OCCUPATION, ENERGY EXPENDITURE & HEALTH OF MIDLIFE WOMEN

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the health status (physical and psychological health) of midlife women from four traditional female occupations of differing levels of energy expenditure and status. Existing studies have contributed essential data regarding the unidimensional impact of changing hormone levels and environmental factors on the health of midlife women. There is now a need for a multivariate approach to explaining health which will assist in the future development of health promoting interventions. The proposed study will use a tested nursing theoretical framework of health behavior to explore the impact of energy expenditure and the mediating effects of demographic characteristics (age, occupation, work patterns, marital status, family members), environmental resources (income), previous health (menopausal status, life long physical activity patterns, cardiorespiratory fitness, body index, hormonal status, total cholesterol and blood pressure) , cognitive appraisal (attitude toward menopause) , and intrinsic motivation (health self-determinism) on the health status of midlife women. A sample of 200 women, aged 35-60, stratified by age and race will be randomly sampled from four employee lists (50 registered nurses, 50 nursing assistants, 50 university professors, 50 telephone operators). A detailed questionnaire will address health status, energy expenditure, demographic characteristics, environmental resources, cognitive appraisal, intrinsic motivation and previous health (menopausal status and life long physical activity patterns). Additional data on previous health will be obtained by estradiol and FSH assays, total cholesterol and cardiorespiratory fitness testing with a bicycle ergometer. An explanatory model of midlife women's physical symptoms and psychological health will be provided. This study will provide the much needed description of those multifocal factors which have an impact on midlife women's health status. From these data nurses can develop and implement empirically based interventions targeted at supporting and ameliorating health problems associated with this transitional time in women's lives.