Browsing by Author "Fife, Betsy Louise"

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    The Impact of Family Functioning on Children's Adaptation During a Parent's Bone Marrow Transplantation
    (2010-04-08T15:36:40Z) Spath, Mary L.; Fife, Betsy Louise; Austin, Joan Kessner; Monahan, Patrick O.; Bigatti, Silvia M.; Bell, Linda G.
    Bone marrow transplant (BMT) is being used ever more widely for advanced and refractory malignancies. The family unit and individual members are profoundly affected by this treatment process. Few studies have examined the effect of parental BMT on the family, and there are no known studies which have investigated the impact of parental BMT on children. A descriptive design with longitudinal data from 61 children, ages 10-18, examined children’s adaptation, characterized as emotional and behavioral response, during the acute phase of parental BMT. The study included 3 time points: pre-transplant, during parental hospitalization, and one month after transplantation. The Response to Stress Questionnaire, and subscales from the Child Health Questionnaire and Family Environment Scale were used to assess child, parent, and family variables associated with child adaptation. Child emotional and behavioral response significantly improved over the course of the parent’s transplant, and significant changes in children’s use of coping strategies at each time point were found. The model accounted for 27% to 46% of the explained variance in child behavioral response, and accounted for 41% of the explained variance in emotional response prior to the parent’s BMT and one month after BMT. The model did not explain the variance of child emotional response, however, during the parent’s hospitalization. Family structural change, family conflict, and disengagement coping were found to be the predominant variables significantly associated with more negative child behavioral response across the transplant trajectory. Female child gender and increased use of disengagement coping before the parent’s BMT, autologous BMT during the parent’s hospitalization, and increased family structural change when the parent returned home one month later were significantly associated with more negative emotional response in children. Additional cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, using mixed methods, and include both parent and child data, are needed to substantiate the validity of findings. The data also suggests that significant variables in this model could be further studied for their association with one another and for refining a more accurate and inclusive model that may better explain children’s adaptation.
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    "Motherhood is Our Common Denominator": A Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of HIV-Positive Mothers
    (2011-03-09) Reichert, Erica S.; Foote, Carrie E.; Aponte, Robert; Fife, Betsy Louise
    This study explored the experiences of raising children in the context of living with HIV/AIDS. In the fall of 2007, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 HIV-positive mothers (8 African American and 9 white) living in Indiana. Spillover theory was used to describe the interacting effects of the experience of living with HIV/AIDS and the experience of motherhood on one another. Findings indicate that maternal ideologies critically affected how the women experienced both their HIV-positive status and their mothering experiences. Findings also show that the mothers developed strategies to help them reconcile their valued identity as mothers with a stigmatized identity as HIV-positive women. Recommendations are made regarding directions for future research, social policy, and social service provision.
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    Thai breast cancer patients: experiences and views about photographs of other women with the same disease
    (2010-02-26T19:10:34Z) Padunchewit, Jularut; Blinn-Pike, Lynn; Foote, Carrie E.; Fife, Betsy Louise
    Photographs invite women to construct their own meanings of the self and illness without boundaries of race, ethnicity, and culture differences. This study analyzed 15 intensive interviews with 15 Asian (Thai) women in Thailand. The results are divided into two parts. In part I, grounded theory analyses revealed four major themes of experiences of Asian (Thai) female breast cancer survivors, including: (1) experiencing uncertainty of signs and symptoms, (2) entering the medical establishment, (3) experiencing self-change after treatment, and, (4) desiring to return to normality. In part II, the 15 women were shown a postmodern artistic photo book of American women who have breast cancer. The goal was to assess how they related to American women faced with their own stories of breast cancer. The results of the postmodern artistic photo book showed that Asian (Thai) women narrated their illness experiences in both modern and postmodern ways. This study not only revealed the sociological perspectives of Asian (Thai) women who suffered from breast cancer as they experienced a four-stage process, but enhanced our understanding of how disease experiences are socially constructed. In addition, this study provides an opportunity for medical systems in both the East and the West to use postmodern artistic photo books of women with breast cancer for forging ties with others, including patients, patients’ families, hospitals, and caregivers.