No abstract

Although this sample was limited, the findings indicate barriers for attention by health care providers to ensure appropriate prenatal care and maternal and infant health.

SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to determine the effect of home care provided for stroke patients and education of caregivers on the caregiver burden and quality of life. The study was conducted by using a true experimental method with pre-test and post-test control group. The study included 43 experimental and 43 control patients and their caregivers. The Patient and Caregiver Description Form, Patient Problem Identifying Form, Caregiving Burden Scale and SF-36 Quality of Life Scale were used to collect data in the study. Nursing care was provided to the experimental group patients according to the model of daily living activities, while their caregivers received training and consultancy. In the control group, there was no such intervention. Percentage distribution, χ2, independent sample t-test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used on statistical analyses. There was no significant difference in pre-test score means between experimental and control group caregivers. However, a statistically significant difference was found in all sub-dimensions of the quality of life scale between pre-test and post-test score means in the experimental group caregivers. This study results indicated that home care provided for stroke patients and education of caregivers decreased the caregiver burden and increased their quality of life.

No abstract

Results of the study suggest that the nurses need to be aware of patients' and caregivers' psychological reactions to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, which may be expressed in feelings of loneliness and depression, and employ social support resources for patients with peritoneal dialysis and caregivers to cope with their illness and to adapt lifestyle changes.

This study demonstrated a relationship between care given according to Watson's Caring model and increased quality of life of the patients with hypertension. Further, in those patients for whom the caring model was practised, there was a relationship between the Caring model and a decrease in patient's blood pressure. The Watson Caring Model is recommended as a guide to nursing patients with hypertension, as one means of decreasing blood pressure and increase in quality of life.

Symptom cluster research is still in its early years. Further work is needed to reach a standard definition of a symptom cluster and a consensus of its criteria. Additional studies are needed to examine symptom clusters in cancer survivors. As individuals are living longer with the disease, comprehensive understanding of the symptom clusters that may be unique to cancer survivors is critical.

The purposes of this study were to establish the range of needs of women with breast cancer and to examine how women's needs might form clusters that could provide the basis for developing a standardized scale of needs for use by local breast care nurses in the evaluation of care. The sample consisted of 143 women with breast cancer who were admitted to the outpatient and inpatient oncology clinics in a university hospital in Erzurum, Turkey. The data were collected by questionnaire, and included demographic characteristics and the self-assessed support needs of women with breast cancer. Statistical analyses have shown that the standardized scale of needs has statistically acceptable levels of reliability and validity. The women's support needs mostly clustered in Family and Friends (79%) and After Care (78.3%). The most frequently required support category was Family and Friend; however, the women were in need of support of all categories. In terms of age ranges, there are statistically significant differences in relation to Femininity and Body Image, and Family and Friends of the seven categories. Women experienced a high level of needs associated with a diagnosis of breast cancer. The results in this study should increase awareness among cancer care professionals about a range of psychosocial needs and may help them target particular patient groups for particular support interventions.