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Biomedical subjects

D Aldridge

Publications and source records attributed to D Aldridge.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Social poetics as research and practice: living in and learning from the process of research.

This paper is both a report of research work carried out by one author of the paper with the other involved in a supervisory role, and a reflection on methodology that was an emergent property of the research process. The research question arose when professional preunderstandings about schizophrenia as a biological disturbance were bracketed as a Husserlian form of phenomenology was adopted. The initial study focused on the meanings three individuals attached to being diagnosed with a mental illness and being involved in psychiatric treatment systems. The exploration of meanings led to the researcher being guided by one study participant in relation to a suitable framework for making sense of her lived experience of being entangled in psychiatric systems. This involved an appreciation of the poetics of interpersonal interaction that was simultaneously fuelled by the researcher's reading of social poetics in psychology. Thus, the research became a hermeneutic inquiry, focused upon the text of one participant (Beth)1 and the psychiatric system that she and colleagues encountered. Beth's psychiatric predicament was described by a loss of 'self', psychiatric interrogation, and positive and negative features of immersion in the system. A byproduct of taking a poetic approach was that the participant found the research process therapeutic. Thus, social poetics encouraged a beneficial blurring of the boundaries between research and practice. In both arenas, social poetics can lead to a different level of understanding. This is contradictory to mainstream approaches to research that value objectivity with a strict division between the researcher and the subjects, with the aim of producing scientific knowledge.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2000

Guidelines for clinical research in complementary medicine.

There are several stages in preparing clinical research studies. Stage 1 includes identifying the purpose of the inquiry and finding the essential financial resources. Careful thinking about the clinical practice to be investigated and the allocation of time for research is also necessary. Stage 2 involves assessing the feasibility of the study. Statistical decisions are best made before data are collected, and this means consultation with a statistician or methodologist. There has to be ethical approval from the cooperating institution. A thorough search of the literature is fundamental. In Stage 3, the final trial is designed, ethical approval obtained, and the proposal is submitted for funding. In the final stage, Stage 4, the trial is carried out, analyzed, and prepared for publication.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed1998

Qigong Yangsheng as a complementary therapy in the management of asthma: a single-case appraisal.

OBJECTIVES: Qigong Yangsheng, the health-promoting method of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, mental exercise, and breathing technique, is used in China for the therapy of bronchial asthma, and for some time now has been enjoying an ever-widening acceptance in the Western world as well. This pilot study investigates if Qigong Yangsheng could be used as a complementary therapeutic measure to treat asthma patients in a Western industrialized country. DESIGN: Thirty asthma patients, with varying degrees of illness severity, were taught Qigong Yangsheng under medical supervision. They were asked to exercise independently, if possible, on a daily basis and to keep a diary of their symptoms for half a year including peak-flow measurements three times daily, use of medication, frequency and length of exercise as well as five asthma-relevant symptoms (sleeping through the night, coughing, expectoration, dyspnea, and general well-being). The concept of this study was based on a single-case research design series with baseline, one teaching phase, a phase of self-practice and a refresher teaching course. A 4-week follow-up period was carried out in the same season as the original baseline phase 52 weeks later. RESULTS: An improvement was indicated if subjects showed a decrease of at least 10 percent in peak-flow variability between the 1st and the 52nd week. This occurred more frequently in the group of the exercisers (n = 17) than in the group of nonexercisers (n = 13) (p < 0.01 chi-square with Yates correction). When comparing the study year with the year before the study, there was improvement also in reduced hospitalization rate, less sickness leave, reduced antibiotic use and fewer emergency consultations resulting in reduced treatment costs. CONCLUSION: Qigong Yangsheng is recommended for asthma patients with professional supervision. An improvement in airway capability and a decrease in illness severity can be achieved by regular self-conducted Qigong exercises.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Alzheimer's disease: rhythm, timing and music as therapy.

Active music-making provides a form of therapy for the Alzheimer's patient which may stimulate cognitive activities such that areas subject to progressive failure are maintained. Anecdotal evidence suggests that quality of life of Alzheimer's patients is significantly improved with music therapy, accompanied by the overall social benefits of acceptance and sense of belonging gained by communicating with others. Music therapy, when based on clear treatment objectives can reduce the individual prescription of tranquilizing medication, reduce the use of hypnotics and help overall goals of rehabilitation. Mood improvement and self-expression, the stimulation of speech and organisation of mental processes; and sensory stimulation and motor integration are promoted. Given that the rate of deterioration in Alzheimer's disease is not predictable, a series of single case experimental designs would generate valuable empirical data concerning treatment outcome and promote basic research into the timing functions required for the co-ordination of cognition, physiology, motor ability and the integrity of behaviour.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1992

Suicidal behaviour: a continuing cause for concern.

There is an increase in suicidal behaviour in the western world providing a major challenge to health care providers. There is an increase in the number of suicides among elderly people in Europe. The problem of suicides among elderly people is in itself a social problem, not solely a medical one. The general practitioner may be the only source of social contact for the elderly. Elderly individuals often present their problems to doctors as somatic complaints; these complaints must not be taken at face value but understood as expressions of psychosocial and social distress. The rise in suicide rates among young people is also alarming. The warning signs of escalating distress in adolescents are known and a treatment programme coordinating medical initiatives, such that recidivism of suicidal behaviour in adolescents is reduced, is necessary. The general practitioner is urged to sense when the problem presented by the individual stems from a source which is predominantly social, and to suggest an appropriate solution which may entail a family intervention. The general practitioner is in the front line of treatment and he or she may be better advised to treat both the social situation and the individual person in cases of attempted suicide. Medical initiatives must incorporate aspects of social medicine whereby community solutions are found for the management of individual distress. Social disruption, isolation, conflict and neglect are the doors to the house of despair. While medicine must respond to those who enter that house, it is the social level at which we must be the architects of change. People will die.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Family Health↗
PubMed1991

Adolescent and pre-adolescent suicide in Newfoundland and Labrador.

This study investigated suicides by people aged ten to 19 in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1977 to 1988. It is the first study of suicide in the province to use the records of death from all eight hospital pathology departments in the province and from the office of the Chief Forensic Pathologist. Cases were selected for the study using standardized criteria, independent of the manner of death recorded on the death certificate. A suicide rate of 4.37 per 100,000 was found. This rate and the age- and sex-specific suicide rates are lower than the official figures for Canada but higher than those reported in earlier Newfoundland studies. The rate for males was nearly five times the female rate, and the rate for people aged 15 to 19 was nearly six times that of people aged ten to 14. Suicide rates for Labrador were higher than for the island portion of the province for both Native and for non Native adolescents. Extremely high rates of suicide were found only among the Native population living in Northern Labrador, while none were recorded for Native people elsewhere. Firearms accounted for 54% and hanging for 33% of all suicides. Thirty percent of suicides occurred on a Saturday. Only 36 of the 63 deaths included in this study were designated as suicide on death certificates. The higher rate of under-reporting of suicide than in other jurisdictions suggests that official rates may not be useful for comparisons. The reasons for the high rate of under-reporting are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Spirituality, healing and medicine.

The natural science base of modern medicine influences the way in which medicine is delivered and may ignore the spiritual factors associated with illness. The history of spirituality in healing presented here reflects the growth of scientific knowledge, demands for religious renewal, and the shift in the understanding of the concept of health within a broader cultural context. General practitioners have been willing to entertain the idea of spiritual healing and include it in their daily practice, or referral network. Recognizing patients' beliefs in the face of suffering is an important factor in health care practice.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1987

Families, cancer and dying.

Cancer involves change in individuals and families. Family practitioners are in a unique position to meet the needs of families where cancer is present. By coordinating differing therapeutic interventions and developing therapeutic support within the community the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of those who are dying, and the needs of their families, can be met.

Attitude to Death↗