Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A J Tarzian

Publications and source records attributed to A J Tarzian.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

African American women's experiences with breast cancer screening.

PURPOSE: To describe the experience and meaning of breast cancer screening for African American women. Breast cancer screening offers the greatest hope of reducing breast cancer mortality and improving breast cancer outcomes. Despite the proliferation of initiatives targeting African American women, they continue to be first diagnosed only when they have late-stage disease. DESIGN AND METHODS: Using hermeneutic phenomenological research methods, 23 low- and middle-income African American women were interviewed to gain an understanding of their experiences with breast cancer screening. FINDINGS: Participants varied in their experiences with breast cancer screening. Women spoke of a desire for a holistic approach to health that did not separate the breast from the rest of the body. This desire is indicated in the theme of minding the body, self, and spirit, along with themes of relationships and spreading the word about breast health issues. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions for African American women should include a focus on minding the body, self, and spirit to promote breast cancer screening, and should indicate the importance of relationships and spreading the word about breast cancer screening.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Isolation in blood and marrow transplantation.

This phenomenological study explored the perceptions of 20 patients who had undergone an autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). Transcripts from interviews were analyzed for themes. Three themes emerged related to the experience of isolation during and after ABMT: physical isolation (protecting self and others), emotional isolation (protecting self and others), and physical and emotional isolation (supporting self and others). During physical isolation, participants were protected from infection and tried to protect family and friends from emotional burden. However, physical isolation often led to emotional isolation, which the physical presence of others ameliorated, particularly when an emotional presence was coexistent. Emotional presence was a main source of social support. Participants felt family and friends needed more guidance on ways to provide effective support. An important implication for health care professionals is that emotional support in the form of positive presencing should accompany providing information to both patients and family members.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2000

Caring for dying patients who have air hunger.

PURPOSE: To understand nurses' experiences of caring for dying patients who have "air hunger." When air hunger occurs in people who are close to death, it often triggers increasing panic and breathlessness. Describing this phenomenon is an initial step toward a more informed and consistent response to air-hungry patients. DESIGN AND METHODS: Phenomenological study of 10 hospice, long-term care, oncology, or emergency medicine nurses who cared for air-hungry dying patients. Analysis was based on van Manen's guidelines for interpretive phenomenology. Interviews with two family members who witnessed their dying spouses suffer from air hunger were used to complement the nurses' accounts. FINDINGS: Themes of (a) the patient's look-panic beckons, (b) surrendering and sharing control, and (c) fine-tuning dying indicated ways nurses responded to relieve a patient's air hunger, including being prepared before air hunger occurs, calming patients and families, medicating patients, improvising care, attending to family members' needs, and drawing a distinction between palliating and killing. CONCLUSIONS: The three themes provide a framework for a new vision of "doing everything" for a dying person who suffers from air hunger. Care encompasses knowing what to do as well as how to stay present during suffering.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Autologous bone marrow transplantation: the patient's perspective of information needs.

Phenomenologic inquiry was used to explore patients' experiences with autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). Interviews were conducted before and after implementation of a clinical pathway that included a teaching protocol for ABMT. Texts were analyzed individually, compared for pre- and postpathway patients to determine if different themes emerged from these two groups, and then combined. Themes common to both groups included (a) a range of needs for information, (b) everybody's different: a fine balance (the challenge of finding a balance when giving information to patients who vary in the amount of information they desire), (c) someone who has been there (the value of talking to someone who has survived an ABMT), (d) and the burden of ABMT patients teaching family. One theme that reflected different experiences of pre- and postpathway patients was that of the need to know detailed information about the ABMT and the fear of knowing too much. Whereas postpathway patients reflected more on the burden of knowing too much, prepathway patients expressed more dissatisfaction about not being told enough about procedures and symptoms to be expected. Suggestions for teaching patients about ABMT include being generally realistic while focusing on the positive, and viewing patient education as a process individualized according to each patient's needs.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Healthcare reform. Its effects on nurses.

Healthcare reform has been a major economic and political focus throughout the 1990s. In a national survey of registered nurses about work life and health, many narrative comments addressed changes in the healthcare system. This qualitative study an analysis of these comments, identified themes related to nurses' perceptions of changes and the effect of healthcare reform on the practice of nursing.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Last rites.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation↗