The Effects of Age, Ethnicity, Sexual Dysfunction, Urinary Incontinence, Masculinity, and Relationship with the Partner on the Q
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-8-2013 The ffecE ts of Age, Ethnicity, Sexual Dysfunction, Urinary Incontinence, Masculinity, and Relationship with the Partner on the Quality of Life of Men with Prostate Cancer Suha Ballout Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI13120415 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Family Practice Nursing Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Geriatric Nursing Commons, Male Urogenital Diseases Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Ballout, Suha, "The Effects of Age, Ethnicity, Sexual Dysfunction, Urinary Incontinence, Masculinity, and Relationship with the Partner on the Quality of Life of Men with Prostate Cancer" (2013). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 978. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/978 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida THE EFFECTS OF AGE, ETHNICITY, SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION, URINARY INCONTINENCE, MASCULINITY, AND RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PARTNER ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in NURSING by Suha Ballout 2013 To: Dean Ora Lea Strickland College of Nursing and Health Sciences This dissertation, written by Suha Ballout, and entitled The Effects of Age, Ethnicity, Sexual Dysfunction, Urinary Incontinence, Masculinity, and Relationship with the Partner on the Quality of Life of Men with Prostate Cancer, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Ellen Brown _______________________________________ Abraham Lavender _______________________________________ Carol A. (“Pat”) Patsdaughter, Co-Major Professor ______________________________________ Anahid Kulwicki, Co-Major Professor Date of Defense: November 8, 2013 The dissertation of Suha Ballout is approved. _______________________________________ Dean Ora Lea Strickland College of Nursing and Health Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2013 ii © Copyright 2013 by Suha Ballout All rights reserved. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The journey of my doctoral studies and dissertation was successful attributable to the patience, support, and guidance of my committee, professors, friends, and family. Moving from Beirut to Miami was a life changing experience and the beginning of a dream comes true. The dissertation process was full of challenges and difficulties but the support, guidance, and encouragement of my committee made it possible. Dr. Anahid Kulwicki, was my chair, boss, mentor, friend, and so much more. Working with Dr. Kulwicki, I gained a wealth of knowledge about the qualities of a successful nursing leader and scholar. She believed in my abilities and capabilities and pushed me to deliver my best. She guided me to articulate my program of research and “what’s its name”, my dissertation study. At the end, despite the distance and not studying Arab men, Dr. Kulwicki’s feedback kept me grounded in making my study a foundation for a future program of research. Dr. Carol “Pat” Patsdaughter was my professor, mentor, friend, cheerleader, and role model. Dr. Patsdaughter provided me with support throughout the program and molded me in to being a junior scholar. Dr. Pats continuously and repeatedly reinforced that “a good dissertation is a done dissertation” until I was actually done! Dr. Patsdaughter’s care and support encouraged me to overcome all the data collection challenges and obstacles smoothly. Since our first encounter, she has motivated me and held me to the highest standards. She also encouraged me to develop my service and be part of the consortium of south Florida research conference planning committee. She supported my decisions and management of the study through long conversations where I had to justify every step and “add a reference” to every thought. As a result, I developed an in-depth relationship with my study, data, and aspirations for iv future research. Along the way, I discovered great interest in editing and I look forward to enhancing this skill further under the mentorship of Dr. Patsdaughter. Dr. Pats from the royal wedding to the dissertation defense, you have been my family in Miami. I also want to thank Dr. Ellen Brown for the valuable advice and discussions. My conversations with Dr. Brown suggested different avenues where I can take my future work. Thank you! Dr. Abraham Lavendar contributed to my work with important and interesting discussions about masculinity and sexuality of men from various cultures. He joined Dr. Kulwicki in convincing me of the importance of conducting a similar study with Arab men. So, I promise that it will be on my “to do list” to examine my concepts with a sample of Arab men. I would also like to thank my nursing professors and mentors. Dr. Dorothy Brooten and Dr. JoAnne Youngblut were very influential and nurturing during my courses and thereafter. They provided me a wealth of knowledge about the research process, grant applications, and methods of becoming a successful and funded researcher. I will always remember to present my findings as if talking to the “lady at the bus stop.” Also, I will make sure that my grant applications will describe “So what? Why is it so important to fund you to conduct this study….and where does this fall in your program of research?” in details to have my application scored and funded. Dr. Luz Porter was also very nurturing, supportive, and encouraging. Despite not taking courses with her, Dr. Sande Garcia Jones provided me with ample support and advice that helped shape my research design. Dr. Eric Fenkl, I looked forward to our conversations and exchange of ideas and I hope we get to work together. Dr. Janyce Dyer also supported my journey and encouraged me. In fact, all the faculty and staff at the College of Nursing and Health v Sciences were very supportive. Dean Divina Grossman welcomed me into the program and was confident that I will have a successful experience and consequently would lead a flourishing professional career. Dean Ora Strickland set the bar so high and promoted me to continuously seek a research intensive career path. She is a prominent researcher, a nurse leader, and my role model. I also want to thank my colleagues and partners in the journey at FIU. Frank Guido-Sanz, from my first day at FIU and in Miami, you were my best friend, studying and conference partner, guide to Miami, and sometimes my GPS. We worked well together through courses and maintained our working bond through candidacy and dissertation days in addition to other days. We keep each other grounded and going. Interestingly, you were able to see my strengths with statistics and weaknesses in following directions and reversing my car. We shared many laughs, tears, and long chats in addition to many many meals and good times. I will be looking forward to seeing you Dr. Frank soon! Raquel Vera, we were twins during the dissertation process. You too were my angel. Thank you for your support and for being my friend. Carmen Caicedo, it is a pleasure to be your friend. Your continuous positive outlook on everything reminded me that there are better days yet to come! You are an inspiration and a true friend. Paula Glass, we shared the journey and I could not have started my study without you. You were my supporter and reference when I started teaching. I would also like to thank Dawn Hawthorne, Rosi Roche, Ivette Hidalgo, Cora Yoose, and all my colleagues. Moreover, I would like to mention the students who worked with me on my study especially Aliki Vasiliadi, Niurka Parrado, and Jessica Sanabria. I would also like to vi thank Dr. Sharon Simon and Dr. Maria Olenik for supporting me in balancing my teaching responsibilities and student role. My journey could not have been fun, smooth, stressful, and successful without the ultimate support, patience, and care of my lovely friends. I hope I have enough words to thank you enough. Hiba Bou Akar, time zones, busy schedules, and crazy life events separated us, but you still managed to provide me with the most valuable support on so many levels. We laughed, stressed out, cried, talked for hours, and found time to share professional advice frequently. You elevated me during stressful times and encouraged me to transform my lifestyle to include healthy cooking and exercise while maintaining a busy work schedule and all the other social stuff I engaged myself in. Through discussions of war and “war yet to come” to socially constructed gender norms, prostate cancer, and quality of life, we managed to compare notes between the processes of conducting ethnographies versus quantitative research designs. We learned from each other and built our passion to what we do. Do you think that we could join our areas of research? I wonder what that would be like? Claude Chidiac, “Coco”, thank you for being you! You are a very close friend, a younger brother, a confidant. Being in Dublin did not stop you from being very supportive of every step of my dissertation, although sometimes you had no idea where I was going with my concerns. Without knowing, you inspired me in so many ways to keep on going despite all the challenges and obstacles. No matter how crazy I got, you were always there to ground me and bring me back to reality, “Nmnmnmnm.” The “boota” or “gang”: Zeina Kassem, Janane Hanna, Faten Badran, Rebecca El Asmar, Hala Richa, and Claude Chidiac, you were with me every day for so many years especially when I moved to Miami.