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Biomedical subjects

M H Becker

Publications and source records attributed to M H Becker.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

The Campomelic syndrome. Temporal bone histopathologic features and otolaryngologic manifestations.

The campomelic syndrome is characterized by dwarfism, craniofacial anomalies, bowing of the tibiae and femora, cutaneous dimpling overlying the tibial bend, respiratory distress, and early death. Otolaryngologic manifestations include flat facies with a broad nasal bridge, low-set ears, cleft palate, mandibular hypoplasia, and tracheobronchial malacia. The underlying pathologic feature appears to be disturbance in cartilage growth involving the affected bones and the respiratory tract cartilage. The cause is unknown. We report clinical and histopathologic features in two cases of this syndrome. The endochondral layer of the otic capsule contained no cartilage cells. The cochlea was short and flattened, presenting a scala communis. The vestibule and the canals were deformed by bone invasion. Defective endochondral ossification of the petrooccipital synchondroses possibly explains the shortened skull base seen in this syndrome. The tracheobronchial malacia significantly contributes to respiratory distress and neonatal death.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1979

Attitudes toward obesity and the obese among professionals.

Negative attitudes toward obese patients by health professionals have been attributed to termination of weight reducing attempts. This study measured attitudes concerning the obese held by professional participants in a continuing education conference on causes and treatment of obesity. Substantial variation was found on items comprising obesity-related belief dimensions: (a) Disparaging image of the obese; (b) causes of obesity; and (c) ways to lose weight. Evidence is presented for the association among measures of these dimensions. While background and educational characteristics and conditions of practice were not related to such attitudes, the professional's personal experience with successful weight reduction was the best predictor of favorable attitudes.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1978

Effects of threatening communications and mothers health beliefs on weight change in obese children.

A field experiment was designed to test the effects on weight change in obese children of (1) communications varying in threat and (2) health beliefs of the child's mother, in terms of perceived vulnerability to health threats, the efficacy of taking actions, and barriers to acting. Treatments involved messages containing more or less threatening material regarding obesity, plus a control (no communication) condition. Beliefs were assessed by means of personal interviews. All mothers and children received dietary counseling and were scheduled for four follow-up visits, which included weighing. The 182 participants were from low-income areas served by a large hospital pediatric clinic. High-threat messages yielded the most consistent weight loss, followed by low threat and control. In addition, both general beliefs concerning health and specific beliefs about obesity and dieting predicted weight loss. Both messages and mothers' beliefs acted together on keeping appointments and making efforts to comply. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of threats and health belief-behavior linkages.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Physician behavior as a determinant of utilization patterns: the case of abortion.

Health services utilization may be influenced by the structure of the health system and the behavior of health professionals as well as by the actions of individual patients. This research examines the responses of obstetricians toward women seeking abortion. The population for this study includes all obstetrician-gynecologists with any private practice in Maryland during 1975 (473). Each responding physician (443) was presented with a case history vignette describing, in a telephone interview, a woman who is pregnant and considering an abortion. The sociodemographic characteristics of the woman were systematically varied to determine effects of patient attributes on physicians' patient management decisions. Decisions to refer the patient or to participate personally in her care were found to be associated most strongly with the patients' financial resources. Three hundred and twelve obstetricians returned a mail questionnaire, probing their own attitudes and characteristics. Physicians' liberal or conservative attitudes toward expansion of reproductive health care services and their level of disturbance by the abortion procedure were also influential in these patient management decisions. Simultaneous examination of both patient and physician characteristics indicated that the former had the greater weight in accounting for referral decisions.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1978

Factors influencing mothers' compliance with a medication regimen for asthmatic children.

This study lends support to the utility of a compliance-adapted health belief framework for exploring mothers' differential adherence to medication regiments prescribed for their asthmatic children. Most of the Model components behaved as hypothesized in predicting mothers' drug administration. The findings offer empirical evidence which can be applied to the purposes of identifying potential noncompliers and designating those specific, health-related orientations of the mother which are related to poor cooperation with therapy. Based on an educational diagnosis, the clinician may thus intervene to alter inappropriate health beliefs in order to enhance the likelihood of compliance for the asthmatic patient.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Recognition in adult patients of malformations induced by folic-acid antagonists.

Three patients are reported, two of whom had mothers who revealed ingestion of abortifacient drugs during pregnancy. All patients resemble one another and those described earlier with malformations that were probably either aminopterin- or methotrexate-induced. It is likely that Patients I and II have abnormalities associated with the teratogenic action of these folic-acid antagonists. The etiology of Patient III's defects remains uncertain.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1977

Computed tomography in pediatric diagnosis.

The use of computed tomography has revolutionized the evaluation of the neurologically ill child. This safe and noninvasive procedure may be done on an outpatient basis, eliminating for many the complications that may occur from invasive neuroradiologic procedures. Computed tomography is of particular value in the assessment of intracranial neoplasms, hydrocephalus, and vascular disease. Further advancements are expected in the technology of computed scanning and in its diagnostic use in the rest of the body.

Brain↗
PubMed1977

Scales for measuring health belief model dimensions: a test of predictive value, internal consistency, and relationships among beliefs.

Critiques of research on the Health Belief Model have been directed at the need for: (1) applying the Model to behavior related to chronic illness; (2) multivariate testing of the major dimensions of the Model; (3) developing reliable scales; and (4) explicating the relationships among the beliefs. In an attempt to respond to these concerns, data are presented from a prospective study of mothers' adherence to a diet regimen prescribed for their obese children. The Model components were found, both singly and in combination, to be correlated with the study's measure of dietary compliance. Multiple regression analysis utilizing five belief indices accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in children's weight change. Questionnaire items employed in creating indices for each Model dimension are presented, together with discussion of the internal consistency of each index. Belief intercorrelations appear to demonstrate that distinct Model dimensions exist.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Computerized axial tomography of craniofacial malformations. A preliminary report.

Computerized axial tomography is a new radiologic technique that permits noninvasive study of the skull, brain, and cerebral ventricles. This technique has been applied to the study of craniofacial malformations prior to intracranial surgical correction. The assessment of the cerebral ventricles is valuable as a base line study as well as helpful in detecting unsuspected abnormalities in the brain prior to surgery.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Psychological and social factors as predictors of medical behavior.

Response to illness was studied in a group of 251 low-income mothers who brought a child to a pediatric clinic for treatment. Measures of illness and use of medical care services for the child constituted the dependent variables; social characteristics of the mother, and her health beliefs and attitudes served as the independent variables. The information was collected by means of personal interviews. A major determinant of seeking care was the presence of symptoms in the child. Age, number of children, beliefs about illness threat, and about the benefits of medical care also related to obtaining care. A measure of the scope of services used, however, was unrelated to illness, but positively related to both education and the mother's evaluation of physicians. With illness taken into account, situational barriers plus beliefs concerning illness threat and the efficacy of care become more important predictors of utilization of care. The beliefs are related to the mother's experience, education, and life situation. It was concluded that health beliefs interact with situational demands and constraints in relation to actions taken in the face of health threats.

Adolescent↗