Psychiatric distress, pain and fear in patients in general dental practice.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
G Humphris
Publications and source records attributed to G Humphris.
The development, reliability and validity of a disease specific quality of life model for adults with growth hormone deficiency.
OBJECTIVE: Adults with GH deficiency frequently complain of lack of energy, fatigue, social isolation and problems with sexual relationships resulting in a low perceived quality of life. Previous studies of quality of life (QOL) in GH deficient adults have involved small numbers of patients and used measures not specifically designed for this patient population. We have devised a health related QOL model specifically designed for use in adults with GH deficiency and to assess the impact of future GH replacement therapy. DESIGN: Six measurements were chosen for inclusion in the model. Two were adapted for use after clinical interviews with 12 adult GH deficient patients: the Impact and the Life Fulfilment scales. The others were the Nottingham Health Profile, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Self-Esteem Scale and the Mental Fatigue Questionnaire. The reliability of the 6 measures was assessed by 2 methods: test re-test correlation and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). The validity of the Impact and Life Fulfilment scales was assessed by correlation with the other 4 scales. PATIENTS: Questionnaires were completed by 32 adults with hypothalamic pituitary disorders and GH deficiency (11 male, mean age 35.1 years), with a stimulated maximum serum GH response less than 10 mU/l (mean 2.96). Two had previously received GH injections in childhood. The questionnaires were also completed by 32 age and sex matched control subjects. RESULTS: The 6 scales had test re-test correlations of 0.70-0.92 indicating reliability over time. The Impact and Life Fulfilment Scales and the Mental Fatigue Questionnaire had Cronbach's alpha scores of greater than 0.6 indicating their potential for use in clinical trials. The Impact and Life Fulfilment scales correlated significantly with many physical and psychological domains from the other 4 scales indicating these were valid in the assessment of health related QOL in GH deficient adults. Compared to the controls the patients with GH deficiency were significantly psychosocially disadvantaged in terms of depression, self-esteem, mental fatigue and life fulfilment. CONCLUSION: The results of the reliability and validity studies indicate that this health related quality of life model for use with adults with GH deficiency is a potentially valid and reliable tool that could be used to assess the effect of GH treatment.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Stress in junior hospital medical and dental staff: a descriptive account of their concerns and needs.
Examines the issues of work-related stress in the healthcare professions, focusing on junior medical and dental staff. Identifies the stressors, and reports on an interview survey conducted as part of a larger study funded by the National Health Service Management Executive to identify the levels of stress. Concludes that outsourcing to an independent counselling service could prove to be an effective stress-management strategy.
Data Collection↗
Development of a scale to measure the social and psychological effects of severe dental anxiety: social attributes of the Dental Anxiety Scale.
This paper describes the development of a scale designed to measure the extent to which severe dental anxiety or phobia affects patients' social wellbeing outside of the dental setting. Items initially selected on the basis of clinical experience were administered to two groups: 78 patients seeking help for severe anxiety and 88 patients attending the general clinic of a dental hospital. Items on the scale discriminated between these two groups and also between patients who were reluctant to attend even when experiencing symptoms and those who attend more regularly. Although the scale correlated moderately well with Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale, factor analysis indicated that its items assess the effects of severe anxiety on the two domains of psychological reactions and social inhibition as they occur as indirect effects of dental care. The scale could be included in assessments designed to measure the social and psychological effects of severe dental anxiety.
Adult↗
Do agoraphobics interpret the environment in large shops and supermarkets differently?
Agoraphobics typically have difficulties in visiting supermarkets. The brief report presents results of a survey investigating the properties of supermarkets which provoke or ease anxiety-related responses in shoppers (N = 500) and two further groups: agoraphobics (N = 40) and participants responding to a local press advert (N = 54). Results showed that layout features, stairways and diminished access were rated as more anxiety provoking in the agoraphobic-type groups compared to general shoppers. The safety-signal model of agoraphobic behaviour was supported although some evidence of dysfunction of spatial orientation was found.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Clinical communication skills teaching: the role of cognitive schemata.
Although the inclusion of the teaching of clinical communication skills is common in the training of health professionals, few published papers exist which either describe the theoretical basis of such teaching or provide comprehensive assessment procedures. This paper highlights the contributions of behavioural analysis and, centrally, the development of cognitive scripts or schemata to the understanding of the teaching of clinical communication skills. A model for a course designed explicitly to develop such scripts is described and the implications of such an understanding are discussed.
Behavior↗
Rapid appraisal in an urban setting, an example from the developed world.
Rapid Appraisal has been used as a method to understand communities' own perceptions of their priority needs. It can be used as a tool for formulating joint action plans between communities and service planners and managers. It can also be used to complement quantitative methods of assessing needs by more in-depth qualitative understanding of socio-cultural perspectives. In the example described in this paper Rapid Appraisal is used both as action research and as a qualitative tool in order to define health and social needs of an urban, deprived community in England.
Community Health Services↗
Expectations and preferences for routine dentistry in anxious adult patients.
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Adult↗
'Psychological factors in oral lichen planus'.
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Humans↗
A reliability study of the modified new Sheffield Sedation Scale.
Summaries of what sleep is, the need for sleep and the effects of lack of sleep, in relation to sedation, have been reviewed. The reliability of a modified sedation scale in one intensive care unit is examined and demonstrated. All available sedation scales were critiqued and the most suitable one chosen and developed for use within one intensive care unit. The modified new Sheffield Sedation Scale is recommended for use in intensive care when recording patients' level of sedation.
Clinical Nursing Research↗