Health and health behaviors among elderly Hispanic women.

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the relationship between health and health behaviors among elderly Hispanic women who were lifetime U.S. residents. The number of elderly Hispanics is expected to grow faster than any other segment of the population within the United States. A random sample of 132 elderly Hispanic women enrolled in a health maintenance organization participated in this cross-sectional survey of health prevention, promotion, and protection behaviors and dimensions of health as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36. Results indicated that more than half of this group did not exercise regularly, one fourth did not eat regularly scheduled meals, and many had not participated in health screening. Among the women in this study, those whose lifestyles incorporated the more frequent practice of positive health behaviors also had better scores on 6 of the 8 specific health dimensions measured.

A strategy for involving on-campus and distance students in a nursing research course.

BACKGROUND: Teaching research at the undergraduate level can be a challenge. This is particularly true for distance education courses, in which students often feel isolated from each other and from faculty. Faculty teaching on-campus and distance education research courses designed a student research project and a method for bringing distance and on-campus students together to present their research findings. METHOD: By actively engaging students in the research process and providing an on-campus research day for the presentation of student posters (Year 1) and research papers (Year 2), course faculty were able to achieve their two goals of directly involving students in the nursing research process and creating a greater student sense of belonging within the college learning community. RESULTS: Statistical analysis of an evaluation survey among on-site and off-site registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing students indicated both groups ranked the Year 1 poster research day as good to very good. Students attending the Year 2 research day, where they presented papers, ranked the day as good. Statistical analysis indicated a significant difference between the two research days, with a clear student preference for posters. CONCLUSION: Students valued their active participation in the research process and the opportunity to get together and present their work. However, students clearly preferred a poster presentation format to presenting their findings as a research paper.