Development delay in children under 6 years old is prevalent not only in both developed and developing countries. It is alarming that the number of delayed children is increasing. It is obliging to find out the family factors that possibly affect developmental delays in children six years old and younger. The objectives of the study were the following: (1) Describe the characteristics of families of children with developmental delays. (2) Determine the factors that significantly relate with developmental delays when comparing families of children, with delays and without delays.

The sample was composed of 52 delayed children and their families, and 52 normal children and their families who were purposively chosen. The data was collected from March to May 2011 with the approval of the Saint Louis University Research Ethics Committee. The Metro Manila Developmental Screening Test was used  to test child development. The Parent Behavior Checklist was used to assess  parenting behavior of mothers. A questionnaire was used to collect family and child factors.

The results of analysis revealed that higher frequencies of delays occurred in children one (23.08%) and three (23.08%) years of age; first born or only child (36.54%), and in households with three children or less (32.69%). Families of delayed children are of low socio-economic status, whose mother predominantly scored low in all categories of parenting. It was also found out that more frequencies  of delays occurred in the fine motor adaptive sector (86.54%), followed by the language (69.23%), gross motor (38.46%) and personal-social (32.69%) sectors respectively.

Results of the chi square test revealed that expectation parenting behavior is significantly associated to developmental delay in the gross-motor sector (p 0.005) in children under six years of age. Developmental delays in the gross motor sector in the three to less than six-year-olds are significantly associated with father's occupation (p 0.009) and expectation parenting behavior (p 0.022).

Analysis of factors associated with developmental delays when comparing delayed and normal children revealed that family factors are not significantly associated with developmental delays. A sub-analysis of age groups however revealed that mother's occupation and developmental delays are significantly associated in the three to less that six-year-old age group (p 0.026).

It is concluded that children with developmental delays belong to families with disadvantaged socioeconomic status whose mothers scored low in all subscales of parenting behaviors; and family characteristics, parenting behaviors of the mother and child characteristics are not significantly related to developmental delays  in children under six years old. Therefore, health workers should be more vigilant in identifying children with developmental delays regardless of family characteristics.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Family ; Developmental Disabilities ; Parenting ; Child Rearing ; Social Class

Student satisfaction is one of the many Important factors that any academic institution must consider for it is very helpful in refining academic processes, improving the quality of education, and evaluating the institutional efficiency. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) measure Filipino students' levels of satisfaction in today's BSN program, and (2) see the satisfaction differences between those enrolled in private and government higher educational institutions (HEIs). A cross-sectional comparative design was used. A total of 505 nursing students from different private and government HEIs in Central Luzon were conveniently recruited during the 2nd semester of A.Y. 2012-2013. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Mean ratings showed that the students enrolled in both private and government HEIs are generally satisfied with their current baccalaureate program (x=4.02 and x=3.55 respectively). In addition, Mann-Whitney test revealed that there is a significant difference between the satisfaction levels of students enrolled in private and government nursing schools in satisfaction levels of students enrolled in private and government nursing schools in the Region (p<.05). Overall, students are satisfied with the in-class teaching , clinical teaching, the program itself, and the support and resources of their department. However, those enrolled in government HEIs have lower satisfaction ratings as compared to those enrolled in private nursing schools. Academic administrators must further develop the instructional competencies of the faculty, as well as improve nursing facilities and laboratories by making them well-equipped, adequately -staffed, and readily available to meet the needs of the students.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Education, Nursing ; Education, Professional ; Nursing

Cancer as a disease exists as a global health concern. Among all types, cancer of the breasts was noted as one of the most common in the Philippines. Narrow focus has been attributed in understanding the communication experiences of patients and their spouses from the time of diagnosis to post treatment. Employing the descriptive phenomenological inquiry, the purpose of this study was to explore breast cancer patients and their spouses' lived experiences of their communication as a couple from their own frame of reference during the time of diagnosis and post treatment. Examining individual accounts of five (5) couples from an in depth qualitative interviews and following Colaizzi's method of data analysis, three main themes surfaced as similar among the participants: (a) Breaking the news (b) Hearing the Sound of Silence (c) Keeping the Faith. The three emerging themes reflect the couple's communication challenges during breast cancer illness and generated a continuum of varying emotions. The communication of couples during cancer was associated with great effort to find ways to build hope, stay together and found meaning and purpose to continue supporting each other. The couples in the study embraced cancer and brought them closer together.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Diagnosis ; Communication

Human ; Male ; Female ; Nursing ; Nursing Care ; Professional Practice

Human ; Female ; Nursing ; Nurses ; Nursing Care

BACKGROUND: The present situation in the clinical practices in most hospitals in the Philippines presents great challenges and expectations for nurses to accomplish. Working in very busy large hospitals is considered tedious task. Even the most experienced nurses are confronted with complicated assignments that may threaten their wellness. It is in this context that the researcher conducted this study to determine (a) the nurses' rating of the availability of an existing hospital's basic health promotion program for nurses, (b) the nurses' perceptions of administrative support for the health promotion program, and (c) the nurses' appraisal of the scope of workplace wellness promotion in hospital units.

METHODOLOGY: A descriptive-correlational method was used. The sample consisted of 131 of 194 staff nurses from a large city government hospital. Data were collected using the Workplace Wellness Questionnaire and interviews. Ranking, weighted mean, and Pearson coefficient were used to analyze data.

RESULTS: The respondents rated the availability of basic health promotion with its overall mean score of 2.61 implying that the respondents perceived that the health promotion program is supported to some extent. Withregard to the administrative support, the respondents perceived that administration was generally supportive of existing hospital health promotion program. However, they responded that they rarely experienced an optimum level of wellness. Statistical evidence supported that there is an existing relationship between the extent of workplace wellness and the availability of it and support of the administration

CONCLUSION: Weak areas in the workplace were prioritized in the wellness program for nurses. These areas were: physical activity facilities and access to facilities outside of work hours, nutrition education/weight management, written policies and fitness programs, allocated budget, employee participation and health screening. Since the respondents experienced a low level of wellness, a nurses' workplace wellness program was formulated and proposed.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Logic ; Workplace ; Nursing ; Health

AIM: The purposes are to (a) examine the emerging concepts of connection within nursing practice and education; (b) evaluate current measures of connections within nursing practice and education; and c) identify strategies for enhancing connections between nursing educators and students and for nurses and patients.

BACKGROUND: Nursing and other disciplines rely on connections, although the term has evolved significantly in recent years due to changes of perceptions and expectations within other disciplines and within society. The lack of an empirical tool and defined attributes has constrained research and knowledge development. The initial exploration provided the first step in understanding the context and meaning of the word connect within the nursing profession. Three specific components were identified in this initial exploration within the nursing perspective: (a) respect, (b) trust, and (c) mutuality. Although the foundation of nursing care is based on the relationship and connections between the nurse and the patient, it is further identified in the first article that the need to further investigate the emerging ideas of connection within nursing practice and education.

METHODS: A detailed literature review was used to explore the phenomena of connection. The review of literature was performed through searches of CINAHL, EBSCO, and PubMed utilizing resources from the disciplines of transportation, business, technology, and nursing. Criteria for inclusion were (a) peer--reviewed articles; (b) articles published in English; and c) articles published between 2000 and 2014. Search terms included: connect, connection, connected, connectedness, and nursing. The search yielded a total of 114 articles; 33 were selected for inclusion. Definitions and related attributes were organized and classified based on relevance and frequency within the literature.

RESULTS: The attributes that were consistently found in the literature within the nurse to patient connection were: (a) interactions between the person and the object of connection; (b) an inherent need to be part of a social system; (c) use of communication in verbal, written, non­verbal, physical or virtual format; (d) the occurrence of meaningfulness, trust, mutuality and respect; (e) polychronicity; and (f) technology based emphasis. Instruments that measure connections and connectedness provide valuable insight into the concept. However, they do not adequately address the concept of connection as it relates to nursing practice and education with current technological.

CONCLUSIONS: While connection is a common term and fundamental to the role of the nurse/patient relationship, the defining attributes of connect have dynamically changed, and therefore require new understanding. It is critical to restructure the nurse to patient connection and to redefine the term within nursing practice and education with the inclusion of the multifaceted technological advances that define our current generations. Strategies that would enhance the nursing educator and student connection include: a) creation of additional nursing educational based Apps and Apps that focus on self-instruction tutorials and remediation techniques for non-successful students; b) integration of technological learning modalities into nursing curricula in both undergraduate and graduate programs; c) reduction of use of textbooks and inclusion of technology based learning; d) development of learning communities inside and outside of the classroom; e) creation of virtual resource support with simultaneous communication and valuable nursing information; f) and increased use of virtual environment and virtual communication.

Nursing ; Technology

Performance in the eight Nurse Licensure Examinations from December 2006 to December 2010 was analyzed to describe how graduates of colleges of nursing nationwide performed in the tests and to determine the factors that correlate with the examinees' scores. The study included all the graduates of colleges of nursing who participated in the eight Nurse Licensure Examinations. Data were collected through a review of secondary data from the Professional Regulation Commission - the passing percentage and average rating of schools, testing centers in the subjects tested and type of examinees. The variables from each NLE were categorized into Examinee variables, Institutional variables, and Program and Other variables. Based on the NLE results, the study concluded that those who took the examination for the first time (first timers) performed better, had higher passing percentage and significantly higher average rating than repeaters in all the NLEs. Among the repeaters, those who took the examination for at most two times showed higher passing percentage and average rating. Examinees from accredited schools also had higher passing percentage and average rating than examinees from non-accredited schools. Those from government-owned schools showed higher passing percentage in all NLEs and significantly higher average ratings in six (6) out of the eight (8) NLEs than examinees from non-government-owned schools. The study found that the accredited and government-owned schools had higher passing percentage and average rating compared to non-accredited and non-government-owned schools. Significant differences were found in the passing percentage and average rating of the examinees across regions and testing centers. Of the five subjects tested, the examinees performed best in Nursing Practice I and III. Their lowest passing percentage and average rating was in Nursing Practice IV. Number of examinees per school appeared not to have affected nor influenced either the passing percentage or average rating of schools in the eight (8) NLEs. The study reveals significant findings that correlate the performance of graduates of Philippine colleges of nursing in the 8 NLEs with selected variables and these findings may provide a better understanding of the issues and problems concerning the performance of examinees in the NLE.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Nursing ; Nurses ; Licensure, Nursing ; Accreditation

This study investigated rural Lao PDR village women's views and experiences of recent, or impeding, childbirth to better understand barriers to maternity service usage. Lao PDR has the highest maternal mortality rate (MMR) in the South-East Asian region with very low utilization rates for skilled birth assistance and health sector delivery services. The study site, Sekong, a southern Lao province, was lowest in the country on virtually all indicators of reproductive and maternal health, despite several recent maternal health service interventions. The study's aim was to gain a fuller understanding of barriers to maternity services usage to contribute towards maternity services enhancement, and district and national policy-making for progressing towards 2015 MDG 4 & 5 targets.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was used. First, face-to-face questionnaires were used to collect demographic and reproductive health and health care experience data from 166 village woman (120 with a child born in the previous year, and 46 who were currently pregnant). In-depth individual interviews then followed with 23 purposively selected woman, to probe personal experiences and perspectives on why women preferred home birthing.

The majority of the woman had given at home, assisted by untrained birth attendants (relatives or neighbours). While seventy percent had accessed some antenatal services, postpartum follow-up attendance was very low (17 percent). Limited finances, lack of access to transport and prior negative health service experiences were important factors influencing women's decision making. Giving birth at home was seen by many, not just as unavoidable, but, as the preferred option.

Recent top-down maternal health initiatives have had little impact in this region. Improving maternal and child-health strategies requires much greater community participation and use of participatory action methodologies, to increase women's engagement in policy and planning and subsequent usage of health service developments.

Human ; Female ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Pregnancy ; Health Services

This paper attempts to capture how the principles of Participatory Action Research (PAR) were put into life in the integrated reproductive health (RH) programme in the Cordilleras, Northern Philippines. Document review and interviews of program staff were utilized to learn from the field and data were derived from participatory methods such as Group and Team Dynamic Methods, Interviewing and Dialogue Methods, Sampling Methods, and Visualization and Diagramming Methods. Results show that Community Needs Assessment (CNA) as a baseline for integrated planning of programme partners, laid a PAR framework for the entire development process. With the guidance of the integrated RH framework, the CNA ensured relevant and correct interpretation and analysis of data which then led to meaningful plans, actions and partnership, having gained the acceptance of communities. Community structures - People's Organizations with Health Committees that oversee income generating projects and RH education activities in the barangays (villages), were strengthened; partnerships with the Barangays Councils (BC) and the Barangay Health Stations (BHS) are continually enhanced to make policy formulation and service delivery more responsive to RH needs. Through this, the community was presented as a powerful unit of identity that builds on the strengths and resources of the community. The experience revealed that co-learning and capacity building can be promoted, and knowledge generation and intervention is integrated. The experience also emphasized the local relevance of public health problems (RH in this case) and the multiple determinants of health and disease including biomedical, social, economic, and physical environmental factors. To the researchers, it has been an inspiring and empowering experience to grow and learn with the people.

Human ; Male ; Female