Framework: Neuman’s Systems Model

Subjects: Sixty-five urban hypertensive African Americans volunteers with parenting responsibilities participating in the larger study will participate in this study.

Methods: This descriptive study was nested within a larger randomized controlled trial. Baseline descriptive data plus the Index of Parental Attitudes (IPA) were collected by structured interview. Data was analyzed using frequency distributions and measures of central tendency and dispersion.

Results: Participants ranged in age from 22 to 82 years, were mostly female (63.1%), and had from 1 to 9 children. All participants were responsible for care of 1 or more dependent children. Most participants were sedentary, smoked, and overweight. The mean systolic blood pressure was 157.14 (SD=21.98) and the mean diastolic blood pressure was 88.73 (SD=15.01). The average IPA scores were 11.83 (SD=9.38), with a range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater parental stress. Some (10%) participants had a clinically significant problem with the parent/grandparent-child relationship.

Conclusions: The present study is the first in a line of research studies to develop a knowledge base about the influence of parental attitudes on parents’/grandparents’ hypertension outcomes. Based on the results of this study, further studies for possible interventions will be tested to aid parents/grandparents better cope with the stressors of caring for themselves and their children. This study contributes to nursing in that it provides an assessment of potential health consequences of low-income, urban parents/grandparents caring for children.

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Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004