The growing incidence of HIV infection and AIDS has generated panic, fear, anxiety, and negative attitudes among the general public. As an illness, HIV infection and AIDS have become the new sources of stigma. This article explores the stigma, rejection, and loneliness of 25 individuals with known HIV-infection/AIDS, who were interviewed using a set of open-ended questions. The results indicated that the HIV-positive diagnosis had a profound impact on the individual's psychosocial aspects of life, particularly interactions with others. Most of those infected by the virus were lonely, had to cope with stigmatization, and suffered disruption of family and peer relationships. They were confronted with prolonged uncertainty about their lives and experienced intense, constant fear of disclosure of their illness and of being rejected by society, yet they were not always able to discuss these fears and anxieties openly with friends or family.
Osteoporosis and related fractures are a major cause of disability, institutionalization, and death among aging women. Unless prevented or actively treated, osteoporosis will continue to limit both the quantity and quality of life for many older women and significantly add to the health care costs of this rapidly growing population group. This study was designed to assess women's knowledge and practices regarding the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. A descriptive/exploratory design was used to survey a convenience sample of 185 women. Measures of knowledge and practices were obtained with a hand-delivered questionnaire. Data were statistically and thematically described. The results suggest that women are receiving inadequate information about osteoporosis, possess limited knowledge about the disease, and are not taking adequate measures to prevent or treat osteoporosis as they age. Implications for health education on these issues are addressed and plans for future research are briefly discussed.
My purpose in writing this article is to describe the various ways expectant women acquire childbirth knowledge. The data presented here form a small section of a bigger study that examined how expectant women from two cultures prepare for childbirth. The aims of the study were to explore the reasons why some expectant women choose to attend preparation classes run by non-health-care professionals and to describe the ways childbirth knowledge was disseminated to women at the preparation classes. Interviews containing structured and open-ended questions were used to obtain data. The first interview followed completion of a series of eight preparation classes and the second was conducted one month after delivery. Observation techniques were used to collect data on the teaching strategies and the content of classes. Ninety-five expectant women participated in the study. Data analysis included frequency counts and percentages on all structured questions. The open-ended questions were analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify major categories and themes. These were reviewed by a panel of childbirth educators for reliability. Frequencies were calculated for the number of responses in each category. Findings show that women acquire childbirth knowledge in various ways at the classes. They used this information to negotiate their care with health care professionals.
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