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Biomedical subjects

J Wilbur

Publications and source records attributed to J Wilbur.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Prevalence of hepatitis B in a high-risk setting: a serologic study of patients and staff in a pediatric oncology unit.

The prevalence of serologic markers for hepatitis B virus (HBV) among 188 patients and 158 employees in a pediatric oncology unit was evaluated. Evidence of past or present HBV infection was detected in 33 patients (18%) and in 25 employees (16%). The prevalence was higher among patients receiving chemotherapy (19%) than among those not receiving chemotherapy (7%). The prevalence of HBV serologic markers, while much higher than generally found among healthy children in the United States, was low compared to previously reported prevalences in such settings, and may reflect the use in recent years of blood and blood products screened by "third generation" methods (radioimmunoassay and reversed passive hemagglutination) for hepatitis B surface antigen and the use of all volunteer blood donors. This prevalence suggests that perhaps there is less urgent need for the use of hepatitis B immune globulin and hepatitis B vaccine (when it becomes available) in oncology units than had been anticipated from earlier data in oncology units.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Women's physical activity patterns: nursing implications.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method of categorizing patterns of physical activity by describing the frequency, intensity, and duration of women's activities. DESIGN: A 24-cell quota sample stratified by four occupations, two races, and three age groups. SETTING: Ten employment sites. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred seventy-six women, ages 35-65 years, who worked 20 or more hours per week at their job, were not currently using hormone replacement therapy, not pregnant, and did not have a hysterectomy before the age of 53. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An interviewer and self-administered, retrospective occupational, household, and leisure physical activity questionnaire covering the previous 12 months and lifelong activity. RESULTS: Five patterns of household and leisure physical activity were identified: vigorous, continuous, cumulative, occasional, and inactive. Participation in the vigorous pattern was low, but 34% followed a continuous pattern of leisure activity and 75% followed a continuous pattern of household activity. The number of weekly work hours did not affect the household or leisure pattern. CONCLUSION: Women may be able to obtain the recommended levels of physical activity from a combination of occupational, household, and leisure activities. Nursing recommendations should guide women to increase their regular leisure physical activity and/or accumulate sessions of moderate-intensity activity by aerobically enhancing daily activities in which they already participate.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Career trends of master's prepared family nurse practitioners.

The purpose of this study was to examine the career trends of family nurse practitioner (FNP) graduates of one master's program. A questionnaire was mailed to all FNPs (N = 113) who graduated 1-11 years earlier; there was a response rate of 83%. The survey revealed that for both first and present jobs the majority were providing direct patient care as a primary care provider or practicing in an indirect role. The study findings indicate that for these graduates there is a long term commitment (demonstrated through continued employment) as well as opportunity to practice in the nurse practitioner role in a direct or indirect capacity.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of health assessment skills.

This article presents the reliability and validity data on a checklist used to evaluate health assessment skills. In 1982, the nurse practitioner faculty at a large midwestern university acknowledged that health assessment skills were basic to the preparation of all nurses and made the decision to require these skills for entry into the graduate program. Because of the varying ways in which health assessment skills are acquired, the faculty saw the need to standardize the expected level of performance. An objective, three-page instrument to measure student competence in performing and recording a health history and physical examination for a client of any age is administered prior to beginning the nurse practitioner sequence of courses. The 91 objective items for this instrument are based on the traditional outline for writing up a client history and physical examination. Criteria for the items are located in an accompanying manual. The student achieves a "Yes" rating on an item if all the components of the item are performed and written according to the criteria. Reliability of the tool was assessed by 12 faculty members who participated in a simulated evaluation. The tool has been used to evaluate the skills of 165 nurses. Of these, 149 nurses were enrolled in a continuing education course, and 16 nurses tested out of a health assessment course.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measurement Properties of the Symptom Impact Inventory.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the measurement properties of the Symptom Impact Inventory using both psychometric and Rasch analyses. This inventory is designed for generally healthy midlife women. The sample included 340 midlife women aged 45-65 representing two studies. The first study involved Black and White employed sedentary women (n = 161) who volunteered for a walking intervention. The second study of migration and health included women who were recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union (n = 179). The women reported experiencing an average of 13.44 symptoms (S.D.=7.88) with a range of 1 to 32. Principal components analysis identified 5 components in this sample. Rasch measurement analysis found excellent model fit for the Symptom Impact Inventory with only 2 symptoms, Decreased appetite and Decreased sexual desire or interest, unstable in scale dimensionality analyses. Person and item parameters were reliable, and comparisons with groups known to differ on symptom reporting provided substantial validity. Although the two sample groups differed significantly on most demographic characteristics, a cross-cultural comparison found the scale structure remarkably robust.

Black or African American↗