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Recent Research Publications and Funding
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April 14, 2007 4:00AM
Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a significant public health problem with negative physical and mental health consequences. Pregnant women are not immune to IPV, and as many as 4% to 8% of all pregnant women are victims of partner violence. Among pregnant women, IPV has been associated with poor physical health outcomes such as increased sexually transmitted diseases, preterm labor, and low-birth-weight infants. This article focuses on the physical health consequences of IPV for mothers and their infants. The purpose of this review is therefore to examine timely research ranging from 2001 to 2006 on IPV during pregnancy, the morbidity and mortality risks for mothers and their infants, and the association between IPV and perinatal health disparities. It will also identify gaps in the published empirical literature and make recommendations for practice, policy, and research.
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April 1, 2007 4:00AM
Dating violence is accepted as bi-directional with both genders as victims and perpetrators. While researchers have studied perpetration and victimization, limited research has explored differences in young women who are victims and perpetrators with those who are victims only. This study compares injury and mental health symptoms of victims who reported perpetrating violence with victims who did not.
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April 1, 2007 4:00AM
BACKGROUND: To counter pervasive disparities in healthcare and guide public health prevention programs, culturally sensitive recruitment and retention strategies for Chinese immigrants participating in health-related research studies are needed. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop and implement recruitment and retention strategies with Chinese immigrants in a Tai Chi exercise study. METHODS: After substantial project planning and incorporating community-based research principles, a multidimensional approach was used to ensure minimal loss to follow-up. Recruitment strategies included partnering with a community-based agency, distributing study information using a multimedia approach, communicating in the native language, and demonstrating cultural sensitivity. Retention strategies included establishing a tracking method during recruitment, providing personalized feedback, maintaining the same location for all aspects of the study, eliminating potential linguistic barriers, providing personal attention and encouragement, monitoring attendance, utilizing a charismatic Tai Chi instructor, respecting Chinese culture, providing appropriate incentives, and maintaining good communication. RESULTS: Sixty persons showed interest in the study, 52 persons were screened, and 39 persons were enrolled. Recruitment was completed within 3 weeks. An advertisement in the Chinese newspaper was the most fruitful recruitment source, yielding approximately 60% of the study participants. Retention in the study was also very high (97%, n = 38). DISCUSSION: The successful recruitment and retention of Chinese immigrants in this Tai Chi exercise study are due to a variety of factors on many levels, including the participants, study investigator, and community-based agency.
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March 14, 2007 4:00AM
This study examines the relationships of spiritually and physically related variables to well-being among homeless adults. A convenience sample of 61 sheltered homeless persons completed the Spiritual Perspective Scale, the Self-Transcendence Scale, the Index of Well-Being, and items measuring fatigue and health status. The data were subjected to correlational and multiple regression analysis. Positive, significant correlations were found among spiritual perspective, self-transcendence, health status, and well-being. Fatigue was inversely correlated with health status and well-being. Self-transcendence and health status together explained 59% of the variance in well-being. The findings support Reed's theory of self-transcendence, in which there is the basic assumption that human beings have the potential to integrate difficult life situations. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that conceptualizes homeless persons as having spiritual, emotional, and physical capacities that can be used by health care professionals to promote well-being in this vulnerable population.
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March 1, 2007 6:00AM
Purpose and Methodology: This study examined the cultural beliefs and attitudes of African American prostate cancer survivors regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities. The study used mixed methods with primary emphasis on a phenomenology approach. In-person interviews in participants' homes and rural community facilities. Fourteen African American men diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer were interviewed in their homes and rural community facilities
Results: All participants used prayer often; two men used meditation and herbal preparations. All men reported holding certain beliefs about different categories of CAM. Several men were skeptical of CAM modalities other than prayer. Four themes were revealed: importance of spiritual needs as a CAM modality to health, the value of education in relation to CAM, importance of trust in selected healthcare providers, and how men decide on what to believe about CAM modalities.Conclusions: Prayer was a highly valued CAM modality among African American prostate cancer survivors as a way to cope with their disease. Medical treatment and trust in healthcare providers also were found to be important. -
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February 15, 2007 1:00AM
This study was a secondary analysis of the relationships among lifetime experiences of violence, depressive symptoms, substance use, safer sex behaviors use, and past-year sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment among a sample of 445 low income, primarily African American women (257 HIV-, 188 HIV+) reporting a male intimate partner within the past year. Twenty-one percent of HIV and 33% of HIV+ women reported past-year STI treatment. Violence victimization increased women's odds of past-year STI treatment, controlling for HIV status and age. Depressive symptoms increased, and use of safer sex behaviors decreased, women's odds of past-year STI treatment. Results suggest that positive assessment for violence and/or depression indicates need for STI screening.
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February 1, 2007 6:00AM
This qualitative study examined the medication-taking behaviors and attitudes of participants determined to be 100% adherers to antiretroviral therapy from a NIH-funded study testing a 12-week telephone adherence intervention. Using open-ended questions, interviewers collected data on a sample of 13 informants, whose medication adherence to a randomly selected antiretroviral medication was 100%, based on a 30-day data collection using electronic event monitoring (EEM). The analysis revealed 'successful medication management' as the core category or main theme. The participants achieved success with medication adherence through managing specific areas (regimen, self and environment). By adopting realistic expectations and pragmatic attitudes, adherence is fostered when medication taking is a priority, when patients believe in the efficacy of their medications and when there is a strong patient/provider relationship. Future research is needed to develop tailored interventions using strategies identified by this population. Further in-depth examination of medication-taking behaviors in 100% adherers may be useful in developing individualized programs to maximize adherence to antiretroviral therapy in the clinical setting.
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January 31, 2007 6:00AM
Fatigue and depression are among the most frequently rated symptoms of people with HIV/AIDS. This study aimed: (1) to describe severity of fatigue and depression in an outpatient sample (n=372) of men and women with HIV/AIDS, (2) to evaluate sensitivity and discriminant validity for two fatigue and three depression scales and (3) to investigate whether fatigue and depression are conceptually distinct concepts or reciprocally dependent. This was a secondary analysis of a descriptive, cross-sectional study with convenience sampling. Fatigue was assessed with the fatigue factor score of the revised Sign and Symptom Checklist HIV (SSC-HIVrev), and the fatigue scale of the Self-Care Symptom Management for Living with HIV/AIDS Scale SCSMS-F). Depression was assessed with the depression factor score of the SSC-HIVrev, the depression scale of the SCSMC-D and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Most of the participants were male (67%), with a mean age of 39.9 years, and of African American decent (73%). Dependent on the instrument, the average fatigue severity was moderate and the average depression severity was moderate to severe. Women experienced higher fatigue and depression severity scores than men. The scores on the same instruments for fatigue and depression showed significant correlations (SSC-HIVrev fatigue and depression r=0.62; SCSMS fatigue and depression r=0.64), indicating that both concepts are closely related. Patients seeking help for fatigue and/or depression should always be evaluated for both symptoms. Future research is needed to identify dimensions in different fatigue and depression scales in order to differentiate the impact of both symptoms on people living with HIV/AIDS.
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January 30, 2007 6:00AM
OBJECTIVE: To construct a substantive theory of postpartum fatigue. DESIGN: Grounded theory. SETTING: Participants were recruited in the hospital after delivery and interviewed in their homes. PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen primiparae (n=5) and multiparae (n=8) women between 2 and 5 weeks postpartum from diverse ethnic, age, obstetric, and financial contexts were theoretically sampled. RESULTS: Persevering was the central human process around which the grounded theory emerged. The process of persevering was explained through the relationships of influencing factors, postpartum fatigue, coping techniques, self-transcendence, and caregiving. Participants persevered in caregiving of infants and older children in spite of an overwhelming desire to rest and sleep using self-identified coping techniques in combination with the belief that their children brought purpose and meaning to their lives. CONCLUSIONS: The theory "Persevering Through Postpartum Fatigue" contributes a more complete understanding of the complex phenomenon of postpartum fatigue as it is expressed in the everyday lives of women during the postpartum period. The results may be used to develop and implement health-promoting nursing interventions to reduce postpartum fatigue and its health-related consequences.
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January 14, 2007 6:00AM
A model is described in which commitment to volunteering is hypothesized to be the result of demographic qualities, personality, identity, values, and social relationships. The model is tested and cross-validated using data from a nationally representative sample of American adults. The results from structural equation modeling analyses suggest that the hypothetical model provides a good fit to the data. Moreover, the findings suggest that the relations of personality and demographic characteristics to hours devoted to volunteering are largely mediated by latent constructs capturing helping identity and community participation. The implications of the model and the findings for our understanding of volunteering are discussed.