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One Theme (one + theme)
Selected AbstractsCaregivers' strong commitment to their relationship with older peopleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 2 2010Elisabeth Häggström RNT PhD Häggström E, Mamhidir, A-G, Kihlgren A. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16: 99,105 Caregivers' strong commitment to their relationship with older people The aim of the present study was to describe caregivers' good as well as bad experiences of working with older people. The study was based on five focus group interviews. One theme emerged from a latent content analysis: strong commitment to the relationship. This theme functioned as a thread of underlying meaning throughout the entire interpretative process of 48 caregivers' experiences of work. A delicate relationship existed that could be vulnerable and could reveal itself in feelings of lack of knowledge, guilt and fear. The caregivers' committed relationship to the older adults created independency in the ways in which they protected the older people's needs. Further studies are needed that focus on caregivers' transition from dependency to independency. The findings highlight the importance of clinical supervision to personal development and identity, and to promoting caregivers' self-esteem and maintaining a committed relationship. Commitment is a deep human feeling, and it should be promoted in order to maintain and further develop quality care for older adults. [source] Measurement error modelling with an approximate instrumental variableJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 5 2007Paul Gustafson Summary., Consider using regression modelling to relate an exposure (predictor) variable to a disease outcome (response) variable. If the exposure variable is measured with error, but this error is ignored in the analysis, then misleading inferences can result. This problem is well known and has spawned a large literature on methods which adjust for measurement error in predictor variables. One theme is that the requisite assumptions about the nature of the measurement error can be stronger than what is actually known in many practical situations. In particular, the assumptions that are required to yield a model which is formally identified from the observable data can be quite strong. The paper deals with one particular strategy for measurement error modelling, namely that of seeking an instrumental variable, i.e. a covariate S which is associated with exposure and conditionally independent of the outcome given exposure. If these two conditions hold exactly, then we call S an exact instrumental variable, and an identified model results. However, the second is not checkable empirically, since the actual exposure is unobserved. In practice then, investigators typically seek a covariate which is plausibly thought to satisfy it. We study inferences which acknowledge the approximate nature of this assumption. In particular, we consider Bayesian inference with a prior distribution that posits that S is probably close to conditionally independent of outcome given exposure. We refer to this as an approximate instrumental variable assumption. Although the approximate instrumental variable assumption is more realistic for most applications, concern arises that a non-identified model may result. Thus the paper contrasts inferences arising from the approximate instrumental variable assumption with their exact instrumental variable counterparts, with particular emphasis on the benefit of basing inferences on a more realistic model versus the cost of basing inferences on a non-identified model. [source] Missed opportunities,adolescents with a chronic condition (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) describe their cigarette-smoking trajectories and consider health risksACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 12 2007Susann Regber Abstract Aim: To enhance our knowledge on why adolescents with a chronic condition (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM) choose to smoke despite possible awareness of health risks. Methods: Twelve patients aged 15,20 with IDDM who smoked cigarettes volunteered to participate in qualitative interviews. The results were analyzed with content analysis according to Miles and Huberman 1994. Results: One set confirmed what is earlier known on cigarette smoking among adolescents, such as plain exploring, needs to conform with group norms, identity needs and denial of risks. Other themes gave new insights. One was the emotional attitudes,or lack of emotions,expressed by important others, which exerted strong influences on the smoking trajectories. These emotions affected both initiation and motivation for quitting cigarette smoking and seemed crucial as means of meaningful communications concerning smoking. One theme was a flow path of cigarette smoking, which demonstrated opportunities for secondary prevention. Finally, developmental reasons for smoking and motivation for quitting could be described. Conclusions: There are several windows of opportunities to lower the risk of adolescents with IDDM and other chronic conditions from becoming and remaining smokers, as reported by young people themselves. [source] Designing sexual health services for young people: a methodology for capturing the user voiceHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 4 2009Sally Jerome MSc Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the suitability of the Thurstone paired comparison method for capturing the user voice, through a survey of young people's views on the most salient priorities for a sexual health service. A convenience sample of 161 12,24 year olds was used. A psychometrically robust questionnaire was developed from a review of the relevant literature and from the information provided by three focus groups. The data derived from both stages were distilled into seven themes, and adapted to a Thurstone paired comparison format, in which each theme was paired with every other theme, with an 8-point scale between each pairing (21 pairings in total). Respondents were required to indicate their preference for one theme over the other in each pairing. The questionnaire was completed by 161 young people between April and July 2007, and the results were analysed using the Kendall coefficient of concordance to establish the degree of within-group agreement. The results suggested that there was significant agreement as to the essential desirable features of a sexual health service, both within the whole sample as well as within sub-samples (i.e. gender, age group and previous sexual health service use). The priorities were privacy, and a dedicated service close to home, with a drop-in facility and male and female staff being next most important, and an informal service and young staff being lowest priorities. The feedback from the pilot study, the 40% return and absence of spoiled questionnaires together indicated that the respondents found the method acceptable, while the actual findings corroborated those from other studies. Taken together, these results suggest that the Thurstone method offers a quick and simple method of capturing the user voice, with the results having sufficient validity to inform the planning of a local sexual health service. [source] | ||||||||||