Social justice is a foundational concept in nursing, yet studies on how best to impact change in nursing students' attitudes toward social justice are few.The intent of this work was to quantify the impact on attitudes of undergraduate nursing students toward social justice, after extended interactions with adults living in poverty.Undergraduate nursing students from three programs, university medical center, private university, and community college were given a validated survey of social justice attitudes before and after a clinical rotation with low-income adults in an inner-city neighborhood. All students did home social visits through the same social service agency. Students from the medical center were also involved with active care coordination for assigned clients.Each group showed significant increases in social justice attitudes following their experience. Students doing care coordination did not have significantly greater changes in overall scores but did show significant improvement in subtests others did not.Clinical opportunities placing nursing students in direct interaction with marginalized populations are recommended to increase social justice awareness.
The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence of abuse among pregnant teens in the three developmental stages of adolescence and to determine if abuse was related to pregnancy planning, high school participation, substance use during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and infant birth weight.Prospective survey.A total of 559 pregnant adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 were interviewed. Abuse was measured by the Abuse Assessment Screen. Substance use was measured by self-report. Birth weights were obtained from hospital records.Abuse was reported by 37% of the adolescents. In every age group, the incidence of low birth weight was higher in those who had been abused.The high rates of abuse reported by both adolescent and adult women in this study emphasize the need for nurses in every setting to incorporate routine screening for abuse into their nursing assessments.72 pregnant female adolescents aged 13-15 years, 166 aged 16-17, and 341 aged 18-19 attending prenatal clinics in the greater metropolitan area of a northwestern city participated in a study to assess the incidence of abuse, including physical and sexual abuse, in that subpopulation and to determine whether such abuse is related to pregnancy planning, high school participation, substance use during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and infant birth weight. 52% of the subjects were White, 30% were Black, 4% Native American, 4% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 6% other. They had completed an average of 10.7 years of education, although 47% had dropped out of high school. 8.6% were married and living with their partner, 28% reported being single and cohabiting with a partner, and this was the first pregnancy for 57%. Abuse was measured using the Abuse Assessment Screen, substance abuse was measured by self-report, and birth weights were obtained from hospital records. More than 37% reported abuse, with the middle adolescents reporting the highest incidence and the oldest adolescents the least. In every age group, the incidence of low birth weight was higher among subjects who had been abused, although that difference was not statistically significant. Compared to nonabused subjects, those abused were significantly more likely to be high school dropouts, to smoke, and to have experienced bleeding during the second trimester. No differences were observed between the abused and nonabused subjects in pregnancy planning and reported use of marijuana, alcohol, or other drugs.
A retrospective study was undertaken to determine trends in teenage births in Antigua and Barbuda from 1969 to 2003. Maternity Ward records were reviewed at Holberton Hospital, site of over 90% of deliveries in Antigua and Barbuda. Maternal age for all births were included. The estimated population in Antigua and Barbuda increased from 60 159 in 1969 to 69 866 in 1998, with no suspected change in age-group or gender distribution. Births to mothers 12–13, 14–15, 16–17 and 18–19 years old were analyzed separately. Yearly birth totals for the 10-year period from 1969 to 1973 and 1999 to 2003 were compared using student t test analysis. The total number of births averaged 1075 per year with no change in trend. For females aged 12 and 13 years, there was no change in births from 1969 to 1978 compared with 1994 to 2003. For females aged 14 years, there was a 54% drop; for females aged 15 years, a 59% drop; for females aged 16 years, a 53% drop; for females aged 17 years, a 51% drop; for females 18 years, a 37% drop and for females aged 19 years, a 30% drop, while births to mothers $ 20 years increased 25%. The decrease for all teen births was 42% from 1969–1978 to 1994–2003. Teen births accounted for 29% of all births at Holberton in 1969 to 1973 but only 16% of births in 1999 to 2003. In conclusion, Antigua and Barbuda has seen a marked drop of 42% in teenage deliveries, including a 53% drop in school-aged teens from 1969 to 2003. Explanations include factors such as economic, social, educational and medical developments.
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