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Attitudes
Kinds of Attitudes Terms modified by Attitudes Selected AbstractsFOOD SAFETY KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF CONSUMERS OF VARIOUS FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTSJOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 3 2009R. GURUDASANI ABSTRACT In the present study, food safety knowledge and attitude of 300 consumers from nine different categories of food service establishments (FSEs) were assessed. Results revealed that most consumers (60%) eating at various FSEs were young, in the age group of 18,35 years. Some of the consumers could identify the carriers for foodborne diseases such as cholera, food poisoning and jaundice, but most of them did not know about the carriers of typhoid, gastroenteritis and amebiosis. Most of the consumers received information on food safety from family and friends. A positive association was seen between education of consumers and frequency of receiving information from various sources such as magazines, TV/radio, posters/hoardings, newspapers, school/colleges, health workers and family/friends. Most consumers had a positive attitude toward food hygiene, and they believed in punishing street food vendors who violated the food safety norms. Most consumers believed that government intervention would help in improving the quality of street foods. A lot of better-educated food handlers believed that adherence to norms on the personal hygiene of the food handler should be made compulsory, and that training of persons in street food service is essential to ensure quality of food and food safety. In conclusion, various sources of information should be used to increase consumer awareness on food safety. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In the present study, situational analysis was conducted to obtain data on food safety knowledge and attitude of consumers. Results indicated that although some of the consumers could identify the carriers for foodborne diseases, such as cholera, food poisoning and jaundice, most of them did not know about the carriers of typhoid, gastroenteritis and amebiosis. Thus, efforts should be made to educate consumers about the relation between food and diseases and the importance of making proper food choices for consumption. Most consumers had a positive attitude toward food safety and believed government intervention would help in improving the quality of street foods. Such data can form the basis for seeking the attention of government to undertake measures to improve the quality of foods served at various food outlets. Also, it was found that very few consumers received information on food safety from various sources like magazines, TV/radio, posters, newspapers, health workers, nongovernment organizations, etc. This calls for attention of food safety educators to use a variety of audio-visual aids to spread the messages on food safety. Such area-specific data on consumers' knowledge on food safety can assist in developing food safety education programs. [source] THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN FAITHS AND AN ,AESTHETIC ATTITUDE'THE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007DAVID CHEETHAM This paper contains a discussion of the idea of using what could loosely be called an ,aesthetic attitude' (stemming largely from Kantian notions of disinterest and explicitly articulated by such writers in the 20th century as Edward Bullough and Jerome Stolnitz) in the context of the encounter between religions. The ,problem' that is addressed is formulated as an attempt to find a space in which the participation of those with committed faith positions (e.g. conservative evangelicals) in sympathetic and empathetic meeting with other faiths can be facilitated. To this end, the paper is critical of the use of spirituality (or inter-spirituality) as an oft-suggested mode by which religions meet and ,converse' in depth-encounters. That is, it is argued that the language of inter-spirituality that is employed by some interfaith writers often betrays liberal assumptions that are unsettling for more committed religious persons. Thus, it is suggested that by changing the language of encounter from ,inter-spirituality' to a more aesthetic (or playful) mode of discourse, one is creating a different, but nonetheless experientially recognisable, space of empathetic meeting and encounter that might be deemed ,safer'. [source] NORMALIZATION AND LEGITIMATION: MODELING STIGMATIZING ATTITUDES TOWARD EX-OFFENDERS,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 1 2010PAUL J. HIRSCHFIELD Successful community reentry and the criminological impact of incarceration may depend in part on the attitudes (and consequent reactions) that prisoners encounter after release. Theories of social stigma suggest that such attitudes depend, in turn, on the levels of familiarity with the stigmatized group (the normalization thesis) as well as on the credibility and trust they accord to sanctioning agents (the legitimation thesis). To assess these two hypotheses, we present the first multivariate analysis of public attitudes toward ex-offenders. Data from a four-state, random-digit telephone survey of more than 2,000 individuals indicate that, net of controls, personal familiarity with ex-offenders may soften attitudes, whereas confidence in the courts may harden them. As expected, non-Hispanic Whites, conservatives, and southern residents hold more negative views of ex-offenders. Our findings lend indirect support to concerns that incarceration is becoming "normalized", and we suggest strategies for reducing the stigma of incarceration. [source] FORGIVENESS AND FUNDAMENTALISM: RECONSIDERING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORRECTIONAL ATTITUDES AND RELIGION,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 3 2000BRANDON K. APPLEGATE Although research typically has failed to establish a relationship between religious affiliation and correctional attitudes, recent assessments have revealed that fundamentalist Christians tend to be more punitive than are nonfundamentalists. These studies have advanced our understanding considerably, but their conceptualization of religion and correctional attitudes has been limited. Using a statewide survey, the present study demonstrates that compassionate as well as fundamentalist aspects of religious beliefs are related to public correctional preferences. Further, our results reveal that religion influences support for rehabilitation as well as punitiveness. These findings suggest the need for scholars to think more broadly about the role of religion in criminology. [source] SPANISH NEPHROLOGY NURSES' VIEWS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CARING FOR DYING PATIENTSJOURNAL OF RENAL CARE, Issue 1 2010Tai Mooi Ho RN SUMMARY Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease are increasingly elderly with increasing numbers of co-morbidites. Some may not be suitable for dialysis, some will choose to withdraw from treatment after a period of time and some will reach the end of their lives while still on dialysis. Studies have shown nurses' attitudes towards caring for dying patients affect the quality of care. A descriptive study was conducted to explore Spanish nurses' views and attitudes in this context and to assess any relationship between demographic variables and attitudes. Two measurement tools were used: a demographic survey and the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale,Form B. Two hundred and two completed questionnaires were returned. Although respondents demonstrated positive attitudes in this domain, 88.9% viewed end-of-life (EOL) care as an emotionally demanding task, 95.3% manifested that addressing death issue require special skills and 92.6% reported that education on EOL care is necessary. This paper suggests strategies which could ease the burden in this area of care. [source] LOCAL ABORIGINAL PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE UMOONA KIDNEY PROJECT AT COOBER PEDYNEPHROLOGY, Issue 3 2000Batterham M [source] THE 1998 OECD CONVENTION: AN IMPETUS FOR WORLDWIDE CHANGES IN ATTITUDES TOWARD CORRUPTION IN BUSINESS TRANSACTIONSAMERICAN BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2000BARBARA CRUTCHFIELD GEORGE First page of article [source] EMPLOYEE ATTRIBUTIONS OF THE "WHY" OF HR PRACTICES: THEIR EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS, AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTIONPERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008LISA H. NISHII The construct of human resource (HR) attributions is introduced. We argue that the attributions that employees make about the reasons why management adopts the HR practices that it does have consequences for their attitudes and behaviors, and ultimately, unit performance. Drawing on the strategic HR literature, we propose a typology of 5 HR-attribution dimensions. Utilizing data collected from a service firm, we show that employees make varying attributions for the same HR practices, and that these attributions are differentially associated with commitment and satisfaction. In turn, we show that these attitudes become shared within units and that they are related to unit-level organizational citizenship behaviors and customer satisfaction. Findings and implications are discussed. [source] EFFECTS OF CHARISMATIC INFLUENCE TRAINING ON ATTITUDES, BEHAVIOR, AND PERFORMANCEPERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2003ANNETTE J. TOWLER This study investigated the effectiveness of training in 2 components of charisma (charismatic communication style and visionary content). Forty-one business students received charismatic influence training, presentation skills training, or no training. All participants prepared and gave a speech. Groups of 2-3 students (N= 102) watched 1 of the videotaped speeches and then performed a task based on the speech instructions. Charismatic influence trainees performed better on a declarative knowledge test and exhibited more charismatic behaviors than those in the other conditions. In addition, participants who viewed a charismatic influence trainee performed best. [source] HETEROGENEOUS RISK ATTITUDES IN A CONTINUOUS-TIME MODEL,THE JAPANESE ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2006CHIAKI HARA We prove that every continuous-time model in which all consumers have time-homogeneous and time-additive utility functions and share a common probabilistic belief and a common discount rate can be reduced to a static model. This result allows us to extend some of the existing results of the representative consumer and risk-sharing rules in static models to continuous-time models. We show that the equilibrium interest rate is lower and more volatile than in the standard representative consumer economy, and that the individual consumption growth rates are more dispersed than in the absence of uncertainty. [source] RISK ATTITUDES AND THE DEMAND FOR PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE: THE IMPORTANCE OF ,CAPTIVE PREFERENCES'ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2009Joan Costa-Font ABSTRACT,:,Captivity to a mainstream public insurer, is hypothesized to constrain the choice of purchasing private health insurance, by influencing risk attitudes. Namely, risk averse individuals are more likely to stay captive to the National Health System (NHS). To empirically test this hypothesis we use a small scale database from Catalonia to explore the determinants of private health insurance (PHI) purchase under different forms of captivity along with a measure of risk attitudes. Our results confirm that the captivity corrections are significant and can potentially bias the estimates of the demand for PHI. Risk aversion increases the probability of an individual being captive to the NHS. The latter suggests a potential behavioural (or cultural) mechanism to isolate the influence of risk attitudes on the demand for PHI in publicly financed health systems. [source] Parental psychopathology and self-rated quality of life in adolescents with epilepsy in NigeriaDEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY, Issue 7 2006Abiodun O Adewuya MBChB This study sought to investigate the relationship between parental psychopathology and health-related quality of life in a group of Nigerian adolescents with epilepsy. The participants were 86 adolescents with epilepsy (50 males, 36 females; mean age 14y 5mo [SD 2y 1mo]; age range 12,18y). There were 54 (62.8%) adolescents with complex partial seizures, six (7.0%) with simple partial seizures, 14 (16.3%) with generalized tonic-clonic seizures, four (4.7%) with absence seizures, and eight (9.2%) with other types of seizure. They completed the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory for Adolescents (QOLIE-AD-48). Parents also completed the General Health Questionnaire, Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Zung's Self-Rating Depressive Scale as measures of their psychopathology. Factors correlating with poor overall quality of life in the adolescents include longer duration of illness, large number of antiepileptic drugs, more severe medication toxicity, and psychopathology in the parents. General psychopathology in parents is significantly associated with QOLIE-AD-48 subscales of Epilepsy Impact (r= 0.527, p < 0.001), Attitude (r= 0.214, p= 0.047), Physical Function (r= 0.417, p < 0.001), Stigma (r= 0.305, p= 0.004), Social Support (r= 0.365, p= 0.001), and School Behaviour (r= 0.220, p= 0.042). There is a possibility of a cross-cultural difference on the effect of epilepsy on the quality of life of adolescents. Psychopathology in parents is significantly associated with poorer quality of life of these adolescents. Physicians should consider this, therefore, when planning intervention strategies in improving the quality of life in adolescents with epilepsy. [source] Measuring therapeutic attitudes in the prison environment: development of the Prison Attitude to Drugs scaleADDICTION, Issue 2 2003Nick Airey ABSTRACT Aims, To develop and test the validity of a scale measuring therapeutic attitudes among prison staff working with drug misusers. Design, A cross-sectional postal questionnaire study using 27 statements with a five-point Likert scale. Setting, Four prisons in the south-west of England Participants, A total of 252 prison staff (response rate 70%), including 67 for test,retest (response rate 57%). Findings, The study resulted in a three-dimensional, nine-item scale: the Prison Attitude to Drugs scale (PAD). The three subscales measure confidence in skills (four items), personal rewards (three items) and job satisfaction (two items). Test,retest correlations for the questions were above 0.7, with each factor having an internal coherence (coefficient alpha) of greater than 0.7. Conclusions, The PAD is a reliable tool that can be used in the prison environment. [source] Attitude and tendency of cheating behaviours amongst undergraduate students in a Dental Institution of IndiaEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010M. Monica Abstract Honesty and integrity are key characteristics expected of a doctor, although academic misconduct amongst medical students is not new. Academic integrity provides the foundation upon, which a flourishing academic life rests. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitude of undergraduate dental students about the seriousness of cheating behaviours and to determine the rate of malpractice amongst these students. A self designed closed ended questionnaire was distributed to 300 undergraduate students in a Dental Institution in India, to rate the seriousness of six cheating behaviours and to assess the rate of malpractice. The response rate was 100%. Two of the six cheating behaviours were considered by at least 61% of the students as very serious cheating behaviours. Almost 70% of the students agreed that they have involved in malpractice in examinations at least once. The majority also felt that cheating in examinations will not have any significant effect on their future. This study has revealed that cheating is an important issue, which needs to be addressed for the benefit of the society at large. [source] Experimental Research and the Managerial Attitude: a tension to be resolved?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 3 2008MARTIN BENNINGHOFF This article analyses some typical consequences of a specific research policy on experimental research in biology. The policy is conducted by a national funding agency , the Swiss National Science Foundation , through a particular programme, the ,National Centres of Competence in Research' which is designed to promote both ,scientific excellence'and,managerial professionalism'. To study the possible tension between the two objectives, as a practical matter for researchers, the proposed analysis focuses on the interaction between two laboratory scientists and the administrators of a genomic platform. Access to the instruments of this platform is granted through a preliminary interview with those in charge of the platform. During that interview, researchers are required to explain why they want to use the platform services and what their expectations concerning their envisaged activities are. A tape-recorded interview is analysed in order to describe how turns at talking by the various parties, as well as the formulation of the problems encountered by a researcher, prove category-bound. The first part of the meeting (,problem exposition') is structured by the categorical device ,generalist researcher vs. specialist researcher', whilst the second part (,problem solving') is organised by the categorical device ,manager vs. user of the platform'. The ,scientific' problem becomes a ,technical' one and the choice of technique is partly based on financial reasons. The situation shows how managerial injunctions of research policy are not without practical consequences for research activities in situ. [source] Attitude learning through exploration: advice and strategy appraisalsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2007J. Richard Eiser Processes of attitude learning were investigated through a game requiring discrimination between good and bad objects, where feedback about object valence (involving gain or loss) is contingent on approach. Previous research demonstrates a preponderance of false-negative errors, with some good objects (,learning asymmetry') and most novel objects (,generalization asymmetry') being judged as bad, but provides no direct evidence concerning how participants appraise alternative strategies and their own performance. To compare alternative strategies, participants received advice, supposedly from a previous participant, that most objects were bad and should be avoided, or good and should be approached. Learning and generalization asymmetries were replicated, especially among participants who followed the former (risk-averse) advice. Additionally, participants' evaluations of their own game strategy were inversely related to amount of negative feedback (the number of bad objects approached), but unrelated to positive feedback (from good objects approached), pointing to the salience of negative information for self-appraisals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Use of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Assess Predictors of Intention to Eat Fruits Among 9th-Grade Students Attending Two Public High Schools in Eastern North CarolinaFAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 1 2008Roman Pawlak Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify specific beliefs regarding eating two cups of fruits among ninth-grade youth attending public high schools in easternNorth Carolinautilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Methods: A preliminary open-ended questionnaire was used to elicit beliefs about fruits. These beliefs along with statements adopted from the literature tailored toward fruit intake were used to develop a survey instrument. This survey was subsequently used to measure the variables of the TPB. There were 157 students (103 girls [65.6%], mean ±SD age =14.69 ±0.79 and 54 boys [34.4%], mean ±SD age = 14.74 ±0.89) from two schools who completed the final copy of the survey. Results: Attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted intention to eat fruits, accounting for 55% of variance. Conclusion: The findings of this research suggest that peer leaders may have a significant influence on intentions to eat fruits. [source] Myth and Reality in the Attitude toward Valence-Bond (VB) Theory: Are Its ,Failures' Real?HELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 4 2003Sason Shaik According to common wisdom propagated in textbooks and papers, valence-bond (VB) theory fails and makes predictions in contradiction with experiment. Four iconic ,failures' are: a) the wrong prediction of the ground state of the O2 molecule, b) the failure to predict the properties of cyclobutadiene (CBD) viz. those of benzene, c) the failure to predict the aromaticity/anti-aromaticity of molecular ions like C5H and C5H, C3H and C3H, C7H and C7H, etc; and d) the failure to predict that, e.g., CH4 has two different ionization potentials. This paper analyzes the origins of these ,failures' and shows that two of them (stated in a and d) are myths of unclear origins, while the other two originate in misuse of an oversimplified version of VB theory, i.e., simple resonance theory that merely enumerate resonance structures. It is demonstrated that, in each case, a properly used VB theory at a simple and portable level leads to correct predictions, as successful as those made by use of molecular-orbital (MO) theory. This notion of VB ,failure', which is traced back to the VB-MO rivalry, in the early days of quantum chemistry, should now be considered obsolete, unwarranted, and counterproductive. A modern chemist should know that there are two ways of describing electronic structure, which are not two contrasting theories, but rather two representations or two guises of the same reality. Their capabilities and insights into chemical problems are complementary, and the exclusion of any one of them undermines the intellectual heritage of chemistry. [source] Quitting Smoking: Applying an Extended Version of the Theory of PlannedBehavior to Predict Intention and Behavior,JOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005Inger Synnøve MOAN This study examined the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB)to predict students' intentions to quit smoking and the subsequent behavior6 months later. In addition, the impact of past behavior, moral norms, self-identity, group identity, and positive/negative anticipated affect was examined. The intention-behavior relationship was examined by dividing the sample in four subgroups: inclined actors/abstainers and disinclined actors/abstainers. Analyses were based on data from a prospective sample of 698 smokers. Attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control accounted for 36% (adjusted R2) of the variance in intentions. Moral norms, positive anticipated affect, group identity, and past behavior added 9% (adjusted R2) to the explained variance in intention, beyond the effect accounted for by the TPB components. Subsequent behavior was predicted by intentions (adjusted R2= .12). Past behavior, moral norms, self-identity, and the Past Behavior x Intention and Moral Norm x Negative Affect interactions explained an additional 9% (adjusted R2) of the variance in behavior. Inclined abstainers constituted the main source of the discrepancy between intention and behavior. [source] WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (WEF): Change of Attitude?AFRICA RESEARCH BULLETIN: ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL SERIES, Issue 4 2010Article first published online: 4 JUN 2010 No abstract is available for this article. [source] The Roles of Gender and Affirmative Action Attitude in Reactions to Test Score Use Methods,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2000Donald M. Truxillo The present study explored the effects of 2 variables, affirmative action (AA) attitude and gender, on reactions to 3 test score use (TSU) methods: top-down selection. banding with random selection, and banding with preferences. In a study of 94 upper-division and graduate business students, AA attitude was associated with different reactions to TSU methods in terms of fairness and organizational attractiveness. Moreover, women with negative AA attitudes and men rated banding with preferences lower than the other two methods, but women with positive AA attitudes did not Results are discussed in terms of applicant reactions models, implications for organizations and future research. [source] Relating individual differences in Attitude toward Ambiguity to risky choicesJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 2 2001Marco Lauriola Abstract Subjects (76 adult Italians of varying ages) completed a two-part procedure. One part used an Ellsberg-type task which allowed for both aggregate and individual level analysis of Attitude toward Ambiguity. The other part used an expanded risky choice task to assess the same subjects' Attitude toward Risk. While there was an overall tendency for subjects to be slightly ambiguity-averse, there was a positive correlation between Attitude toward Ambiguity and Attitude toward Risk. This relation was particularly strong when the risky choice was to avoid a loss rather than to achieve a gain. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Confirming satisfaction as an attitude within the service-buying processJOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2 2001Dr Geraldine Clarke Abstract This paper presents research that uses cognitive and affective semantic differential scales to construct an attitude measuring instrument to be used in the services domain in the context of long applications to buy a service. The scales measure ,Attitude to the Application Process' (AAP) which represents satisfaction, as an internal ,buying process' attitude, which moderates the buying intention. Data collected over a three-year period between 1996-9, was analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results provide evidence of a robust and useful cognitive scale. Although there were anomalies in the exploratory and confirmatory analysis of the affective scale, a robust scale is presented which represents either one or two factors. The whole measuring instrument of 14 items was developed as a means to access applicant attitudes during the application process to university , an extended and extreme application situation for first-time consumers. The results identify that the instrument is sound and can be used in its original or modified form, depending on the context of the service-process monitoring situation. The scales represent aspects of attitude not dealt with extensively in the literature and measure the perception of the application process as simple, open, friendly and helpful. These aspects of satisfaction mirror three attributes of service quality: assurance, responsiveness and empathy identified in previous research. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications. [source] Bridging the GAAP: the Changing Attitude of German Managers towards Anglo-American Accounting and Accounting HarmonizationJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1 2000Martin Glaum This paper presents and compares results from two empirical studies into the attitudes of financial executives of large German corporations towards a global harmonization of accounting principles and towards the adaptation of German accounting to Anglo-American Standards. The first of the studies was conducted in 1994, the second in late 1997, early 1998. A comparison of the results reveals that German managers' attitudes have changed profoundly over the course of only three years. In 1994, they objected to the view that German accounting is inferior to Anglo-American accounting; they had a negative attitude towards US accounting; and they were highly sceptical about adapting German accounting to Anglo-American accounting rules. Today, German managers openly concede that German financial accounts have a lower information value for investors and that the use of German accounting rules reduces the demand for German shares abroad. They are also more willing to accept far-reaching changes in the German accounting system. The survey shows that numerous large corporations have already adopted international standards, or are planning to do so in the near future. A further finding is that opinion among German managers and firms has shifted significantly towards accepting IAS rather than US-GAAP as the basis for the internationalization of German accounting. In fact, more than 80%of managers believe that five years from now the great majority of German firms will publish their consolidated financial accounts according to either IAS or US-GAAP. [source] Circulation of Books in the Medieval Franciscan Order: Attitude, Methods, and CriticsJOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY, Issue 2 2004Neslihan Senocak One of the significant advantages that the Franciscan friars had over their secular colleagues in the medieval intellectual domain was easy access to books. Not only did the order establish well-endowed libraries, but also facilitated the circulation of books among the friars who were involved in preaching and studying. The notes on Franciscan manuscripts indicating a loan or a borrower, the library inventories, together with the constitutional evidence reveal some interesting practices in this respect. Although it was the nature of scholastic teaching that necessitated private use, and hence the assignment of books, the practice nevertheless remained unpopular with the faction in the order known as the Spirituals. They saw it as the cause of the multiplication of books, thereby a serious breach in the order's creed of evangelical poverty. The circulation of books nevertheless continued with increasing momentum and was one of the issues responsible for the schism in the order. [source] SPANISH NEPHROLOGY NURSES' VIEWS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CARING FOR DYING PATIENTSJOURNAL OF RENAL CARE, Issue 1 2010Tai Mooi Ho RN SUMMARY Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease are increasingly elderly with increasing numbers of co-morbidites. Some may not be suitable for dialysis, some will choose to withdraw from treatment after a period of time and some will reach the end of their lives while still on dialysis. Studies have shown nurses' attitudes towards caring for dying patients affect the quality of care. A descriptive study was conducted to explore Spanish nurses' views and attitudes in this context and to assess any relationship between demographic variables and attitudes. Two measurement tools were used: a demographic survey and the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale,Form B. Two hundred and two completed questionnaires were returned. Although respondents demonstrated positive attitudes in this domain, 88.9% viewed end-of-life (EOL) care as an emotionally demanding task, 95.3% manifested that addressing death issue require special skills and 92.6% reported that education on EOL care is necessary. This paper suggests strategies which could ease the burden in this area of care. [source] Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices With Regard to Adult Pertussis Vaccine Booster in TravelersJOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2007Annelies Wilder-Smith MD, FAMS Introduction Pertussis is a worldwide, highly communicable, vaccine-preventable respiratory disease and is a frequent but often underestimated cause of prolonged cough illness in adults. Immunity from childhood pertussis immunization is thought to last only up to 10 years. The incidence of adult pertussis has been estimated to be 200 to 500 per 100,000 persons-years. Acellular pertussis vaccines have been evaluated in adults and confer safe and effective protection and now exist as combination vaccine together with tetanus and diphtheria. Methods We did a questionnaire survey to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices toward pertussis in adult travelers. We consecutively enrolled all travelers who presented at the Travellers' Health & Vaccination Centre in Singapore in 1 month. Results Of 218 consecutively enrolled travelers, 184 (84.4%) completed the questionnaire; of which 80% were Singaporeans. Seventy persons (38%) did not know or gave a wrong answer for the mode of transmission of pertussis, 147 (83%) had never heard of a pertussis vaccine for adults, and almost none had received an adult pertussis vaccine booster. Travelers from Western countries were seven times [95% confidence interval (CI): 2,27] more likely than Asians to have knowledge about pertussis; women were 4.27 times (95% CI: 1.59,11.53) more likely than men to be aware of the booster vaccine, after adjusting for nationality ( p= 0.004). Conclusions Knowledge about pertussis was poor among adult travelers. Although pertussis was viewed as a serious illness by the majority of participants, and 38% expressed the desire to be vaccinated, almost no one had received the pertussis vaccine booster. Awareness about pertussis, its risks, and prevention via vaccination need to be increased among adult travelers. Studies are needed to quantify the risk of pertussis in adult travelers. [source] Attitude of hospital personnel faced with living liver donation in a Spanish center with a living donor liver transplant programLIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 7 2007A. Ríos In Spain, despite its high rate of cadaveric donation, death while on the liver transplant waiting list is high. For this reason, living liver donation is being encouraged despite of the risk of morbidity for the donor. The objective of this study was to analyze attitudes toward living liver donation among hospital personnel in a hospital with a recently authorized living donor liver transplantation program. A random sample was taken and was stratified by type of service and job category (n = 1,262). Attitude was evaluated by means of a validated psychosocial questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed anonymously and was self-administered. Statistical analysis included the Student t test, the ,2 test, and logistical regression analysis. The questionnaire completion rate was 93% (n = 1,168). Only 15% (n = 170) of respondents were in favor of living liver donation if it were unrelated. An additional 65% (n = 766) were in favor if this donation, but only for relatives. Of the rest, 9% (n = 107) did not agree with living liver donation, and the remaining 11% (n = 125) were undecided. The variables related to this attitude were age (P = 0.044); job category (P = 0.002); type of service (according to whether it is related to organ donation and transplantation) (P = 0.044); participation in prosocial activities (P = 0.026); attitude toward cadaveric organ donation (P <0.001); attitude of a respondent's partner toward organ donation (P = 0.010); a respondent's belief that in the future, he or she may need a transplant (P < 0.001); and a willingness to receive a donated living liver organ if one were needed (P < 0.001). There is also a close relationship between attitude toward living kidney donation and living liver donation (P < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the only common independent variable from the bivariate analysis was a willingness to receive a living donor liver transplant if one were needed (odds ratio = 9.3). Attitude toward living liver donation among hospital personnel in a hospital with a solid organ transplant program is favorable and is affected by factors related to cadaveric donation, altruistic activity, and feelings of reciprocity. Physicians and the youngest hospital workers are those who are most in favor, which leads us to think that there is a promising future for living liver transplantation, which is essential given the cadaveric organ deficit and the high mortality rate while on the waiting list. Liver Transpl 13:1049,1056, 2007. © 2007 AASLD. [source] Attitude of health-care providers toward childhood leukemia patients with different socio-economic status,PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue 5 2008Saskia Mostert MD Abstract Background Treatment results differ significantly between poor and prosperous children with leukemia in Indonesia. The objective of this study was to determine whether parental socio-economic status influences beliefs, attitude, and behavior of health-care providers (hcp) treating childhood leukemia in Indonesia. Procedure A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was filled in by 102 hcp (69 doctors, 28 nurses, 2 psychologists, 2 hematology technicians, 1 administrator). Results Most hcp (98%) asked parents about their financial situation. The decision to start treatment was influenced by parental socio-economic status (86%), motivation of parents (80%), and motivation of doctors (76%). Health-care providers stated that prosperous patients comply better with treatment (64%), doctors comply better with treatment for the prosperous (53%), most patients cannot afford to complete treatment (58%), less extensive explanations are given toward poor families (60%), and communication is impeded by differences in status (67%). When dealing with prosperous families a minority of hcp stated that they pay more attention (27%), work with greater accuracy (24%), take more interest (23%), and devote more time per visit (22%). Most hcp denied differences in the quality of medical care (93%) and the chances of cure (58%) between poor and prosperous patients. Conclusions Beliefs, attitude, and behavior of hcp toward poor versus prosperous patients appeared to differ. These differences may contribute to the immense drop-out rate and slight chances of survival among poor patients with leukemia in developing countries. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2008;50:1001,1005. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Nursing staff attitudes towards patients with personality disorderPERSONALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2007Daniel Webb Background,The Gwylfa Therapy Service is a specialist outpatient personality disorder (PD) service within Gwent Healthcare NHS trust. Among its key functions, the service is required to develop training procedures that improve the attitudes and capabilities of mental health staff working with patients with PD. Aim,The aim was to assess Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) nurses' attitudes to patients with PD, using the Attitude to Personality Disorder Questionnaire (APDQ), and to compare their scores with published APDQ data for nurses and prison officers working with patients with PDs. Method,Participants were nurses recruited from CMHTs (n = 88) and those who volunteered to attend a PD awareness workshop (n = 29). They completed the APDQ. Results,CMHT nurses reported lower feelings of security, acceptance and purpose compared with all other groups, although at the same time they also reported higher levels of enjoyment in working with PD patients. CMHT nurses who volunteered to participate in an awareness workshop reported higher levels of enjoyment, security, acceptance and purpose when working with patients with PD compared to those who did not volunteer. Discussion,CMHT nursing staff require help to feel safer, more accepting and more purposeful when working with patients with PD. Some of these issues may be addressed through the formulation of policies and good practice procedures, but staff also need to be trained for working with people with PD. The next step is to design suitable training and evaluate its effectiveness with respect to how it changes knowledge, attitudes and skills, and, eventually, how this benefits patients. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||