Where Have They Gone? Recruiting and Retaining Older Rural Research Participants.

ISSUE: Rural-dwelling elderly have been shown to suffer from health disparities when compared to the general population. Research involving these individuals is important, and to have meaningful results, sample sizes must be adequate. Recruiting and retaining these individuals pose significant challenges. CONTEXT: Nurse researchers in the rural northwestern United States conducted a 4-part educational intervention aimed at increasing general and complementary and alternative health care literacy of older rural dwellers. Significant challenges were faced in both recruiting and retaining participants over the 6-month study period. Despite careful planning and community selection, the team had to double the number of communities in which they carried out the project to meet recruitment goals. Retention was also a challenge. Of 127 participants initially enrolled in the study, only 52 remained to the end. LESSONS LEARNED: Challenges of recruiting and retaining are complex and compounded when the target population is rural, older and the study is longitudinal. Recruitment challenges included reaching older adults, offering a compelling program, and offering it in an acceptable format at a convenient time and place. A variety of outreach activities were conducted including in-person presentations, advertising or public interest stories in local newspapers or radio stations, and flyers on bulletin boards in restaurants, clinics, churches, community centers, and libraries. A project champion, an individual well known and connected within the community and committed to the success of the proposed study, is a major asset. Retention strategies included developing relationships with the participants and maintaining contact with them over the course of the study through such mechanisms as appointment cards, e-mail or regular mail, telephone reminders, and thank you cards. Oversampling was important as factors beyond the control of the researcher occurred; for example, illness, death, family crises, unexpected relocations, and weather events that prevented travel to scheduled research events.

Be Wise: A complementary and alternative medicine health literacy skill-building programme.

BACKGROUND: Health literacy has been found to be the strongest predictor of health status; and without adequate health literacy, consumers may not understand/adequately evaluate the myriad of choices available. Older rural residents tend to use self-prescribed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies and glean information about these therapies primarily by word of mouth/media. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to describe the Be Wise health literacy skill building programme and the participants' evaluation of the programme. DESIGN: The programme involved four sessions delivered over 7 weeks at seniors' centres in rural communities. METHOD: Data were collected initially (N = 127), at the end of the sessions (N = 67) and after 5 months (N = 52). SETTING: Participants were primarily rural Caucasian women, mean age 76 years, and most had an associate/baccalaureate degree. RESULTS: Questions were worded to ascertain satisfaction with the programme, usefulness of the information provided, willingness to recommend the programme, and the likelihood of using the programme. All scores were most favourable ranging from 3.35 to 4.41 on a 5-point scale. A question regarding the usefulness of the Be Wise programme in managing health received at mean score of 3.55 on a 5-point scale. Written comments on the questionnaires were overwhelmingly favourable. CONCLUSION: Delivering programmes to older adults in small rural communities has special challenges and rewards. Participants were enthusiastic about learning more about making informed health care choices. There is a compelling need for continued programme development and long-term outcomes evaluation.

Community-based Skill Building Intervention to Enhance Health Literacy Among Older Rural Adults.

The purpose of this article is to report the outcomes of a skill building intervention to improve general health literacy and health literacy about complementary and alternative therapies (CAM) among older rural adults. The intervention was implemented in eight rural communities. Descriptive statistics and general linear modeling were used for analysis. A total of 127 older adults completed the initial session and Time 1 questionnaire, 67 (51%) completed the intervention sessions and Time 2 questionnaire, and 52 (40.9%) completed the Time 3 questionnaire five months later. CAM health literacy scores and scores on one general health literacy measure were significantly higher at Time 2 compared to Time 1 and 3. The decline in scores over time suggests a need for continuing strategies to support older adults' health literacy. Assisting older adults to make safe health care choices is a critical role for investigators, nurses, and other health care providers.

Psychometric evaluation of the MSU CAM health literacy scale.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The rise in the use of alternative health care approaches (CAM) increases the need for adequate health literacy. The MSU Health Literacy Scale was developed to measure CAM health literacy. Psychometric evaluation of the scale is presented in this article. METHODS: A test retest design was utilized and data from this instrument evaluation research project were used to explore the validity and several forms of reliability of the MSU Health Literacy Scale. The data analysis was based on the scores of 241 individuals at the T1 data collection and the scores of 188 at the T2 administration of the instrument. RESULTS: There were significant correlations between the MSU CAM Health Literacy Scale and Newest Vital Sign (r = 0.330 p = .000) and with a single question health literacy measure (r = .255 (p = .000). Cronbach's alphas were adequate for each administration of the scale (T1 = .774 and T2 = .754). The correlation of scores between the T1 administration and the T2 administration were significant (r = .696 (p = .000). CONCLUSIONS: This psychometric evaluation provides confirmation of convergent validity and stable reliability. The scale can be used in future research and clinical endeavors.

Bee SAFE, a Skill-Building Intervention to Enhance CAM Health Literacy: Lessons Learned.

The purpose is to describe a feasibility study of a skill-building intervention to enhance health literacy about complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies among older rural adults and share lessons learned. A study was designed to examine the feasibility of an intervention to enhance CAM health literacy. The theme was "Bee SAFE" for Be a wise user of CAM, Safety, Amount, From where, and Effect. Modules were presented face to face and by webinar with older adults at a senior center in one small rural community. The team achieved its purpose of designing, implementing, and evaluating the intervention and assessing if it could be implemented in a rural community. The implementation challenges encountered and lessons learn are discussed. By improving CAM health literacy, older rural adults with chronic health conditions can make well-reasoned decisions about using CAM for health promotion and illness management. The goal is to implement the Bee SAFE intervention in other rural communities; thus team members were attentive to lessons to be learned before investing time, effort, and expense in the larger intervention. It is hoped that the lessons learned can be instructive to others planning projects in rural communities.

Principal components analysis to identify influences on research communication and engagement during an environmental disaster.

OBJECTIVES: To discern community attitudes towards research engagement in Libby, Montana, the only Superfund site for which a public health emergency has been declared. STUDY DESIGN: Survey study of convenience samples of residents near the Libby, Montana Superfund site. PARTICIPANTS: Residents of the Libby, Montana area were recruited from a local retail establishment (N=120, survey 1) or a community event (N=127, survey 2). MEASURES: Two surveys were developed in consultation with a Community Advisory Panel. RESULTS: Principal components of survey 1 showed four dimensions of community members' attitudes towards research engagement: (1) researcher communication and contributions to the community, (2) identity and affiliation of the researchers requesting participation, (3) potential personal barriers, including data confidentiality, painful or invasive procedures and effects on health insurance and (4) research benefits for the community, oneself or family. The score on the first factor was positively related to desire to participate in research (r=0.31, p=0.01). Scores on factors 2 and 3 were higher for those with diagnosis of asbestos-related disease (ARD) in the family (Cohen's d=0.41, 0.57). Survey 2 also found more positive attitudes towards research when a family member had ARD (Cohen's d=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: Principal components analysis shows different dimensions of attitudes towards research engagement. The different dimensions are related to community members' desire to be invited to participate in research, awareness of past research in the community and having been screened or diagnosed with a health condition related to the Superfund contaminant.

Instrument to measure health literacy about complementary and alternative medicine.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Health literacy is an essential skill for today's health care consumers. The growth in use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) adds to the complexity of being sufficiently health literate. The purpose of this article is to describe the initial psychometric evaluation of the "Montana State University (MSU) CAM Health Literacy Scale," a newly developed instrument to measure an individual's health literacy about CAM. METHODS: Exploratory factor analyses, reliabilities, and conceptual considerations were used. RESULTS: The outcome is a 21-item instrument with Cronbach's alpha of .753 and 42.27% explained variance. Convergent validity assessments revealed weak but significant correlations between the scale and measures of general health literacy. CONCLUSIONS: The MSU CAM Health Literacy Scale has promise for use in future research and clinical endeavors.

Computer Intervention: Illness Self-Management/Quality of Life of Rural Women.

The Women To Women project, a computer-based support and educational research intervention, was designed to help rural women better understand and manage their chronic illnesses. Its impact on psychosocial adaptation has been reported elsewhere. This article reports on the effect of a computer intervention on chronic illness self-management skills and quality of life. Using a parallel 2-group study design, the researchers randomized 309 middle-aged rural women with chronic conditions to either a computer-based intervention or a control group. They collected data on self-management of chronic illness and quality of life indicators at baseline and at the end of the intervention. Women in the intervention group reported significantly more self-efficacy in managing their chronic disease than those in the control group and the observed effect was of moderate size. Women in the intervention group also reported statistically significant gains in quality of life; effect sizes were small but consistent. Select chronic illness self-management skills and quality of life can be positively influenced by a well-designed computer intervention.

Le projet « Women To Women ¼, une initiative de soutien par ordinateur et de recherche en intervention éducative, a été conçu pour aider les femmes en région rurale à mieux comprendre et gérer les maladies chroniques dont elles souffrent. Son impact sur l'adaptation psychosociale a été rapporté dans une publication antérieure. L'article qui suit fait état de l'effet d'une intervention par ordinateur sur les capacités d'autogestion de maladies chroniques et de la qualité de vie. Menant une étude parallèle auprès de deux groupes, les chercheurs ont randomisé 309 femmes d'âge moyen vivant en région rurale et atteintes de maladies chroniques, les assignant à un groupe bénéficiant d'une intervention par ordinateur ou à un groupe de contrôle. Ils ont recueilli des données sur les indicateurs d'autogestion des maladies chroniques et de la qualité de vie au début et à la fin de l'intervention. Les femmes du groupe ayant eu accès aux interventions ont dit être beaucoup plus efficaces en ce qui a trait à la gestion de leurs maladies chroniques, comparativement à celles du groupe de contrôle, et l'effet observé était d'ampleur modérée. Les femmes du premier groupe ont aussi signalé des gains statistiquement significatifs quant à la qualité de vie; les valeurs des effets observés étaient faibles mais cohérentes. Une intervention par ordinateur bien conçue peut exercer une influence positive sur les habiletés d'autogestion de maladies ciblées et sur la qualité de vie.

The Montana State University conceptual model of complementary and alternative medicine health literacy.

This article aims to present and describe a model of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) health literacy. The model is the conceptual basis for CAM health literacy, which is operationally defined as the information about CAM needed to make informed self-management decisions regarding health. Improving health literacy is a national priority, and widespread use of CAM has added to the complexity of this task. There are no currently available models or measures of health literacy regarding CAM. The authors developed the model using an iterative process of deriving concepts, constructs, and empirical indicators from the literature and the author's prior work, review and critique by experts, and revision. The model of CAM health literacy can serve as the basis for future research on the use and efficacy of CAM and the constructs and concepts within it can be used to identify points of intervention for research or for clinical practice. It is anticipated that the model will have scientific and clinical application for assessing health literacy in other self care decision-making situations.

Descriptive analysis of the respiratory health status of persons exposed to Libby amphibole asbestos.

OBJECTIVE: Describe respiratory health and quality of life in persons exposed to Libby amphibole asbestos (LAA) contaminated vermiculite. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive. SETTING: Asbestos-related disease clinic in Libby, Montana USA. PARTICIPANTS: 329 individuals exposed to LAA; mostly men, married, between 50 and 69 years; two-thirds lived in the surrounding county; one-third lived elsewhere in the state and USA. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Chest radiograph (CXR), pulmonary function data and the St George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). RESULTS: Exposure categories included vermiculite workers=7.6%; family/household contact of vermiculite worker=32%; and environmental exposure only=60%. Of the participants, 55% had only pleural abnormalities; 5.4% had only interstitial abnormalities; nearly 21% had both abnormalities and 18% had no lung abnormality on chest x-ray. Mean forced vital capacity (FVC) 95.3% (SD=18.7); forced expiratory volume (FEV(1)) mean 87% (SD=20.2); ratio of FEV1(1)/FVC 95.5% (SD=12.0); and diffusing capacity (DLCO) of 83% (SD=21.7) of the percent predicted. The mean total SGRQ (38.5; SD=22.1) indicated a lower quality of life than healthy persons and persons with other chronic conditions. SGRQ subscale means were Symptoms 52.1 (SD=24.9), activity 49.4 (SD=26.9) and impacts 27.5 (SD=21.9). Participants with normal CXR differed significantly from those with both interstitial and pleural abnormalities on total, activity and impacts scores. For activity alone, subjects with normal CXR differed significantly from those with pleural disease; no differences were found for those with interstitial disease. Significant findings were found for smoking history across all pulmonary measures, and for exposure status, radiographic findings, age and gender for select pulmonary parameters. Subjects with any smoking history had significantly worse average total and subscale scores on the SGRQ. CONCLUSIONS: Of 329 persons exposed to LAA, the majority (182) had pleural abnormalities identified on CXR. SGRQ scores for persons with abnormalities (pleural, interstitial or both) (269) differed significantly from those with a normal CXR.

Loneliness as experienced by women living with chronic illness in rural areas.

PURPOSE: The purposes were to identify loneliness in rural women with chronic conditions and to identify the major themes represented in their descriptions of their feelings of loneliness. DESIGN: This study was a secondary analysis of data collected during a 22-week computer-based support and health online intervention in which rural women participated in virtual forums that allowed them to share life experiences. METHOD: Quantitative data were gathered from participants' self-reported loneliness via the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Qualitative data analysis consisted of seeking loneliness themes imbedded in the participants' online exchanges. FINDINGS: High scores on the loneliness scale indicated a high degree of expressed loneliness, with possible scores of 20 to 80. The range of scores for all participants (n = 57) was 21 to 68; for those in the upper quartile (n = 12), the range was 52 to 68. Loneliness themes identified were longing for loved ones, changing relationships, listening in the background, and impact of rural factors. CONCLUSIONS: Because loneliness has been described as a painful experience and can have long-reaching effects on an individual's health, it is a factor to be considered in planning nursing care for individuals who may be at risk because of physical and/or emotional isolation.

An online approach to providing chronic illness self-management information.

The purpose of this article was to describe an online approach to providing chronic illness self-management information to rural women with chronic illness. To self-manage chronic illness, individuals require information about their conditions. For those in rural areas who have limited access to health services, computer-based interventions are a means of providing this information. Participants were randomly assigned either to an 11-week computer intervention in which they completed nine online self-study health teaching units related to self-management, or to a control group. The health teaching units were positively rated as being helpful in managing their chronic illnesses, with scores ranging from 4.09 to 4.84 on a six-point scale. Perceptions of computer skills increased significantly for the intervention group, with no increase in the control group. Computer-based programs can be an effective approach to providing health information to rural women with chronic conditions that will assist them in their self-management efforts.

Use of creative arts as a complementary therapy by rural women coping with chronic illness.

PURPOSE: To investigate the spontaneous use of creative arts as a complementary therapy by rural women in the Western United States who are coping with chronic illness. DESIGN: Women to Women Project was an 11-week research-based computer intervention that provided health education and support to rural women with chronic illnesses in an effort to help them better adapt to living with chronic conditions. METHOD: Through the use of text queries, messages posted to an unprompted, online support and health education forum were examined for references to the spontaneous use of creative arts and their influence as a complementary therapy for dealing with chronic illness. FINDINGS: In three identified themes-coping with pain, relaxation/quality of life, and giving back to others-participants strongly suggested that creative activity was an important strategy for coping with chronic illness and that it contributed to reduced pain and increased overall well-being, regardless of whether it was the expression of a previously learned skill or a practice established after the onset of chronic illness. CONCLUSION: The use of creative arts and developing art-making interventions could significantly benefit rural individuals coping with chronic illness. Discovering methods of implementing creative arts interventions in rural populations warrants further study.

Determining satisfaction with access and financial aspects of care for persons exposed to Libby amphibole asbestos: rural and national environmental policy implications.

Libby, Montana is a Superfund site and epicenter of one of the worst environmental disasters in the USA history in terms of asbestos-related mortality and morbidity. Perceptions of access and financial aspects of care were explored among a national cohort of persons postasbestos exposure and prior to a 2009 Public Health Emergency Declaration. Our findings indicated the Libby cohort was significantly less satisfied with access and financial aspects of care as measured by two PSQ-III scales when compared to an adult, chronically ill patient sample. Participants with higher levels of respiratory morbidity and depression had significantly lower satisfaction scores.

Psychosocial health status of persons seeking treatment for exposure to libby amphibole asbestos.

A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted to describe the psychosocial health status of persons seeking health care for exposure to Libby amphibole asbestos (LAA). Health indicators including depression, stress, acceptance of illness, and satisfaction with access and financial aspects of care were obtained via electronic and paper-pencil survey. The exposure pathway and demographic data were gleaned from the health record. Of the 386 participants, more than one-third (34.5%) demonstrated significant levels of psychological distress. The oldest group of women had the lowest levels of depression and stress and the highest acceptance of illness. Gender, age, and satisfaction with financial resources were significantly related to depression, stress, and acceptance of illness. Satisfaction with access to care was significant only for stress. No differences in depression, stress, and acceptance of illness were found based on residence, exposure pathway, or insurance status.

Computer intervention impact on psychosocial adaptation of rural women with chronic conditions.

BACKGROUND: Adapting to living with chronic conditions is a life-long psychosocial challenge. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to report the effect of a computer intervention on the psychosocial adaptation of rural women with chronic conditions. METHODS: A two-group study design was used with 309 middle-aged, rural women who had chronic conditions, randomized into either a computer-based intervention or a control group. Data were collected at baseline, at the end of the intervention, and 6 months later on the psychosocial indicators of social support, self-esteem, acceptance of illness, stress, depression, and loneliness. RESULTS: The impact of the computer-based intervention was statistically significant for five of six of the psychosocial outcomes measured, with a modest impact on social support. The largest benefits were seen in depression, stress, and acceptance. DISCUSSION: The women-to-women intervention resulted in positive psychosocial responses that have the potential to contribute to successful management of illness and adaptation. Other components of adaptation to be examined are the impact of the intervention on illness management and quality of life and the interrelationships among environmental stimuli, psychosocial response, and illness management.

Spousal support experiences of rural women living with chronic illness.

From an examination of the spousal support experiences of rural women with chronic conditions who participated in a research-based, online support intervention, indications were that health care providers must recognize the need for and provide appropriate support/information related to the emotional, psychosocial, sexual, and relational impacts of chronic illness.

Forging partnerships between rural women with chronic conditions and their health care providers.

Successful adaptation to chronic illness is enhanced by active client-health care provider partnerships. The purposes of this article are to (a) examine the health care partnership needs of western rural women with chronic illness who participated in a computer-based support and education project, (b) describe how the role of the women in the partnership can be maximized by the use of a personal health record and improving health literacy, and (c) discuss ways health care providers can enhance their role in the partnership by careful listening and creating environments conducive to forging productive client-provider partnerships.