Biomedical subjects

Lise Gauvin

Publications and source records attributed to Lise Gauvin.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Public and private sector responses to essential drugs policies: a multilevel analysis of drug prescription and selling practices in Mali.

Many African countries have introduced cost recovery mechanisms based on the sale of drugs and measures aimed at improving drug supply. This study compares prescribing and selling practices in Mali, in 3 cities where the public sector contributes differentially to the supply of drugs on the market. Multilevel models are used to analyse the content and cost of 700 medication transactions observed in 14 private and public legal points of sale. Results show that the objective of improving access to drugs seems to have been achieved in the sites studied. Costs of prescriptions were lower where public health services had been revitalized. Affordable generic drugs were accessible and widely used, even in the private sector. However, measures intended to rationalize the prescription and delivery of drugs did not always have the desired effect. While agents in the public sector tended to prescribe fewer antibiotics, injectables, or brand-name drugs, the data confirm the virtual absence of advice concerning the use or the side effects of the drugs in both public and private sectors. In addition, data supported the notion that the public and private sectors are closely intertwined. Notably, availability of drugs in the public sector contributed to diminishing the prices charged in the private sector. Similarly, the use that agents in the public sector made of the opportunities afforded by the presence of the private pharmaceutical sector provided another illustration of interrelatedness. Finally, the data showed that the presence of a private sector, which has not been affected by measures aimed at rationalizing prescription and sales practices, limits the effects of measures implemented in the public sector. More assertive policies, based on strategies encompassing actors in the private sector, are needed to increase the safety and effectiveness of prescription and sales practices.

Community Health Centers↗

PubMed2003

Does the 'average size' of women in the neighbourhood influence a woman's likelihood of body dissatisfaction?

We examined whether the 'average body size' of women within a neighbourhood was associated with the number of women reporting body dissatisfaction in that neighbourhood. Data from a random digit dialing telephone survey of 884 Canadian women (mean age 41) indicated that for a given individual body mass index (BMI) women who lived among 'thinner' women (a smaller average neighbourhood body mass index (BMI)) were more likely to feel dissatisfied with their own bodies than women who lived among 'larger' women (a larger average neighbourhood BMI). Our results are consistent with the need to consider places as well as people in explaining various health outcomes.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

To see or not to see: effects of exercising in mirrored environments on sedentary women's feeling states and self-efficacy.

Effects of a mirrored exercise environment and body image concerns on changes in exercise-induced feeling states and self-efficacy were examined among 58 sedentary women (mean age = 20.7 years). Participants performed a 20-min bout of exercise in front of either a mirrored or a nonmirrored wall. Feeling states and self-efficacy were measured pre- and postexercise. Multilevel linear modeling indicated that regardless of their level of body image concern, women in the mirrored condition felt worse after exercising than women in the unmirrored condition. There were no effects of the environment or body image on self-efficacy. Results are consistent with predictions of objective self-awareness theory and have implications for promoting exercise among sedentary women.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The relationship of self-esteem and body esteem in women with and without eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the predictive utility of three dimensions of body esteem in explaining self-esteem in samples of eating-disordered (ED) and nonclinical women. METHOD: Participants comprised 74 ED women and 103 female university students. All women completed questionnaires measuring body esteem and self-esteem and all provided information on height and weight. We ran hierarchical multiple regression analyses with self-esteem as the outcome variable and participant status (clinical or non), body mass index (BMI), body esteem, and interaction terms as predictors. RESULTS: The main finding was a Body Esteem x Participant Status interaction involving the attribution dimension of body esteem. Specifically, among ED women, the higher their body esteem attribution (i.e., the more they endorsed items such as "I think my appearance would help me get dates"), the higher their self-esteem; whereas this relationship was not found among the students. DISCUSSION: Our results contribute to an emerging profile of ED patients as highly socially sensitive.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Emerging measurement and statistical methods in physical activity research.

Although many studies have attempted to identify mediators and moderators of changes in physical activity involvement, the literature is inconclusive regarding which variable(s) relate to physical activity behavior change. The Cooper 2001 Conference series dedicated a session to discussing measurement and statistical methods that could contribute to advancing this research agenda. This article focuses on four such methodologic approaches: qualitative; psychometric; latent-variable, structural equation modeling; and multilevel modeling. The article presents a brief overview of these methods and discusses potential advantages and limitations of using them.

Factor Analysis, Statistical↗

PubMed2002

Youth smoking initiation: disentangling context from composition.

This paper examines the relative contributions of compositional and contextual effects on the one hand, and behavioural and material factors on the other, to help explain smoking initiation. We present results from a cross-sectional, multi-level analysis linking data from pre-adolescents, their households and their neighbourhoods across Quebec, Canada. Results show a significant geographical area variation in youth smoking initiation. The variation is explained not only by individual characteristics (parents' smoking status, parents" education and pre-adolescents' age), but also by aspects of the social structure at the neighbourhood level. When both the individual level and territory level predictors are entered in the model, only 2.66% of the between-territory variance in smoking initiation remain unexplained.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Making youth tobacco control programs more ecological: organizational and professional profiles.

PURPOSE: To identify the organizational and professional correlates of the integration of the ecological approach in Canadian public health organizations' tobacco control programs for youth. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Canadian public health organizations. SUBJECTS: One hundred and ten tobacco control programs implemented in 90 organizations. The response rate for the organizations was 87%. MEASURES: Descriptions of programs were obtained by telephone interviews. An analytical procedure was applied to the program data to identify intervention settings, targets and strategies for each program. Using this information, a summary score of the integration of the ecological approach was estimated for each program. Organizational and professional variables were assessed by self-administered questionnaires to managers and professionals involved in these programs. RESULTS: The level of integration of the ecological approach in programs was related to organizational (frequency of contacts and collaborations with external partners, team composition) and extraorganizational factors (size of the city in which the public health unit is located). Cognitive attributes of the practitioners (knowledge and beliefs) also emerged as significant predictors. Finally, positive associations were observed between practitioners' personal characteristics (educational achievement, working status in health promotion [full vs. part-time], previous experience, gender, and disciplinary/professional background) and cognitive predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Organizational environment and staff preparation play a critical role in the adoption of the ecological approach in tobacco control programs.

Access to Information↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Health promotion and disease prevention for older adults: Intervention themes and strategies used in Quebec local community health centres and seniors' day centres.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the considerable potential of disease prevention and health promotion (DPHP) among older adults, extant data suggest that this field of intervention is still underdeveloped. To shed further light on this issue, this paper presents the results of an inventory of DPHP interventions for older adults conducted in local community health centres (CLSCs) and seniors' day centres in the province of Quebec. METHODS: All CLSCs (N=147) and day centres (N=124) were invited to participate (response rates: 74% and 79%). Data were collected through telephone interviews. Interventions were coded according to type of intervention strategies and target themes. RESULTS: Awareness-raising and health education strategies emerged as the most frequently-cited type of intervention strategies, reported by 77% of CLSCs and 95% of day centres, respectively. The two themes reported by a majority of CLSCs were physical health (87%) and community issues (58%). Lifestyle habits (92%) and social issues (92%) were the two most frequently-cited themes in day centres. DISCUSSION: DPHP for older adults is substantially well developed in terms of intervention offerings in the two types of organizations under study. However, the range of available interventions requires expansion to increase the potential of DPHP programs to tackle the numerous challenges posed by the aging of the population.

Aged↗