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Biomedical subjects

G Kok

Publications and source records attributed to G Kok.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Determinants of active self-care behaviour of insulin treated patients with diabetes: implications for diabetes education.

The most important aim of diabetes education is to alter the self-care behaviour of patients with diabetes. In order to change their behaviour its determinants must be known. The pretest of a multicentre evaluation study with 558 participating insulin treated patients with diabetes was analysed to test the usefulness of the attitude-behaviour theory of Fishbein & Ajzen in explaining and possibly changing diabetes related active self-care behaviour. The theory of Fishbein & Ajzen is based on the assumption that human behaviour is reasoned behaviour. The theory views a person's intention as the immediate determinant of action. Determinants of intention are attitude and social norm. The results showed that the attitude was the most important determinant of active self-care, while a sufficient level of knowledge and a low orientation on the powerful others health locus of control scale were prerequisites for a positive attitude. The influence of the social environment was detrimental; although people tried to motivate patients to active self-care, they could not provide any real help in performing this desired behaviour. According to the results of this study, diabetes education should first aim at improving the level of knowledge and the health locus of control of the patients and second, at a positive attitude to active self-care. It is necessary to educate the social environment to create a more supportive atmosphere for the patient with diabetes.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Importance of planned health education for burn injury prevention.

The planning of health education in the prevention of burn injuries is typically incomplete and not stated explicitly, while the evaluation is executed only partially or is altogether non-existent. This article presents a theoretical framework for planning and evaluating health education for those at risk for burns. Systematic planning consists of an assessment of the magnitude and severity of the problem, an analysis of the behavioural risk factors, a study of the determinants of the most risky modes of behaviour, the design of an optimal intervention, and the implementation of this intervention. The evaluation phase deals with the effects on these five levels (implementation, intervention, determinants, behaviour and injury risk). Some common pitfalls are mentioned and special attention is given to the study of determinants of behaviour and to the design of the intervention. Furthermore, the importance of pretesting health education material is underlined. There appears to be a strong need for further research on the aetiology of burn injury and the relevant determinants of behaviour, before effective prevention can be realized.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Attributions for previous failures and subsequent outcomes in a weight reduction program.

This prospective study examines the effects of causal attributions given to previous weight control failures on subsequent success in controlling weight. Adult participants enrolled in a weight control program were screened to identify those who had made previous weight reduction attempts through a formal program. Once identified, subjects (n = 158) were asked to make causal attributions for their previous failures. Subjects were then followed through the 15-week program to determine their degree of success. Subjects who attributed the cause of previous failures to stable, immutable conditions were more likely to have low expectations of success. Low success expectancies, in turn, were associated with lack of goal attainment through the program. The number of previous failures in formal weight control programs was associated with a perception of the respondents that previous failures had stable causes. Neither the number of former failures nor the attributions of their causes were directly related to goal attainment. Practice implications of the results are discussed.

Achievement↗
PubMed1984

Effects of public education about breast cancer and breast self-examination.

In a field experiment severity of and susceptibility to breast cancer were varied in four different persuasive messages about breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE). The purpose of this study was to find out whether such health messages in a real-life setting had an effect on knowledge about symptoms, attitudes and behavior relating to BSE. The second goal of this study was to investigate whether fear, aroused by these persuasive communications, had a significant role in influencing the recommended behavior (BSE). In spite of a successful manipulation of seriousness and susceptibility no differences for the dependent variables could be established between the experimental groups after one month. However, differences were found by comparing the experimental groups with the no health message group. After reading the pamphlet (no matter which of the four) women showed greater intention to perform BSE regularly. This could be attributed to a higher estimation of the chance of recovery through early detection of lumps (efficacy) after reading the pamphlet. The health messages also appeared to have a positive influence on compliance with recommended behavior: women examined their breasts more in the prescribed way. An inhibiting effect of fear on behavior (which is sometimes theoretically suggested) was not found. The effects of the pamphlet that were established are formed in a more informational, cognitive way.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health care seeking behaviour of patients with sexually transmitted diseases: determinants of delay behaviour.

The study aimed to determine the factors associated with a delay in seeking health care for symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among a sample of 1482 patients attending STD clinics. Of the sample 78% were male, 58% sought help from the clinic within the first 6 days of noticing symptoms, 24% waited between 7 and 10 days and 17% waited longer than 10 days before seeking health care. Patients who delayed were those who treated themselves prior to seeking health care, who were female, whose friends waited before seeking treatment, who held misconceptions regarding the cause of STDs, who perceived STDs not to be serious and who valued personal autonomy in sexual behaviours less and had less positive outcome expectations of refusing sex. The data suggest that targeted interventions should be directed specifically at women and the youth. Early health care seeking could be facilitated through improved basic knowledge regarding STDs, control over one's own sexual behaviour and social support for early health care seeking.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence-based nursing practice: both state of the art in general and specific to pressure sores.

The importance of research-based practice in nursing has been frequently stressed, and a number of nursing studies have been conducted whose results enable nursing to improve knowledge and practice. This study reports a literature review in which the current status of knowledge and research utilization with regard to pressure sores is described. This review first gives an overview of studies on knowledge utilization in general and shows that the spontaneous diffusion of knowledge is inappropriate. Furthermore, an overview of planned research utilization activities focusing on pressure sore prevention and treatment in nursing is presented. The results of these studies show that planned research utilization activities performed in individual organizations lead to positive outcomes in almost all cases. Therefore, it could be concluded that implementing planned research utilization activities in individual health care institutions seems to be an effective strategy to decrease pressure sore incidence and prevalence rates.

Clinical Nursing Research↗
PubMedDate not supplied

On the importance of planned health education. Prevention of ski injury as an example.

The planning of health education aimed at preventing sports injuries is often incomplete and not stated explicitly. In most instances, the evaluation is incomplete or nonexistent. We present a theoretical framework for planning and evaluating health education, illustrating the main points by using as an example the health education for downhill skiers. Systematic planning consists of analyzing the magnitude of the problem and the behavioral risk factors, studying behavior determinants, designing an optimal intervention, and implementing the intervention. The evaluation phase deals with the effects on these five levels (implementation, intervention, determinants, behavior, and incidence of injury). Some common pitfalls are mentioned and special attention is given to the study of determinants of behavior and to the design of the intervention. The importance of pretesting health education material and the community approach in educating sports participants is underlined. Health education, together with regulations and facilities, constitutes the health promotion strategy in the prevention of sports injuries. For most sports, there seems to be a strong need for further research on the etiology and determinants of behavior before effective prevention can be realized.

Athletic Injuries↗