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Biomedical subjects

L Light

Publications and source records attributed to L Light.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Comparison of patients with asthma managed in general practice and in a hospital clinic.

OBJECTIVES: To compare knowledge and attitudes about asthma, self-management skills and impact of asthma on quality of life between patients managed in general practice (GP) and in a hospital clinic. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with six months' follow-up. PATIENTS AND SETTING: 105 adults with asthma: 61 from the Alfred Hospital Asthma and Allergy Clinic, Melbourne, and 44 from nearby general practices, in 1994-1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics; patient knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about asthma; self-management skills; and impact of asthma on quality of life. RESULTS: GP patients were more educated (P = 0.04) and more likely to smoke (P = 0.04) and to have mild asthma (P = 0.04) than hospital patients; they were less likely to use theophylline (P = 0.006) and to have exercise limitation (P = 0.03), and had fewer previous hospital admissions (P = 0.01). Impact of asthma on quality of life was greater in the hospital group than in the GP group. At baseline, the GP group were less likely to have written asthma action plans (P = 0.018), and were less able to manage rapid onset attacks than the hospital group (P = 0.02). More subjects in the hospital group than the GP group felt their asthma was severe (P = 0.02) and were optimistic about their asthma improving (P = 0.03). GP patients increased their knowledge about asthma significantly (P = 0.002) over six months. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with asthma managed in general practice and in hospital differ in clinical parameters, quality of life and attitudes to asthma. Future educational initiatives should take such differences into account.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Attendance at an asthma educational intervention: characteristics of participants and non-participants.

As part of an evaluation of the patient education component of the Australian Asthma Management plan, a randomized, controlled trial of asthma education was conducted in 1994/95 at the outpatient asthma and allergy clinic of The Alfred Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The objective of the study was to investigate which demographic and clinical characteristics were associated with attendance at asthma educational session. A total of 125 asthmatics aged over 16 years agreed to participate in the programme, and full compliance with the programme was 43.2%. Allocation to immediate, rather than delayed, education and age were the only significant predictors of attendance. Subjects randomized to the intervention were approximately three times more likely to attend than control subjects (OR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.5-7.3). Asthmatics over 60 years old were approximately six times more likely to attend (OR = 6.6, 95% CI 2.2-19.8) than the age group 16-30 years. The increasing trend in attendance across age categories was highly significant (P < 0.001). There was no relationship between attendance and gender, medication, atopy, smoking status or the physical accessibility of the hospital. Despite offering incentives and conducting the education sessions at subjects' preferred times, their compliance in attending sessions was poor. Over half of the asthmatics, who had expressed interest, failed to attend for their educational sessions. An alternative strategy is required to improve participation by young and employed asthmatics at hospital-based asthma education programmes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Strategies for cancer prevention through diet modification.

Diet and cancer research at the National Cancer Institute has grown from a budget of $2.5 million in 1974 to $55 million in 1988. The emphasis is partially on demonstrations of prevention strategies and chemoprevention trials. Studies to disseminate dietary goals in practical ways are undertaken with the aid of the food industry.

Diet↗
PubMed1989

Changing the course: a school nutrition and cancer education curriculum developed by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.

Increasing evidence exists linking eating patterns and risk of several major chronic diseases, including cancer. The focus of the "Changing the Course" curriculum is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enable them to adopt cancer risk reducing eating behaviors. A behavioral approach is used, involving acquisition of pertinent background information, evaluation of personal intake patterns, decision-making skills, goal-setting, and evaluation of success in achieving goals. The curriculum involves about 20 hours of action-oriented core instruction, five hours of optional activities, and 10-15 hours of home assignments. Educational strategies involve independent activities such as individual food records, cooperative or team activities and quizzes, and out-of-classroom assignments such as inventorying fruits and vegetables at home. Pilot-tested in four states, the curriculum will be revised based on pilot evaluation data and disseminated nationwide through American Cancer Society divisions and volunteers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Cheek cell fatty acids as indicators of dietary lipids in humans.

Analysis of cheek cell lipids has been suggested as a noninvasive method for monitoring the fatty acid composition of diets in humans. In a pilot study conducted to determine the validity of the method, cheek cell samples were collected from subjects consuming a low fat (20% of calories) diet consisting of fatty acids with either a 1.0 or 0.3 P/S ratio. Neither total lipid nor polar lipid fatty acids in cheek cells consistently reflected the P/S ratio of the diets. However, there were trends, particularly in the nonpolar lipids, suggesting that cheek cell fatty acid ratios might be useful for monitoring the fatty acid composition of the diets. The diet with the higher P/S ratio (1.0 vs 0.3) consistently resulted in cheek cell lipids with lower ratios of 18:1/saturated fatty acids and greater 18:2/20:4, 18:2/18:1 and 18:2/18:0 fatty acid ratios.

Cheek↗
PubMed1982

Characterizing food usage by demographic variables.

On the basis of an analysis of three-day food records, food comsumption by major segments of the U.S. population was examined for 65 food groups and subgroups. This study indicates that demographic factors, particularly age, race, and region, can affect both the percentage of persons using certain foods and the mean frequency of their use. Both the similarities and the differences on these parameters are of interest when food usage is examined by demographic variables.

Adolescent↗