Midwest Nursing Research Society

To examine the relationships among work environment, psychosocial factors, and physical activity (PA) among information technology (IT) professionals. This was a cross-sectional survey of 576 IT professionals from three IT companies in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretically supported model using social cognitive theory, incorporating variables from the demand-control model. Higher levels of PA were positively associated with supportive workplace environments, positive outcome expectations, and self-efficacy for PA. Self-efficacy partially mediated the effects of supportive workplace environments on PA. Job strain had an indirect effect on PA through self-efficacy. The final model accounted for 31% of the variance in PA. Work environment and psychosocial factors are both important. Workplace PA interventions directed toward individuals' self-efficacy and outcome expectations in the context of supportive environments may be useful.

In this study, we responded to the human rights challenges posed in Malawi by burgeoning poverty, rapid urbanization, lack of employment opportunity for women, and AIDS-related morbidity and mortality as they affect young women in domestic service. Through focus groups and individual interviews with 48 female domestic workers, we examined violence from a postcolonial feminist perspective. In this article, we tell the story of how we operationalized our feminist science and forged relationships with Malawian women to identify the jeopardy they face and make steps toward an emancipatory change. We highlight substantive findings, but direct our focus to methodology, theoretical grounding, and implications for nursing research undertaken with vulnerable populations in the Third World.