ABSTRACT
Religious beliefs and practices may aid in coping with bereavement and grief after pregnancy loss. Data from 103 women enrolled in the original Lehigh Valley Perinatal Loss Project, and who were followed-up for at least 1 year, were evaluated for the impact of initial religious practices and beliefs on the course and severity of grief. Religious practices corresponding to standard scales of religiosity and agreement with specific beliefs were rated by the women on a Likert scale of 1-5. Neither agreement with statements corresponding to extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity or to positive religious coping, nor frequency of religious service attendance was predictive of follow-up scores on the Perinatal Grief Scale. Religious struggle, agreement with statements classified as negative religious coping, and continued attachment to the baby were all associated with more severe grief.
Subject(s)
Abortion, Spontaneous/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Bereavement , Mothers/psychology , Spirituality , Adult , Attitude to Health , Female , Fetal Death , Humans , Object Attachment , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Trimester, First/psychology , Social Support , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
This report describes restructuring on four critical care units at an acute, tertiary care hospital in South-east Pennsylvania. Utilizing a Patient Centered Care conceptual framework that had been successfully applied in the medical-surgical areas, restructuring involved three main areas: revamping of work processes, inclusive of redesigned staff roles; environmental and facility changes; and enhancement of telecommunication and information systems. Preliminary analyses six months post redesign revealed improvements and maintenance in four outcomes areas--satisfaction, quality and efficiency, and costs of care.
Subject(s)
Critical Care/standards , Hospital Restructuring/organization & administration , Intensive Care Units/organization & administration , Patient Satisfaction , Quality Assurance, Health Care/organization & administration , Quality of Health Care , Efficiency, Organizational , Humans , Patient-Centered Care/organization & administrationABSTRACT
Due to the present critical shortage of donor organs available for transplantation, effective communication strategies are necessary to heighten public commitment to donation. The promotion of organ donor card-signing may be a successful vehicle in the achievement of this goal. Based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion effects, evidence of the motivation for organ donor card-signing, and examination of previous donation message tests, this study proposes and tests a causal model of response to organ donor card appeals. The inter-relationship of values, empathy arousal, and issue involvement was found to be a significant driving force in the persuasive process for the behavioral intention to sign an organ donor card. Implications of these findings for future research are addressed.
