ABSTRACT
This ethnographic study describes how a group of women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) learned to develop self-care strategies that allowed them to function in their culturally prescribed roles throughout their illnesses. The sample consisted of 12 European American and 2 African American women from 19 to 52 years of age who had experienced CPP for the previous 6 months to 12 years. Data were collected by means of interviews and participant observations in a CPP clinic. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim onto the Ethnograph and analyzed by the constant comparative method. Women's experiences with CPP were described as a process of self-care consisting of three strategies: assessing the need for self-care, developing self-care practices, and sustaining self-care practices.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Pelvic Pain/prevention & control , Pelvic Pain/psychology , Self Care/methods , Adult , Chronic Disease , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Nursing Methodology Research , Role , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Preventability of infant mortality in a rural southern county was examined with a Delphi technique using case summaries of infant deaths during a selected four-year period. The first two rounds were aimed at developing a consensus of panelists' opinions about problems leading to the high infant mortality rate in the study area. From these opinions, an Infant Mortality Preventability Decision Tree and a Problem List was developed. Panelists used these in Rounds III and IV to evaluate the case summaries. There were significant differences in the preventability ratings between physicians and nurses, indicating the importance of assessing individuals' philosophies of preventability when working with an interdisciplinary team of health care providers.
Subject(s)
Infant Mortality , Primary Prevention/standards , Rural Health , Birth Certificates , Cause of Death , Death Certificates , Decision Trees , Delphi Technique , Georgia/epidemiology , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Medical Record Linkage , Patient Care Team , Primary Prevention/methodsSubject(s)
Homeostasis , Maternal-Child Nursing/methods , Models, Nursing , Parent-Child Relations , HumansABSTRACT
Nurses can use clinical nursing research to strengthen the knowledge base of their practice and to develop effective nursing interventions. When planning and implementing their studies, nurses must anticipate and deal with important issues concerning the realities of clinical nursing research. These issues include developing the research question, planning for an optimal sample size, passing the Institutional Review Committee, managing conflicts between clinical and research roles, selecting instruments to measure the variables, collecting data in a clinical setting, analyzing and interpreting the data, funding the proposed study, and ensuring administrative support.
