Purpose: To test whether nausea and vomiting or fatigue correlated with psychosocial variables.
Design: Descriptive, using secondary data from a prenatal database of 113 women in prenatal care in ...Texas. Mean gestational duration was 59 days at the time of data collection.
Methods: Psychosocial factors, frequency of nausea and vomiting and of fatigue were determined by use of questionnaires. Psychosocial measures had reliability and validity and included the Personal Resources Questionnaire and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. A checklist was used for measuring nausea and vomiting and fatigue.
Findings: Of 113 participants, 30 (26.5%) reported no, 43 (38.1%) occasional, and 40 (35.4%) frequent nausea and vomiting. Depressive symptoms had the highest correlation with nausea and vomiting. Social support was negatively related to nausea and vomiting. Four (3.5%) women reported no fatigue, 49 (43.4%) reported occasional fatigue, and 60 (53.1%) reported frequent fatigue in the past month. Depressive symptoms had the highest correlation with fatigue. The chi‐square statistic showed that fatigue was significantly related to employment. Fatigue was not significantly associated with work hours or stressfulness of jobs.
Conclusions: Only a limited number of psychosocial factors were associated with nausea and vomiting and fatigue in early pregnancy. Depression was related to physical symptoms, but unclear was whether depression preceded or resulted from the symptoms. Many women experienced symptoms, and better understanding of causality is needed to ameliorate the effects on women's well‐being.
This study was designed to understand young Taiwanese women's perception of sexually explicit materials (SEMs). Researchers conducted six focus group discussions with 38 young women between the ages ...of 18 and 22 in Taiwan in 2009-2010 and used content analysis to analyze the data based on the push-pull theory. The results showed that the exposure of young women to SEMs was a sexual exploration process from no sexual activity to future sexual activity. This process was affected by the interactions of three powers: push power, pull power, and personal factors. The push power included factors, such as parents and social values, which failed to satisfy their sexual curiosity and provide them with autonomy. The pull power included SEMs and peer influence, which increased sexual arousal stimuli and curiosity to try sexual activity. The most important personal factors were young women's growth, including sexual curiosity, cognition of SEMs, and gender equity in freedom to make sexual decisions. Understanding this push-pull process regarding SEM can help health-care providers with their own discourses in addressing sex and influence young women's participation in desired, protected, and enjoyable sex when sufficiently ready.
Nausea and vomiting not only cause physical discomfort in pregnant women but also impact their quality of life.
Few longitudinal studies have been conducted to investigate QOL of women over the ...course of pregnancy.
To examine the transformation of health-related QOL and related factors among pregnant women with NV during three trimesters.
A longitudinal research design with convenience sampling was used. A structural questionnaire was used to repeatedly measure the data of 101 pregnant women with NV during the first, second, and third trimesters. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to analyze the collecting data.
The results showed significant differences in symptom distress, prenatal stress, and health-related QOL among the three trimesters in pregnant women with NV (p<0.001). The scores of symptom distress, prenatal stress, and health-related QOL in the first trimester were significantly higher than those in the second and third trimesters (p<0.001). The GEE indicated that the trimester of pregnancy, severity of NV, symptom distress, and prenatal stress were key factors for the transformation of health-related QOL of women with NV during pregnancy.
The findings of this study are seminal in terms of understanding the relationships between symptom distress, prenatal stress and health-related QOL in pregnant women with NV over the course of a pregnancy.
This study can serve as a reference for designing interventions (i.e., professional support) for women in different pregnancy stages to improve their health-related QOL during pregnancy.
Background Demoralization is a psychological response that is frequently observed in patients with cancer or advanced diseases. Depression and demoralization syndrome in patients with cancer are ...closely related to suicidal behavior. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting demoralization of patients with cancer from a depression perspective, to assist with distinguishing patient emotions and provide appropriate intervention as early as possible, thereby enabling patients to receive proper care. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was employed in this study. The databases included Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, PubMed/ MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Centre for European Policy Studies, and reference lists of articles. Experts in this field also were contacted. Based on inclusion criteria, 2 investigators selected the research and reviewed each study’s quality according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Five correlational studies with 32 subjects were identified. Results The countries of studies included Australia, Germany, Taiwan, and the United States. There was a statistically significant difference in depression between patients with cancer in the high-demoralization group and those of the low-demoralization group (odds ratio = 9.65, 95% CI: 6.99–13.33, Z = 15.002, p < 0.0001). Four studies regarded demoralization and depression as distinguishable. Conclusions The demoralization of patients with cancer was highly correlated with depression. Therefore, the suicide risk of demoralized patients without depression must also be assessed to prevent patients with high suicide risk from being neglected. If medical staff can perceive patient’s demoralization issues earlier, they can more effectively prevent patients’ depression from occurring, which benefits suicide prevention.
Pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting are uncomfortable symptoms. These symptoms are consistent across cultures, may persist for extended periods of time during the early stage of pregnancy, and may ...adversely affect expectant mothers and their fetuses. Further, these symptoms may negatively impact mother and infant health and increase medical costs in the absence of effective diagnosis and symptom management. Relevant literature and research is integrated to propose subjective and objective approaches to assessing symptoms such as a index of nausea, vomiting and retching (INVR) and to develop a preliminary clinical management model that prioritizes using a non-pharmacological strategy to treat mild and moderate nausea and vomiting. Article recommendations provide a practical clinical care reference to help pregnant women successfully pass through this uncomfortable stage and achieve better quality-of-life and birth outcomes.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a professional support (PS) intervention (including individualized health education and supportive phone calls) in reducing the severity ...of nausea and vomiting (NV) and improving the quality of life (QOL) of women in early pregnancy. An experimental pretest/posttest design with a control group was used. Participants were recruited from a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. The women in the experimental group (n = 40) received the PS intervention, while those in the control group (n = 39) only received routine nursing care. Analysis of covariance and mixed models were used to compare the experimental and control groups while adjusting for covariates. The severity of NV and the perceived level of symptom distress were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group during weeks 2 and 4, and the women in the experimental group showed a significant improvement in their QOL in week 4 (p < .05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in body weight at week 4 (p = .501). These findings provide empirical evidence in support of the effectiveness of PS in reducing the severity of NV and improving QOL for women during early pregnancy. This intervention could be routinely applied in prenatal nursing health education. Future studies could apply the concept of PS to different populations and health issues.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of adopting problem-based learning (PBL) and concept mapping (CM) in the educational programs for Taiwanese registered nursing (RN) ...students. We used a quasi-experimental design with experimental and control groups to evaluate the effectiveness of PBL-CM in three time schedules: before the course began (pre-test), at the end of the course (post-test), and six months after the end of the course (follow-up test). A convenience sample of 120 RN students participated, 51in the experimental group and 69 in the control group. Finding showed that the experimental group had higher scores than the control group for the Critical-Thinking Scale, Self-Directed Learning Scale, and Students’ Performance in PBL Tutorial Sessions Questionnaire at the post-test and follow-up test stages. The PBL-CM increased students’ critical-thinking skills and personal accountability for self-directed learning, and it would enhance the skills of independent study, reasoning, group interaction and active participation. This study offers guidelines for new nurse-training programs and continuing nursing education in clinical practice.
Nausea and vomiting (NV), fatigue, stress and social support during pregnancy have been well documented using cross-sectional research designs. However, few studies have addressed the patterns and ...relationships for these variables using a longitudinal research design. The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of and relationships among NV, fatigue, perceived stress, and social support in pregnant women throughout the three trimesters. A prospective and longitudinal study was conducted from 2003 to 2005. Data were collected on four different measures: the Index of Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching (INVR), the Visual Analog Fatigue Scale (VAFS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Brief Social Support Questionnaire (BSSQ). A total of 91 pregnant women were recruited from prenatal clinics in southern Taiwan. One-way ANOVA indicated that INVR scores and fatigue were significantly different among the three trimesters, but that perceived stress and social support were not. Post hoc analyses, using least significant difference testing, indicated that the first trimester was associated with significantly higher levels of NV than were the second and third trimesters. The first and third trimesters had significantly higher fatigue levels than did the second trimester. Mixed models indicated that the differences among INVR scores among the three trimesters were independent of gravidity, planned pregnancy and age. The difference in fatigue between the first and second trimesters was independent of gravidity, planned pregnancy and age, but fatigue was positively associated with NV. Perceived stress was positively correlated with NV. However, when further examining the relationships among the key variables by adding fatigue, perceived stress was found to positively correlate with fatigue and not NV, and negatively correlated with social support. The findings of this study provide a more comprehensive understanding and evidence-based data of the patterns of and relationships among the above four key variables for pregnant women throughout the three trimesters. This will help health care professionals to provide more effective and appropriate care strategies based on the different stages of pregnancy.
Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore the maternal health risk factors and sentinel events among women in the Solomon Islands, from the viewpoints of health care providers in the ...Solomon Islands. Design and Method: Three focus group interviews were conducted in July and August 2011 at a secondary referral hospital in an urban area. The study consisted of 10 registered nurses and 11 skilled birth assistants. Thematic analysis was used for this qualitative data analysis. Findings: Six major themes were emerged from the data: (a) environmental hazard: malaria, (b) malnutrition: iron deficiency anemia, (c) adolescent pregnancy, (d) betel nut chewing, (e) cultural beliefs influencing women’s health, and (f) difficulty accessing health care services. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The results of this study provide a useful first step toward identifying specific maternal health risks among women in the Solomon Islands. The findings may assist the health sector and midwives/antenatal educators to better understand the health risks and reduce the disease burden among pregnant women in South Pacific countries. The results may also contribute to the development of policies to improve maternal health and to accelerate progress toward the fifth target goal of UNICEF’s Millennium Development Goals.
Abstract Taiwan nurses are mandated to report known or suspected child abuse and neglect (CAN), and self-efficacy is known to have an important influence on professional behaviors. The aim of this ...study was to develop and test the CAN reporting self-efficacy (CANRSE) scale as a measure of nurses’ self-efficacy to report CAN. A sample of 496 nurses from Southern Taiwanese hospitals used the CANRSE scale. The psychometric evaluation of the scale included content validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, convergent validity, as well as Cronbach’s α and test−retest reliability. Satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.92) and test−retest reliability were demonstrated. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed models as having acceptable model fit. Exploratory factor analysis and regression analyses showed that the CANRSE scale had good construct validity and criterion-related validity, respectively. Convergent validity was tested using the general self-efficacy scale and was found to be satisfactory (r = 0.53). The results indicate the CANRSE is reliable and valid, and further testing of its predictive validity is recommended. It can be used to examine the influence of professional self-efficacy in recognizing and reporting CAN cases and to evaluate the impact of training programs aimed at improving CAN reporting.
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