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Biomedical subjects

E Ahmann

Publications and source records attributed to E Ahmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Home apnea monitoring and disruptions in family life: a multidimensional controlled study.

We used data from telephone interviews and mailed questionnaires to examine 12 aspects of family life among 93 families with infants considered at high risk for sudden infant death syndrome and on home apnea monitors and a matched comparison group with infants not requiring monitoring. Using logistic regression to control confounding variables, we found that case mothers were at an increased risk of poor health, but we found no other significant differences in family life between the two groups.

Apnea↗
PubMed1986

An annotated bibliography on respite care for children and families.

With an increasing emphasis on home care, more and more children with severe disabilities and chronic-acute health impairments will be cared for at home. Care of these children places great financial, physical, and emotional strains on families. Adequate support for families is essential to prevent costly rehospitalization, foster placement, or worse. Respite care is a supportive service that is an important part of every effective plan for home care. This bibliography offers annotations on a range of materials directly addressing or closely related to the topic of respite care for children and families. The bibliography will be useful for the reader searching for general material on the topic as well as the reader interested in specific aspects of respite care, including family perceptions, program models, funding issues, and training. Annotations on articles, reports, books, and some government materials are provided. Additionally, a listing of training materials, and where they can be obtained, is provided without annotations after the bibliography.

Bibliographies as Topic↗
PubMed1983

There's no place like home.

Many children with chronic illness or handicapping conditions may not need continual or frequent institutional care, provided that suitable home care services are available. Yet, planning and experimentation with the concept of pediatric home care is just beginning on both the national and local levels and the concept of home care has yet to become widely understood and accepted. As a result, health planners and policy markers often fail to realize the potential advantage of home care to children, to families, and to society. Instead of seeing it as the most humane and effective way of caring for the chronically ill child, they see it as an increased financial burden. They also lack the perspective needed to realize that home care is ultimately the most cost-effective health care alternative, since it involves investing in people rather than in buildings or equipment. This report attempts to disseminate more widely the concept of home care by recounting a 2-year experience with a hospital-based pediatric home care service.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of home apnea monitors.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the frequency of use of home apnea monitors, reasons for not using them, and factors associated with their use among families of infants for whom home monitoring had been prescribed. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, including a telephone interview to collect demographic data and a mailed questionnaire to obtain data on monitor use. SETTING: The apnea clinics in two tertiary-care centers. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-three families (representing an 80.9% response rate) with infants considered at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome and requiring home monitors. Infants with tracheostomies or bronchopulmonary dysplasia and families with monitored twins, a mother known to be drug addicted, or no home telephone were excluded. RESULTS: Of concern were that 23.1% of mothers reported using the monitor 12 or fewer hours per day and that 10.8% believed their infants did not need a monitor. Of 11 variables examined, only color change in the infant was associated with frequency of monitor use. CONCLUSIONS: Clear, consistent communication with families regarding the use of apnea monitors is essential to improve compliance with proper monitoring techniques.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Review and commentary: two studies regarding giving "bad news".

Informing parents of the diagnosis of a chronic illness or disability in their child can be a difficult task. At the same time it is critical that the informing is done well. Two studies examining parental reactions to the "informing interview" (Krahn, Hallum, & Kime, 1993; Garwick, Patterson, Bennett, & Blum, 1995) support the conventional considerations that both parents, in a two-parent family, should be together when told of their child's diagnosis; parents should be informed early on; simple, direct language without medical jargon should be used; and the informing professional should be both empathetic and supportive of parental emotional expression. These studies raise additional considerations including the importance of meeting with parents in person, informing parents in a private setting, pointing out the child's strengths as well as limitations, and individualizing both the communication style and information shared. Cross cultural considerations, while not addressed in either of these studies, require attention to language interpretation, meaning assigned to the diagnosis, and potentially differing treatment preferences. In all cases, nurses should evaluate the effectiveness of the informing interview in relation to the family's affective and information needs. Each of these considerations should be part of the process of an informing interview.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Exploring language about families.

When we work with families in health care settings, it is important to be aware of the way we communicate. Often overlooked is how the language we use to describe and understand families affects how we work with them. The language we use in thinking about a family can shape our perceptions of the family and may affect how we approach working with them. The language we use in describing a family to another health care provider can affect how that person will perceive and approach the family. The language families hear us use can affect families' perceptions of themselves, their perceptions of us, and, consequently, how they relate to us. In Project Copernicus' Family Centered Communication Skills: Facilitator's Guide (Edelman, Greenland, & Mills, 1993), an activity entitled "Watch Our Language" explores commonly used negative terminology about families and guidelines for better language. This exercise has been used with groups of nurses and other health care providers at several conferences and has generated thoughtful brainstorming about negative language related to families, its impact on families, and its impact on the nurses working with them. Those participating in the workshops explored better terminology about families and brainstormed a list of selected family strengths which are shared here.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Working with families having parents who are gay or lesbian.

Families in which one or both parents are gay or lesbian are becoming increasingly common as social acceptance of this lifestyle increases and legal barriers slowly erode. Despite past concerns and occasional reports to the contrary, the bulk of research has shown no evidence that children of parents who are gay or lesbian suffer any greater physical or mental pathology than children of heterosexual parents. However, research does suggest that there may be ways in which health care providers can be more respectful and supportive of homosexual parents and their families. Health care providers should examine their own attitudes toward these families and consider how to provide a welcoming environment and presence. Using gender neutral language about spouses, displaying posters and publications related to varied family types, and acknowledging both parents as participants in care are some examples. Health care providers who are aware of the special concerns these parents and their children may have, including stigmatization, the issue of disclosure, teasing, feeling different, and the stress resulting from challenges faced due to anti-homosexual social attitudes, can demonstrate sensitivity to the involved children and provide families with anticipatory guidance, support, suggested reading material, and referrals to appropriate organizations.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Guns in the home: nurses' roles.

Firearms in the home are an increasing concern for parents and health professionals alike. A number of professional groups have begun to speak out about firearm safety and children. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) have position statements on the issue. The AAP recommends that pediatricians incorporate questions about guns into patient histories and also urge parents who possess guns, especially handguns, to remove them from the home. The SPN (1998) says that "[p]ediatric nurses, employed in a variety of settings, have the opportunity to educate parents and children about gun violence and prevention of firearm injuries." Nurses and other professionals can easily access information and strategies to address firearm safety with families. See Table 1 for a list of resources that are available online.

Firearms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Child abuse quilts: revealing and healing the pain of child abuse.

According to the recent government report, Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports From the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, almost 3 million reports of child abuse and neglect were filed in the United States in 1997. The number of substantiated or indicated maltreatment cases decreased from more than 1 million child victims in 1996 to about 984,000 in 1997. More than half of the reports involved neglect, about one-fourth involved physical abuse, and 12% included sexual abuse, and an estimated 1,197 fatalities resulted from child maltreatment in 1997. In response to the issue of child maltreatment, the Child Abuse Quilts Project was conceived. At least 28 quilts were made for this project, visually addressing the subject of child abuse, child abuse prevention, and violence against children. Mary Beth Goodman, curator of the quilt exhibit says, "The quilters put these quilts before you, not to make you turn away from their quilts in distaste, but to make you think about child abuse and its impact on the child, the survivor, the family, the community. Change comes slowly, heart by heart. We hope that each person who sees these quilts with [be]... re-awakened to the tragedy of child abuse and resolved to prevent it" Ten of these quilts are displayed here; all 28 are displayed on the Internet at members.tripod.com/mbgoodman/ caqpics/caqindex.html.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Supporting families' savvy use of the Internet for health research.

An increasing number of health care consumers are using the Internet for health-related research through Web sites, newsgroups, chat rooms, and listserves. This use of the Internet can be empowering for consumers. It encourages both collaboration and a family-centered approach to care and could contribute to improved outcomes and cost savings. At the same time, care and caution are needed regarding interpretation of health-related information obtained on the Internet. Nurses can help consumers become Internet savvy and learn ways to evaluate the likelihood that information they find on the Internet is from a reputable site. First, health care consumers using the Web should be encouraged to be skeptical and to approach Internet health research with a clear list of questions that can be used to evaluate Internet sites. Second, several on-line "site-checkers" can be applied to achieve a similar evaluation. A third approach is to look for the emblem of the Health on the Net Foundation's voluntary Code of Conduct (HONCode) for medical and health Web sites. Finally, open, collaborative relationships among health care consumers, families, and health care providers will encourage a discussion of the relevance and applicability of an individual's Internet research findings to the medical or nursing care plan.

Caregivers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

New guidance materials promote family-centered change in health care institutions.

Nurses can play an important role as effective change agents in helping health care agencies and institutions recognize the need to move to more family-centered models, understand the benefits of a family-centered approach, and develop strategies for implementing family-centered care. The Institute for Family-Centered Care has identified a number of areas in which many institutions wish to make changes and has been developing guidance materials that explore possibilities, highlight hospitals that have incorporated changes, and provide practical strategies and useful materials to facilitate change. Topics covered in these guidance resources include the following: Developing Family-Centered Vision, Mission, and Philosophy of Care Statements; Developing and Sustaining a Patient and Family Advisory Council; Collaborative Design Planning; Creating Children's Advisory Councils; Creating and Enhancing Patient and Family Resource Centers; Creating Patient and Family Faculty Programs; Working with Seniors and their Families to Enhance Geriatric Care; and Changing Visiting Practices--Families as Partners.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Promoting normal development in school-age children and adolescents who are technology dependent: a family centered model.

Normal life experiences foster development and encourage psychological and social competence in children. This article describes a family-centered approach to developmental assessment and intervention with the aim of normalizing the life experiences of school-age children and adolescents who are dependent on or assisted by medical technology.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family impact of home apnea monitoring: an overview of research and its clinical implications.

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical applicability of research findings related to home apnea monitoring. METHOD: A critical review of descriptive and explanatory research on family impact of home apnea monitoring. FINDINGS: Strengths and limitations of the research are identified. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical practice implications of the research findings are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developmental assessment of the technology-dependent infant and young child.

Appropriate developmental intervention for the technology-dependent infant or young child has its basis in a carefully designed and thorough assessment. The role of the nurse is central in this process. This article guides the nurse through an analysis of developmentally relevant medical considerations, an examination of tolerance and endurance, the determination of developmental level, an approach to working with families, and the process of translating assessment data into intervention plans.

Child Development↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thinking critically about family-centered home care nursing.

Family-centered care is receiving increasing attention. Nowhere is this approach to care more fitting than in the home care setting. Yet, in this setting, critical questions arise that test the boundaries of family-centered practice. Nurses must address these questions, and must engage in dialogue both with other nurses and with family members as part of thinking critically about family-centered home care nursing.

Child↗