Biomedical subjects

B A Given

Publications and source records attributed to B A Given.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Prediction of patient attrition from experimental behavioral interventions.

Attrition of patients in treatment and control was compared for loss from the study and loss from care. Previously diagnosed hypertensive patients who were under treatment but out of control (diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 and systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mm Hg) were assigned to conventional care or to an experimental nursing intervention group. The intervention involved eight visits covering a 6-month period. Attrition from the study for the experimental group was defined as completion of four or fewer experimental sessions; for the control group it was defined as making no visits to a treatment center during a 6-month posttest observation period. Attrition from care by the facilities where the study was conducted was defined as no visits to these sources of care during a 1 1/2-year follow-up period. More controls than experimentals were lost from the study. No differences could be found between patients lost from the study and those lost from both the study and care. A logistic regression was used to predict attrition. The four significant predictor variables were: perceived difficulty in following a diet, knowledge of disease, perceived severity of symptoms, and the experimental condition. The study showed: social psychological variables, important predictors of attrition, should be used to identify patients at risk of leaving care for their chronic diseases.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Family and out-of-pocket costs for women with breast cancer.

Other than loss of income to family members, little attention has been given to costs incurred by women with breast cancer and their families. Informal costs, such as the family labor for patient care and nonreimbursed out-of-pocket expenditures to care for the patient with breast cancer, need to be considered. Informal costs of women who survived for at least 3 months after the observation are compared with informal costs of a group of patients who died during the subsequent 3 months. Data for this longitudinal descriptive study were obtained from a convenience sample of 62 women with new or recurrent breast cancer. Data were collected at intake and at 3-month intervals across the 6-month observation. Data are presented for the out-of-pocket costs, primary family care-giver and "other" family labor costs, and total costs. Considering all costs, the 3-month average was $2,720 (SD, $3314) for the survivors and $7905 (SD, $5448) for the decedents. Regressions of costs on predictors were performed; survivors' status and patient dependencies in activities of daily living were the only significant predictors. Family care costs need to be considered along with the formal and direct reimbursable medical costs as an essential component of breast cancer care cost.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Determinants of family care giver reaction. New and recurrent cancer.

PURPOSE: The authors examined the interaction of patient and care giver variables and identified whether changes in new and recurrent patients' levels of symptoms, functioning, and depression were related to changes in care givers' reactions to providing care. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: During a 6-month observation period, the psychosocial status and burden of a matched sample of patients with either new or recurrent cancer and their family care givers were assessed and compared. RESULTS: Care givers of patients with recurrent disease experienced a marginally significantly different impact on depression over time. The type of disease (new or recurrent) did not impact care givers reactions to the care they were providing for patients. Instead, patients' symptoms and symptom experience incurred a greater impact on care giver depression. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The impact of cancer on patients and family care givers must be evaluated carefully and thoroughly, regardless of whether the diagnosis is new or recurrent. Patients' symptoms and symptom experience, mobility, and dependencies in instrumental activities of daily living are primary influences in creating emotional burden and depression in the family care giver of the patient diagnosed with new and with recurrent cancer.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Computerized documentation for a rural nursing intervention project.

The Rural Partnership Linkage for Cancer Care project is a program of advanced practice nursing care made available to rural cancer patients to provide education, symptom management, referral, and support within their communities. The advanced practice nurses used a computerized clinical information system (CCIS) to record care. In this article the CCIS is described, the software and hardware requirements are discussed, and the outcomes and value of the system are discussed. The CCIS is a relational database run on laptop computers that includes screens for standard recording of demographics, physical exam, symptoms, and treatments. The advanced practice nurses track patient symptoms over time, noting which treatments are successful in resolving or reducing the problems. Information from patient visits is selected by help menus for inclusion into referral forms, reports of patient care, and discharge summaries. Reports can be faxed or mailed to distant sites. The research team uses the combined data set to examine symptom patterns, nursing diagnosis, and treatments that result in improved physical and psychological functioning and symptom resolution. Rural cancer patients and their families benefit from care management, participation in research, and communication of patient health status in an integrated and timely fashion made possible by the CCIS.

Community Health Nursing↗