The Social Component of Health

Lifestyle practices and the health promoting environment of hospital nurses

Lifestyle practices and the health promoting environment of hospital nurses This paper examined the lifestyle practices of hospital nurses and the impact of specific interventions in the hospital environment. The perception of nurse as health promoter and as carer of AIDS patients was also examined. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data at two different time periods. The sample represented 729 nurses (at pre- and post-time periods), both qualified and student nurses. Qualified nurses reported the highest stress levels while student nurses reported more negative lifestyle practices such as smoking, alcohol consumption and drug use. A greater number of current smokers (29%) consumed alcohol and used drugs than non-smokers. The impact of intervention strategies around compliance with smoking policy and work-site walk routes reduced exposure to passive smoking at work for qualified nurses and increased exercise participation for both groups of nurses. Workplace was identified as the main source of stress which included relationships at work and demands of the job. Hospital nurses experiencing high work stress were more likely to use professional support and personal coping (discuss problems with friends/family, have a good cry and eat more) than others. Nurses believed in the importance of health promotion as part of their work; however, qualified nurses felt more confident and gave more health related information than student nurses. Student nurses perceived a lower risk of contacting AIDS through work and a higher concern/worry in caring for AIDS patients than qualified nurses.

Distressing aspects of women's roles, vicarious stress, and health consequences

Individuals internalize the roles they play and the statuses they occupy in their social networks. It logically follows that the benefits and costs of women's role commitments may be critically important to their physical and mental health. This literature review focuses on distressing or negative aspects of enacting the specific primary roles of worker, wife, and mother. Vicarious stress and inadequate social support for women in these roles may contribute to immunosuppression and disease vulnerability. Some women may choose the sick role as a means of escape from taxing role responsibilities. Future directions for women's health research are suggested, along with adoption of an empowerment model of health.

Psychosocial correlates of women's health in middle adulthood

Psychosocial variables are not only highly salient to health, but also potentially modifiable if women receive accurate information from care providers. Employing a multivariate multitheoretical approach, psychosocial predictors of health (locus of control, well-being, role quality, stress, social network ties, and optimism) were examined in a secondary analysis of data collected by Baruch and Barnett on 238 midlife women. Mean age was 43.6 years; 60% were college educated; 76% were employed outside the home. The sample included women from four family statuses: never married (n = 50), married without children (n = 54), married with children (n = 88), and divorced with children (n = 46). These family statuses were crossed by employment status: half the married women were employed, as were all of the never married or divorced women. The employed women were equally distributed by occupational prestige into high, medium, and low groupings; unemployed women were classified according to the prestige of their husbands' occupations. Of the 134 women who were mothers, 23% had younger children (< or = 7 years), while 66% had no child under age eight at home and 11% had an "empty nest." Health was regressed on psychosocial and demographic predictors using a backward elimination procedure. Twenty-seven percent of the variance in self-reported health of mothers (whether married or divorced) was accounted for by stress (beta = -.29), optimism (beta = .17), employment outside the home (beta = .14), occupational prestige (beta = .18), and quality of experience in the maternal role (beta = .14). Twenty-two percent of the variance in health of wives was explained by stress (beta = -.36), quality of experience in the wife role (beta = -.12), employment (beta = .15) and occupational prestige (beta = .14). Using t tests, healthiest and least healthy women were compared. Women in better health in middle adulthood had fewer concerns regarding their roles as workers (t = -2.03, p = .04), wives (t = -4.57, p = .0001) and mothers (t = -3.89, p = .0002), as compared to their less healthy counterparts. Women in the least healthy group appeared to be more unsure of themselves as mothers, worrying more and having more arguments with their children. They also reported more conflicts with spouse about housework and children. To summarize, stress was the strongest predictor of health in this sample. Concerns reported by women in connection with their primary roles differentiated healthiest and least healthy women. Implications for research and practice were discussed.

Adolescent risk behaviors and the potential for violence: a look at what's coming to campus

This study analyzed the types and predictors of violent behaviors reported by students in Grades 11 and 12 in South Carolina. Results are based upon responses of 2,299 students from 57 schools, approximately 3% of the total state enrollment in those grades. The 70-item self-report Youth Risk Behavior Survey developed and piloted by the Federal Centers for Disease Control was used to collect data. The authors performed a series of logistic regression analyses to explore the relation of the demographic and potential risk variables to fighting and carrying weapons. Results from the simple logistic analyses, adjusting for race and gender, indicated that alcohol use, binge drinking, sexual activity, and use of any drugs were significantly associated (p < .05) with reported fighting. These variables and poor academic self-image were significantly associated with carrying weapons. Comprehensive multivariable models indicated that, when considered simultaneously, being black, male, sexually active, and engaging in binge drinking and drug use were significant predictors of fighting. Gender, but not race, alcohol use, drug use, or sexual activity, remained a significant predictor of carrying a weapon. Findings suggest that college risk-reduction and health-promotion programs should direct efforts at environmental modification, policy development and enforcement, as well as at personal change, including effective conflict resolution, stress management, and communication skills.

Community organizing among the elderly poor in the United States: a case study

This case study demonstrates the role of community organizing as a vehicle for enhancing individual and community-level empowerment. Building on social support theory, Freire's "education for critical consciousness," and the principles and strategies of community organization practice, the 12-year-old Tenderloin Senior Organizing Project reflects the World Health Organization definition of health promotion as a means of helping individuals and communities to take increasing control over the factors influencing their health. Through the Project, low-income elders have successfully identified and addressed shared problems in such areas as crime and safety, undernutrition, and tenants rights. They further have developed ongoing tenants' associations and other community-based organizations that have provided continuity over time and contributed to the development of a "competent community." Problems in areas such as funding, evaluation, and volunteer burnout are discussed, as are the potentials for project replication in other settings.