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Biomedical subjects

Enza Gucciardi

Publications and source records attributed to Enza Gucciardi.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Cross-cultural perspectives on research participation and informed consent.

This study examined Portuguese Canadian and Caribbean Canadian immigrants' perceptions of health research and informed consent procedures. Six focus groups (three in each cultural group) involving 42 participants and two individual interviews were conducted. The focus groups began with a general question about health research. This was followed by three short role-plays between the moderator and the assistant. The role-plays involved a fictional health research study in which a patient is approached for recruitment, is read a consent form, and is asked to sign. The role-plays stopped at key moments at which time focus group participants were asked questions about their understanding and their perceptions. Focus group transcripts were coded in QSR NUDIST software using open coding and then compared across cultural groups. Six overriding themes emerged: two were common in both the Portuguese and Caribbean transcripts, one emphasized the importance of trust and mistrust, and the other highlighted the need and desire for more information about health research. However, these themes were expressed somewhat differently in the two groups. In addition, there were four overriding themes that were specific to only one cultural group. In the Portuguese groups, there was an overwhelming positive regard for the research process and an emphasis on verbal as opposed to written information. The Caribbean participants qualified their participation in research studies and repeatedly raised images of invasive research.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Depression.

HEALTH ISSUE: Depression causes significant distress or impairment in physical, social, occupational and other key areas of functioning. Women are approximately twice as likely as men to experience depression. Psychosocial factors likely mediate the risks for depression incurred by biological influences. KEY FINDINGS: Data from the 1999 National Population Health Survey show that depression is more common among Canadian women, with an annual self-reported incidence of 5.7% compared with 2.9% in men. The highest rates of depression are seen among women of reproductive age. Predictive factors for depression include previous depression, feeling out of control or overwhelmed, chronic health problems, traumatic events in childhood or young adulthood, lack of emotional support, lone parenthood, and low sense of mastery. Although depression is treatable, only 43% of depressed women had consulted a health professional in 1998/99 and only 32.4% were taking antidepressant medication. People with lower education, inadequate income, and fewer contacts with a health professional were less likely to receive depression treatment. DATA GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: A better understanding of factors that increase vulnerability and resilience to depression is needed. There is also a need for the collection and analysis of data pertaining to: prevalence of clinical anxiety; the prevalence of depression band 12 months after childbirth factors contributing to suicide contemplation and attempts among adolescent girls, current treatments for depression and their efficacy in depressed women at different life stages; interprovincial variation in depression rates and hospitalizations and the impact and costs of depression on work, family, individuals, and society.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Eating Disorders.

HEALTH ISSUE: Eating disorders are an increasing public health problem among young women. Anorexia and bulimia may give rise to serious physical conditions such as hypothermia, hypotension, electrolyte imbalance, endocrine disorders, and kidney failure. KEY ISSUES: Eating disorders are primarily a problem among women. In Ontario in 1995, over 90% of reported hospitalized cases of anorexia and bulimia were women. In addition to eating disorders, preoccupation with weight, body image and self-concept disturbances, are more prevalent among women than men.Women with eating disorders are also at risk for long-term psychological and social problems, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicide. For instance, in 2000, the prevalence of depression among women who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of anorexia (11.5%) or bulimia (15.4 %) was more than twice the rate of depression (5.7 %) among the general population of Canadian women. The highest incidence of depression was found in women aged 25 to 39 years for both anorexia and bulimia. DATA GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Hospitalization data are the most recent and accessible information available. However, this data captures only the more severe cases. It does not include the individuals with eating disorders who may visit clinics or family doctors, or use hospital outpatient services or no services at all. Currently, there is no process for collecting this information systematically across Canada; consequently, the number of cases obtained from hospitalization data is underestimated. Other limitations noted during the literature review include the overuse of clinical samples, lack of longitudinal data, appropriate comparison groups, large samples, and ethnic group analysis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Incidence of neural tube defects in Ontario, 1986-1999.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal screening and the promotion of folic acid intake could affect the incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs). We examined trends in the total NTD incidence, as detected in live births, stillbirths and therapeutic abortions, from 1986 to 1999 in Ontario. METHODS: To capture cases of NTDs we used data from the Canadian Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System and hospital data on therapeutic abortions. We calculated the total incidence of NTDs by combining the numbers of NTDs occurring in live births, stillbirths and therapeutic abortions. RESULTS: The total NTD incidence rate increased from 11.7 per 10,000 pregnancies in 1986 to 16.2 per 10,000 in 1995, and it subsequently decreased to 8.6 per 10,000 by 1999. The NTD birth rate (live births and stillbirths) decreased from 10.6 per 10,000 births in 1986 to 5.3 per 10,000 in 1999. The rate of therapeutic abortions with an NTD or hydrocephalus rose from 17.5 per 10,000 abortions in 1986 to 50.7 per 10,000 in 1995 and fell to 28.7 per 10,000 abortions in 1999. INTERPRETATION: The total NTD incidence rate increased from 1986 to 1995, probably because of increased prenatal screening and better detection of NTDs. The decline from 1995 to 1999 may have been due to increased folic acid intake among women at the time of conception.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗