Date of Award

2011-05-10

Degree Name

PhD Nursing

Dissertation Committee

Jane M. Georges, PhD, RN, Chair; Patricia A. Roth, EdD, RN; Kathy Shadle James, PhD, RN

Keywords

Cord Blood collection, beliefs, Hematopoietic Stem Cell, nursing, Pluripotent Mesenchymal Cells, pregnancy, Stem cell research, transplant, women

Abstract

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells form commonly banked types of human tissue. Confusion remains about sources of stem cells and their use. Birth is a once in a lifetime opportunity with 74 million births per year in the world and four million occur in the United States. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells and pluripotent mesenchymal cells (Moise, 2005). There is a surge of interest in the clinical use and research investigation of umbilical cord blood for transplantation and regenerative medicine. Clinicians need increased awareness and education of options for private versus public donation and banking of cord blood at birth to present to pregnant patients. The aims of this research were to describe decision-making readiness and communication with mothers and their partners during her pregnancy using the Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska, J.O. and DiClemente, C.C, 1982). Describe the relationship between age, pregnant women's level of parity, gestational age, highest level of education, marital status, race, religion, economic status, and plan of payment for prenatal care to their sources of knowledge, their beliefs and knowledge regarding cord blood transplantation. Perceptions of pregnant women's cord blood use and their understanding of the difference between public and private cord blood storage banks and use. The partner's perceptions of cord blood use and their understanding of the difference between public and private cord blood storage banks and use. The voluntary sample consisted of 30 participants of convenience from two obstetrical clinics from a local clinic. The design was a quantitative method staging an algorithm for Cord Blood Donation using a Decision of Readiness Scale along with notification of significant other. The Cord Blood Survey measured sources of knowledge, beliefs, and knowledge of cord blood transplantation. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPWS 18.0) was used to perform an analysis of data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic variables and to identify central tendency, variability and percentages of key variables. One-way ANOVA and t-test were computed on the quantitative questions. Qualitative measures from randomly selected post interviews of 1/3 of the sample were completed. The barriers to understanding what umbilical cord blood donation options and how pregnant women make decisions regarding umbilical cord blood donations are explored. The implications for nursing research are: overcoming the barriers to understanding the difference between private and public banking and the ramifications of each option; add to nursing knowledge by understanding when and how women make decisions about umbilical cord blood donation; and future studies could investigate ethical implications of umbilical cord blood donation and best nursing practice guidelines for approaching pregnant women and their partners on umbilical cord blood donation options.

Document Type

Dissertation: Open Access

Department

Nursing

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Nursing Commons

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