONCLUSIONS: School children in this area of Honduras are aware of the health risks of smoking and view smoking as unattractive.
Adolescent↗
Lay injection practices among migrant farmworkers in the age of AIDS: evolution of a biomedical folk practice.
The practice of injecting vitamins and antibiotics by lay people is common among Hispanic migrant farmworkers in the U.S.A. This practice has recent roots in the Latin American cultures from which these farmworkers originate, but it presents a public health concern in its new context because of the high prevalence of HIV infection among this disenfrachised population. Reasons for use of lay injections include cultural beliefs about the superiority of injections over oral forms of medications, perceived irrelevance of a professional diagnostician in prescribing empirical treatment, and a multitude of barriers to access to Western medicine. Although HIV educational materials directed at migrant farmworkers do not address the issue of sharing needles for these types of injections, some farmworkers indicated they had already modified their injection techniques in response to simple directives from physicians in their home country. In contrast to other folk treatment practices that have been resistant to change mediated solely through the provision of information, lay injection is such a new development that considerable experimentation and incorporation of new knowledge are still actively shaping its use. In this process, physicians are seen as legitimate sources of information about the use of Western pharmaceuticals; they should use this role to discourage unsafe injection practices. Efforts to extinguish the practice of lay injection entirely are less likely to meet with success so long as other means of accessing Western medicine are limited.
Adolescent↗
Views on the ground: teaching and clinical assessors' views on vocational training for healthcare assistants in Ireland.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES: This paper reports the views of teaching staff and clinical assessors on their experience of programme delivery and assessment. BACKGROUND: In 2001, the Irish Department of Health and Children developed a vocational training programme for healthcare assistants. This programme was piloted nationally across 14 hospital and community sites. Teaching staff and clinical assessors at each site delivered the programme. METHOD: One-to-one semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 16 clinical staff and 26 teaching staff. With consent, all interviews were tape-recorded, from which the transcripts were subject to content analysis. RESULTS: A lack of experience and preparation among teaching staff and clinical assessors was evident. The staff's commitment to their role on the programme while maintaining their normal duties caused frustration and uncertainty. Not withstanding, the value of the programme in terms of increased motivation, satisfaction and knowledge of healthcare assistants and the impact on care delivery, was recognized by respondents. CONCLUSIONS: This programme represents the provision of a national standard training programme for healthcare assistants. It provides an insight into the delivery of such a programme and the educational and training needs of healthcare assistants through the views of staff that taught and assessed on it. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Findings suggest that the development and implementation of a national training programme for healthcare assistants is achievable.
Attitude of Health Personnel↗
[How to influence the practice of physical activity in persons with coronary disease?].
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Aged↗
An evaluation of a health education intervention for mid-aged women: five year follow-up of effects upon knowledge, impact of menopause and health.
An evaluation of the long term impact of a health education intervention in primary care, for premenopausal women (45 years of age), is presented. The intervention included information and group discussion about menopause, stress management, health behaviours (smoking, exercise, diet) and treatment choices. Questionnaires were sent to 86 women who had been randomised into two groups (prepared/control) and were now aged 50 (response rate 91%). The prepared group had significantly greater knowledge of menopause and attributed fewer symptoms to the menopause than the controls. There were no group differences in measures of general health or mood, but there was a tendency for the prepared group to report more interest in sexual activity. Subjective evaluation of the intervention was positive in terms of increasing knowledge and helping women to deal with the emotional and practical aspects of the menopause.
Educational Measurement↗
Social support and positive health practices in young adults. Loneliness as a mediating variable.
The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which loneliness mediates the relationship between perceived social support and positive health practices of young adults, ages 22 to 34, by testing a mediational model of relationships in a three-variable system developed through theory and previous research. Data were collected from 70 young adults who were attending classes in a large urban university. They responded to the PRQ85-Part II, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Lifestyle Questionnaire, and a demographic data sheet. Statistically significant correlations were found between perceived social support and positive health practices, perceived social support and loneliness, and loneliness and positive health practices. A series of regression analyses designed to test for mediation were performed. The results indicated that loneliness is a dominant mediator in the relationship between perceived social support and positive health practice. Implications for practices are discussed.
Adult↗
Using action research in nursing practice with older people: democratizing knowledge.
AIM: This paper reports on an action research study which raised some questions about the processes of developing a sense of shared ownership in action research in a research environment which does not always have the appropriate mechanisms to support and sustain action research. BACKGROUND: Action research has gained popularity in nursing and healthcare research, offering a way of developing practice-based knowledge, which can assist in changing practice and democratizing inquiry. METHODS: There are other organizational constraints on action research which arise at different levels, and which also require discussion. These can be issues about communication and ownership at a practice level and issues of funding and project management procedures. This paper reports on a study in which these issues came to the fore, and offers some thoughts on how they can affect the processes of action research. CONCLUSION: While the principles of action research appear to offer much towards the development of a practice-rooted body of knowledge for nursing, unless some of the issues of ownership are resolved, it is unlikely to move beyond academic rhetoric. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: If nursing is to engage in action research, this must be done critically and reflectively and careful attention paid to developing an inclusive and collaborative approach to knowledge and practice development. Furthermore, to develop in nursing and health care research, it must find ways to meet the requirements of funding bodies.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Acute-care nurses' attitudes towards older patients: a literature review.
With increases in life expectancy and increasing numbers of older patients utilising the acute setting, attitudes of registered nurses caring for older people may affect the quality of care provided. This paper reviews recent research on positive and negative attitudes of acute-care nurses towards older people. Many negative attitudes reflect ageist streotypes and knowledge deficits that significantly influence registered nurses' practice and older patients' quality of care. In the acute setting, older patients experience reduced independence, limited decision-making opportunities, increased probability of developing complications, little consideration of their ageing-related needs, limited health education and social isolation. Available instruments to measure attitudes towards and knowledge about older people, although reliable and valid, are outdated, country-specific and do not include either a patient-focus or a caring perspective. This paper argues for the development and utilisation of a research instrument that includes both a patient focus and a caring dimension.
Aged↗
Knowledge and attitudes towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among elementary school teachers.
OBJECTIVE: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in child and adolescent psychiatry. ADHD children are at risk for academic and psychological difficulties. Lack of cooperation between schools, parents and therapeutic institutions inhibits a multimodal treatment program. This study surveys teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. METHOD: One hundred and ninety six elementary school teachers in Shiraz, Iran, anonymously completed a self-report questionnaire on ADHD. RESULTS: Knowledge about ADHD was relatively low. 46.9% of respondents agreed that ADHD is due to biological and genetic vulnerabilities and causation. 53.1%of all the teachers considered ADHD to be the result of parental spoiling. The attitude score towards ADHD children was also low. 64.8% agree that the same disciplinary rules used for all students should also be applied to ADHD children. 77.6% believe that ADHD students experience difficulties in their relations with their classmates. There was a significant correlation between teachers' knowledge of ADHD and their attitude. The main sources of knowledge about ADHD were: Television and radio; friends and relatives; periodical, newspapers and magazines. CONCLUSION: Knowledge about ADHD was sound to be very low. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Health and/or Educational Ministry should promote a special course on ADHD for teachers and education should be part of the curriculum in faculty training. Providing these educational programs on television and radio may be highly effective as they were the most common source of information.
Adult↗