Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D J Mason

Publications and source records attributed to D J Mason.

117 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Empowering nurses for politically astute change in the workplace.

While studies of the shortage of nurses have documented the need for nurses to play a greater role in decision-making processes in their workplaces, it cannot be assumed that nurses have the confidence or skills for making changes in the workplace in politically astute ways that will be effective. This article describes a continuing education program that was designed to prepare nurses to realize their potential power and to develop skills for effectively bringing about changes in their workplaces. Based on a feminist model of empowerment, the program content and methods reflected three dimensions of empowerment: consciousness-raising, building self-esteem, and skill development. Both short- and long-term evaluations (immediate and at 7 months) demonstrated that education can be a vehicle for empowering nurses to effectively bring about changes in their workplaces. The program was sponsored by the Manitoba Nurses Union, The University of Manitoba Continuing Education Division, and The University of Manitoba School of Nursing.

Decision Making, Organizational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Managed care organizations' arrangements with nurse practitioners: a Connecticut perspective.

Executives in more than 50% of managed care organizations (MCOs) in New York and Connecticut were interviewed for information on the roles, participation, and listing of NPs as primary care providers. MCO executives are highly satisfied with their primary care provider NPs, particularly in women's health and geriatrics, secondary to spending more time teaching and explaining procedures than physicians. Among both health care professionals and the general public there is an overall lack of current knowledge and/or confusion about NPs and their practice. Eighty-two percent of executives in MCOs thought their organization should encourage the use of NPs as primary care providers. Beginning in the early 1960s, advanced practice nursing has shown steady growth. Research has found that NPs provide cost-effective, quality-driven patient care (Brown & Grimes, 1995; Cohen & Juszczak, 1997; Frampton & Wall, 1994; Hardy & Evans, 1995). Many thought health care reform would lead to an expansion of advanced practice nurses (APNs) and other nonphysician providers as primary care providers (Aiken & Salmon, 1994). Funding for and enrollment in graduate nursing programs rose nationwide (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 1996). Anecdotal reports indicated that NPs were not included in MCO primary care provider panels. The purpose of this study was to explore MCO arrangements with nurse practitioners and the factors that influence them.

Connecticut↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health policy and the private sector. New vistas for nursing.

During the past two decades, the drive to rein in rising health care costs has shifted some of the power in health care policy making from professional groups, government agencies, and not-for-profit health care organizations to large for-profit corporations (1-4). This has been a world-wide phenomenon, as the provision and financing of health care services is shifted from governments to private health care organizations (5,6). In the United States, the shift in power is manifested in profound ways. Market competition and bottom-line economics have permeated the health care system, creating powerful new incentives for mergers, other corporate restructuring, and the shift to for-profit status by formerly not-for-profit insurance companies and providers. Private sector health care is now increasingly influenced by for-profit organizations (3). Moreover, the health insurance industry has been transformed as traditional indemnity insurance is replaced by versions of managed care. The role of government, or the public sector, in setting parameters for health care financing and standards for the delivery of health care services is increasingly outpaced in cost cutting by organizations that directly face the bottom line. In addition, private foundations, many of which are under the auspices of managed care organizations, now fund a large proportion of health care research and demonstration projects, a task once largely within the realm of the government. Through education and experience, nurses have developed political sophistication and understanding of policy making in the public sector (7). The challenge now is to educate nurses to adapt their political and policy strategies to the new health care milieu. This challenge is particularly crucial for advanced practice nurses, who must survive in a managed care environment.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Circadian rhythms of body temperature and activation and the well-being of older women.

The circadian parameters of body temperature and activation were studied in relationship to the well-being of 18 healthy women, aged 65-80 years. The women took oral temperature readings with an IVAC 2000 electronic thermometer and completed 1 of 12 alternate forms of the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List every 2 hours during waking hours for 7 consecutive days (2 subjects followed this procedure for 3 midweek days in 2 consecutive weeks). Approximately 2 hours before going to bed, all subjects completed the General Well-Being Questionnaire that was modified for this study to measure daily fluctuations in well-being. Hypotheses were examined using cosinor analysis and Pearson correlations. Temperature and activation were demonstrated to manifest circadian periodicities. There were no correlations between the parameters of these rhythms and the well-being of the subjects.

Activity Cycles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

First postoperative week activity patterns and recovery in women after coronary artery bypass surgery.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between activity-rest patterns and recovery in women during the first week after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABS). Twenty-five women wore wrist actigraphs to measure activity objectively throughout the first postoperative week. The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) and length of postoperative hospital stay (LOS) were used as measures of recovery. Analysis of the activity data indicated that 21 (84%) of the participants had statistically significant positive linear trends in activity. Spectrum analysis indicated that 18 participants had periods that could be defined as circadian, 1 had a shorter period, and 6 had longer periods. After controlling for the effect of preoperative functional status, the period and linear trend of activity explained 28% of the variance in the SIP score at 1 week and 33% of the variance in length of stay. Positive linear trends in activity and circadian activity periods were related to better functioning and shorter length of stay.

Activity Cycles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measurement of activity.

Activity is a phenomenon of concern to nursing. Although a wide variety of instruments have been used to measure activity, researchers have confronted barriers to its measurement in reliable, valid, and practical ways. Technological advances have stimulated theoretical and empirical developments in the study of activity by improving the physical instrumentation. This article presents an overview of methods used to measure human activity, with an emphasis on technological advances and the methods relevant to nursing. Self-report, behavioral observation, and mechanical and electronic activity measures are reviewed and critiqued.

Electronics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Managed care organizations' arrangements with nurse practitioners.

Thirty-four of 67 MCOs in New York and Connecticut responded to requests for information on the roles, participation, and listing of nurse practitioners as primary care providers or in other capacities. MCO executives report a high degree of satisfaction with NPs who serve as their primary care providers, especially in women's health and geriatrics, as they spend more time teaching and explaining procedures than physicians. Ongoing lack of up-to-date information and/or confusion about the scope of NP practice exists among both health care professionals and the public. Perceived differences in the scope of care provided by NPs was related to state regulations, physician practice patterns, and availability of primary care physicians. Eighty-five percent of MCO executives thought their organizations should encourage the use of NPs.

Connecticut↗