Biomedical subjects

J S Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to J S Roberts.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluating quality-of-life and health status instruments: development of scientific review criteria.

The Medical Outcomes Trust is a depository and distributor of high-quality, standardized, health outcomes measurement instruments to national and international health communities. Every instrument in the Trust library is reviewed by the Scientific Advisory Committee against a rigorous set of eight attributes. These attributes consist of the following: (1) conceptual and measurement model; (2) reliability; (3) validity; (4) responsiveness; (5) interpretability; (6) respondent and administrative burden; (7) alternative forms; and (8) cultural and language adaptations. In addition to a full description of each attribute, we discuss uses of these criteria beyond evaluation of existing instruments and lessons learned in the first few rounds of instrument review against these criteria.

Health Status↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cognitive behavioral therapy delays relapse in female socially phobic alcoholics.

The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that socially phobic alcoholics treated with Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) will have better drinking outcomes than those treated with Twelve-Step Facilitation therapy (TSF). Three hundred ninety-seven treatment-seeking alcoholics with concurrent social phobia were compared retrospectively to a matched sample of 397 alcoholics without social phobia. Treatment was delivered in an outpatient setting, and patients were randomized to either CBT, TSF, or Motivational Enhancement therapy (MET). The groups were compared on self-reported drinking measures (e.g., quantity and frequency of drinking, and time-to-event measures) during treatment period and monthly for 1 year following treatment. Survival analyses revealed that female outpatients with social phobia showed delayed relapse to drinking when treated with CBT rather than TSF; the reverse was true for female outpatients without social phobia. Survival analyses in male outpatients with and without social phobia revealed an opposite trend, though it was not statistically significant. These data suggest that Cognitive Behavioral therapy is superior to Twelve-Step Facilitation therapy for the treatment of alcohol problems in specific populations. namely socially phobic women seeking outpatient treatment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Illness representations among first-degree relatives of people with Alzheimer disease.

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes, beliefs, and experiences regarding Alzheimer disease (AD) among patients' first-degree relatives, a group that is at increased AD risk and often involved in health care decision-making for affected family members. Children and siblings (N = 203; age range, 30-92 years; 75% female) of people with AD completed a questionnaire (response rate, 90%) that assessed mental representations of AD, including knowledge, cause and treatment beliefs, distress, and perceived threat. In general, relatives were knowledgeable about AD, had an accurate sense of their disease risk, and endorsed etiologically significant factors as causes. Nonetheless, many participants held misconceptions about AD (e.g., most cases are hereditary) and what may be unrealistic expectations for future treatment developments. Levels of perceived distress and threat were generally high and associated with female gender and younger age. AD represented the foremost health concern of approximately one third of first-degree relatives. Health education efforts are needed to address misconceptions about AD genetics and to disseminate information about the availability of effective treatments. Further research on illness representations is needed to better understand coping and decision-making among those at risk for AD.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An evaluation of diphtheria--tetanus (adult) vaccine in unselected human volunteers.

One hundred unselected adult volunteers received an adult diphtheria (less than 2 Lf)-tetanus (greater than or equal to 40 IU) adsorbed vaccine without prior Schick testing. No volunteer had a moderate or severe reaction although 39% complained of a transient sore arm. Only 10% reported local erythema. Of the study group, 37/43 (86%) patients who were initially seronegative for diphtheria attained levels normally considered as seropositive. The results confirm the safety and efficacy of adult diphtheria-tetanus vaccine and allow its recommendation for use in 'at risk' individuals without the need for prior Schick testing.

Adult↗