Katherine Bowman

Postpartum learning needs.

OBJECTIVE To describe the methodological differences of postpartum learning needs studies and organize them for comparison with similar studies. DATA SOURCES Computerized literature searches of CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Health Star databases. STUDY SELECTION Reports published in English before 2003 and relevant to the keywords concerns, needs, interests, worries, priorities, postpartum, teaching, and learning. DATA EXTRACTION Data were extracted and information organized according to subject parity, maternal self-care content, infant care content, length of data collection, and week of the postpartum period. DATA SYNTHESIS Stitches, episiotomy, and postpartum complications were the most important maternal care learning needs during the first 3 postpartum days, and feeding and illness were the most important infant care learning needs during the first 7 postpartum days. CONCLUSIONS More studies are needed to fill the postpartum learning needs research gaps, build on the findings of previous studies, and produce clinically useful information for practicing nurses.

A Research Synthesis Overview

The volume of research literature is enormous, so keeping up with the latest studies is difficult. Systematic reviews are a form of research that pools the results of multiple studies. Quantitative reviews statistically pool results, and qualitative reviews narratively pool results. Reviews are becoming common, but some nurses may be unaware of what a systematic review is and how to conduct one. The aim of this overview is to acquaint nurses with qualitative systematic reviews (research syntheses) by providing information about where to begin a synthesis, the stages of the synthesis process, and how to write a manuscript to report synthesis results.

Interaction of Duration of Homelessness and Gender on Adolescent Sexual Health Indicators

PURPOSE The purpose of this analysis was to determine the effects of duration of homelessness and gender on personal and social resources, cognitive-perceptual factors, and sexual health behaviors among homeless youth. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of data collected at baseline from 461 homeless adolescents who participated in a sexual health intervention study was done. METHOD Data were collected via laptop computers from homeless adolescents (mean age=19.52+1.91 years) in both comparison and intervention groups before the initiation of the intervention. FINDINGS Significant interaction effects were found for personal and social resources F (4, 426)=2.83, p<.05. Male participants who had been homeless<6 months had significantly higher scores on social connectedness than did male participants who were homeless>1 year. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that both boys and girls who had been homeless>1 year had greater AIDS knowledge, F (1, 441)=7.91, p<.01, reported significantly more sexual risk-taking behaviors, F (1, 396)=9.93, p<.05, and engaged in fewer safe-sex behaviors, F (1, 396)=12.05, p<.05, than did those who had been homeless<6 months. Univariate ANOVA indicated that female participants had significantly lower levels of perceived health status, F (1, 429)=12.08, p<.01, significantly greater sexual self-care behaviors, F (1, 396)=16.29, p<.01, and significantly higher levels of assertive communication F (1, 396)=4.03, p<.05 than did male participants, regardless of duration of homelessness. CONCLUSIONS The duration of homelessness and gender has both direct and interaction effects on cognitive-perceptual and behavioral outcomes associated with sexual health. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Nurses and other healthcare providers working with homeless youth recognize the need to develop brief interventions that address health-risk behaviors. Findings from this study indicate that gender-specific interventions should be provided to youth soon after they become homeless.

WHEN BREASTFEEDING MAY BE A THREAT TO ADOLESCENT MOTHERS

Sexually abused girls are at risk for premature motherhood. The adolescents who become mothers often do not breastfeed. This review examines the literature and discusses the mental health consequences of childhood sexual abuse that may influence the feeding decisions of adolescent mothers. Adolescents may be reluctant to breastfeed because it may trigger anxiety and lead to discomfort with intimacy, and emotional distancing from their infants. Nurses need to be sensitive to potential sexual abuse histories among adolescent mothers. They should provide balanced and unbiased information to their adolescent patients about feeding methods and encourage adolescents to select the methods best for them.

The challenges of studying childhood sexual abuse among adolescent mothers.

Sexual abuse researchers are faced with many challenges. This article begins with a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of topic sensitivity and describes difficulties specific to the study of childhood sexual abuse among adolescent mothers. In the last part of this article, suggestions for diminishing the difficulties and factors to consider when planning future studies are discussed. The aim of this article is to prepare novice researchers for the challenges that may occur while studying childhood sexual abuse among adolescent mothers and provide them with solutions to consider when they encounter such challenges.

Sexual self-concept in sexually abused homeless adolescents

This study explored gender differences, sexual self-concept and life on the street among homeless adolescents who self-reported a history of sexual abuse. Individual interviews were conducted with 13 adolescents (six males and seven females) aged 18–20 years. There were salient themes shared by both males and females (vulnerability, sexual harassment, survival sex), and one theme specific to bisexual adolescents. Both males and females described aspects of their vulnerability related to being male or female. More than half the participants also described incidents of sexual harassment. In addition, both males and females stated that females needed the protection of males. Only one theme specific to youth with a bisexual orientation emerged related to the advantages of being bisexual. The findings indicate that sexual maturation takes place within the context of social and cognitive changes that can profoundly influence an individuals ability to develop a healthy sexual self-concept, including sexual awareness, sexual assertiveness, sexual self-efficacy, sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction and motivation to avoid risky sex. Further exploration related to sexual self-concept, the prevalence of sexual abuse and the impact of a sexual abuse history on the street life of homeless adolescents is warranted.

Commentary on “Loving-Kindness Meditation for Chronic Low Back Pain”

When I first read the words loving-kindness meditation (LKM) in the title of the report written by Carson et al. (2005 [this issue]), my first thought was that this article is more suitable for a new age magazine than a professional journal. I felt a little embarrassed for nursing and wondered why a peer-reviewed journal would print an article with such dubious scientific merit. However, after reading the report, I found that the study was thoughtfully designed, was rigorously conducted, and showed promising results. Certainly, more research is needed, but these preliminary findings indicate that LKM may provide a method of low back pain relief that is simple to use, noninvasive, and relatively inexpensive.

Childhood Maltreatment Among Community Dwelling Adult Latinas

There is a lack of research about childhood maltreatment among adult Latinas in the United States. The aim of this secondary analysis was to explore the occurrence and co-occurrence of maltreatment during childhood in a community-dwelling sample of adult Latinas. Participants were 62 women ages 18–45 who read and spoke English, attended work or school on a regular basis, and had no health or functional interferences with daily living. On average, participants were 29 years of age (M = 29.08, SD = 9.30), high school graduates (n = 36, 58.1%), married (n = 36, 58.1%), and employed (n = 27, 43.5%). Over three quarters of participants (n = 49, 79.0%) reported at least one form of childhood maltreatment: emotional abuse (n = 24, 38.7%), physical abuse (n = 29, 46.8%), sexual abuse (n = 29, 46.8%), emotional neglect (n = 27, 43.5%), and physical neglect (n = 23, 37.1%). Maltreatment severity increased with the number of maltreatment forms. Women sexually abused during childhood were more likely than women without this history to be employed and high school graduates. These Latinas may have developed more adaptive coping mechanisms than other Latinas.

Research Recognition, the First Step to Research Literacy

Nurses are expected to use research as a form of evidence to support clinical practice. When selecting articles, some nurses may be unable to recognize the articles that report research. Research recognition is essential before study results may be used as evidence and translated into practice. The purpose of this article is to describe a typical research article, outline the major types of research, and identify the unique characteristics of research that may be used to recognize those articles that report research.

Maltreatment during Childhood in a Community-Dwelling Sample of Men

This article describes the occurrence, cooccurrence, and severity of childhood maltreatment (CM) among adult males. The average participant was age 44, recruited from public gatherings, read and spoke English, and attended work or school. Data from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and demographic form were analyzed using descriptive, parametric, and nonparametric statistics. Most participants reported at least one type of CM (71.4%): emotional abuse (46.9%), physical abuse (42.9%), sexual abuse (16.3%), emotional neglect (49.0%), and physical neglect (32.7%). Maltreatment severity increased with the number of maltreatment types, F(5, 43) = 29.0, p = .000. CM was frequent and severe in this sample of men. A graded relationship might exist between the number of maltreatment types and maltreatment severity.