School nurses' perceptions of the health needs of Hispanic elementary school children

School nurses' perceptions of the health needs of Hispanic elementary school children were surveyed in a national sample. Differences among the identified priority health needs were found for Hispanic subgroups and states of residence. Possible implications for school health personnel are discussed.     

School nurses' perceptions of parental involvement in school health. Results of a statewide study

The purpose of this study was to determine how school nurses attempt to involve parents of seventh graders in school health programs, identify nurses' perceptions of barriers to parental involvement, and identify related staff development needs. A questionnaire was sent to the school nurse in each school in Indiana that had a seventh grade (n = 447); 279 questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 63%. Most respondents worked in situations without written policies for parental involvement. A minority of school nurses reported receiving input from parents through advisory committees or parent surveys. The most common involvement activities were related to providing parents with information about the school health program. Less than half of the respondents reported offering health education through activities such as parent health education classes, health fairs, health education resource centers, or health newsletters. Lack of time was identified as the major barrier faced by school nurses. Several staff development needs were identified.     

The 1997 Schering Lecture. Quality of life in oncology: nurses' perceptions, values and behaviours

Quality of life is an important dimension of cancer care. Yet, within our current environment of fiscal restraint, restructuring and cancer care system reform, pressures exist which may make it difficult to provide care which attends to issues of quality of life. Oncology nurses are key providers of cancer care and their perspectives on quality of life for cancer patients are very important. In addition, much of the satisfaction oncology nurses experience in their practice emerges from matters related to attending to quality of life issues. Are oncology nurses currently able to incorporate quality of life issues into their daily care of patients? How are they doing so? The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify major themes and dimensions of nurses' perceptions and values related to quality of life and create a profile of the oncology nurse's role in integrating quality of life in nursing practice. A total of 25 oncology nurses in regional cancer centres across Ontario were interviewed. Each semistructured interview was taperecorded and transcribed. Analysis was completed to identify the major themes and dimensions. This presentation will report the findings from the study and will focus on understanding the existing values oncology nurses hold surrounding quality of life, how quality of life is conceptualized, and the patterns of practice and decision-making regarding quality of life.     

Height, weight and menarche in Swedish urban school children in relation to socio-economic and regional factors

During the period 1964-1973, a defined sample of 740 Swedish urban school children (360 girls and 380 boys) from 40 different urban areas all over the country were followed longitudinally. Height and weight were measured twice a year and age at menarche was recorded. Mean ages at peak height velocity (PHV) and peak weight velocity (PWV) were 11-91 years (SD 0-95) and 12-50 years (SD 1-08) for girls with average values of 8-30 cm/year (SD 1-32) and 7-37 kg/year (SD 1-94). Mean age at menarche was 13-05 years (SD 1-03). PHV and PWV in boys occurred on average at 14-09 years (SD 1-11) and 14-30 years (SD 1-11) with magnitudes of 9-84 cm/year (SD 1-40) and 9-07 kg/year (SD 2-04). No significant differences between socio-economic strata defined by father's occupation and family income were found either for height and weight or for ages at PHV, PWV and menarche. Girls but not boys in the lowest social group (III) had more weight for height during puberty than had girls in social groups I and II. Between the three main geographical regions of Sweden some differences were found. Boys in the South were at the ages of 17 and 18 on average heavier than boys from the rest of the country. Boys and girls in the South had PHV, PWV and menarche half a year later than children in Middle Sweden. In analysis of variance for age at PHV significant interaction terms were found for regions times urbanization. In the South and North age at PHV was earlier the higher the urbanization level, but in Middle Sweden the reverse occurred.     

Rural school nurses' attitudes about AIDS and homosexuality

The AIDS epidemic has spread to rural areas of the United States. Conservative rural communities are facing the challenge of having children with HIV entering school. School nurses, as the only health care providers in the schools, are in a strong position to facilitate the education of children with HIV and to provide AIDS education to students, faculty, and parents. School nurses' knowledge and attitudes about AIDS and people with AIDS influence their effectiveness in prevention activities and care of HIV-infected children. This study examined the relationship between specific demographic, practice, and cultural variables and rural school nurses' attitudes about AIDS and homosexuality. Sixty-nine school nurses responded to a mailed questionnaire as part of a larger study of rural nurses. Results indicate attitudes about homosexuality were related to nurses' homosexual knowledge and religious beliefs while attitudes about AIDS were related to nurses' willingness to care for people with AIDS and feeling prepared to do so.     

Does being in the military affect nurses' perceptions of work life?

This study was a causal comparative investigation of military and civilian nurses' perceptions of selected aspects of work life. The Work Environment Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Michigan Job Satisfaction Scale were administered to civilian and military samples matched on selected demographic variables. MANOVA procedures failed to reveal significant differences on measures of burnout and morale. Although military nurses were significantly more satisfied with issues of pay and fringe benefits, civilian nurses reported significantly greater job satisfaction, peer cohesion, supervisory support, decision making, autonomy, task orientation and opportunity to be innovative. These findings and suggested changes are discussed with attention to differences between the military and civilian work setting.     

The influence of socioeconomic and nutritional status on menarche in Nigerian school girls

Two once-daily electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) produced retrograde amnesia in rats trained on a Hebb-Williams maze; Verapamil (12.5 mg/kg, i.p.) or felodipine (10 mg/kg, p.o.) administered half an hour before each ECS attenuated this ECS-induced amnesia. Hence, these drugs may hold promise for the containment of amnesia induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Speculatively, one or more of several mechanisms may be involved: cerebral vasodilatation, enhancement of cholinergic tone, and inhibition of calcium-mediated impairment of neuronal function. These drugs may also act by attenuating the systolic surge in blood pressure during ECT, thereby decreasing edema due to cerebral hyperperfusion, as well as decreasing the possible transfer of potentially neurotoxic macromolecules through a putative breach in the blood-brain barrier.     

Academic deans' perceptions of current and ideal curriculum emphases

This study assessed the current and ideal for dental curriculum emphasis of thirty-three curriculum topic areas and evaluated barriers to curriculum change. A forty-six item survey was mailed to the academic deans of all U.S. dental schools with an 86 percent e response rate (n = 57). The means of their responses for current curricular emphasis and ideal emphasis on the thirty-three topic areas were compared. "Health promotion/disease prevention," "primary care," and "effective patient-provider relationships/communication" were the three topic areas rated most highly (for ideal emphasis) by the academic deans. "Case management," "outpatient/ambulatory care," and "continuous quality improvement" also received high mean scores for ideal emphasis. The most significant barrier to curriculum reform was "an already crowded curriculum." The academic deans reasserted the traditional emphasis in dentistry on primary care. There also appears to be considerable support for educational programs that will foster better patient relationships and greater quality assurance and control.     

Elementary school children's perceptions of play therapy in school settings.

Seven elementary school children's perceptions of the process of counseling with school counselors who utilized play therapy techniques were explored through a qualitative investigation. Findings included the importance of the therapeutic relationship, emotional expressiveness, and creative play. Better choices, decreased anxiety, increased empathy, and bolstered self-confidence were reported by participants as a result of participation in the counseling process. Additionally, participants articulated their preference for a mixture of traditional verbal interventions and play therapy techniques to solve problems in counseling. Implications for play therapists and counselors who utilize play therapy techniques in school settings are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Menstruation, sex hormones, and migraine

All women with migraine are susceptible to the effects of hormonal changes. For a minority with menstrual migraine, fluctuating hormones of the normal ovarian cycle are a specific trigger, particularly during perimenopause. The author proposes that the term menstrual migraine should be restricted to migraine attacks occurring on day 1 +/- 2 days of the menstrual cycle with freedom from migraine during the rest of the cycle. This definition is compatible with the mechanism of estrogen withdrawal. Other mechanisms such as prostaglandin release also may be important for some women. The changing hormonal environment at various stages of life provides further evidence of the role of estrogen in migraine. Treatments that stabilize hormone levels in the form of estrogen supplementation for menstrual migraine, elimination of the pill-free week, and adequate, stable levels of estrogen for HRT, all are associated with an improvement in migraine. The control of the menstrual cycle, however, is extremely complex, and until further studies are undertaken using strict criteria, the mechanism of migraine triggered by hormonal events remains uncertain.     

Elementary school children's perceptions of their actual and ideal school experience: A developmental study.

154 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders were interviewed about their perceptions of school in 2 domains. The action domain tapped perceptions of their actual and ideal prerogatives with respect to privacy, territoriality, and 3 types of decision making (custodial, governance, and instructional). The value domain addressed Ss' evaluations of the school as a safe, just, responsive, important, and liked environment. Ss reported a fair amount of discrepancy between their ideal and actual status in the action domain, asserting that they ought to have more prerogatives than those they perceived as available to them, particularly with respect to decision making. This discrepancy increased with grade level. Ss' evaluations of school in the value domain were, on the whole, overwhelmingly positive. Results indicate that Ss did not see the school as supporting the expression of their emerging social competence and/or aspirations. In contrast, Ss saw the school as substantially sharing their values while constraining their actions. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Home schooling and teaching style: Comparing the motivating styles of home school and public school teachers.

The rapidly growing number of home schooled children in America creates a need for educators to understand the instructional dynamics of home schooling. The authors focus on the motivating styles teachers adopt in home school and public school contexts. Results showed that religiously motivated home educators embraced a relatively more controlling style than did public school teachers. Gender (being male) and frequent church attendance further predicted a preference to motivate children in controlling ways, irrespective of school context. The results illuminate the ideological roots underlying teachers' motivating styles, show that an adherence to a preinstruction agenda explains why teachers adopt a controlling style, and highlight the need for home school researchers to assess children's motivational development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family, school, and neighborhood: Links to Chinese American adolescent perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination.

The purpose of the study was to examine how family, school, and neighborhood factors contributed to Chinese American adolescent perceptions of discrimination. The sample included 185 Chinese American adolescents (mean age = 16.8 years, SD = .81; 58% female; 70% U.S.-born) and their parents. As hypothesized, the results showed that greater parent perceptions of discrimination, more negative school environment, and less availability of cultural resources were related to greater adolescent perceptions of discrimination. Contrary to the hypothesis, parent/adolescent subjective perceptions of ethnic density were related to greater adolescent perceptions of discrimination. The findings suggest that adolescent perceptions of discrimination are related to both within and outside family factors, supporting an ecological approach to understanding racial/ethnic discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)