Face to face with Sturge-Weber syndrome.

ISSUES AND PURPOSE: Chronic illness is a way of life for parents of children with Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS), a rare progressive congenital disease that has as its defining feature a port wine stain. This case study describes the experience of one family living with a child with SWS. CONCLUSIONS: This family's struggle with a devastating syndrome and the ways in which they coped and maintained hope inform all those who care for families living with a chronically ill, disabled child. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Social support is critical for families facing overwhelming care needs. Families also need anticipatory guidance about child rearing, developmental milestones, decision making, and coping strategies. Additionally, families may need help in mobilizing professional and family resources and in effectively using available services.

Cardiac patients and spouses: family functioning and emotions.

This study examined the relationships among satisfaction with family function and emotional states of a nonprobability sample of sixty-six myocardial infarction (MI) patients and their spouses who were recruited from hospitals in the Delaware Valley. Patients and spouses completed the Family APGAR and the Affects Balance Scale. It was found that both patients and spouses experienced substantial emotional distress when compared with the norms for nonclinical subjects. They were highly correlated on both measures, particularly for positive emotion and satisfaction with family function (p < .0001). Satisfaction with family function was significantly correlated with positive affect for spouses (p < .05). These results suggest the importance of assessment of satisfaction with family function and emotional status of both MI patient and spouse, with spouses with lower satisfaction with family function being at greater risk for emotional distress.

Family satisfaction and affect of men and their wives after myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: To describe (1) the affect of patients who have had a myocardial infarction and their spouses during hospitalization, (2) the correlation between patient and spouse on affect and satisfaction with family function, and (3) the relationship between satisfaction with family function and affect for both patient and spouse. DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional. SETTING: Five hospitals in the Delaware Valley: four were community based and one was a university medical center. PATIENTS: Thirty-five couples who were married and living together. Patients were men with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction without renal, vascular, cerebral, or pulmonary complications who had been transferred from the cardiac care unit before being discharged. MEASURES: The patient completed the medical and demographic data form. Both patient and spouse completed the Family APGAR, a five-item questionnaire designed to give a rapid overview of satisfaction with the functional status of either a nuclear or alternative lifestyle family, and the Affects Balance Scale, a 40-item adjective mood scale that measures positive affect states, negative affect states, and the balance between them. RESULTS: Both patients and spouses experienced considerable negative affect and reduced positive affect during hospitalization when compared with the norms for nonclinical subjects. Patients and spouses were highly correlated on both measures, particularly for satisfaction with family function and positive affect (p < 0.01). Positive affect and satisfaction with family function were significantly positively correlated for spouses (p < 0.05). Additionally, it was found that both patients (p = 0.001) and spouses (p = 0.032) who were married longer were more satisfied with family function and that older patients reported more positive affect (p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Both male patients who have had a myocardial infarction and their spouses experienced considerable emotional distress during hospitalization, with the implications that assessment should focus on the family unit as well as the individual and that interventions be directed toward emotional as well as physical symptomatology. The results of this study also suggest that female spouses with lower satisfaction with family function and younger male patients may be at greater risk for higher levels of negative affect.

Spouse support and myocardial infarction patient compliance.

This study investigated the relationship between spouse support and compliance of myocardial infarction patients. Data were obtained from a sample of 60 couples during home interviews with the husband at least three months following his infarction. The hypothesis tested was that there is a positive relationship between spouse support and compliance. Husband's self-reported compliance was obtained for each of 10 aspects of the regimen. A spouse support questionnaire completed by wives estimated the degree to which they engaged in behaviors theorized to be supportive. Demographic and illness variables were also obtained. The hypothesis was not supported. Moreover, compliance was not related to demographic or illness variables, although those subjects still engaged in a cardiac rehabilitation program had significantly higher compliance than those who had stopped attending.

The effect of social support on educational outcomes.

A review of the social support literature identified the theoretical framework for this prospective descriptive correlational study. The relationship of social support to educational outcomes was investigated in a convenience sample of 67 junior and 60 senior nursing students. Social support was measured by the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behavior (ISSB), indicating the frequency with which respondents were recipients of supportive actions from their total support network. Outcomes included the cumulative grade point averages of all participants and the NCLEX scores of graduating seniors. Social Support was also examined in relation to self-esteem, measured by the Coopersmith Self-Concept scale and test anxiety, measured by the Spielberger Test Anxiety Inventory. Hypotheses tested were: (1) There is a positive relationship between social support and both cumulative grade point average and NCLEX scores. (2) There is a positive relationship between social support and self-esteem. (3) Social support will have greater influence on outcomes under conditions of stress, defined as high test anxiety. Hypotheses 1 and 3 were not supported. Hypothesis 2 was supported at the .05 significance level, using a Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Additional information included a significant inverse correlation for test anxiety and both grade point average (p = .01) and NCLEX results (p = .05). Implications for educational experiences and future research are discussed.