The meaning of "aging in place" to older people.

Purpose: This study illuminates the concept of "aging in place" in terms of functional, symbolic, and emotional attachments and meanings of homes, neighbourhoods, and communities. It investigates how older people understand the meaning of "aging in place," a term widely used in aging policy and research but underexplored with older people themselves.

Design And Methods: Older people (n = 121), ranging in age from 56 to 92 years, participated in focus groups and interviews in 2 case study communities of similar size in Aotearoa New Zealand, both with high ratings on deprivation indices.

Turning postgraduate students' research into publications: a survey of New Zealand masters in public health students.

The authors attempted to contact all 157 graduates from the University of Auckland's Master's in Public Health (MPH) program who completed theses from 1991 to 2005 about publications arising from their research. Of the 104 students contacted, 77 (74%) completed the questionnaire: 34 (45%) submitted a total of 46 articles, 31 (66%) of which were accepted or published. An expectation of publication and being supported financially were both associated with submission for publication.

Functional and psychological outcomes following burn injury: reduced income and hidden emotions are predictors of greater distress.

The aim of this study is to determine whether functional and psychosocial outcomes after burn injury in New Zealand are consistent with the international literature. Fifty participants with burns >10% TBSA and a mean of 5.1 years since burn completed a survey that included questionnaires and open-ended questions.

Providing psychosocial and physical rehabilitation advice for patients with burns.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study evaluating the perceived skills of nursing and allied healthcare professionals in providing psychosocial and physical rehabilitation advice, including the effect of years of burn injury experience.

Background: Recovery from burn injuries is a complex mix of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation, yet research in the UK has demonstrated that healthcare professionals feel more competent at giving advice to patients on issues of physical rehabilitation than psychosocial rehabilitation.

Methods: This was a replication study with a cross-sectional design.

Gynaecologic cancer patients' needs and experiences of supportive health services in New Zealand.

Background And Objectives: Psychosocial care across the cancer continuum is a core component of quality gynaecologic cancer services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify needs for supportive care in a sample of New Zealand women and to understand to what extent they feel their needs are being met by health services.

Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit women (n=28) diagnosed with a gynaecologic cancer.

Risk perceptions, worry, and attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility.

This study assessed the unique associations of risk perceptions and worry with attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility. Women (general practitioner clinic attenders, university students, and first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors; N = 303) read information about genetic testing and completed measures assessing perceived cancer risk, cancer worry, and genetic testing attitudes and beliefs. Worry was associated with greater interest in genetic testing, stronger beliefs that testing has detrimental emotional consequences, and positive beliefs about benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries.