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Biomedical subjects

Lynn Rew

Publications and source records attributed to Lynn Rew.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Measuring cultural awareness in nursing students.

Recognizing the need for a valid and reliable way to measure outcomes of a program to promote multicultural awareness among nursing faculty and students, the authors developed a cultural awareness scale. In the first phase of the study, a scale consisting of 37 items was generated from a literature review on cultural awareness, sensitivity, and competence in nursing. A Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of .91 was obtained from a sample of 72 student nurses. In the second phase, the items were presented to a panel of experts in nursing and culture to determine content validity. A content validity index of .88 was calculated, and the total number of items on the scale was reduced to 36. The scale then was administered to 118 nursing students. Data from the two samples then were combined, and factor analysis was conducted to support construct validity. Cronbach's alpha for the combined samples was .82.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

Characteristics and health care needs of homeless adolescents.

There is a significant and growing number of adolescents who separate early from their families and become homeless. These youths are heterogeneous in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, but the majority come from families that have been disruptive or dysfunctional in some way. Homeless adolescents are vulnerable to a variety of physical and psychologic problems related not only to their family histories but to the stressful environments in which they try to survive. Although numerous federal, state, and local programs have been developed to meet their needs for shelter, health care, and education, much remains to be done to ensure their healthy development and to prepare them for responsible life in the larger society.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Sexual health practices of homeless youth.

PURPOSE: To describe the sexual health practices of homeless adolescents, examine relationships among variables in a conceptual model of sexual health practices, and determine direct and indirect effects of population characteristics, cognitive-perceptual factors, and behavioral factors on sexual health practices among homeless adolescents. DESIGN AND METHODS: Descriptive exploratory design. A survey was administered to a convenience sample of 414 homeless young men (244) and young women (170) aged 16-20 years, the majority of whom were Anglo American. FINDINGS: Thirty-five percent reported homosexual or bisexual orientation, and sexual orientation was reported as a reason for leaving home. Over half reported a history of sexual abuse and nearly one in four had been treated for gonorrhea. Safe-sex behaviors were related to age, time away from home, assertive communication, social support, future time perspective, connectedness, perceived health status, intentions to use condoms, and condom self-efficacy. A parsimonious model with good fit indicated that the only direct paths to safe-sex behaviors were future time perspective, intentions to use condoms, and self-efficacy to use condoms, and the direct paths to sexual self-care behaviors were from assertive communication, social support, and self-efficacy to use condoms. CONCLUSIONS: As in other studies of homeless youth, respondents reported a high incidence of sexual abuse and homosexual and bisexual orientation. Their safe-sex behaviors were surprisingly similar to those of university students, were modestly related to cognitive-perceptual variables in the sexual health model, and might be amenable to brief culturally relevant interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Safer sexual decision making in adolescent women: perspectives from the conflict theory of decision-making.

Adolescent women are at risk for unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including human immune deficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency deficiency syndrome (AIDS), if they do not engage in safer sexual practices. Adolescent women are biologically, behaviorally, and socially more at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV than adolescent men. Although abstinence is the safest sexual health practice for adolescent women, once sexual activity begins, safer sexual practices involve condom and contraceptive use, and communicating with sexual partners to negotiate condom use. A number of implicit and explicit decisions are involved in these activities. A number of researchers have examined safer sexual decisions of adolescent women, some of whom have used theory models such as the Transtheoretical Model of Change. Although these findings have contributed to the knowledge base about safer sexual decision making, many questions remain unanswered about how adolescent women make safer sexual decisions. The Conflict Model of Decision Making is presented and discussed as a framework for enhanced understanding of safer sexual decision making by adolescent women.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Planning a sexual health promotion intervention with homeless adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Homeless adolescents are at very high risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), but few street-based interventions have been developed, tested, and made available to reduce risk and promote sexual health within this growing population. OBJECTIVES: This study, part of a larger study of the sexual health practices of homeless adolescents, explores participants' perceived need for more knowledge about sexual health and their ideas about developing a brief intervention to promote positive sexual health practices that would reflect their perspective. METHODS: Four focus groups with five to six participants each were conducted with 22 youth aged 16-20 years, randomly selected from the study sample of 425 homeless youth. Most participants (82%) were White, one was American Indian, two were Hispanic, and one did not indicate ethnicity. Local groups were audiotape recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for manifest and latent content. RESULTS: Participants were knowledgeable about symptoms, transmission, prevention, and treatment of STDs, but perceived the need for more knowledge about types of hepatitis, cancer, and long-term sequelae of untreated STDs. Participants identified barriers to seeking diagnosis and treatment for symptoms of STDs including cost, not knowing where to go, and lack of services specifically for females. They suggested developing a sexual health intervention based on respect that would provide concrete examples of how to promote their sexual health. CONCLUSIONS: Homeless adolescents were generally knowledgeable about symptoms and prevention of STDs and thought that street outreach interventions should be (a) brief, (b) gender-specific, (c) focused on the unique vulnerabilities and strengths of homeless youth, and (d) accessible.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A theory of taking care of oneself grounded in experiences of homeless youth.

BACKGROUND: Homeless adolescents are vulnerable to poor health outcomes owing to the dangerous and stressful environments in which they live. Despite their vulnerability, many of them are motivated to engage in self-care behaviors. OBJECTIVE: The specific aim of this study was to explore self-care attitudes and behaviors of homeless adolescents. METHOD: Individual interviews were conducted with 15 homeless adolescents. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the constant comparative method of grounded theory. RESULTS: Findings revealed a basic social process of taking care of oneself in a high-risk environment. This basic social process was supported by three categories: Becoming Aware of Oneself, Staying Alive With Limited Resources, and Handling One's Own Health, each including two processes. DISCUSSION: Findings support Orem's conceptualizations of self-care and self-care agency and suggest the need for programs to support further healthy growth and development among homeless adolescents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Personal strengths of homeless adolescents living in a high-risk environment.

Health-risk behaviors and associated adverse health outcomes in homeless adolescents are well documented. Strengths of these youth that contribute to their health and well-being are seldom acknowledged. The purpose of this secondary analysis of qualitative data was to identify strengths that protect homeless youth. Two types of strengths emerged: resources and self-improvement. Resources served as the foundation for survival whereas self-improvement served as a process that enabled youth to consider a more healthy future. By recognizing the many strengths of homeless youth, nurses may develop community-based programs to help this population reenter society.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationships of sexual abuse, connectedness, and loneliness to perceived well-being in homeless youth.

ISSUES AND PURPOSE: To describe respondents' perceptions of connectedness, loneliness, and well-being; and to explore relationships among these variables. DESIGN AND METHOD: Survey data from 96 participants, focus group interviews with 32 participants, and 10 individual interviews were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty percent of the sample reported sexual abuse, which was significantly related to loneliness and inversely related to connectedness and perceived well-being. Subjects felt lonely and disconnected. They perceived their well-being in terms of current health status. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: High rates of sexual abuse, lack of connectedness, and loneliness may help to explain poor perceived well-being in homeless youth.

Adolescent↗