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Biomedical subjects

B Gerbert

Publications and source records attributed to B Gerbert.

81 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Psychological aspects of Crohn's disease.

This is a critical review of 16 studies reporting a relationship between Crohn's disease and psychological variables. The studies reviewed indicate a relationship between the psychological variables of stressful life events, personality characteristics, and psychopathology and the onset and/or exacerbation of Crohn's symptoms. Personality characteristics such as depression, anxiety, and dependency are frequently reported as are the occurrence of stressful life events and the presence of psychopathology. The nature of the relationship is not explained by the research to date; however, the findings summarized in this report indicate that additional investigation into this association is warranted. A plan for such research is suggested.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Training physicians about smoking cessation: a controlled trial in private practice.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that physicians in private practice who receive a continuing education program (entitled "Quit for Life") about how to counsel smokers to quit would counsel smokers more effectively and have higher rates of long-term smoking cessation among their patients. DESIGN: Randomized trial with blinded assessment of principal outcomes. SETTING: Private practices of internal medicine and family practice. SUBJECTS: Forty-four physicians randomly assigned to receive training (24) or serve as controls (20) and consecutive samples of smokers visiting each physician (19.6 patients per experimental and 22.3 per control physician). INTERVENTIONS: Physicians received three hours of training about how to help smokers quit. Physicians and their office staffs were also given self-help booklets to distribute to smokers and were urged to use a system of stickers on charts as reminders to counsel smokers about quitting. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Based on telephone interviews with patients, physicians in the experimental group were more likely to discuss smoking with patients who smoked (64% vs. 44%), spent more time counseling smokers about quitting (7.5 vs. 5.2 minutes), helped more smokers set dates to quit smoking (29% vs. 5% of smokers), gave out more self-help booklets (37% vs. 9%), and were more likely to make a follow-up appointment about quitting smoking (19% vs. 11% of those counseled) than physicians in the control group. One year later, the rates of biochemically confirmed, long-term (greater than or equal to 9 months) abstinence from smoking were similar among patients in the experimental (3.2%) and control (2.5%) groups (95% confidence interval for the 0.7% difference: -1.7 to +3.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that this continuing education program substantially changed the way physicians counseled smokers, but had little or no impact on rates of long-term smoking cessation among their patients. There is a need for more effective strategies to help physicians help their patients to quit smoking.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Public acceptance of the Surgeon General's brochure on AIDS.

Public acceptance of the Surgeon General's brochure, "Understanding AIDS," was investigated in a nationwide telephone survey of a representative sample of 2,000 adults generated by random digit dialing. A response rate of 75 percent was achieved. A total of 59 percent of respondents remembered receiving the brochure; of these, 68 percent read most of it and 20 percent read half of it or less. Most respondents reacted positively; 86 percent believed that it was a good use of government money, and only 7 percent would have preferred not getting it. Analysis by demographic characteristics indicated that blacks and young people were less likely to remember receiving the brochure than were whites and retired persons. The public health community can assume that the mailing met with resounding approval and that other public health brochures would be welcomed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interactive multimedia sexual risk assessment: using a video doctor to screen patients.

Sexual risk assessment is a vital component of early detection of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We developed the Interactive Multimedia Sexual Risk Assessment, which uses a "video doctor" to question patients about risk-associated sexual behavior, and administered it to a convenience sample of 393 people. Their acceptance of the technology was evaluated, and their risk of contracting an STD was identified according to both liberal and conservative criteria. Most respondents (99%) reported that they had answered the questions truthfully, 74% reported that they had felt comfortable answering the questions, and 79% stated that they would return to the physician portrayed in the video. Fifty-nine percent were at risk for an STD according to the liberal definition, compared with 8% according to the conservative definition.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Activating patients to practice skin cancer prevention: response to mailed materials from physicians versus HMOs.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether the source and emphasis of mailed messages about skin cancer would differentially activate patients to initiate skin cancer prevention by calling a toll-free number. METHODS: We mailed a questionnaire to 981 randomly selected patients of a large medical group to assess their concern about and risk for skin cancer: 48 were returned undeliverable (n = 933). The booklet was accompanied by a letter inviting patients to call a toll-free number. Patients received the letter from one of three sources: (1) their physician, (2) their HMO, or (3) a fictitious junk mail organization. Patients received one of three different messages emphasizing the effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays on (1) the risk of skin cancer, (2) aging and wrinkling of the skin, or (3) aging and wrinkling accompanied by a book further emphasizing these harmful effects of the sun. RESULTS: The overall activation rate was low (7%); nevertheless, the source of the preventive message significantly affected whether patients called in. Messages from physicians and HMOs were more activating than messages from the junk mail organization (odds ratio [OR] = 3.40, confidence intervals [CI] = 1.66, 6.97), but messages from physicians were not more activating than messages from HMOs (OR = 1.56, CI = .90, 2.72). The emphasis of the message did not significantly affect call-in rates. Risk for skin cancer was positively associated with patient activation, but attitudes and beliefs about skin cancer prevention were unrelated to activation. CONCLUSIONS: These results should encourage HMOs and physicians to continue their preventive health outreach as one aspect of multicomponent prevention efforts. The results also suggest that HMOs and physicians can activate patients most at risk for skin cancer by emphasizing both risks of cancer and aging and wrinkling when they deliver a skin cancer preventive message.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

HIV risk assessment: a video doctor seeks patient disclosure.

We assessed the influence of a "video doctor's" affective communication style (warm vs. neutral) and of a preamble to questions about sexual activity on patients' disclosure of risky sexual behavior and injectable drug use. To isolate the effects of the independent variables, we created an interactive multimedia program for HIV risk assessment using a video doctor portrayed by an actor. Participants were assigned to one of four conditions: no preamble and a neutral physician, no preamble and a warm physician, a preamble and a neutral physician, or a preamble and a warm physician. Almost 60% of a convenience sample of 393 subjects reported engaging in two or more risky behaviors. Disclosure of risky behaviors was not significantly affected by the preamble. A warm communication style elicited more disclosure than a neutral style, suggesting that physicians' communication style is important in determining how much sensitive information patients are willing to reveal.

Adult↗