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Biomedical subjects

L Taggart

Publications and source records attributed to L Taggart.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

An exploration of substance misuse in people with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who misuse substances and how such problems impinge upon their well-being. The aim of this paper is to describe how alcohol and drugs affect the health of people with IDs. METHODS: A questionnaire was forwarded to all the community ID teams and mainstream addiction teams across Northern Ireland: 67 substance users with IDs and substantial substance-related problems were identified. RESULTS: Alcohol was found to be the main substance to be misused, with one-fifth of the substance users also found to be using a combination of illicit drugs and/or prescribed medication. Nearly three-quarters of the sample were found to be hazardously using alcohol for more than 5 years. Being male and young, having a borderline/mild ID, living independently and having a mental health problem were found to be risk factors for developing a 'substance related problem'. Various problematic behaviours were identified, including aggression, erratic mood changes, sexual exploitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships and loss of daily routine. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that greater emphasis needs to be placed upon the early identification of this hidden population by primary and secondary healthcare personnel, and also ID personnel. Such early identification may also diminish the long-established patterns of use and associated related-behaviours that have been reported within this paper.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bone and body mass changes during space flight.

Body mass, calcium and skeletal changes occur in humans who have worked in microgravity. Physiologic changes are seen as early as one week and are still occurring 312 days into space flight. The physiologic changes in bone and mineral metabolism may be among those which limits long duration space flight if an adequate countermeasure is not developed. The purpose of this paper is to summarize what is known about calcium dynamics and bone mineral changes as well as associated changes of body mass induced by space flight. The data reported is from a variety of studies conducted in both actual and simulated space flight.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Delay in prenatal care as a result of battering in pregnancy: cross-cultural implications.

White American, Hispanic, and African American women were surveyed in public health and low-income clinics in Los Angeles, California, and Seattle, Washington, to determine if they delayed seeking prenatal care because of battering during their pregnancies. Nursing staff in the clinics attempted to enroll in the study all pregnant women from these groups who presented themselves for care; no other criteria were used, other than the ability to read either English or Spanish. Results were obtained from 162 White Americans, 208 Hispanics, and 132 African Americans. Although the incidence of abuse was not significantly different among the ethnic groups, battered women sought prenatal care 6.5 weeks later than the nonabused sample, with a similar delay in each ethnic group. Twenty-one percent of the women reported physical harm during the pregnancy, and 13.7% stated that they had delayed care because of injuries.

Adult↗