Self-Transcendence, Spiritual Well-Being, and Spiritual Practices of Women With Breast Cancer
As women recover from the experience of breast cancer and its treatment, it is important for them to find meaning in their lives and to understand their experiences from a holistic perspective. Purpose: This study was designed to provide additional information about how women and their experiences recovering from breast cancer. The specific purpose was to describe the relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being, and to identify the spiritual practices used by older women recovering from breast cancer. The theoretical framework for this study was Reed’s theory of self-transcendence. Sample: A total of 87 community-residing women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the past 5 years participated in the study. Results: There was a significant positive relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being. The women used a mean of 9.72 spiritual practices with the most frequent being exercise, visiting a house of worship, and praying alone. Conclusions: The study results provide further support for the theory of self-transcendence. Future research recommendations are to expand the research to include a larger, more diverse group of women of all ages and backgrounds who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
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read morePost-Katrina Perinatal Mood and the Use of Alternative Therapies
Purpose and Design: The purpose of this cross-sectional, exploratory study is to describe perinatal moods and complementary alternative therapy (CAT) use among childbearing women living in New Orleans, post—Hurricane Katrina. How women coped with the disaster with limited access to mental health services was not known. Method: A convenience sample of 199 postpartal/expectant mothers completed two questionnaires. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measured risk for perinatal depression (>10 for depression risk) and the Perinatal Alternative Therapy Index (PATI) obtained subjects’ self-perceived overall scores for anxiety and overall mood, frequency and type of use of alternative therapies, and health behaviors. Open-ended questions solicited qualitative data. Findings: The mean EPDS score was 8.47, yet 37% of the postpartum subjects had scores ≥10, indicating risk for depression, while 25% of the women in the prenatal group had scores ≥10. Ninety-five percent of women reported using CATs to improve their mood during pregnancy. Two themes emerged from the qualitative data: (a) Distress and Instability: The Katrina Effect and (b) Life Transitions. Conclusion: Post-Katrina, most women were proactive in seeking ways to improve their mood. Knowing that there are effective, alternative therapies to improve mood during the perinatal period, nurses and other care providers can offer more information about these nonmedical, accessible interventions.
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read moreAdvanced Practice Nursing in Performing Arts Health Care
Performing arts medicine is a growing health care profession specializing in the needs of performing artists. As part of the performing arts venue, the dancer, a combination of athlete and artist, presents with unique health care needs requiring a more collaborative and holistic health care program. Currently there are relatively few advanced practice nurses (APNs) who specialize in performing arts health care. APNs, with focus on collaborative and holistic health care, are ideally suited to join other health care professionals in developing and implementing comprehensive health care programs for the performing artist. This article focuses on the dancer as the client in an APN practice that specializes in performing arts health care.
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read moreReflections on Teaching "Spirituality in the Healthcare Environment"
This article provides insight into the experience of teaching a course designed to promote understanding of how health care providers might deal with spiritual needs of persons experiencing health-related issues. The development and structure of the one-credit-hour course is described. Both students’ and instructor’s perceptions are addressed.
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read moreMy Life: My Encounters With Insanity
Evocative memories of an early career in mental health nursing contextualize an alienation from traditional psychiatric practices. These memories tell tales that center on exploring a personal rejection of mental health nursing practices that were based on a reductive-pharmacological approach. In its place, it is suggested, should be the adoption of more holistic ideology that places the person at the very center of mental health nursing as a holistic, human-centered activity. This process may be guided by, for example, the adoption of the principles of the Tidal Model.
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