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    Client satisfaction at the Midcentral Health and Massey University concussion clinic : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) Leach, Roxanne Marie
    The present study intended to evaluate the quality of the service provided by the Midcentral Health and Massey University Concussion Clinic. In doing so, the study first considered the nature of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and concussion injury and rehabilitation and investigated different methods of measuring quality and weighed up the pros and cons of each method to chose the most appropriate method for this setting. As a result, the present study surveyed service satisfaction at the Concussion Clinic. A standardised measure (the Service Satisfaction Survey – 30) was chosen to counter previous methodological problems common to other studies of satisfaction. The main objective of this study was to provide feedback to the Concussion Clinic regarding satisfaction with aspects of their services and to simultaneously investigate relationships with satisfaction. On a whole, participants were generally satisfied with the Concussion Clinic service; conversely some aspects of the service that could be improved were identified. However caution has to be taken in analysing the results especially when inferring results to the whole population, due to this low response rate (twenty of the seventy-nine clients surveyed returned the survey). The second objective of the study was to evaluate the use of this method of evaluation, and the measure chosen, with this type of service. The measure chosen (the Service Satisfaction Scale –30) proved inappropriate for this service setting due to the length and irrelevant questions. Moreover the use of client satisfaction as a method to evaluate this service, even though it provided some data on satisfaction with services, also may not be justified for the reason that the clients were generally only seen once and the nature of outcome in this setting was unclear. This study demonstrated the need for more research in the area of service satisfaction in the health arena, in particular this type of setting; suggestions for this research are included in this study.
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    Information gaps : a group perspective on the management of heart failure : a thesis presented in partial requirements [sic] for the degree of Master of Philosophy, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2000) Reed, Susan
    Heart failure is a complex condition that incurs considerable socio-economic burden, and poor prognosis. Careful management of the syndrome is required if a patient is to have a reasonable quality of life. Health professionals generally acknowledge that there is a need to improve care of patients with heart failure and that there are treatment gaps between the recommended therapies, and the care patients are actually receiving. This pilot study used the grounded theory approach to discover the main concerns, and how they are continually resolved, of a group that manage heart failure. It is argued that information gaps are present in the management of heart failure. It was demonstrated that when there is an absence of a cohesive group, occurring under conditions of changing funding structures within the context of boundaries merging, it is often necessary to alert others. The alerting of others is how the group continually resolve the information gaps. However, when people are not alerted, are left out of the loop, poor symptom management is more likely to occur, and information gaps are perpetuated. The loop in this study is comprised of information relating to heart failure and the members who both send and receive it. Indeed, if the loop is able to be activated so that people are in the loop information is shared and the chances for better heart failure management are more likely. The impact of effective heart failure management for the patients means that although heart failure as a chronic disease is limiting, it is still possible in many cases, to improve quality of life and longevity. The findings of this study also suggest that there is a need for nurses as health professionals to move towards ways to reduce information gaps and improve access to information, and it is suggested that case management and information systems are the ways to do so.
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    Becoming better but different : a grounded theory of women's recovery from hysterectomy following early discharge from hospital : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Birks, Glennis
    The purpose of this grounded theory study was to identify, describe, and generate a theoretical explanation of the experiences of women following early discharge from hospital, as they recovered from hysterectomy. Ten women participated in the study and provided the major source of data. The women, who had undergone surgery within the previous twelve months and who were discharged within five days of having surgery, were interviewed up to three times at four to eight week intervals. Constant comparative analysis of the data eventuated in the identification of a core category, 'becoming better but different'. This is the process engaged in by women following early discharge from hospital in order to recover from the surgery and feel improved health and a sense of transformation. To accomplish this, the women actively sought to regain control of their lives and their bodies following early discharge from hospital. They felt personally responsible for their recovery and actively participated in making it happen. It is through becoming better but different that women achieve a sense of closure or recovery from the experience of having a hysterectomy. It is a multifaceted process and includes the intertwined and simultaneously occurring phases of 'assimilation', 'achieving harmony', and 'repatterning'. The process of becoming better but different is proposed as a possible conceptual model for nursing practice and emphasises the need the women in this study felt to be 'done with' and not 'done to'. Understanding of this process by nurses will enhance the way nurses prepare women for discharge from hospital and provide care following discharge after hysterectomy. Knowledge of the process of becoming better but different may provide the opportunity for creative ways of practising and may provide the means of defining and making nursing practice visible. The consequent implications for practice, education, and research are discussed.
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    Differences between attitudes, ability, physical well-being and social involvement of people with Parkinson's disease who join the Parkinson's society and those who do not join : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1992) Humphries, Sharon Mary
    An investigation was undertaken to compare demographic, physical disability, and some personality differences between members and non-members of the Parkinson's Disease Society. In addition, the leisure activities of subjects were investigated, and levels of activity before and after onset of illness were compared. Eighty-seven patients were interviewed using a structured interview, while the Psychological Adjustment to Illness Scale was used to measure differences in adjustment to the illness between the member and non-member groups. While few differences were found between members and non-members, a trend in the amount of leisure activities the two groups enjoyed was discovered, whether these differences were there prior to joining the Society, or whether the Society membership mediated the differences could not be ascertained from a correlational study, and the implications of this are considered. Of the activities provided by the Parkinson's Disease Society, members appreciated the information contained in the newsletter the most.