https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63409 2026-04-07T22:39:27Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/66320 Title: Adolescents' perceptions of health and physical exercise Abstract: The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory research was to explore adolescents' perceptions of health and physical exercise. Twenty adolescents (n = 20) were divided into 2 groups often (10) to generate ideas and discuss the topics 'health' and 'physical exercise' using the nominal group technique. The discussions were transcribed and a qualitative analyses of the data was undertaken. The findings showed that adolescents have a broad perception of health which include physical, psychological/emotional and cultural health. They appear knowledgeable about health, but are surrounded by conflicting messages and have several misconceptions of health. They also viewed health as being dynamic, changing throughout an individual's life. Adolescents viewed physical exercise as being important for health and the highest benefits of exercise were expressed in terms of strenuous physical activities and sports. Physical exercise is viewed as a means of protection against physical, psychological/emotional and social problems. Several misconceptions about physical exercise were also expressed by the adolescents. Recommendations based on the findings, include emphasising the psychological, social and emotional benefits of health and physical exercise in addition to the physiological benefits, helping adolescents to deal with inconsistent messages and helping adolescents to value and understand the benefits of health and physical exercise. Moreover, several suggestions for further research have been made, which include the use of unstructured interviews, larger scale studies, inclusion of girls and research on perceptions of health amongst adults to compare them to perceptions of adolescents Description: B.SC.(HONS)NURSING 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/65516 Title: Knowledge, behaviours and attitudes of Maltese nursing students on smoking Abstract: This aim of this descriptive survey is to study the smoking behaviour of a cohort of Maltese nursing students, their knowledge about its health consequences and their perceived and practised role in educating their patients about the subject. Quantitative data was collected through questionnaires administered to a stratified random sample of 100 subjects representative of all third year and fourth year nursing students at the Institute of Health Care of the University of Malta. The findings supported the well-documented smoking trends among qualified and student nurses world-wide. One third of the students were current smokers, 19 of them being daily smokers. Smoking behaviour was significantly related to the students' gender and course but not to their age, year of study or marital status. Smokers and non-smokers were apparently equally as knowledgeable about the harmful nature of tobacco smoking on an individual's health, but smokers were significantly less likely to be "very concerned" about the effects of smoking on their own health. The frequency of providing patients with information about smoking and with explicit advice to quit was not significantly related to the respondents' smoking status. Smokers and non smokers did not differ significantly in their perceived responsibility to advise people to stop smoking, but smokers were significantly less likely to believe that they should set an example by not smoking themselves. Smokers were generally less likely to agree with various legislative methods of reducing smoking, but both groups were outright in favour of restricting smoking in hospitals. The findings also indicate that most of the students would be willing to learn and utilise specialised skills to support patients who want to stop smoking. Description: B.SC.(HONS)NURSING 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/65481 Title: Nurses' attitudes towards parental participation in the paediatric wards Abstract: Parental participation is generally considered to be beneficial in the care of the sick child. However, it is documented (Brown & Ritchie, 1990; Darbyshire, 1992) that the nurses' perceptions of parental participation are mixed. While some nurses perceive participation in care as valuable, others have reservations about certain parents' abilities to provide that care. The main aim of this study was to explore the nurses' attitudes towards parental participation in the local paediatric wards. A descriptive study was undertaken where a convenience sample of 18 nurses working in the three paediatric wards was selected and interviewed. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data was subjected to content analysis. The data revealed that the majority of the nurses were in favour of parental presence and they viewed participation as the involvement of parents in their child's care. The findings also showed that while nurses expected parents to be mainly involved in the delivery of basic care and support, nurses were willing to involve parents in medical care, particularly those wi.th chronically ill children. Moreover, nurses perceived information, attitudes and the parents' emotional state as being the most three influencing factors affecting parental participation. These findings are discussed in relation to the literature and possible factors that could have led to these results are identified. Appropriate recommendations are also given. Description: B.SC.(HONS)NURSING 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/65136 Title: Activities of nurses working the 12 hour shift on medical wards Abstract: Research on the type of nursing activities performed by nurses is rather limited. However, considerable research has been carried out on factors which influence nursing work. This study aimed to look at the amount of direct, indirect, routine and non-nursing activities performed by nurses in medical wards working a 12-hour shift. It also sought to determine nurses' working partners as well as factors, influencing their activities. A descriptive, non-experimental design was used to fulfil these objectives. The tools utilised for data collection included time logs and a short questionnaire. 18 nurses, who consisted of both female and male nurses as well as registered and enrolled nurses, were conveniently selected from 2 medical wards. A 100% response rate was achieved. Findings suggest that nurses perform mostly direct nursing care activities. Direct care activities tend to be highest in the first half of the day and then decrease throughout the afternoon and evening. This pattern is in reverse for non-nursing care activities. It was also found that nurses preferred to work with their peers. Factors influencing nursing activities ranged from staff compliment and number of patients present to admissions, ward management and care method adopted by the ward. From the findings of the present study recommendations for practice, management, education and further research were possible. Description: B.SC.(HONS)NURSING 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z