An academic-community partnership: a model of service and education.

To meet the challenge of preparing nurses for delivery of health care that is directed toward health promotion and focused on populations at the community level, it is critical that academicians develop new methods to educate their students. In this article, I describe an innovative clinical practice model in which an academic-community partnership was created between a college of nursing and a neighborhood grade school and parish. The purpose of the partnership is to provide needed health services to clients, at the same time giving students the opportunity to practice population-focused care in the community. The benefits of the partnership are numerous, including improved client health status, increased access to health promotion services, and enhanced student learning.

Health and social support among older women in congregate housing.

This study of community-dwelling elderly women found that perceptions of positive health status and adequate social support do not decline with age, even among the old old. The relationship between health status and social support reflects the reciprocal nature of person and environment found in the ecologic model.

Ongoing work of older adults at home after hospitalization.

This paper describes the hospital-to-home transition process as experienced by elderly people with a medical diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Qualitative data were collected in semi-structured interviews with a sample of 25 older adults within 2 weeks following discharge. Constant comparative data analysis procedures were used. The findings suggest that at 2 weeks post-hospitalization the situation could be described as tentative. The core variable for this study was conceptualized as "a tentative situation', characterized by three key processes: ups and downs associated with managing the illness, caregiver issues, and quality of life challenges. These elders were in need of a post-hospital plan which provided them with ongoing information, additional resources and supportive assistance. To emphasize the changing, uncertain nature of this chronic illness, and the necessity of the health care team developing an ongoing plan of care with the client and family, the trajectory was graphed using the trajectory phasing scheme as described by Corbin & Strauss. The changing nature of congestive heart failure in these participants noted as well as the need for a continuum of care.

An interdisciplinary educational model for health professions students in a family practice center.

Health professions students have little or no opportunity to practice together during their formative stages of development. Therefore, can we realistically expect them to practice together as professionals? This is an important area for educators to address, given the current emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration. The authors describe an interdisciplinary education program model for nursing, medicine, and social work students in a family practice center.

Hospitalized school-age children express ideas, feelings, and behaviors toward God.

Several published studies have reported that children are capable of having a relationship with God. There is little documentation of the influence of stressful situations such as hospitalization on this relationship. Twenty-eight hospitalized subjects (8 to 10 years old) were interviewed using a picture and storytelling technique. Three core processes were identified: how children told a story about a hospitalized child; attributes assigned to God; and responses of children to God in an illness situation. The findings suggest that the child's relationship with God could be helpful in coping with the fears and anxieties normally present during hospitalization. The findings also support those of others who found children can view illness as a punishment from God.

Profile: frail elderly women, maintaining independence.

While several published studies have examined the interactions of health status and social support in the general population or elderly segment of the population, there has been no reported study that specifically examines the health status and social support of frail elderly women, aged 85 years and older. This study reports on the findings of a research study that examined a group of frail elderly women, residing in the community. It focuses on why and how these women are able to live independently. The relationships between health status and social support and between health status and the process of ageing are explored. The study reveals the importance of social support assessments of this group as a prerequisite to effective health care policy, professional health education programmes, and community resource development.

Maintaining health and independence of elderly women.

1. There is a paucity of research specific to elderly women in the nursing literature. Research is needed in this area because older women have different patterns of aging than men. 2. Since older women are the most rapidly growing segment of American society, there is a need to maintain their health and independence while minimizing the effects of chronic illness. 3. Elderly women with a reported health status of excellent or good indicated they had a greater degree of social support than respondents reporting a fair or poor health status. 4. Women residing in private housing reported having an excellent or good health status and a greater degree of social support more frequently than women in public housing.