Wasileh Petro-Nustas

Students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about AIDS: A cross-cultural study.

This exploratory, comparative study was conducted to assess and compare the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward AIDS between a group of Jordanian and a group of American students. A convenience sample consisting of 126 senior BSN (bachelor’s of nursing) students, 63 from a university in Jordan and 63 from a university in Michigan, was selected for this study. A self-administered structured questionnaire was utilized. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward AIDS in both cultures. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used. The results indicated that the American students’ responses concerning knowledge of HIV/AIDS were significantly greater (M = 73%) in comparison with Jordanian students’ (M = 52%). The American students also reported more positive attitudes toward AIDS than those of their Jordanian counterparts. In terms of prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS, more American students (82.5%) approved of the use of condoms as a precautionary measure toward the spread of the disease when compared to Jordanian students.

Context of Care for Jordanian Women

The purpose of this research study was to document, describe, and analyze diverse and universal care patterns for Jordanian women. The authors used a qualitative design of observation-participation and interview data collected from 15 women in two cities and three villages in Jordan over a 4-month period. Methods used incorporated Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality as well as the ethnonursing research method. Themes discovered from the data include (a) culture of caring connectedness, (b) caring for family honor: the agony and the ecstasy, (c) Islam as feminist thought, (d) political care as intertwined with tribal and religious influences, and (e) reviving Rufaida: return to community care. Findings are being used for collaborative curriculum design for new community health nursing roles focusing on women’s health.

Health Beliefs and Practice of Breast Self-Examination Among Young Cypriot Women

Purpose: Breast cancer is the leading form of cancer affecting Cypriot women. This study is aimed at examining the factors influencing the choice of Cypriot women to perform breast self-examination (BSE). Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study, with a sample of 94 young Cypriot women, was conducted. Method: The Greek version of Champion’s Health Belief Model was used. Various statistical tests were implemented. Findings: Almost all women (91.5%) had heard about BSE, and 71.3% had performed it sometime in the past. The susceptibility factor was significant in influencing women’s behavior, while barriers and self-confidence were associated with practicing BSE. Knowledge on BSE and a high level of education were positively related with the frequency of practicing BSE. Conclusions: Proper education on BSE is important in shaping young women’s attitudes. Any related health strategy should consider the concepts of Health Belief Model, especially the factors that make a female susceptible to breast cancer.

Evaluation of the process of introducing a quality development program in a nursing department at a teaching hospital: the role of a change agent

The CIPP model of evaluation was used through its Context, Input, Process and Product elements, to evaluate the process of introducing a quality development program established in a nursing department within a teaching referral hospital in Amman, Jordan. The evaluation was intended to test whether the development program had achieved its overall goals: Management within a static state of nursing manpower; improvement in the general patterns of communication; management of some operational and organizational level problems and enhancement of measures to facilitate staff development. Several sets of action were suggested and implemented within the period of the quality development program. The results indicated partial achievement of the overall goals with certain difficulties remaining. The hospitals overall strict budget remained the major operational problem to be resolved. Other research was recommended to be carried out to specifically test the effectiveness of each set of actions (measures) included in the study.

Self-care Management Intervention to Improve Psychological Wellbeing for Jordanian Patients with Type Two Diabetes Mellitus.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of self-care management intervention on psychological wellbeing for Jordanian patients with type two diabetes mellitus. A quasi-experimental design was used. The study was conducted in a diabetes clinic of a specialized diabetes center in Amman. One hundred and forty-nine participants completed the three-month post-treatment assessments (76 in the intervention group and 73 in the control group). Both the control and intervention groups received a standard diabetic educational program. The intervention group received the following additional interventions: (1) Diabetes Self-care Management booklet, (2)DVD viewing, (3) counseling rehearsal session, and (4) a telephone follow-up. The main study instrument was an Arabic version 20 of the depression anxiety stress scales: To assess the group differences of dependent variable changes, repeated measure ANOVA was used. It was found that psychological wellbeing was not significant at 2-week post-intervention and significant change was observed at 3-month post-intervention. The findings from this study can guide the health providers to be trained to provide relevant diabetic interventions into their nursing interventions, education, and research.

Health beliefs associated with breast cancer screening among Arab women in the Northeastern United States

The health beliefs associated with breast self-examination (BSE) in Arab women were investigated through a pilot study of 96 women. Participants completed demographic items and a questionnaire based on Champions Health Belief Model Scale. Age and knowledge of breast tumors and BSE were correlated with past and current practice of BSE. Current practitioners of BSE had higher confidence and motivation and perceived fewer barriers and more benefits with respect to performing BSE than non-practitioners. Most BSE practitioners did not practice every month. Our data suggest that, for BSE to effectively alert women when a clinical breast examination is needed, women need to be educated about breast tumors and more frequent performance of BSE.

Predictors of Participation in Prostate Cancer Screening among Older Men in Jordan.

BACKGROUND Participation is one of the major factors affecting the long-term success of population-based prostate cancer screening programs. The aim of this study was to explore strong factors linked to participation in prostate cancer screening among older Jordanian adults using the Health Belief Model (HBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were obtained from Jordanian older adults, aged 40 years and over, who visited a comprehensive health care center within the Ministry of Health. A pilot test was conducted to investigate the internal consistency of the the Champion Health Belief Model Scale for prostate cancer screening and the clarity of survey questions. Sample characteristics and rates of participation in prostate cancer screening were examined using means and frequencies. Important factors associated with participation in prostate cancer screening were examined using bivariate correlation and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS About 13% of the respondents had adhered to prostate cancer screening guidelines over the previous decade. Four out of the seven HBM-driven factors (perceived susceptibility, benefits and barriers to PSA test, and health motivation) were statistically significant. Those with greater levels of susceptibility, benefits of PSA test and health motivation and lower levels of barriers to PSA testing were more likely to participate in prostate cancer screening. Family history, presence of urinary symptoms, age, and knowledge about prostate cancer significantly predicted the participation in prostate cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS Health professionals should focus more on the four modifiable HBM-related factors to encourage older adults to participate in prostate cancer screening. Intervention programs, which lower perceived barriers to PSA testing and increase susceptibility, benefits of PSA testing and health motivation, should be developed and implemented.

The psychometric properties of the Greek version of Champion's Health Belief Model Scale.

Background and Purpose: Breast cancer is the leading female type of cancer in Cyprus. Therefore, there is a need for a valid and reliable tool to examine beliefs or practices about breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE). The objective of this study was to translate the widely used Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale into Greek and validate the tool among Cypriot women. Methods: Data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability estimates, and confirmatory factor analysis with fit indexes for construct validity. Multiple regression, with dependent variables “frequency of practice of BSE in the previous year” and “intended frequency of BSE,” was used to examine predictive validity. Ninety-four women were surveyed. Results: The six-subscale structure (confidence, benefits, susceptibility, barriers, seriousness, motivation) of the Greek version was verified, with a good model fit. Alpha coefficients ranged from .66 to .88, indicating internal consistency reliability of the tool. Regression analysis provided evidence of predictive validity, with barriers and confidence being significant predictors of BSE practice. Conclusions: The Greek version of Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale is a valid and reliable tool for use among Cypriot women that can be used to evaluate their beliefs about breast cancer and BSE and for planning interventions to improve these beliefs.

Predictors of prostate cancer screening intention among older men in Jordan

Intention to prostate cancer screening (PCS) is one of the major factors affecting the long-term success of population-based PCS programmes. The aim of this study is to explore strong factors linked to intention to PCS among older Jordanian adults using the Health Belief Model (HBM). Data were obtained from Jordanian older adults, aged 40 years and over, who visited a comprehensive health care centre within a ministry of health. A pilot test was conducted to investigate the internal consistency of the Champion Health Belief Model Scale for PCS and the clarity of survey questions. Sample characteristics and rates of participation in PCS were examined using means and frequencies. Important factors associated with intention to PCS were examined using bivariate correlation and standard multiple linear regression analysis. About 13% of the respondents were adherent to PCS over the prior decade. Four out of the seven HBM-driven factors (perceived susceptibility, benefits and barriers to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, and health motivation) were statistically significant. Those with greater levels of susceptibility, benefits of PSA test and health motivation and lower levels of barriers to PSA testing were having more intention to participate in PCS. Family history, presence of urinary symptoms, age and knowledge about prostate cancer significantly predicted the intention to PCS. Intervention programmes, which lower perceived barriers to PSA testing and increase susceptibility, benefits of PSA testing and health motivation, should be developed and implemented.

Transcultural Adaptation and Validation of Champion's Health Belief Model Scales for Prostate Cancer Screening.

Background: Examining men’s health beliefs regarding prostate cancer screening is a vital issue and requires a reliable and valid scale. Purpose: Modify Champion’s Revised Health Belief Model Scale to measure Jordanian men’s beliefs about PCS, translate to Arabic, culturally adapt, and test its psychometric prosperities. Method: This was a methodological study in which 432 healthy men were selected by convenient sampling. Analysis included estimation of content validity indices, internal consistency, construct validity, and predictive validity. Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded seven significant factors which explained variance 68.9% of variance. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that scale fit the data significantly. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranged from .83 to .92. Conclusion: Scale was found to be a valid and reliable for use with Jordanian men.