Family role and work adaptation in MI women.

The purpose of this longitudinal, randomized clinical study was to assess if family role functioning and work role adaptation in women following a myocardial infarction was improved by a nursing instructional intervention. The 122 participants entered the study at their discharge phase of hospitalization. The treatment group, who received the nursing instructional program, demonstrated increased adaptation related to family role over time, had less symptoms and concerns with sexual activity, and had higher adaptation scores in resuming the paid work role. For both groups, the role most impacted across time was the homemaker role. Nursing implications for assessing role disruption in women with myocardial infarction are described.

Violence against women: the role of orthopaedic nurses in the identification, assessment, treatment, and care for the abused woman.

Violence against women is a significant public health problem that affects women of all age groups across the life span. This article presents a review of domestic violence against women and outlines the role of orthopaedic nurses in the identification, assessment, treatment, and care of women patients with injuries or medical problems sustained as a result of domestic abuse from an intimate other. Key interventions for the treatment and care of abused women include (a) acknowledging the abuse, (b) discussing safety planning, (c) discussing the pattern of abuse, (d) anticipating and respecting the partial denial, (e) reassuring the woman that abuse is not her fault; (f) informing the woman that no one deserves to be abused, (g) telling the woman gently that help is available, (h) reminding the woman that domestic violence is a crime, (i) referring to community resources, and (j) allowing the woman to decide which support services and options are safe for her situation.

ED physician house staff response to training on domestic violence.

OBJECTIVE: About one fourth of physicians report having received training on domestic violence. The purpose of this study was to determine the response of the ED house staff to an educational program on domestic violence against women. The research questions in this study were as follows: (1) What training topics did the house staff rate as most important and relevant to their practice? (2) What topics did the house staff rate as most useful to their day-to-day practice? (3) What were the house staff's attitudes and beliefs before training? (4) Did the method of training on domestic violence influence the house staff's attitudes and beliefs? (5) What were the house staff's perceptions in terms of sociodemographic variables? METHODS: An exploratory descriptive study with a three-group pretest and posttest design was used. The sample consisted of 37 residents, interns, and medical students assigned to their clinical rotation in the emergency department in a large urban hospital trauma center. The age range of the participants was 25 to 40 years. The instruments used included Importance of Training Topics for Domestic Violence Questionnaire (ITTDVQ), Usefulness of Training Topics for Domestic Violence Questionnaire (UTTDVQ). Inventory of Beliefs About Wife Beating (IBWB), and the Self-Efficacy Scale for Battered Women-Professional Version (SESFBW-PV). RESULTS: Topics on domestic violence against women that the house staff rated as most important, relevant, and most useful in their day-to-day practice were awareness of the problem, referral as intervention, documentation of abuse, and references/resources. Attitudes and beliefs after training suggested an increased (1) confidence in the self-efficacy behaviors of women who are abused by intimate others, (2) need for the assessment, treatment, and referral for domestic violence in women who enter the emergency department with medical problems/injuries, and (3) belief that help should be given to women who are abused. There was very little variation in perceptions of the house staff in terms of age, gender, education, ethnic origin, or marital status. DISCUSSION: The major conclusion of the study was that the house staff had a positive response to training on violence against women. Sixty-five percent of the house staff had no previous training on domestic violence. Implications for practice include continuing education and research on domestic violence training in the emergency department.

Fatigue in women with myocardial infarction.

This study measured fatigue in women 6 weeks after myocardial infarction. Fatigue was experienced by the women as chronic, generalized, intermittent, and longstanding. More than one third of the women attributed their fatigue directly to the heart attack or hospitalization. Significant relations were found between fatigue and the physiological dimension of the Sickness Impact Sale (SIP), the Perceived Health Assessment and Risk Protection Survey (PHARPS), and the site of infarction, as well as with the psychological dimension of the SIP. There was an inverse significant relation between fatigue scores and the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) Index. Although not reaching statistical significance, fatigue scores for women 65 and older were higher than for younger women.

Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse: survivor's disclosure and nurse therapist's response.

Recent literature pertinent to adult survivors suggests that childhood sexual abuse is a serious problem, and that disclosure is on the rise. The aftereffects of childhood sexual abuse can cause dysfunction in various aspects of the survivor's physical and mental health. Understanding the traumagenic dynamics of childhood sexual abuse and its aftereffects provides direction for the nurse therapist during both the client's disclosure and intervention planning. This knowledge assists the therapist in promoting mental health and healing, as well as providing comfort for the therapist. The nurse therapist's reactions to the client's disclosure can affect the way the client feels about disclosure and the therapeutic relationship. If a negative message is conveyed to the survivor at the time of disclosure, the feelings of betrayal, stigmatization, and powerlessness that the survivor experienced as a child will be replicated. This can damage the therapeutic relationship and delay the healing process. When disclosure is received and acted upon in a sensitive, therapeutic manner, the survivor is empowered and can enter with the nurse therapist into an effective therapeutic alliance. Nurse therapists should gain awareness of the types of emotional responses that can be engendered in the health professional during disclosure. Awareness of these emotional reactions can lead to the identification of coping strategies useful to both the therapist and the adult survivor. Coping strategies useful to the therapist include maintaining adequate boundaries, understanding oneself and one's responses to sexual-abuse issues, utilizing ongoing consultation or supervision, and preventing burnout.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Promotion of adaptation in battered women: a self-efficacy approach.

The purpose of this article is to describe the use of the Self-Efficacy Scale for Battered Women (SESFBW) in the development of a treatment plan for the abused woman. The authors describe how the SESFBW was developed to assess the self-efficacy needs of women (N = 43) who came to the emergency department with injuries and self-reported current abuse. Four needs related to self-efficacy were identified: a decreased ability to (a) talk to the nurse or doctor about the abusive situation, (b) call a shelter for abused women, (c) shrug off self doubts, and (d) express thoughts and feelings without fear. How data from a self-efficacy assessment were used in developing a teaching plan and intervention is included. Pre- and posttest scores on the SESFBW of six battered women showed a significant increase in self-efficacy scores at the completion of a group educational program. They conclude that the SESFBW is an easy and effective tool to assess self-efficacy and can form the basis for developing an individualized teaching plan to increase self-efficacy.

Physical abuse as cause of injury in women: information for orthopaedic nurses.

With the frequency and severity of violence against women, it is critically important to empower nurses and physicians with information on physical abuse as a cause of injury in women. The specific aim of this descriptive study was to determine if the cause of injury was from abuse in women presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with injuries. This research describes the nature and mechanisms of injury by women who reported that their injury was from physical abuse by men. Recognizing domestic violence as a cause of injury and gaining an awareness of the type and mechanism of injury resulting from abuse will help empower orthopaedic nurses to be active in the prevention and treatment of domestic violence against women.