Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Oct 2006
Workplace conflict resolution and the health of employees in the Swedish and Finnish units of an industrial company.
New patterns of working, the globalisation of production and the introduction of information technologies are changing the way we work. This new working environment has eliminated some risks whilst introducing others. The importance of the psychosocial working environment for the health of employees is now well documented, but the effects of managerial style have received relatively little attention. ⋯ Results show significantly lower likelihoods of reporting stress, poor general health, exhaustion or sickness absence amongst employees who report that differences of opinion are resolved through discussion compared to those who report that no attempts are made. No significant differences were found between those who reported that differences were resolved through use of authority and subjects in the 'no attempt' category. These results suggest that the workplace conflict resolution is important in the health of employees in addition to traditional psychosocial work environment risk factors.
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Social science & medicine · Oct 2006
The black-white suicide paradox: possible effects of misclassification.
This research addresses the paradox that the crude and age-adjusted suicide rates of United States blacks are less than half those of whites despite similar risks. Upper and lower limits for true suicide rates are estimated to assess the potential for differential suicide misclassification by race. Construction of these two rate scenarios respectively incorporate one or all of the three cause-of-death categories identified in the literature as most prone to obscure suicides: injury of undetermined intent and unintentional poisonings and drownings. ⋯ Results strongly indicate greater susceptibility of medico-legal authorities to misclassify black suicides than white suicides. To demystify the racial suicide paradox, research is needed on medical histories and other biographical information that are accessible by the authorities in equivocal cases. To meet the standards of evidence-based medicine and public health, high-quality suicide data are an imperative for risk group delineation; risk factor identification; policy formulation; program planning, implementation, and evaluation; and ultimately, effective prevention.
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Social science & medicine · Aug 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialPredictors of improvement in social support: Five-year effects of a structured intervention for caregivers of spouses with Alzheimer's disease.
Those who provide care at home for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease (AD) endure considerable challenges, including social isolation and increasing caregiving responsibilities. We examine the extent to which an intervention that helps spouse-caregivers mobilize their social support network, helps them better adapt to the caregiving role. ⋯ Higher levels of emotional support, more visits, and having more network members to whom they felt close were all individually predictive of longitudinal changes in social support network satisfaction. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of having psychological respite when caregivers spend their days in the home and are isolated.
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Social science & medicine · Aug 2006
Predicting intended use of voluntary HIV counselling and testing services among Tanzanian teachers using the theory of planned behaviour.
The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) provides a conceptual model for understanding individual cognitions that influence behavioural intentions and enactment of the actual behaviours. This study examined the applicability of the TPB and the additional predictive role of perceived risk in predicting intended use of voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) services. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey among 918 primary school teachers in the Mwanza region, Tanzania between September 2003 and November 2003. ⋯ Socio-economic status did not moderate the predictive value of the TPB components. The present study demonstrates that the TPB is a useful conceptual framework for predicting intended use of HIV counselling and testing services among Tanzanian teachers. A theory-based VCT intervention programme among Tanzanian teachers should mainly focus on reducing social and psychological barriers related to the use of VCT services.
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Social science & medicine · Aug 2006
Parent communication and child pain and distress during painful pediatric cancer treatments.
Children with cancer often consider treatment procedures to be more traumatic and painful than cancer itself. Previous research indicates that parents' behavior before and during painful medical procedures influences children's distress level. Understanding parents' naturally occurring communication patterns is essential to identifying families in need of an intervention to enhance coping and emotional well-being. ⋯ Six children (19.4%) experienced invalidation during at least one clinic visit phase. Analyses indicated that invalidated children experienced significantly more pain and distress than children whose parents used other communication patterns. This typology provides a theoretical approach to understanding previous research and offers a framework for the continuing investigation of the influence of parents' communication during potentially painful pediatric oncology procedures.