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Biomedical subjects

E Hemminki

Publications and source records attributed to E Hemminki.

203 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
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Is there a relation between waiting-list length and surgery rate?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the differences in waiting-list lengths between hospitals can result from differences in demand for surgery. We compared waiting-list lengths for seven surgical procedures to the rates of these procedures. The numbers of procedures were obtained from the 1987 Finnish Hospital Discharge Register, and the numbers of patients on the waiting lists were obtained from an inquiry made to Finnish hospitals in 1987. Correlation coefficients were calculated between population-based waiting-list lengths and procedure rates. Significant, positive correlations were found between population-based waiting-list lengths and rates for operations on hallux valgus, for herniorrhaphy and for hysterectomy. Rates for cholecystectomy and haemorrhoidectomy were also positively correlated with waiting-list lengths, but these correlations were not statistically significant. There was no correlation for varicose-vein operations, and a negative correlation for cataract extraction. These results suggest that insufficient resources are not the only reason for long waiting lists; but, both long waiting lists and a high rate of surgery can result from a high demand for surgery, influenced by physicians' decisions. If the waiting list is long because surgical treatment is preferred, the answer is not necessarily to increase resources, but to examine critically the indications for surgery.

Data Collection↗
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Transplacental carcinogens and mutagens: childhood cancer, malformations, and abortions as risk indicators.

Childhood cancer, malformations, and spontaneous abortions in Finland were analyzed according to the parents' occupations. Children of women working in the food industry and farming and of men working in motor vehicle driving and farming appeared to have an elevated risk of cancer. Women in industrial and construction occupations had an increased risk of having malformed children and spontaneous abortions.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Participation in prenatal screening tests and intentions concerning selective termination in Finnish maternity care.

AIMS: The study examined how prenatal screening tests are presented to women, factors associated with women's participation in screening, their experience of decision-making and intentions concerning pregnancy termination, and hospital data on rates of selective terminations. METHODS: Questionnaires were given to pregnant women visiting maternity centres in two Finnish towns in which serum screening was offered (n = 1,035) and in one town where midtrimester ultrasound screening was offered (n = 497). Response rates to the questionnaires were 88 and 85%, respectively. Other questionnaires asking about selective terminations following detected fetal disorders were sent in 1993 to all public hospitals with obstetrics or gynaecology departments (response rate 100%). RESULTS: The serum screening test had usually been offered to women as a free choice, but for 22% of them it was presented as a routine procedure. Most women (92%) underwent serum screening and most (86%) found the decision to participate or not easy. In almost every aspect of presentation and participation studied, serum and ultrasound screening differed from each other. 85% of respondents to ultrasound screening answered that it was offered as a routine procedure. Close acquaintance with a person with congenital disability was negatively associated with participation in serum screening and with the intention to terminate pregnancy in case of a detected disability. 27% of women in the serum screening survey and 22% in the ultrasound survey declared that they would have declined pregnancy termination if a fetal disorder had been detected. However, according to the hospitals' data, only 13% of pregnancies with a serious fetal disorder detected were continued. CONCLUSIONS: All prenatal screening tests, including ultrasound examinations, require an adequate process of informed consent. Because the aim of such tests is to detect fetal malformations and syndromes, health care professionals should discuss the implications with women before they decide. Because acquaintance with a disabled person was found to associate with participation in screening and with intentions about selective termination, women's perceptions of lives of the disabled should receive more attention in future studies.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Should drug information be an integral part of health care?

The fact that the effects of drugs are incompletely known makes special demands on drug information for the public. Much of this information is marred by poor content, choosing target groups by likely sales, and giving drug-centred rather than health-centred information. These problems arise from the imbalance between the relative quantities of commercial and independent drug information, the separation of drug information from health education, and strong commercial and professional interests. Suggested solutions include setting standards, integration, and using pharmacists to distribute drug information. Such actions may, however, create new problems. It might be necessary or desirable to regulate the quantity, forms and sources of commercial drug information aimed at consumers. Drug information should be regarded as an integral part of health care and treated accordingly. Furthermore, the widening range of substances used to influence health, shrinking prescription requirements, biased reporting in mass media, and national industrial priorities are changing the drug information scene and demand new solutions.

Drug Information Services↗