Individual differences in the amount and timing of salivary melatonin secretion.

The aim of this study was to examine individual differences in a large sample of complete melatonin profiles not suppressed by light and search for possible associations between the amount and timing of melatonin secretion and a multitude of lifestyle variables. The melatonin profiles were derived from saliva samples collected every 30 minutes in dim light from 85 healthy women and 85 healthy men aged 18-45 years. There was a large individual variability in the amount of melatonin secreted with peak values ranging from 2 to 84 pg/ml.

Knowledge and beliefs related to cervical cancer and screening among Korean American women.

The purpose of this article is to examine knowledge and health beliefs associated with cervical cancer screening among Korean American women. A telephone survey was conducted with 189 Korean American women in the Chicago area. Age, marital status, income, knowledge of early detection method for cervical cancer, and perceived beliefs about benefits of and barriers to receiving Pap tests were all related to outcomes of ever having a Pap test and having had one in the preceding 3 years.

International Family, Adult, and Child Enhancement Services (FACES): a community-based comprehensive services model for refugee children in resettlement.

The development of evidence-based mental health interventions for refugees is complicated by the cultural and linguistic diversity of the participants, and the need to balance treatment of past traumatic experiences with ongoing support during the process of acculturation. In an effort to gather "practice-based evidence" from existing mental health services for refugees, a collaborative study of International Family, Adult, and Child Enhancement Services (FACES), a comprehensive, community-based mental health program working with refugee children, was conducted to describe the program participants and service delivery model and to assess whether participants improved over time as a function of services. Results showed that participants improved, but that the improvement was not related to dosage of services.

Comparison of self-reported pain and the PAINAD scale in hospitalized cognitively impaired and intact older adults after hip fracture surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was a psychometric evaluation of the PAINAD to assess pain in hospitalized cognitively impaired and intact older adults admitted for surgical repair of a hip fracture.

Method: A descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample of older patients hospitalized for surgical repair of a hip fracture was used.

A controlled study of services to enhance productive participation among people with HIV/AIDS.

Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of a model program designed to increase productive participation among people living with HIV/AIDS within supportive-living facilities.

Methods: Using a nonrandomized, two-group design, 65 study participants were assigned to either the model program or standard care. Data on productive participation were collected at 3, 6, and 9 months after completion of the model or standard program.

"It's not just about MOMMAS": African-American non-resident fathers' views of paternal involvement.

Many social and economic policies have been developed to increase fathers' involvement with their children. Yet, we know little about the meaning of involvement for African-American non-resident fathers. The purpose of this study was to obtain African-American non-resident fathers' perspectives on involvement and perceptions of their involvement.

Resource clusters and variation in physical restraint use.

Purpose: To describe (a) the extent of inter- and intrainstitutional variation in labor, capital, and process-of-care variables related to nursing service on U.S. adult acute and intensive care units; (b) the extent to which resource clustering exists; and (c) an analysis of resource cluster role that explains variation in physical restraint rates.

Narrative slope as a predictor of work and other occupational participation.

This study aims to determine the utility of the narrative slope in predicting the vocational/productive outcomes of participants. For 65 participants living in supportive facilities for adults with HIV/AIDS in the United States, narrative slopes, based on the Occupational Performance History Interview II, were constructed and classified as progressive, stable, or regressive. Information regarding participants' productive activities was collected at discharge from intervention programming, and at 3-month intervals, up to 9 months.

Home enteral feeding: part 2 current issues in community practice.

Part 1 provided an overview of enteral tube feeding and management in the community. Due to the limited evidence base there are many aspects of the practical management of patients on home enteral tube feeding (HETF) that has as yet not been standardized, particularly around issues such as the type of syringes and water that should be used in HETF. There are also some areas where the guidelines are clear but difficult to apply in the community (such as with maximum feed 'hanging times') or where further guidance is required (such as for confirming the position of nasogastric tubes in patients on acid-reducing therapy).

Can we differentiate sensory over-responsivity from anxiety symptoms in toddlers? perspectives of occupational therapists and psychologists.

Suppose a toddler becomes distressed after hearing a loud noise or when getting messy; are these indicators of sensory over-responsiveness or indicators of anxiety? There is little evidence regarding the distinction between sensory over-responsivity and anxiety disorders in toddlers. This construct validity study examined differences between occupational therapists' and psychologists' judgments of behaviors as representing sensory processing disorders (SPD) versus anxiety disorders. Twenty-four occupational therapists and 25 psychologists completed a mailed survey, rating items from sensory and anxiety scales as representing sensory and/or anxiety disorders in toddlers, and analyzing cases of toddlers with these disorders.

The relationships between nurses' perceptions of the hemodialysis unit work environment and nurse turnover, patient satisfaction, and hospitalizations.

While the nephrology nursing shortage persists despite the continued growth of the population of individuals with Stage 5 chronic kidney disease, there is a paucity of empirical data regarding nephrology nurses' perceptions of their work environments. Moreover, there are no studies that have examined the relationship of work environment attributes to patient and nurse outcomes in dialysis settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between staff nurses' perceptions of dialysis work environments, nurses' intentions to leave their current jobs, nurse turnover, patient satisfaction, and patient hospitalization rates.

Home enteral feeding part 1: an overview.

Preventing or reducing malnutrition using nutritional support is proven to be effective both clinically and financially. The continuation of enteral tube feeding in the community continues to grow and the population are an increasingly elderly and disabled group, with the majority living in their own homes and requiring some or total help with their enteral tube feeding. Part 1 of this two-part article looks at some of the key aspects in the management of patients in the community, including routine monitoring, the administration of feed and medications and management of the various tubes.

Outcomes of a life skills intervention for homeless adults with mental illness.

A manualized life skills intervention based on empowerment theory and situated learning was tested on 51 homeless adults with mental illness living in emergency or single room occupancy housing. The intervention improved skills in food, money, room, and self-care management and safe community participation. Participation included baseline measures with intervention post-tests and three and six month follow up measures.

Reliability and validity of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory with African-American and Latino parents of young children.

This study evaluated the reliability, equivalence, and convergent validity of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) in 682, 2- to 4-year-old children. For analysis, parent informants' data were blocked by race/ethnicity (African-American, Latino, non-Latino White), family income (low versus middle/upper), child's gender, and ECBI language version (English and Spanish). ECBI scales had high internal consistency reliabilities and good convergence with the Child Behavior Checklist/1-5.

The equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 across parent race/ethnicity, income level, and language.

This study examined the equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 (CBCL/1 1/2-5) in 682 parents of 2- to 4-year-old children stratified by parent race/ethnicity (African American, Latino, and non-Latino White), family income (low vs. middle-upper), and language version (Spanish vs. English).

Factors of breast cancer screening among Korean immigrants in the United States.

The purpose of this paper is to assess breast cancer screening rates and explore factors related to all three measures of breast cancer screening, mammography, clinical breast examination (CBE), and breast self-examination (BSE), among Korean immigrants in the United States. A telephone survey was conducted with 189 Korean women aged 40 and older in Cook County, Illinois. Of this group, 78% had had a mammogram at some point, and 38.

Measuring participation in a prevention trial with parents of young children.

This paper describes parent participation in a clinical trial of preventive parent training (PT) targeting low-income parents of young children. Participation encompassed enrollment, attendance, and engagement. Average enrollment rate was 34.

Predictive validity of the Depression Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (DCSES).

The Depression Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (DCSES) was developed to measure depressed individuals' confidence in their ability to follow treatment recommendations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the DCSES as a unidimensional measure of depression coping self-efficacy. Data were collected from depressed psychiatric inpatients at admission and discharge (n = 99), and 6-8 weeks post-discharge (n = 75).

Alerting effects of light are sensitive to very short wavelengths.

In humans a range of non-image-forming (NIF) light responses (melatonin suppression, phase shifting and alertness) are short wavelength sensitive (440-480 nm). The aim of the current study was to assess the acute effect of three different short wavelength light pulses (420, 440 and 470 nm) and 600 nm light on subjective alertness. Healthy male subjects (n = 12, aged 27 +/- 4 years, mean +/- S.

A placebo-controlled test of cognitive-behavioral therapy for comorbid insomnia in older adults.

The present study tested cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia in older adults with osteoarthritis, coronary artery disease, or pulmonary disease. Ninety-two participants (mean age = 69 years) were randomly assigned to classroom CBT or stress management and wellness (SMW) training, which served as a placebo condition. Compared with SMW, CBT participants had larger improvements on 8 out of 10 self-report measures of sleep.

Morning melatonin has limited benefit as a soporific for daytime sleep after night work.

Exogenous melatonin administration in humans is known to exert both chronobiotic (phase shifting) and soporific effects. In a previous study in our lab, young, healthy, subjects worked five consecutive simulated night shifts (23:00 to 07:00 h) and slept during the day (08:30 to 15:30 h). Large phase delays of various magnitudes were produced by the study interventions, which included bright light exposure during the night shifts, as assessed by the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) before (baseline) and after (final) the five night shifts.

Advancing human circadian rhythms with afternoon melatonin and morning intermittent bright light.

Context: Both light and melatonin can be used to phase shift the human circadian clock, but the phase-advancing effect of the combination has not been extensively investigated.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine whether phase advances induced by morning intermittent bright light and a gradually advancing sleep schedule could be increased with afternoon melatonin.

Participants: Healthy adults (25 males, 19 females, between the ages of 19 and 45 yr) participated in the study.

Psychometric evaluation of the Energy Conservation Strategies Survey.

Objective: To examine the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Energy Conservation Strategies Survey (ECSS), a tool that was specifically designed to determine if people with multiple sclerosis who attended the six-week energy conservation course actually implemented the strategies taught to them.

Design: The instrument ECSS was administered at six weeks and seven weeks post intervention to evaluate the test-retest reliability, while data from six weeks post intervention were utilized to assess the internal consistency of the ECSS.

Setting: Community locations in Illinois and Minnesota, USA.