Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E R Christophersen

Publications and source records attributed to E R Christophersen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Do encopretic children have clinically significant behavior problems?

Pediatricians are increasingly recognized as the providers of choice for children with functional encopresis. The presence of clinically significant behavior problems could interfere with pediatric regimens for encopresis, however. To study the extent to which encopretic children exhibit behavior problems, we compared the scores on a standardized behavioral checklist for three randomly selected samples: a sample group of children with encopresis, a sample group of children with behavior problems, and a sample group of children without encopresis or behavior problems. All three samples were matched for age and gender. An analysis of variance showed that the scores of children with encopresis did not differ from the normative sample but were significantly lower than the scores from the behavior problem sample (P less than .00001). The results support the appropriateness of the trend toward expanding the primary pediatrician's role in the treatment of encopresis.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Decreasing dangerous infant behaviors through parent instruction.

One adult and three adolescent mothers with 1-year-old infants were taught to reduce their infants' potential for injury in the home. After being taught to increase their positive interactions with their infants, the mothers were taught to child-proof the home, to use playpen time-out for potentially dangerous behaviors, and to give positive attention for safe behaviors. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to evaluate functional control. Potentially dangerous behaviors, observed during 10 min of free play, decreased from variable and, at times, high rates during baseline to stable near-zero rates after treatment. These target behaviors remained low at a 7-month follow-up assessment.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1986

Varied citrus treatment of ruminant gagging in a teenager with Batten's disease.

Chronic ruminant gagging was substantially reduced in a severely retarded 13-year-old girl with Batten's disease through the use of contingent citrus juice in an ABAB design. Previous literature suggests that citrus juice may not be effective for treatment of rumination in older and/or handicapped children due to habituation. In this study, habituation may have been prevented by alternating lime juice and lemon juice when ruminative gagging reached a predetermined rate. The lemon/lime variation offers an effective, practical, and acceptable alternative to other response suppression procedures for rumination.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Anticipatory guidance on discipline.

Many parents of young children want suggestions on discipline. This article provides some basic guidelines. Parents should provide their children with much brief, nonverbal, physical contact and refrain from spanking, yelling, and verbal reprimands.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1986

Accident prevention in primary care.

Comprehensive accident prevention programs that require a little effort from many components probably will always be more effective than single-component programs. Both are reviewed herein.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1986

Primary encopresis: evaluation and treatment.

Cathartic and behavioral treatment procedures for eliminating diurnal and nocturnal primary encopresis were investigated using a multiple-baseline design across four children. The dependent and independent variables measured were appropriate bowel movements, soiling accidents, independent toiletings, and cathartic use. Over 177 reliability observations (home visits) were conducted. For two of the children, treatment with cathartics and child-time remedied their soiling accidents and increased their independent toiletings in 8 to 11 weeks. While the cathartics and child-time increased the rate of appropriate bowel movements, they did not eliminate the soiling accidents with the other two children. Independent toiletings for these two children were achieved after 32 to 39 weeks of treatment when punishment procedures (positive practice, time-out, and hourly toilet sits) were incorporated and the suppositories were faded systematically.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1986

Testicular self-examination: validation of a training strategy for early cancer detection.

Testicular self-examination (TSE) can lead to early diagnosis and treatment of testicular cancer, the third leading cause of death in young men. We evaluated the effectiveness of a brief and specific checklist for teaching TSE skills. Ten men were videotaped while performing testicular self-examinations before and after training. The TSE training resulted in large and significant increases in the number of TSE steps completed and duration of the TSE. Two urological validation measures supported the improvements observed in the mens' self-examinations. Subjects reported continued performance of TSE during a follow-up telephone interview. This pilot study indicates that a brief and specific checklist is an effective strategy for teaching early cancer detection skills.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Improving pediatric appointment keeping with reminders and reduced response requirement.

We evaluated the effectiveness of appointment reminders and a reduced response requirement for improving appointment keeping in a hospital ambulatory pediatric clinic. Participants received mailed and telephoned reminders along with a parking pass that reduced the time and effort required to attend the clinic. A multiple baseline analysis of 5,261 appointments over one fiscal year showed that the intervention increased the percentage of appointments kept and decreased the percentage of appointments broken in the continuity clinics of five pediatric health care providers. Social validation, consumer satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness measures, as well as an interrupted time-series analysis, all support the effectiveness of the intervention.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed1985

Evaluation of two comprehensive infant car seat loaner programs with 1-year follow-up.

Since the American Academy of Pediatrics instituted the "First Ride-Safe Ride" campaign, many child passenger safety programs have reported that they have achieved less than optimal results. The present study compared two comprehensive programs for encouraging new parents to use child restraint devices consistently and correctly and compared the present results with the results of a previous program that was conducted at the same hospital. A total of 129 mother-newborn pairs were randomly assigned to two groups. All of the participants had their babies at a hospital that had an established car seat loaner program with strong support from the medical staff, the nursing staff, and the hospital administration; the hospital was in a state that had a law mandating child restraint seat usage. One group was exposed to the regular hospital program and the other group had, in addition: a mock-up demonstration for the mothers on the correct method of fastening the baby into the car seat and the car seat into the automobile seat; written handouts of how to use a car seat with an infant; a physician's order for the mock-up demonstration; and a physician's order to be discharged in a car seat. Although there was no significant difference between the two groups, both groups had correct usage rates above 90% at hospital discharge and maintained usage at better than 80% for one full year. A comparison with an earlier study at the same hospital suggested that the duration and comprehensiveness of the programs accounted for the significant increase in the usage rates. The task now is to adapt the program for use with less motivated parents.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Parent perceptions of problems experienced by their children in complying with treatments for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Parents of children with chronic diseases, such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), are responsible for insuring that their children comply with medical regimens. Assessing the perceptions parents have of problems their children experience in complying with treatment would be useful in advising them of how to help their children. In this study, a questionnaire assessing the frequency and type of problems children experienced in complying with treatments of JRA was completed by 37 parents. The parents reported more problems with range of motion exercises and splint wearing than with medications. The most common negative reactions exhibited by the children included complaining, crying, forgetting to do what was prescribed, and noncompliance. Additionally, nearly 50% of the parents relied on their child's report or were vague about how they assessed compliance. Suggestions for advising parents about how they can assess and improve compliance are offered in this report.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Enhancing the effectiveness of health education strategies.

Numerous articles have chronicled the problems that stem from patients' lack of compliance with health care recommendations, yet there has not been a systematic approach to the development of a strategy for increasing the effectiveness of health education programs. In this article, making use of anticipatory guidance, group well-child care, and injury prevention strategies, the author outlines several programs he has developed that can improve the effectiveness of health education strategies.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1984

The effect of informational feedback on food intake of adult burn patients.

The effect of informational feedback on the protein and caloric consumption of burn patients was investigated using a multiple-baseline across subjects. The patients were four severely burned adult males who failed to consume sufficient foods to achieve prescribed levels of protein or kilocalories via standard burn unit procedures during recovery. Feedback consisted of informing patients of (a) their prescribed levels of protein and kilocalories, (b) the protein and kilocalorie content of hospital foods and beverages, and (c) their actual intake of protein and kilocalories. Following the provision of feedback, there was an increase in protein and kilocalorie intakes and in the number of days during which prescribed levels for protein and kilocalories were achieved. These results suggest that the informational feedback was effective for improving the oral caloric intake of burn patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Evaluation of group well-child care for improving burn prevention practices in the home.

The inclusion of counseling on home safety procedures has been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a routine part of well-child care. However, few, if any, data exist to give direction to the pediatrician interested in advising parents about home safety. In the present study, 58 couples were randomly assigned, prospectively, to an experimental group and a control group. Both were enrolled in a single group well-child care class that lasted 90 minutes. The control group was provided with information and discussion on nutrition, dental care, safety in the car and home, child development, child rearing, illness management, and immunizations. The experimental group received information and discussion on the same topics, and they also received specific information on burn prevention: hot water heater settings and smoke detectors. On a subsequent home visit, 65% of the couples in the experimental group had their hot water temperature measured at 54.4 degrees C (130 degrees F) or less, whereas all of the couples in the control group had hot water temperatures of more than 54.4 degrees C (130 degrees F) (a significant difference). Although only one couple in the experimental group did not have an operational smoke detector, enough of the couples in the control group had operational smoke detectors that results were not significant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Accidents, Home↗