The effectiveness of age-appropriate pre-operative information session on the anxiety level of school-age children undergoing elective surgery in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: Undergoing surgery is an anxious experience for children. Applying anxiety reduction age-appropriate programs by nurses would be beneficial in reducing anxiety to children. AIM: To test the effectiveness of age-appropriate preoperative information session in reducing anxiety levels of school-age children undergoing elective surgery in Jordan. DESIGN: The study used a quasi-experimental design. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-six children were recruited from an educational hospital in Amman from January to June 2012 and were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The anxiety levels of children were assessed using the State Anxiety Scale for children, and children's levels of cooperation after surgery were assessed using Children Emotional Manifestation Scale. The heart rate and blood pressure of children were also measured 1 hour before going to operation room. RESULTS: The study results revealed that children in the intervention group reported lower anxiety levels and more cooperation than children in the control group. Also, they displayed lower heart rate and blood pressure than children in the control group. CONCLUSION: The application of age-appropriate preoperative intervention for children could be beneficial in decreasing anxiety levels and increasing their cooperation post surgery.

The role of motivation and self-efficacy on the practice of health promotion behaviours in the overweight and obese middle-aged American women.

The study investigated the relationship between motivation, self-efficacy and demographic variables, and determined if they affect the performance of health promotion behaviours in overweight or obese middle-aged American women. The sample consisted of middle-aged American women from a small town in Michigan. Two groups of women aged 30-65, one with a body mass index (BMI) range of 25-29, and the second with a BMI of ≥ 30, completed the Health Self-Determinism Index, the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II. Self-efficacy was found to be a significant predictor in the performance of health-promoting behaviours in both the overweight and obese participants in this study. Motivation was not found to be a significant predictor of performance of health promotion behaviours in either participant group. Education was found to be a significant predictor of performance of health promotion behaviours in the obese participants only. Nurses need to develop effective methods of supporting self-efficacy in both the overweight and obese middle-aged American women. Nursing-based research focusing on interventions to improve self-efficacy, as well as studies identifying effective educational techniques to improve the practice of health promotion behaviours in this population is necessary. Further investigation into the effect of motivation and demographics on the performance of health promotion behaviours is also needed.

Understanding overweight adolescents' beliefs using the theory of planned behaviour.

This qualitative inquiry examined adolescents' experiences surrounding their beliefs towards being overweight. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand behavioural, normative and control beliefs of overweight adolescents regarding losing weight, exercising and eating healthy. Purposive sampling was used to obtain 10 overweight adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19. The theory of planned behaviour was used as a theoretical framework for this study. An interview guide based on the Theory of Planned was used to conduct individual semistructured interviews. Content analysis showed that overweight adolescents exhibited positive attitudes in dealing with their weight status and valued their family's support and guidance in helping control their weight. Although friends were important to facilitate regular exercise, families, particularly mothers, were crucial in addressing healthy eating habits. Understanding the subtleties and complexities of living with childhood overweight might assist health professionals in creating more effective and developmentally sensitive interventions.

Health beliefs and practices of Muslim women during Ramadan.

There are clear exemptions in Islam from fasting in Ramadan during sickness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Yet, some Muslim women still elect to fast while sick, pregnant, or breastfeeding because of a confluence of social, religious, and cultural factors. Little is known about the physiological effects of fasting during Ramadan on the mother or her unborn baby, and thus nurses and other healthcare providers are faced with the difficult task of providing appropriate medical advice to Muslim women regarding the safety and impact of their fasting. This article describes what is known about this topic and suggests that healthcare professionals learn as much as possible about the multicultural best practices and research-driven information about fasting in order to help Muslim women make informed decisions.

The epidemiology of diabetes and its risk factors among Chaldean Americans.

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 32,000 Chaldean Americans now live in the Detroit Metropolitan area. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of diabetes and glucose intolerance among Chaldean Americans in Detroit, Michigan. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A sampling list of 1456 residential households was constructed for a geographically defined area of northwest Detroit with a large Chaldean population; each household was screened for eligibility. Of the 702 eligible households, 351 agreed to participate (50% household response rate). Of the 258 eligible adult subjects in these households, 85 men and 149 women > or = 20 years of age agreed to participate (91% subject response rate). RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes increased with age and was 24% for men and 33% for women. Almost half the participants with diabetes (45%) had not been previously diagnosed. The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was 35%. The prevalence of dysglycemia, defined as IFG, IGT, or diabetes, was 63%. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of diabetes and glucose intolerance is high among adult Chaldean Americans in Michigan and represents a major clinical and public health problem. Community-based programs targeting prevention are needed.

Jordanian Muslim women's intention to use oral contraceptives.

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are the second most popular method of contraception in Jordan; however, their use remains low compared with the intrauterine device. The purpose of this article is to report the effect of factors identified by The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) on Jordanian Muslim women's intention to use OCs. TPB was used to develop an investigator-developed instrument, the Intention to Use Oral Contraceptive Tool (IUOCT). The IUOCT measured attitude (general attitude and attitudinal beliefs), social norms and perceived behavioral control factors in a total of 83 women participants. A stepwise regression analysis was calculated using the IUOCT subscales as predictors of Jordanian Muslim women's intention to use OCs. The findings demonstrated that the attitude, specifically general attitude and positive beliefs, about OC use affect Jordanian Muslim women's intention to use OCs. However, the findings provide limited support for social norms and perceived behavioral control as factors influencing Jordanian Muslim women's intention to use OCs. The findings indicate that more attention should be devoted to health education programs on the benefits of using OCs rather than focusing only on correcting misinformation. Nursing implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Establishing reliability and validity of an instrument measuring Jordanian Muslim women's contraceptive beliefs.

We tested the psychometric properties of an instrument entitled intention to use oral contraceptive tool (IUOCT). This instrument was developed to evaluate Jordanian Muslim women's intention to use oral contraceptives (OCs). We used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework for developing the IUOCT. The internal consistency of the IUOCT ranged from .70 to .94. The stability of IUOCT ranged from.79 to.85. Factor analysis identified four factors that represented the three constructs of the TPB. The known-group technique showed significant difference between past users and nonpast users of OCs. The predictive validity analysis showed that each scale contributed to the variability in the intention.

Health beliefs and practices among Arab women.

The purpose of this article is to describe the healthcare beliefs and practices of Arab American women, specifically those regarding menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and family planning. The information in this paper is derived from the author's experience as a researcher, as an Arab healthcare provider, and from the literature. Guidelines for nurses who provide care to Arab American women are also presented.