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Aim This paper reports a study testing of the validity and reliability of the personnel version of the Family Empowerment Scale in family services in Finland. Background The role of family services in parental reinforcement is important, given their extensive reach to most families and their aim of promoting family welfare. No instruments applicable to this situation were available in Finland. The Family Empowerment Scale is a widely used instrument that measures parent's empowerment. The personnel version of the Family Empowerment Scale enables an evaluation of the reinforcement of empowerment. Design This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Methods The Family Empowerment Scale was modified to measure how family services personnel evaluate reinforcement of parental empowerment. In May 2009, a questionnaire was sent to unit heads ( n = 457) in public social, health and educational services for families with children aged 0-9 years. The construct, convergent and discriminant validities, reliability and responsiveness of the personnel version of the Family Empowerment Scale were assessed. Results According to confirmatory factor analysis, the personnel version of the Family Empowerment Scale comprised three subscales (family, service system and community) as in the original Family Empowerment Scale. Confirmed convergent and discriminant validities supported the same construct. The reliability of the personnel version of the Family Empowerment Scale was acceptable. The reinforcement level of parental empowerment was high. Parental empowerment was reinforced most in health and least in educational services. Conclusion The psychometric properties of the personnel version of the Family Empowerment Scale were acceptable. It can serve as a generic instrument for assessing reinforcement of empowerment in family services in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This paper is a report of the development and psychometric testing of the Swedish version of the Body Awareness Questionnaire to measure bodily focus of attention. Background The Body Awareness Questionnaire has been identified as an instrument with excellent psychometric properties within the concept of body awareness. It has been used in both research and clinical settings in different contexts. However, a validated Swedish version is not available. Method A cross-sectional design was applied for adaptation of the Body Awareness Questionnaire and psychometric validation. Data were collected between autumn 2009 and spring 2011 from 120 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and from 120 students. The 'concurrent think aloud' method was used in a pre-test to determine the usability of the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was used to test the internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the construct validity. Results According to the confirmatory factor analysis, neither the one-factor model nor the four-factor model tested in this study fulfilled the pre-specified criteria in accordance with the Comparative Fit Index, Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. The value of Cronbach's alpha for the Swedish version of the Body Awareness Questionnaire was satisfactory. Conclusion Our results indicate that the two models tested in this study do not provide a good fit to the observed data. Further refinement and testing of the Swedish version of the Body Awareness Questionnaire is therefore required. The concept of body awareness may be useful in the management of chronic disease and can be addressed in nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This paper tests the mediating effect of institutional peer support on the relationship between physical declines and depressive symptoms among nursing home residents. Background As the number of older adults living in nursing homes increases, peer support received from other residents in the institutions is critical to the psychological well-being of residents who face physical declines and reduction in family support. This study tested whether institutional peer support would account for the detrimental effect of physical declines on depressive symptoms of Chinese older people residing in nursing homes. Design A cross-sectional design was used. Method The study was conducted between January-March 2009 by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 187 nursing home residents, with 54 men and 133 women. Interviews were conducted by an experienced research assistant, and responses on physical abilities and institutional peer support were collected. Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms of each participant. Results Participants with poor physical abilities reported more depressive symptoms. Institutional peer support was negatively correlated with physical declines and depressive symptoms. Results of the regression analysis showed that the effect of physical declines on depressive symptoms was no longer significant when the influence of institutional peer support was statistically controlled, indicating a full mediation of institutional peer support on depression of older people. Conclusion Findings of this study reveal that institutional peer support positively contributes to the psychological well-being of nursing home residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

lobchuk m.m., mcpherson c.j., mcclement s.e. & cheang m. (2011) A comparison of patient and family caregiver prospective control over lung cancer. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(5), 1122-1133. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of our secondary analysis of patient and family caregiver prospective control in lung cancer. Background. Control beliefs underlie self-care in sickness and health. Self-care often involves 'shared' activities between the afflicted individual and caregiving family and friends. However, depending on how control is perceived, conflicts can occur in decision-making thus jeopardizing optimal self-care. We need to comprehend how control beliefs compare between patients and caregivers and how their control beliefs are linked with dealing with serious illness. Methods. Based on questionnaire data collected in our larger study between September 2005 and February 2009, we conducted exploratory comparative analyses of 304 patients' and caregivers' control beliefs in managing lung cancer. Eight 5-point response items captured prospective control. Exploratory factor analysis with promax rotation was conducted to compare dyadic perceptions on the dimensionality of prospective control. We also conducted exploratory correlations between control beliefs and smoking cessation, attributional reactions, caregiver helping and symptom reports. Results. Principal component analysis identified the same factors for patients and caregivers: factor 1, Fate control and factor 2, Team control. Patient and caregiver 'Fate' and 'Team' control sub-scales were respectively associated with hope, caregiver helping and patient smoking cessation. Conclusion. Clinicians need to support, adapt or develop a philosophy of cancer care that is inclusive of partnerships, drawing on beliefs of patients and caregivers that controlling lung cancer is a team effort which in turn is tentatively linked to patient smoking cessation, positive emotions and caregiver helping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ockhuijsen h.d.l., gamel c.j., van den hoogen a. & macklon n.s. (2011) Integrating preconceptional care into an IVF programme. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(5), 1156-1165. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of a mixed method study of the outcomes of integrating preconceptional care into an in-vitro fertilization programme on nurses' and patients' attitudes and patients' weight and smoking behaviour. Background. Increasing evidence points to the significant effect of lifestyle factors on in-vitro fertilization outcomes. Optimizing the health of couples before they commence in-vitro fertilization may improve the chance of achieving success. Method. In 2007, 130 couples attending a university hospital in-vitro fertilization unit and seven nurses were invited to participate in the study. Questionnaires were developed to assess the attitudes of both patients and nurses. Furthermore, the impact of interventions on body mass index and smoking patterns were evaluated. Results. All nurses ( n = 7) and 101 patients (77·7%) returned completed questionnaires. Analysis revealed a considerable degree of scepticism among the nurses at the outset as to the value of the programme and their ability to perform their new role effectively. Patients valued positively the increased attention to adjusting lifestyle factors with the goal to improve fertility outcomes. Of those participants who smoked or had a body mass index >30, 30% ( n = 7/23) of the patients quit smoking and 50% lost weight ( n = 15/30), mean loss: 6·1 kg. Conclusion. Fertility nurses can play a key role in the provision of preconceptional care. Patients with a fertility problem can be motivated to address lifestyle issues before embarking on in-vitro fertilization treatment. The integration of preconceptional care and lifestyle interventions was shown to be feasible in our clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

gur-yaish n., zisberg a., sinoff g. & shadmi e. (2011) Development and psychometric testing of a measure of informal caregiving for hospitalized older adults. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(4), 931-938. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of the development and psychometric testing of the questionnaire evaluating informal caregiving for hospitalized older adults. Background. Informal caregiving of hospitalized older adults is an understudied phenomenon that lacks a valid and reliable measure to capture its multi-dimensionality. Methods. An instrument development procedure, followed by an empirical study, was conducted from February to November 2009. Instrument development included item generation and content validity, which was established by five experts. The validation study utilized a retrospective between-patients design. The sample consisted of 279 patients, aged 70 and older, who were hospitalized in a large medical centre in northern Israel. The internal consistency reliability, construct, convergent and divergent validity of the measure were tested. Results. The 14-item scale describes various aspects of informal caregiving for older adults in the hospital setting. The scale has four dimensions: Instrumental care, Supervision of care, Psychological support and Ensuring and Explaining care. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the theoretical model of the four dimensions of care. Reliability analysis revealed acceptable-to-high estimates for the total and for the dimensional scores (ranging from 0·78 to 0·89). The convergent and divergent validity coefficients were all in the expected direction. Conclusions. The preliminary psychometric properties of the measure showed acceptable results. The measure should be further explored in different cultural settings and for its ability to link between caregiving attributes, as captured by the measure, and hospitalization outcomes in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

liu c.-c., chen y.-c., yeh y.-p. & hsieh y.-s. (2011) Effects of maternal confidence and competence on maternal parenting stress in newborn care. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(4), 908-918. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of a correlational study of the relations of maternal confidence and maternal competence to maternal parenting stress during newborn care. Background. Maternal role development is a cognitive and social process influenced by cultural and family contexts and mother and child characteristics. Most knowledge about maternal role development comes from western society. However, perceptions of the maternal role in contemporary Taiwanese society may be affected by contextual and environmental factors. Methods. A prospective correlational design was used to recruit 372 postpartum Taiwanese women and their infants from well-child clinics at 16 health centres in central Taiwan. Inclusion criteria for mothers were gestational age >37 weeks, ≥18 years old, and healthy, with infants <4 months old. Data were collected between August 2007 and January 2008 using a self-report questionnaire on mothers' and infants' demographic variables, maternal confidence, maternal competence and self-perceived maternal parenting stress. Results. After controlling for maternal parity and infant temperament, high maternal confidence and competence were associated with low maternal parenting stress. Maternal confidence influenced maternal parenting stress both directly and indirectly via maternal competence. Conclusion. To assist postpartum women in infant care programmes achieve positive outcomes, nurses should evaluate and bolster mothers' belief in their own abilities. Likewise, nurses should not only consider mothers' infant care skills, but also mothers' parity and infant temperament. Finally, it is crucial for nurses and researchers to recognize that infant care programmes should be tailored to mothers' specific maternal characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]