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Biomedical subjects

E M Clark

Publications and source records attributed to E M Clark.

40 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Understanding the effects of printed health education materials: which features lead to which outcomes?

Printed health education materials (HEMs) are widely used to increase awareness and knowledge, change attitudes and beliefs, and help individuals adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors. While much of the contemporary research and development of persuasive communication is based on McGuire's input/output model, to date few studies have compared the impact of a large set of inputs across a comprehensive set of the 12 outputs. We examined the effects of printed HEMs on weight loss on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses of 198 overweight adults. Participants were recruited via a newspaper advertisement and were randomly assigned to review one of three HEMs. Participants were interviewed and asked to complete a series of questionnaires both before and after viewing the HEMs. Regression analyses were conducted to identify the input characteristics associated with success at each of the output steps. The results revealed attractiveness, encouragement, level of information, and application to one's life were significantly associated with early steps (attention, liking, and understanding) as well as some of the mediating steps (recalling, keeping, and rereading HEMs). Later steps, such as intention to change behavior and show others, were associated with readiness to change, self-efficacy, and perceived application to one's life. Behavior change was more likely for those who received tailored materials and those who had higher self-efficacy. These results provide useful direction for the use of computers in tailoring the content of HEMs and the development of effective communication of health information on weight loss.

Body Mass Index↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Errors in a computerized medical records system (CLINICS).

The accuracy of computer-held medical information can be of critical importance in patient care, therefore it is important not only to know the error rate in the stored data but also to know the effectiveness of error checking and correction programs. This paper reports on the errors which were detected by checking the consistency between stored data and incoming data (context checks), in Southampton University Primary Medical Care computer system (CLINICS). The majority of detected errors were traced either to the registration of new patients or to the doctors failing to pay adequate attention to detail in their record keeping (or to their legibility). 7% of incoming data had errors detected by the context checking program and subsequently corrected; we calculate that the stored data contains less than 1% in error.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Insulin dosage reduction. Evaluation of an education-stabilization programme for patients with insulin-dependent diabetes.

A retrospective survey was conducted of 52 consecutive subjects with insulin-treated diabetes who were attending an education-stabilization programme. Eleven subjects (21%) achieved more than a 20% reduction in daily insulin dosage six months after completion of the programme. Compared with the remainder of the group, these subjects had a significantly earlier age of onset, higher initial insulin dosage (mean, 61 units/day, compared with 39 units/day), higher initial insulin carbohydrate and fat consumption, but similar initial glycosylated haemoglobin levels. These results suggest that overinsulinization is a relatively frequent occurrence and should be particularly considered in younger patients who are receiving relatively large doses of insulin.

Age Factors↗