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Biomedical subjects

M Hurst

Publications and source records attributed to M Hurst.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Distraction: its utilization and efficacy with children undergoing dental treatment.

We investigated the utilization and efficacy of distraction in reducing the anxious and disruptive behavior of 4 children undergoing dental treatment. During the distraction procedure, the children were shown a poster and told a story about it during dental treatment. They earned a prize if they attended to the poster and story and could correctly answer questions about them following each intervention visit. The children's disruptive behavior was assessed via direct observation, and results were analyzed within a multiple baseline design. The children exhibited high levels of anxious and disruptive behavior across baseline visits, regardless of the length of time in treatment or number of visits. Anxious and disruptive behavior decreased upon introduction of the intervention for all children. This was accompanied by the children meeting the criterion for correct answers on the distraction quiz. However, 2 of the children demonstrated an increase in their anxious and disruptive behavior across intervention visits. Results are discussed in terms of the need to evaluate treatment strategies that promote maintenance as well as initial changes.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1988

Information strategy for a community unit.

With the implementation of Körner health authorities are having to think seriously about information. The West Lambeth Community Unit decided that it needed a longer-term strategy, and Margaret Hurst and Simon Stone describe how, with the help of the Management Advisory Service, a strategy was evolved through staff participation

Computer Systems↗
PubMed1986

Ob/gyn on the rise: the evolution of professional ideology in the twentieth century--Part I.

Medical practice is based upon a combination of knowledge, skill, and belief. This paper traces the development of the belief system or ideology in obstetrics and gynecology from 1920 to the present. Using Presidential addresses and other important articles from the two most prestigious obstetrics and gynecology journals, we look at what these doctors say about themselves and about women. The first period, from 1920-1944, marks the formal alliance of obstetrics and gynecology in the United States and the formation of its ideology. Part II of this article, to be published in the next issue, will begin with the expansive War and post-War years and extend to 1980 when obstetrics and gynecology finds itself under attack from all sides.

Gynecology↗
PubMed1986

Ob/gyn on the rise: the evolution of professional ideology in the twentieth century--Part II.

The first part of this article (Volume 11, No. 1) looked at the formation of ideology in the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology from 1920 to World War II. This was a period of professional establishment and self-definition; it saw the emergence of interventionist ideology as the dominant belief system influencing ob-gyn practice. Part II in this issue begins with the period of optimism and expansion marked by a surging post-war birth rate, and ends in 1980 with the profession on the defensive, feeling "under siege" from both lay and medical forces.

Gynecology↗
PubMed1985

The Arden gratings in optometric practice.

The use of the Arden gratings (AO contrast sensitivity system) in optometric practice is evaluated. A total of 320 patients presenting for eye examination were screened with the gratings. Sixty-four eyes (10%) gave abnormal grating scores although results from conventional examination techniques revealed no abnormality. Of the 110 abnormal eyes detected by routine examination techniques, 8 presented with normal grating scores, 6 with "borderline suspect" scores and 96 with abnormal scores. Used in isolation, the failure rate of the Arden gratings to detect ocular abnormality in the patient population was 1.3% and the "false positive" referral rate was 10%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Childbirth and social class: the case of cesarean delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how obstetrical intervention in childbirth varies according to the socioeconomic status of the birthing woman and what kinds of factors might account for the differences in treatment. We have focused specifically on the contemporary use of cesarean delivery to illustrate how one intervention is applied differently to women of different social classes. If cesarean deliveries were being done for medical reasons alone, we would see any variation in the rates explained by medical risk, and the highest rates among high risk women. Instead we found that more cesareans are being performed in the socioeconomic group of women with the lowest medical risk and much of the variation in cesarean rates explained by factors other than medical need. We focus mainly on characteristics associated with social class differences, and use historical and contemporary data to describe differences in cesarean delivery rates by social class, and to offer explanations for these differences. In addition we introduce some new New York City data to examine more closely cesarean delivery rates in two classes of birthing women and to explore the differential effects of new childbirth technology on women of different socioeconomic classes.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

The interactive effect of health status on work patterns among urban Puerto Rican women.

This paper aims to integrate two existing bodies of literature on the sociology of work and health. Using data from a study conducted in New York City in 1980 of 40 Puerto Rican women, a conceptual model is proposed for additional research in the area. The findings are discussed within the context of the larger structural and socioeconomic status of this particular racial/ethnic group. The findings clearly indicate that health status is related to work patterns and economic as well as social resources. Of the respondents who reported a major health event in their lives, 80 percent had a discontinuous work history. Children's health was also a major determinant of work status. The results of this study clearly reveal the need for research that will take into account the interplay between economic conditions, structural work factors, and the process by which women evaluate their roles and fulfill their function as economic and health caretakers of the family.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Endocrine activity in air traffic controllers at work. I. Characterization of cortisol and growth hormone levels during the day.

This is the first in a series of three reports on repeated endocrine studies in the working environment for a group of 416 air traffic controllers. Twenty-minute integrated concentrations for plasma cortisol and human growth hormone across five-hr work periods are described and compared with a selection of studies of normal males reported in the literature. On average, across three repeated studies, controllers were secreting more cortisol and less growth hormone than the most comparable group of normal males. Cortisol and growth hormone levels were not appreciably related, and both hormones showed a lack of consistency across repeated studies in terms of average level or measures of episodic secretory activity. Small increases in cortisol secretion in response to venipuncture were apparent in some controllers during the morning hours; on the other hand, no growth hormone responses were evident. Neither hormone showed decreased secretion with repeated blood collections. Relationships between hormone secretion and the work environment, which possibly explain the lack of hormone consistency across time, will be examined in the second report.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Endocrine activity in air traffic controllers at work. II. Biological, psychological and work correlates.

This is the second in a series of three papers describing cortisol and growth hormone secretion in air traffic controllers at work. Comparing controllers' average hormone levels across a large number of biological, psychological and occupational characteristics yielded few replicable differences. Comparing men with themselves across three repeated endocrine studies showed a consistent but modest relationship between increases in workload and increases in cortisol. For a subgroup of men classified as 'responders', who had significant increases in cortisol parallel with workload, significantly higher scores were found for peer ratings of their work competency, self-reported job satisfaction and their perception of freedom at work provided them by their supervisors. The modest relationships between workload and endocrine secretion were interpreted as evidence for adaptation by the controllers to their working environment. Cortisol responsiveness to large increases in workload was interpreted as reflecting high levels of job investment.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Endocrine activity in air traffic controllers at work. III. Relationship to physical and psychiatric morbidity.

This final report in the series of three examines the relationships between physical health change, psychopathology and work responsiveness to cortisol and growth hormone secretion in air traffic controllers. In contrast to expectations, those who had the lowest rates of mild to moderate physical health change showed a modest tendency to have higher average cortisol. Those men who experienced more psychiatric symptomatology in terms of impulse control problems, alcohol abuse and subjective distress had slightly higher average cortisol values at work. Those men who responded to increased workload with increases in cortisol, possibly reflecting increased job involvement, also had higher average cortisol. Physical health change, levels of psychopathology and cortisol responses to increased workload were statistically independent predictors of average cortisol levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Use of a monthly health review to ascertain illness and injuries.

A Monthly Health Review was developed to monitor symptoms, illnesses and injuries among Air Traffic Controllers. Return rate of the mailed check-list exceeded 90 per cent. Diagnoses were generated from symptom clusters by computer algorithms. Telephone interview by physicians, laboratory analyses for serum pepsinogen I, and analyses of relations between symptom clusters and degree of disability all served to support the validity of the methodology. Such a system can provide inexpensive surveillance of morbidity in suitable populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The working mother in contemporary perspective: a review of the literature.

The purpose of this article is to provide a perspective on the dilemmas working mothers face due to the contradictory messages that emanate from both popular child-rearing books and clinical studies. A review of the working mothers' sections of popular child-rearing books, and an interdisciplinary review of research in the area of maternal employment over the last decade was conducted in order to assess current knowledge in the field. Both popular child-rearing books and books for the working mother tend to reflect the cultural norms of appropriate maternal behavior, but rarely include evidence from empirical research. Findings from a review of literature in medicine, psychology, sociology, and education are discussed in relation to effects of maternal employment on children and families. An understanding of recent research regarding maternal employment will enable the pediatrician to better respond to the needs of the working mothers and their families.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gender differences on Internet cancer support groups.

The role of community-based cancer support groups (CSGs) in helping people cope with cancer is well known. Recently, online CSGs have become a viable alternative to traditional CSGs. The purposes of this study were to determine if categories of responses on Internet cancer support groups (ICSGs) differ when the majority of the participants were of a single gender, and whether response categories seen on gender-specific ICSGs were different than those on ICSGs used equally by men and women. A line-by-line analysis of postings on prostate, breast, and mixed ICSGs were analyzed and responses categorized. Four categories (information giving/seeking; encouragement/support; personal opinion; and personal experience) accounted for approximately 80% of responses across the groups. Information giving/seeking was ranked first in the prostate group, and personal experience took priority in the breast group. Men were more than twice as likely to give information and women more than twice as likely to give encouragement and support. One category (prayer), identified in the mixed group, was lacking in the prostate and breast groups, and an activism category was added to the prostate group. Categorical responses differed by gender (chi 2 = 79.40, P < .0001). Attention should be given to facilitating the entry of underserved groups into ICSGs. Future research should explore the relationship between ICSG membership and variables such as depression, survival time, and quality of life.

Breast Neoplasms↗