Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Rosalie Starzomski

Publications and source records attributed to Rosalie Starzomski.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Chinese Canadian beliefs toward organ donation.

The authors' purpose in this study is to explore the values and beliefs regarding organ donation of Chinese Canadians. Data collection involved individual interviews (n = 15) and focus groups. The major organizing categories were the importance of context, and values and beliefs. The context included little knowledge about donation and possible influence of spiritual or cultural values. Lack of communication and the need to preserve an intact body were themes that emerged in relation to death and dying. In relation to organ donation, most participants thought it was "a noble deed," but fears about organ donation were similar to those reported in other studies. It is important to note the considerable diversity in beliefs among these participants.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Indo-Canadian beliefs regarding organ donation.

CONTEXT: There is concern that a disproportionately high number of people of South Asian origin await transplantation in Canada. The donation rate is low in this population, and it is difficult to obtain good tissue matches. OBJECTIVE: To explore the values and beliefs regarding organ donation among Indo-Canadian people living in British Columbia. DESIGN: A naturalistic qualitative study was designed. Individual interviews and focus groups were held to collect data pertaining to beliefs regarding organ donation. SETTING: Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 40 Indo-Canadian persons participated; a wide range of ages, religions, and backgrounds were represented. RESULTS: The major themes that emerged from the data related to context (including family/community, religion, trust in the healthcare system, and knowledge about organ donation); and values and beliefs (including intergenerational considerations, death and dying, and the organ donation process). Participants noted that people from their community were reluctant to discuss death and relatedissues such as organ donation. Although there was recognition of the importance of individual decision making pertaining to organ donation, the participants believed that family and community members also should be involved. CONCLUSIONS: Beliefs varied considerably among participants, and one should not make assumptions about the beliefs of any one individual based primarily on that individual's membership in an ethnocultural community.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Ethical practice in nursing: working the in-betweens.

BACKGROUND: While contemporary ethical theory is of tremendous value to nursing, the extent to which such theory has been informed by the concerns and practices of nurses has been limited. PURPOSE: With a view to complementing extant ethical theory, a study was undertaken to explore, from the perspective of nurses, the meaning of ethics and the enactment of ethical practice in nursing. DESIGN AND METHODS: Located in the interpretive/constructivist paradigm, using an emergent design, this inquiry employed focus groups to collect the data. Eighty-seven nurses from a wide range of practice settings were interviewed in 19 focus groups of three to nine nurses each. FINDINGS: The nurses described ethics in their practice as both a way of being and a process of enactment. They described drawing on a wide range of sources of moral knowledge in a dynamic process of developing awareness of themselves as moral agents. Enacting moral agency involved working in a shifting moral context, and working in-between their own values and those of the organizations in which they worked, in-between their own values and those of others, and in-between competing values and interests. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the experiences and concerns of the nurses offered new understanding of ethics in nursing and direction for the development of ethical theory pertinent to nursing practice.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Aboriginal beliefs about organ donation: some Coast Salish viewpoints.

A large number of Aboriginal people await transplantation, and reluctance to donate organs has been noted among Aboriginal people. The purpose of this study was to explore the values and beliefs regarding organ donation of Coast Salish people living in British Columbia, Canada. Interviews were held with 14 people (8 women and 6 men) ranging in age from 25 to 63 years. Contextual themes were: lack of trust, life in Aboriginal communities, and tension between contemporary and traditional perspectives. Themes pertaining to death and dying were: acceptance of fate, death routines/rituals, and body wholeness. Themes pertaining to organ donation were: "we don't talk about it," transfer of spirit, and helping others. There was considerable diversity in beliefs among participants, which suggests that the beliefs held by an individual Aboriginal person should not be assumed to reflect those of any specific Aboriginal community.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The supply of organs for transplantation: issues and challenges.

The success of organ transplantation has been well documented, with improvements in quality of life and cost-effectiveness being notable outcomes of the therapy. In this paper, we focus on the major issues and challenges related to the shortage of solid organs available for transplantation. The reasons for the organ shortage are complex and multifaceted. Fewer motor vehicle accident deaths, public perceptions about organ donation, attitudes of health professionals, knowledge of health professionals regarding organ donation, donor identification processes, family consent rates, and ethnocultural considerations are all issues that are important to consider in addressing the shortage.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

Navigating towards a moral horizon: a multisite qualitative study of ethical practice in nursing.

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study of nurses' ethical decision-making. Focus groups of nurses in diverse practice contexts were used as a means to explore the meaning of ethics and the enactment of ethical practice. The findings centre on the metaphor of a moral horizon--the horizon representing "the good" towards which the nurses were navigating. The findings suggest that currents within the moral climate of nurses' work significantly influence nurses' progress towards their moral horizon. All too often, the nurses found themselves navigating against a current characterized by the privileging of biomedicine and a corporate ethos. Conversely, a current of supportive colleagues as well as professional guidelines and standards and ethics education helped them to move towards their horizon. The implications for nursing practice and for our understanding of ethical decision-making are discussed.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1995

What do ethics have to do with lifestyle change?

The discussions around health and health care suggest that many of the diseases prevalent in our society today are a direct result of lifestyle choices made by citizens. As these discussions continue, there is mounting evidence relating personal habits and lifestyle to major causes of mortality and morbidity. This evidence, coupled with the technological advances in health care and the resource allocation issues around health care delivery, is leading to a plethora of ethical concerns, questions and challenges. There has been little movement in society to begin to address these issues, although there is growing recognition that to solve these dilemmas a collaborative partnership of providers and consumers is required. In this paper, selected ethical issues associated with lifestyle and behaviour change are explored, with emphasis on the dilemmas that may occur as a result of differences in values. Various conceptual approaches to the issue of 'voluntariness' and several models for examining whether or not health risks are voluntary will be reviewed briefly. The use of interdisciplinary ethical decision making, and ongoing consumer and health care provider collaboration and dialogue, are emphasized as a means of beginning to solve these dilemmas.

Canada↗