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Biomedical subjects

C Vallbona

Publications and source records attributed to C Vallbona.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Physician communication to patients regarding medications.

An analysis of 11 physicians' speech content regarding medications was conducted on 267 encounters with hypertensive patients. Scored were categories for questions, instructions, directions to take and justifications for taking medications. The median inter-auditor agreement was 83%. The results indicate that the physicians asked few questions and gave few instructions for patients on stable drug regimens; however, for newly prescribed drugs and changed regimens the provided information doubled: there were instructions for 77%, medication-taking commands for 31% and justification for taking medications for 21% of all medications. Other results indicate that that physicians did not discriminate by age, sex or race in quantity of speech about medication, but they did ask more questions of patients who saw a different physician on the previous visit. The results suggest that the system of scoring speech was reliable and captured the physicians adjustments to their patients' and their own needs for information.

Communication↗
PubMed1984

Physical fitness prospects in the elderly.

Approximately 44% of the population over age 65 has some degree of physical disability; the prevalence increases with age, particularly for women. Methods for measuring functional activity in the elderly have been reported for approximately 25 years, but there is disagreement and ambiguity about the purposes and circumstances of measurement. A summary of a panel report of the 1981 National Conference of Fitness and Aging includes major pathophysiologic changes associated with aging and beneficial physiologic effects of exercise in the elderly. Studies substantiate the beneficial effects of physical exercise and rhythmic and movement therapy. Physical fitness programs impact on the restoration and preservation of health, particularly in the geriatric population. Physicians should take the initiative in establishing guidelines for these programs to ensure their timeliness and appropriateness.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Procedures and discrepancies of blood pressure measurements in two community health centers.

Three studies of blood pressure measurement were conducted in two primary care clinics. In study I, procedures for taking blood pressure were observed for seven nurses, and their readings were compared with readings taken in a standard manner. The results show that the nurses' procedure needed improvement; the systolic/diastolic discrepancies with the standard averaged 10.2/7.5 mmHg. In study II, the nurses were trained to improve their procedure, and readings were again compared. The results show improvement for moderate, but not for large, discrepancies in diastolic readings. In study III, two physicians' procedure for taking blood pressure indicated that their procedures could also be improved. Overall, there was little correlation between potential biases in providers' procedures and discrepancies with the standard. The discrepancies between the nurse and physician readings led to different treatment indicators in 22-26 per cent of the observations.

Blood Pressure Determination↗