Altered perceptions of personal control about retained weight and depressive symptoms in low-income postpartum women.

Postpartum weight retention and depressive symptoms have a high prevalence among low income women. This qualitative study describes low-income women's experiences of weight changes and depressive symptoms during the late postpartum period. Women (n = 25) who were either overweight or had depressive symptoms, or both, at 12 months postpartum participated in an ethnically-congruent focus group.

Empowering nursing faculty and students for community service.

As the health care delivery system moves from acute care settings to community-based services, nursing education must examine the experiences that increase students' abilities to function within a changing system. Currently, students receive community-based experiences that involve teaching health promotion concepts. However, students are not routinely prepared with specialized screening skills to use in the community.

Eating behaviors among school-age children associated with perceptions of stress.

Eating has been theorized to be useful as a coping strategy in response to stressful situations. However, investigation of this behavior in children is limited. The present study is a secondary cross-sectional analysis of longitudinal data that were collected from cohorts of fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grader students.

Thought for application and application with thought: issues in theoretical thinking and practical wisdom.

Both theoretical thinking and practical wisdom are used by health professionals in their clinical practice. Lately, discussion has centered on the abstract phrase "theory-practice gap." The health profession is not the only discipline that seeks unity in theory and practice issues.

Barriers that influence eating behaviors in adolescents.

Adolescence is a time of rapid growth and development with biologic, psychological, and emotional changes occurring simultaneously. We conducted a critical review of the literature to analyze key topics in the study of adolescents' eating behaviors and to identify barriers to healthy eating experienced by adolescents. The literature documents that nutritional deficits and poor eating established during adolescence have long-term health, growth, and developmental consequences.

Developing holistic nursing interventions to improve adolescent health.

Adolescents learn health behaviors in a sociocultural context of community, family, and peers. Although many adolescents engage in behaviors that protect and promote health, others engage in behaviors that threaten or compromise their health. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of health-risk behaviors and the morbidities and mortalities of adolescence that are related to these behaviors.