A dyadic model of living with epilepsy based on the perspectives of adults with epilepsy and their support persons.

Epilepsy is a chronic condition that significantly affects the lives of individuals with epilepsy and their support persons, though few studies have examined the experiences of both. To examine these experiences and explore the interpersonal relationships between dyad members, we conducted in-depth interviews with 22 persons with epilepsy and 16 support persons. Data analysis was guided by a grounded theory perspective.

Managing One's Symptoms: A Qualitative Study of Low-Income African Americans With Advanced Cancer.

Background: African Americans endure disproportionately high advanced cancer rates and also are disproportionately represented in the lower socioeconomic strata. These individuals work to manage symptoms in order to function and have a satisfactory quality of life.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to discover what low-income African American adults with advanced cancer do on a day-to-day basis to relieve and manage symptoms.

Perspectives of adults with epilepsy and their support persons on self-management support.

Social support is an important mechanism for improving self-management, although little is known about its role in epilepsy self-management. We examined the type of support provided to people with epilepsy and its influence on self-management. We conducted in-depth interviews with 22 people with epilepsy and 16 support persons, representing 14 pairs and 10 unpaired individuals.

A mixed methods analysis of support for self-management behaviors: perspectives of people with epilepsy and their support providers.

Social support is associated with improved self-management for people with chronic conditions, such as epilepsy; however, little is known about the perceived ease or difficulty of receiving and providing support for epilepsy self-management. We examined patterns of epilepsy self-management support from the perspectives of both people with epilepsy and their support persons. Fifty-three people with epilepsy and 48 support persons completed a survey on epilepsy self-management support.

The meaning and use of spirituality among African American women living with HIV/AIDS.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the meaning and use of spirituality among African American (AA), predominantly Christian women with HIV. A nonrandom sample of 20 AA women from a large infectious disease clinic in Metro-Atlanta participated in the study. The study used focus groups and individual interviews to interview women about their lived spiritual experience.

Social support for self-management behaviors among people with epilepsy: a content analysis of the WebEase program.

Social support is an important component in managing epilepsy; however little is known about support provided to people with epilepsy. This study examined whom people with epilepsy identify as supportive, and how those individuals support people with epilepsy's self-management efforts. Data come from the WebEase project, an effective online epilepsy self-management program.

Results of a research study evaluating WebEase, an online epilepsy self-management program.

WebEase (Epilepsy Awareness, Support, and Education) is an online epilepsy self-management program to assist people with taking medication, managing stress, and improving sleep quality. The primary study aims were to determine if those who participated in WebEase demonstrated improvements in medication adherence, perceived stress, and sleep quality. Participants were randomized to a treatment (T) or waitlist control (WCL) group (n=148).

Updated research priorities for neuroscience nursing.

In 2007, the Neuroscience Nursing Foundation (NNF) convened a research panel to update NNF's research priorities used to guide funding. The research panel identified leaders in neuroscience nursing and conducted a review of neuroscience nursing research literature and an American Association of Neuroscience Nurses membership survey on research priorities. A workgroup of leaders in neuroscience nursing was then convened to draft and set priorities on the basis of the review of the literature and the membership survey.

Spiritual Well-Being and Health-Related Quality of Life Among African-American Women with HIV/AIDS.

Many HIV-positive women regard spirituality as an important part of their lives and spirituality may have positive impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Particularly among African American women with HIV, spirituality may serve as a cultural and psychological resource. This descriptive, crosssectional study examined associations between spiritual well-being (SWB) and its components, existential well-being (EWB) and religious well-being (RWB), and dimensions of HRQOL among a non-random sample of 118 African American HIV-positive women.

Adherence, sexual risk, and viral load in HIV-infected women prescribed antiretroviral therapy.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a connection between adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and use of risk reduction behaviors (RRB) in HIV-infected women who were prescribed antiretroviral therapy. The sample consisted of 193 predominately African American women with an average age of 44 who had been on ARV for approximately 9 years and had low annual incomes. All women were participating in a behavioral clinical trial focused on these dual outcomes.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine among men with prostate cancer in a rural setting.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among rural patients with localized prostate cancer. The study also examined the participants' disclosure of CAM use to their physicians. Baseline and 6-month follow-up data were taken from a study examining the factors that influence treatment choice and quality of life among men diagnosed with and being treated for localized prostate cancer residing in rural southwest Georgia (N = 321).

The effect of race and rural residence on prostate cancer treatment choice among men in Georgia.

Objective: To analyze differences for prostate cancer by race and in rural areas.

Methods: We studied 516 men younger than 75 years old with incident prostate cancer during 2005-08 in 33 counties in Southwest Georgia (SWGA), a rural area of 700,000 (40% African American). Treatment data were abstracted from medical records, and interviews conducted with 314 men.

Group motivational interviewing to promote adherence to antiretroviral medications and risk reduction behaviors in HIV infected women.

We present the results of a clinical trial that tested the efficacy of using motivational interviewing (MI) in a group format to promote adherence to antiretroviral medications and risk reduction behaviors (RRB) in 203 predominately African American HIV infected women. It was compared to a group health promotion program. Participants were followed for 9 months.

Differences in treatment-based beliefs and coping between African American and white men with prostate cancer.

The purpose of the study was to explore racial differences related to treatment-based beliefs (trust in physician, physician bias, access to care, and self-efficacy) and coping (religious coping and social support). The study was conducted in a 33-county area located in southwest Georgia (SWGA). Men living in SWGA and newly diagnosed with prostate cancer were invited to participate in the study.

The prevention research centers' managing epilepsy well network.

The Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network was created in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Prevention Research Centers and Epilepsy Program to promote epilepsy self-management research and to improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy. MEW Network membership comprises four collaborating centers (Emory University, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Michigan, and University of Washington), representatives from CDC, affiliate members, and community stakeholders. This article describes the MEW Network's background, mission statement, research agenda, and structure.

Distance delivery of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: project UPLIFT.

This study evaluated the efficacy of a newly developed, home-based depression intervention for people with epilepsy. Based on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), the eight-session, weekly intervention was designed for group delivery via the Internet or telephone. Forty participants were randomly assigned to intervention or waitlist.

An examination of the psychometric properties of the Antiretroviral General Adherence Scale (AGAS) in two samples of HIV-infected individuals.

This article reports on the development and psychometric properties of the Antiretroviral General Adherence Scale (AGAS) in two National Institutes of Health-funded projects: the Get Busy Living Project, a behavioral clinical trial to promote consistent use of antiretroviral therapy, and the KHARMA (Keeping Healthy and Active with Risk Reduction and Medication Adherence) Project, which addressed issues of adherence and risk reduction behavior in women. AGAS assesses the ease and ability of participants to take antiretroviral therapy according to a health care provider's recommendations. Data were analyzed from completed baseline assessments of the two studies.

Spiritual well-being, depressive symptoms, and immune status among women living with HIV/AIDS.

Spirituality is a resource some HIV-positive women use to cope with HIV, and it also may have positive impact on physical health. This cross-sectional study examined associations of spiritual well-being, with depressive symptoms, and CD4 cell count and percentages among a non-random sample of 129 predominantly African-American HIV-positive women. Significant inverse associations were observed between depressive symptoms and spiritual well-being (r = -.

Attitudes about mental illness and its treatment: validation of a generic scale for public health surveillance of mental illness associated stigma.

The purpose of this study was to test a brief instrument to monitor the U.S. public's attitudes about mental illness.

Individual, seizure-related, and psychosocial predictors of depressive symptoms among people with epilepsy over six months.

Depression is the most frequently diagnosed psychiatric disorder among people with epilepsy. A variety of risk factors for depression among people with epilepsy have been identified; however, few studies have examined these risk factors over time. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics, seizure-related factors, and psychosocial factors and depressive symptoms over 6 months.

WebEase: development of a Web-based epilepsy self-management intervention.

People with epilepsy must adopt many self-management behaviors, especially regarding medication adherence, stress management, and sleep quality. In response to the need for theory-based self-management programs that people with epilepsy can easily access, the WebEase Web site was created and tested for feasibility, acceptability, and usability. This article discusses the theoretical background and developmental phases of WebEase and lessons learned throughout the development process.

A telephone-based self-management program for people with epilepsy.

The study was conducted to test the feasibility of a telephone-based self-management program for adults with epilepsy. The program was based on social cognitive theory and principles of motivational interviewing (MI). Twenty-two adults with epilepsy were recruited from hospital-based epilepsy clinics.

Cancer outcomes research in a rural area: a multi-institution partnership model.

Whereas, most cancer research data come from high-profile academic centers, little is known about the outcomes of cancer care in rural communities. We summarize the experience of building a multi-institution partnership to develop a cancer outcomes research infrastructure in Southwest Georgia (SWGA), a primarily rural 33-county area with over 700,000 residents. The partnership includes eight institutions: the Emory University in Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Georgia Comprehensive Center Registry (the Registry), the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition (the Coalition), and the four community cancer centers located within the SWGA region.

Evaluation of WebEase: an epilepsy self-management Web site.

People with epilepsy have various education needs and must adopt many self-management behaviors in order to control their condition. This study evaluates WebEase, an Internet-based, theory-driven, self-management program for adults with epilepsy. Thirty-five participants took part in a 6-week pilot implementation of WebEase.

Psychosocial predictors of lifestyle management in adults with epilepsy.

The purposes of the work described in this article were to (1) describe a model of predictive relationships among psychosocial variables and lifestyle management, and (2) test the model among people with epilepsy. The variables selected for the model were based on social cognitive theory and the results of previous studies examining psychosocial predictors of self-management among people with chronic physical health conditions. Variables included in the model were self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, depressive symptoms, and social support.