Joan K. Magilvy

Circles of care: Home care and community support for rural older adults

Rural dwelling, frail older adults are a vulnerable population owing to the complexity of health problems superimposed upon limited health care resources. Home care facilitates managing complex health needs and is congruent with rural valued independence. An ethnography was conducted to describe rural home care for frail older adults from the perspective of those delivering and receiving services. A major theme identified was “Circles of Care.” Grounded in rural culture, the circles assisted the system of formal care to work in harmony with informal care, maintaining independence for vulnerable rural elderly and their families.

Investing in self-care: a midrange theory of self-care grounded in the lived experience of low-income HIV-positive white women.

Little is known about the types of interventions that invite low-income women into partnerships that motivate self-care practices when living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The increasing incidence of HIV infection in low-income women with histories of inattention to self-care calls for nursing theories that address self-care practices. The purpose of this article is to describe a midrange theory developed from grounded theory research and to discuss implications of theoretical construction for future knowledge development. For the 12 women in this study, self-care practices developed over time and through four categories: focusing self, fitting resources, feeling emotions, and finding meaning. The core category, investing in self-care, linked the categories and carried explanatory power for developing midrange theory. Implications for nursing knowledge development through partnerships with low-income women are discussed.

Rural nursing homes: a housing option for older adults

Rural conditions and circumstances contribute to different perspectives on institutional long-term care. A rural ethnographic study revealed issues of transition into and out of nursing homes as identified and illustrated by older adults, their families, and care providers. Findings included the use of rural nursing homes as an alternate housing option because of limited assisted-living options, appropriate and inappropriate referrals to nursing homes, and strained family caregivers. Helping olders adults and families evaluate and access appropriate community resources, including housing, is essential to providing continuity of care.

Health of Adolescents: Research in School Health

A community analysis and research strategy called Project GENESIS is described in this article. Combining quantitative and qualitative research methods, Project GENESIS emphasizes the qualitative research strategy of ethnography.The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the overall health of the aggregate of teenagers in a moderate sized town in northern Colorado. Data analysis revealed findings related to teen lifestyles, health and health services, substance abuse, and pregnancy. Recommendations to improve the health of teenagers based on the findings are presented. Implications of this type of research for school and community health nursing are discussed.