Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

The MOS social support survey.

Cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures: literature review and proposed guidelines.

Research in aging has emphasized average age-related losses and neglected the substantial heterogeneity of older persons. The effects of the aging process itself have been exaggerated, and the modifying effects of diet, exercise, personal habits, and psychosocial factors underestimated. Within the category of normal aging, a distinction can be made between usual aging, in which extrinsic factors heighten the effects of aging alone, and successful aging, in which extrinsic factors play a neutral or positive role. Research on the risks associated with usual aging and strategies to modify them should help elucidate how a transition from usual to successful aging can be facilitated.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/237/4811/143.full.pdf

Human aging: usual and successful

Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer

The relationship of social support and health.

This study tests the competing arguments that organization-level turnover is positively associated with organizational inefficiency or, alternatively, positively related to organizational inefficiency only in those organizations experiencing very high or very low turnover. Findings from multivariate analyses support the former argument: in a national sample of 333 hospitals, turnover among registered nurses was found to be associated in a positive linear fashion with both nonpersonnel operating and personnel costs per adjusted inpatient day.

/pdf/nursing-turnover-and-hospital-efficiency-an-organization-rgxjrweaf8.pdf

Nursing Turnover and Hospital Efficiency: An Organization-Level Analysis

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. While almost a quarter of women diagnosed with breast cancer are 50 or younger, few studies are focused on them. Compared to older women, young women have more difficulty adjusting to the breast cancer diagnosis, report more symptoms of distress and a lower quality of life. This study examined depressive symptoms among an ethnically diverse sample of 331 young women, newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The focus was to determine the relative importance of biological, psychological and social variables as correlates of their level of depression. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that a model combining these variables is more highly correlated with depressive symptoms than using biological, psychological or social variables separately. Single measures including bodily pain, self-esteem, level of emotional support and age had independent effects in the combined regression model. Early intervention may prevent these biopsychosocial symptoms progressing to major depression and, thus, enhance the quality of life.

Depression experienced by young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

The effects of family environment on the psychological adjustment of 54 women with metastatic carcinoma of the breast were studied over a one-year period. Family environment was assessed using the Family Environment Scale (FES) and a descriptive checklist, and adjustment was measured using the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Patients described their families as supportive and relatively free of conflict, and their spouses or other family members agreed moderately with them. Patient mood disturbance during the year was made the dependent variable in a stepwise multiple regression analysis, with FES subscale scores at the beginning of the year and other control variables as predictors. Better adjustment was found to be predicted by more expressiveness and less conflict and moral-religious orientation in the family. These findings are presented as evidence that the family is a crucial factor in patient adjustment, and that 'conspiracies of silence' in the family may be harmful. A clinical illustration is pres...

Joan R. Bloom

Papers

The relationship of social support and health.

Nursing Turnover and Hospital Efficiency: An Organization-Level Analysis

Depression experienced by young women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

Family Environment as a Predictor of Adjustment to Metastatic Breast Carcinoma

Surviving and thriving