Nursing-Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11274/8864
Browse
Browsing Nursing-Dissertations by Subject "Abused"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Abused women's perceptions of health before and after seeking help at a Police Department(1999-08) Malecha, Ann; McFarlane, Judith; Young, Anne; Watson, MaryThis study describes how intimate partner violence (IPV) affects abused women's health and their perceptions of health before and after seeking help at a police department regarding the IPV in their lives. A descriptive, longitudinal, repeated-measures design was employed to examine the hypothesis that there would be a change over time in the health perceptions of abused women who go to a police department with the intent to file assault charges (helpseeking) against an intimate partner. A consecutive sample of 90 abused women attempting to file charges and meeting study criteria was obtained during a 35-day period. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to assess the women's health perceptions for the 3-months prior to seeking help and was readministered at three and six months following helpseeking. Mean scores were calculated for each of the eight SF-36 scales at the three separate time intervals and a multivariate approach one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) tested the hypothesis. Internal consistency reliability of the SF-36 was estimated by calculation of Cronbach's alpha for the eight scales of the instrument. Of the 90 abused women who were interviewed at time of helpseeking, 87 were available at three months (97%) and 83 were available at six months for a 92% final retention rate. The data analysis revealed this sample of abused women reported poor physical and mental scores on the SF-36 at time of helpseeking. Over time, perceptions of health did significantly improve for the scales of Bodily Pain (F2,81 = 27.58, p < .0005), Vitality (F2,81 = 13.21, p < .0005), Social Functioning (F2,81 = 8.17, p = .001), Emotional Role Performance (F 2,81 = 16.85, p < .0005), and Mental Health (F2,81 = 25.33, p < .0005). For these five scales, perceptions of health improved significantly both at three and six months after helpseeking. Adequate reliability of the SF-36 with the abused women was demonstrated.Item Extent of violence and danger of homicide before and after abused women seek help(1999-08) Willson, Pamela Carey; McFarlane, Judith M.; Watson, Mary; Young, AnneA descriptive longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate the extent of violence and danger for homicide experienced by women before and after they filed assault against an intimate partner through a Family Violence Unit (FVU) of a large urban police department. A consecutive sample of 90 women were interviewed at the FVU using three instruments: Demographic Data Form (DDF), Danger Assessment (DA) (Campbell, 1986) scale, and Severity of Violence Against Women Scale (SVAWS) (Marshall, 1992). Of the women, 54% were African-American, 28% Latino/Hispanic, and 14% Caucasian. Ages ranged from 19 to 59 years ( M = 3 1, SD = 9.04). The majority of women were employed (n = 59, 65.6%) making less than $30,000 a year (n = 70, 77.8%). Of the initial 90 subjects, 83 women completed the 3- and 6-month follow-up interviews (92% retention rate). The SVAWS summated scores for two subscales—Threats of Violence and Actual Violence—and DA were analyzed using repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs). The women reported significant reductions in violence and danger of homicide between prefiling and 3-months and prefiling and 6-months. No change was found between the time frame of 3 and 6 months. The effect sizes for threats and actual abuse ranged from 1.87 to 2.65. Data indicated the intervention of referring women to the police was an appropriate intervention that can dramatically reduce the abused woman's extent of violence and danger of homicide for at least 6 months after the woman seeks to file assault charges.Item Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis and chlamydia trachomatis among pregnant abused Hispanic women(1998-12) King, Elizabeth; McFarlane, JudithA case-control descriptive survey was completed as part of a chart audit in order to compare the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among a cohort of abused pregnant Hispanic women who attended three prenatal clinics of a large, metropolitan public health system between September 1, 1995, and August 31, 1996, and to compare this figure with prevalence of BV and CT in a larger group of pregnant Hispanic women who were not abused. The sample of 701 consisted of 233 abused and 468 nonabused women. The pre-admission book at each clinic was used to compile the list of nonabused women who attended their first prenatal clinic visit on the same day as the abused women. Demographic comparison of the two groups revealed no significant difference at the .05 level, two-tailed, for age, pregnancy gestation at entry into prenatal care, or number of clinic visits. Comparison of the two groups on the basis of vaginal infection indicated no difference in CT infection prevalence, but the z score of 1.986 revealed a significant difference between the two groups in diagnosed bacterial vaginosis. The results of this study indicate that, in this population of pregnant Hispanic women, reported abuse is associated with a significantly higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis. BV infection is a risk factor for preterm delivery; therefore, the abused pregnant Hispanic woman is more at risk for BV and associated preterm delivery than the nonabused pregnant Hispanic woman.