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Biomedical subjects

A I Meleis

Publications and source records attributed to A I Meleis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Role integration and perceived health in Asian American women caregivers.

In this study, role involvement, role integration (including role stress and role satisfaction), and perceived health were examined in 50 Asian American women who were caregivers of aging parents in addition to being wives, mothers, and employees. Their mean age was 47.8 years. Twenty-nine of the participants were Chinese and 21 Filipino, with an average length of caregiving for each group of 11 years. All participants were born outside the United States. Instruments used in the study were translated and back-translated into Chinese and Tagalog and tested for validity and reliability. The association of role involvement, role integration, role stress, and role satisfaction with perceived physical and psychological health in the combined and separate groups was examined. Role involvement was not associated with health in the combined group of caregivers but was associated with overall health in the sample of Chinese women. Role integration was positively associated with all three perceived health measures in the Filipino group but not in the Chinese group. Role satisfaction was consistently high in both groups. Role satisfaction and psychological well-being were significantly correlated for the combined group and for the Filipino caregivers. Total role stress was significantly correlated with overall health and current health only in the combined group. Thus, support that helps to decrease role stress and to increase role satisfaction may be more effective than efforts to decrease the extent of role involvement.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2001

An international imperative for gender-sensitive theories in women's health.

PURPOSE: To propose gender-sensitive theories as a future direction for theoretical development of women's health. Few theories pertain to women's health and illness experiences, with gender issues embedded in social, cultural, and historical contexts. ORGANIZING CONSTRUCT: Significance, definition, and philosophical bases of gender-sensitive theories. FINDINGS: Six major components should be incorporated in the development of gender-sensitive theories: (a) gender as a major feature, (b) women's own words and experiences, (c) nature of women's experiences, (d) theorists' perspectives, (e) contexts, and (f) guidelines for actions. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the development of gender-sensitive theories in nursing could enable researchers to transcend androcentric and ethnocentric views on women's health, decrease gender inequity in health care, enhance women's well being, and ultimately contribute to knowledge development in nursing.

Female↗
PubMed2001

Women's work and symptoms during midlife: Korean immigrant women.

PURPOSE: To describe how Korean immigrant women tend to describe their work experiences within their daily lives and how they relate their work to the symptoms experienced during midlife. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using methodological triangulation. Using a convenience sampling method, 119 Korean immigrant women were recruited for the quantitative phase, and 21 among the 119 women were recruited for the qualitative phase. Data were collected using both questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic analysis. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS: The symptoms that the women experienced during midlife were influenced by their work experience, which was complicated by their cultural heritage, gender issues embedded in their daily lives, and immigration transition. IMPLICATIONS: Complexities and diversities in women's work need to be incorporated in menopausal studies.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed2000

A study of the spousal role of Egyptian women in clerical jobs.

More women are seeking outside employment worldwide. However, the spousal role with all that it entails remains a significant core for women, particularly in developing countries. How women experience this role when they are also employed in low-income jobs has not been uncovered adequately. One hundred and ninety Egyptian women who are employed in clerical jobs were asked about the satisfaction and the stress they experience in their spousal role. The study's participants described the centrality of their spousal role in their life and discussed how fulfilling the needs and the expectations of their husbands were most significant for them. Their role in creating harmony in the family and the extent to which they were able to succeed in achieving this goal also were cited as the most significant aspects of their spousal relationship. Another satisfying part of their marital life was having children. On the other hand, their husbands' demanding behavior, the way the husbands express their demands, the husbands' abuse, and the participants' constant feeling of el masooliah, or their "sense of overload from responsibilities," were some of the stresses described by the participants. They also perceived a gap in the values that they and their husbands hold. This gap was most constraining to some of the participants. The participants coped by enduring the stress. This begs the question of what societal values keep women in less than satisfying relationships. The findings are discussed within a framework of societal norms and values expectations that reinforce women's commitment and endurance of spousal stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2000

Experiencing transitions: an emerging middle-range theory.

Changes in health and illness of individuals create a process of transition, and clients in transition tend to be more vulnerable to risks that may in turn affect their health. Uncovering these risks may be enhanced by understanding the transition process. As a central concept of nursing, transition has been analyzed, its components identified, and a framework to articulate and to reflect the relationship between these components has been defined. In this article, the previous conceptual analysis of transitions is extended and refined by drawing on the results of five different research studies that have examined transitions using an integrative approach to theory development. The emerging middle-range theory of transitions consists of types and patterns of transitions, properties of transition experiences, facilitating and inhibiting conditions, process indicators, outcome indicators, and nursing therapeutics. The diversity, complexity, and multiple dimensionality of transition experiences need to be further explored and incorporated in future research and nursing practice related to transitions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

A feminist critique of research on menopausal experience of Korean women.

Despite the increasing number of studies on the menopausal experience of Asian women, the focus of the studies has been on simple comparisons of their symptoms with Western women's and other disease-oriented research topics. To propose directions for future research on menopause, we analyzed and critiqued 158 studies on the menopausal experience of a group of Asian women-Korean women. The studies were retrieved through a search of computerized databases in the United States and South Korea, and they were reviewed, analyzed, and critiqued with a feminist perspective. Many of the studies have problems with (a) conceptualization, including ethnocentric and androcentric views of menopause, biomedical perspectives, and language difficulties; (b) research methods, such as inadequate instruments, passive relationships between researchers and research participants, culturally inappropriate communication styles, inadequate study designs, and homogeneous research participants; and (c) interpretation and communication of study findings. These issues undermine the conclusions drawn about the nature of the menopausal experience of Korean women.

Communication Barriers↗
PubMed1999

Cultural competence of measurement scales of menopausal symptoms: use in research among Korean women.

Even though there are advancements in research related to culturally competent care, there is an increasing realization that coherent theories and a research base to guide health care that is culturally competent is yet to be fully developed. In this paper, cultural competence of the scales measuring menopausal symptoms are critically analyzed in light of their limitations for Korean women--a population other than for whom it was developed. The analyses indicate that there are issues of contextuality, relevance, communication style, authenticity, power relationships and time constraints.

Cultural Characteristics↗
PubMed1999

Transcending marginalization in knowledge development.

Quality care requires a body of knowledge that reflects the experiences and the responses of the marginalized populations to health and illness, and requires demarginalization of nursing knowledge. We argue the significance of developing an understanding of people who are marginalized, and organize our arguments and discussions into four sections: (i) developing knowledge that is not marginalizing; (ii) developing knowledge about marginalized populations; (iii) integrating nursing knowledge and making it visible; and (iv) the future of research enterprise. We propose that nurses critically consider strategies and processes to deal with and transcend marginalization of populations and of nursing knowledge.

Diffusion of Innovation↗
PubMed1999

Situation-specific theories: philosophical roots, properties, and approach.

It is imperative to further develop theoretical bases in nursing, which incorporate diversities and complexities in nursing phenomena, and which consider sociopolitical, cultural, and historic contexts of nursing encounters. Situation-specific theories are proposed in this work as a future direction of such theoretical bases in nursing. Philosophical roots and properties of situation-specific theories are discussed, and an integrative approach to developing this type of theories is suggested. Situation-specific theories could be based on the assumptions of post-empiricism, critical social theory and feminism, and or hermeneutics. Six properties of situation-specific theories are presented: (1) low level of abstraction, (2) reflection of specific nursing phenomena, (3) context, (4) connection to research and/or practice, (5) incorporation of diversities, and (6) limits in generalization. The proposed integrative approach to developing situation-specific theories includes (1) a nursing perspective, (2) a linkage among theory, research, and practice, and (3) a conceptual scheme based on internal and external dialogues.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

A situation-specific theory of Korean immigrant women's menopausal transition.

PURPOSE: To extend the previous model of transitions by including the experiences of low-income Korean immigrant women in the United States during their menopausal transition. The extension results in a situation-specific theory of Korean immigrant women's menopausal transition. DESIGN: Findings from a study of menopausal transition among Korean immigrant women were used as a main source for modification of the conceptual properties of transitions, conditions shaping the transitions, and indicators of healthy transitions. The study was cross-sectional with methodologic triangulation. Quantitative analysis was based on data from 119 first-generation Korean immigrant women who engaged in low-status or low-income work outside their homes; qualitative study using theoretical sampling method included 21 women. METHODS: Analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic analysis. Integrative conceptual analysis using deductive and inductive reasoning was conducted to determine modifications in theory based on the descriptions of menopausal transition of Korean immigrant women. FINDINGS: Three main themes were identified: (a) the women gave their menopausal transition far less attention than they did to their immigrant and work transition; (b) menopause was a hidden experience in cultural background; and (c) the women "normalized," ignored, and endured symptoms. The findings indicated additions of the following concepts: (a) number, seriousness, and priority of transitions; (b) socioeconomic status; (c) gender; (d) context; (e) attitudes toward health and illness; (f) interrelationships among all conditions shaping transitions; and (g) symptom management. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed situation-specific model is limited in scope. However, it provides understanding of the menopausal transition of Korean immigrant women in context, and is a guide for nursing interventions for immigrant women experiencing transition.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

Symptom experience during menopausal transition: low income Korean immigrant women.

The symptoms experienced during menopausal transition of a vulnerable group of women, low income Korean immigrants, are described in this paper. The findings demonstrated that (a) the types of the symptoms that the women reported were different from those reported by Western women; (b) the women tended to normalize their symptoms; and (c) their symptom experience was influenced by immigration transition and its contextual variables. We suggest that symptom experience of immigrant women during menopausal transition be understood within the contexts of their immigration transition, and that their own views of normality of the menopausal transition be respected.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

ReVisions in knowledge development: a passion for substance.

Members of the nursing community have been engaged in numerous debates, some of which are related to the roles of holism and particularism in the care of clients and in the development of nursing knowledge. Others center on most and least congruent methodologies for nursing research, These healthy debates have played a significant role in invigorating the discipline of nursing. If they continue without special attention to nursing's substance, however, they may detract from its knowledge development. By refocusing the debates on substance, that is, on the major phenomena and theoretical propositions considered central to nursing, progress in the development of nursing knowledge will be enhanced. Other reVisions include co-opting some existing methods in knowledge development that are congruent with feminist approaches and not limited to certain strata of populations or certain nations, thus highlighting international nursing as an arena for the generation of gender-sensitive and culture-sensitive theories. Finally, the commitment to reVisions in knowledge development means a personal commitment of nursing scholars to health care in general and to the discipline of nursing in particular.

Global Health↗
PubMed1996

Women's work environment and health: clerical workers in Brazil.

Although women are participating more in the formal workforce, the majority are employed primarily in low-income and low-status occupations. While work roles may provide women with some rewards, employment may also create many stressful demands on their daily lives. As part of an international study, 60 female Brazilian clerical workers responded to a self-administered questionnaire describing what they liked, disliked, and found stressful about the structural, physical, and social aspects of their work environment. Participants also identified strategies they used to cope with stress in the work environment. Dimensions of healthy environments identified in the data included utility, challenge, participation, safety, pleasing workplace, valuation, clarity of roles, and empowerment. Unhealthy environments were characterized by hazards, bureaucracy, devaluation, and economic constraints. Participants described their concerns about the effect of the environment on their physical and mental health, but tended to adopt a passive, resigned coping style rather than a proactive approach to co-creating a healthier work environment. The results and their relationship to healthy work environments are discussed within the context of the larger sociopolitical environment of Brazil.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

The work of auxiliary nurses in Mexico: stressors, satisfiers and coping strategies.

Recruitment and retention of nursing personnel is a major problem in many parts of the world, particularly developing countries. Strategies for promoting job satisfaction can help reduce the costs of high turnover and increase the quality of patient care. As part of a larger international study on women's health, a convenience sample of 59 Mexican nursing assistants and technical nurses, categorized as auxiliary nurses, were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to elicit their perceived work-related stresses and satisfactions, as well as the coping strategies they utilized to diminish work-associated stress. Major satisfiers included self-fulfillment, providing service and working as a member of a team. Frequent stressors were interpersonal relations, "angustia" (anguish), work overload and the work environment. These auxiliary nursing personnel utilized problem-solving techniques, recreational activities, talking to family and friends and actively trying to relax themselves in order to cope with their work-related stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

Culturally competent scholarship: substance and rigor.

There is an urgency to the development of culturally competent care. This urgency is due to increasing diversity, increasing disclosure of identities, care delivery moving to homes, and increasing inequity in access to health care. The development of a knowledge base for culturally competent care is constrained by substantive and methodological issues, such as the limited view of culture as a unit of analysis and limitations in designs and methods that could capture the integrative nature of participants' experiences. Therefore, I propose that components of foundational knowledge in nursing may include, but should not be limited to, populations and their cultures; culture-specific nursing phenomena; and responses to diversity, marginalization, vulnerability, and transitions. To develop culturally competent knowledge, researchers, theoreticians, and reviewers are urged to address eight criteria to ensure rigor and credibility in scholarship: contextuality, relevance, communication styles, awareness of identity and power differentials, disclosure, reciprocation, empowerment, and time.

Communication↗