Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M W Ross

Publications and source records attributed to M W Ross.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

The relationship between recognition, rewards and burnout in AIDS caring.

The positive psychological and sociological dimensions of AIDS care provision may produce important information to assist burnout prevention. While most studies on stress and burnout in AIDS health care have focused on the negative and difficult aspects of this work, few have considered the notion that the rewards of care-giving may buffer against stress or counterbalance experiences that may otherwise lead to burnout. A study of HIV/AIDS volunteers examined the relationship between stressors, rewards and burnout, using the HIV Volunteer Inventory and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Correlation data indicates that a lack of a sense of personal accomplishment is a contributor to frequency of burnout. Over a fifth of the variance of burnout frequency can be accounted for by both stress and reward factors. Qualitative interview data also support the importance of rewards. Rewards in the form of gratitude from clients and recognition and support from management positively influenced the organizational climate. This study points to the need to find ways to increase the recognition and rewards experienced by carers. The potential benefits include reduced attrition and burnout and enhanced quality of life in the work setting.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1995

Rostral mandibulectomy for treatment of an ameloblastic fibro-odontoma in a cow.

A 1-year-old polled Hereford heifer was admitted with a mass of the rostral mandibular area that had been observed 17 days earlier. Cytologic examination of fluid aspirated from the mass revealed normal blood. Radiography revealed an expansile, osteolytic mass involving the rostral portion of the mandible. Mineralization of the soft-tissue component was evident. Rostral mandibulectomy was performed to remove the mass in its entirety. The histologic diagnosis was ameloblastic fibro-odontoma. One year after surgery, cosmetic appearance of the mandible was acceptable, and there was no evidence of tumor regrowth. Radiation therapy, cryotherapy, and thermocautery have been recommended in conjunction with surgical excision to prevent tumor regrowth in the oral cavity. Tumor regrowth was not a factor in long-term prognosis in this cow.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Use of tension band wires in horses with fractures of the ulna: 22 cases (1980-1992).

Twenty-two horses with ulnar fractures were treated, using tension band wires alone or tension band wires in combination with pins or cortical bone screws. Age of the horses ranged from 2 weeks to 12 years (median, 4 months), and body weight ranged from 68 to 477 kg (median, 181 kg). Fractures were classified according to the Donecker and Bramlage ulnar fracture classification and included type 1-a (4 horses), type 1-b (4), type-2 (6), type-3 (1), type-4 (3), and type-5 (4), fractures. Tension band wires alone were used in 7 horses. Tension band wires were used in conjunction with unthreaded pins in 10 horses. In 3 horses, 5.5-mm cortical bone screws were inserted longitudinally instead of pins. A combination of a 5.5-mm cortical bone screw and a pin was used in 2 horses. In addition to pins and tension band wires, 4.5-mm cortical bone screws were placed in lag fashion to aid reduction of comminuted or oblique fractures in 7 of the 22 horses. Fractures healed in 18 (82%) horses. Four horses were euthanatized because of complications that included catastrophic failure of fixation during recovery from general anesthesia in 1 foal, septic arthritis and hyperextension of the contralateral metacarpophalangeal joint in 1 foal, and wound infection with partial disruption of repair in 2 horses. Nonfatal complications developed in 6 horses and included incision infection, partial wound dehiscence, carpal contraction, carpus varus of the contralateral forelimb, slight distraction of proximal fragments of the fractures, bent implants, and distal migration of pins. Long-term monitoring was performed on 17 horses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1995

Transection of the accessory ligament of the superficial digital flexor muscle for the treatment of superficial digital flexor tendinitis in standardbreds: 40 cases (1988-1992).

Medical records of 40 racing Standardbreds with superficial digital flexor tendinitis that underwent transection of the accessory ligament of the superficial digital flexor (SDF) muscle (superior check desmotomy) were reviewed. Surgery was performed bilaterally in 32 horses and unilaterally in 8. Concurrent palmar annular desmotomy was performed in 8 horses in which tendinitis involved the distal metacarpal region and confinement of the deep and SDF tendons by the annular ligament was suspected. Follow-up information was obtained for 32 horses, by telephone, and racing results were available for 39 horses (1 horse is currently in training, but had a qualifying race prior to surgery). Tendinitis recurred in 8 of 32 (25%) horses that returned to training. Thirty-five of 38 (92%) horses started at least 1 race after surgery. Mean +/- SD time between surgery and first race was 237 +/- 86 days. Overall, 33 of 38 horses completed 5 or more races after surgery; however, SDF tendinitis recurred in 6, and treatment was, therefore, considered to be successful in 27 horses. Horses started a median of 18 races after surgery. Median amount of money won per start after surgery (median, $418; range, $0 to $4,626) was significantly less than median amount won per start before surgery (median, $1,155; range, $0 to $14,603). Inflammation of the interosseous muscle (suspensory ligament) developed in 5 horses with bilateral SDF tendinitis and in 2 horses with unilateral SDF tendinitis. All horses with inflammation of the interosseous muscle had undergone bilateral superior check desmotomy.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Zidovudine adherence among individuals with HIV infection.

The objective was to investigate the relationships among health beliefs, attitudes, and zidovudine compliance in individuals with HIV infection. A survey was administered to 52 individuals with HIV infection. The survey items, which reflected concerns expressed about zidovudine, were generated based on barriers to and benefits of zidovudine and the perceived susceptibility to and perceived severity of HIV as described by the health belief model (HBM). These items were expressed as attitudes and beliefs. Items were subjected to factor analysis, and survey results were correlated with laboratory data to predict adherence to their prescribed medication-taking regimen. Data indicated that 42.3% of the subjects were compliant with zidovudine. Factor analysis identified four dimensions: problems taking and scepticism about zidovudine; degree of concern about HIV; perceived severity of HIV; and physical barriers to taking zidovudine. Logistic regression analysis (forward conditional entry) identified those who were having problems taking zidovudine and who were sceptical about its effectiveness, and ethnicity as significant independent predictors of compliance, correctly classifying 75% of cases (p < 0.01). The fact that subjects who have problems taking zidovudine or are sceptical about the value of zidovudine are less compliant, and that this dimension is a significant predictor of compliance, suggests that non-compliance is related to attitudes and beliefs about zidovudine. This is consistent with the HBM, which holds that the balance between barriers and benefits of a health-related behaviour are significant determinants of outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Relationship between safe sex and acculturation into the gay subculture.

There is some evidence, although conflicting, to suggest that socialization or acculturation into the gay community is associated with lower levels of unsafe sex. We attempted to determine the relationship between acculturation and sexual safety. We examined data from 282 men (from the Dallas AIDS Community Demonstration Project) who had sex with men and were not in a monogamous relationship to determine the associations between safer sex and indices of acculturation. The indices of acculturation included regular reading of local and national gay newspapers and magazines, and belonging to an organization for gay men. The data indicated that there were significant relationships between acculturation, talking to sexual partners about HIV risk reduction and sexual identity, and the dependent variable of frequency of condom use for anal sex. A regression equation indicated that 21% of the variance of anal condom use was predicted by these variables. These data suggest that acculturation into the gay community is associated with safer sexual behaviour, and we discuss the implications of these data for using role models and normative beliefs in HIV prevention programmes.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

HIV risk exposure of injecting drug users in Sydney.

One thousand two hundred and forty-five Sydney injecting drug users (IDUs) were interviewed by questionnaire in 1989 to determine demographic and behavioural characteristics. One-sixth (16.7%) were considered to be at low risk of HIV from either needle sharing or sexual transmission as they had either never shared injecting equipment, or had not shared for years, or cleaned their injecting equipment effectively on 100% of the occasions when they did share; and were either celibate or monogamous or, if they had multiple partners, had not had unsafe sex in the previous 6 months. Over half (50.7%) had either unsafe injecting or sexual behaviour with the remaining third (32.6%) engaging in both unsafe injecting and sexual practises. Women were more at risk from sharing injection equipment than men but men were more at risk from sexual transmission than women. Increasing age was associated with greater likelihood of safer sex but age had no effect on injecting practises. There was no relationship between unsafe injecting and sexual practises. Amphetamine use was associated with low risk injecting practises while heroin use was associated with low risk sexual transmission. These findings indicate appreciable residual risk behaviour sufficient to allow for at least a slow diffusion of HIV among injecting drug users.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Reliability of interview responses of injecting drug users.

We compared 23 injecting drug users (IDUs) who were part of a larger study at retest periods of less than or greater than one month for test-retest reliability of their responses to a detailed questionnaire covering demographics, drug use, HIV risk behavior and attitudes and knowledge about HIV. Data indicated that there was high test-retest reliability for demographic characteristics, and for the social context of drug use for the shorter retest duration.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

The gay dance party culture in Sydney: a qualitative analysis.

We investigated the gay dance party phenomenon in Sydney in terms of its social and historical context by carrying out 16 qualitative interviews with patrons and organisers of these events. Sydney with a population of 3.5 million is both the capital of New South Wales and the Gay capital of Australia. The gay dance party appears to be a response to a number of conditions which co-existed in the mid 1980s, as previously suggested by Wotherspoon (1991). These included the decriminalization of homosexuality and enactment of the anti-discrimination legislation which set the scene for greater expression of a gay lifestyle, the tradition of inner-city gay bars and private parties as meeting places, and the development of an inner-city gay enclave centred around the Kings Cross, Surry Hills, and Darlinghurst areas. In addition, the development of so-called "party drugs" such as Ecstasy which acted as mood-modulators, the availability of appropriately sited venues, with the development of laser-lighting and other computer-generated light shows, and the new threat of HIV infection acted to provide the context for a more ritualized set of social interactions which fulfilled social and psychological needs for many of the gay party patrons.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Methadone maintenance and the likelihood of risky needle-sharing.

Survey data were used to study the association of methadone maintenance and needle-sharing. An ordinal scale of HIV risk was derived from the number of persons from whom subjects reported accepting a used needle and syringe in the 6 months prior to interview. The odds of respondents in methadone maintenance being in the higher risk group were half those of daily heroin users not in treatment for all three transitions in a four-level ordinal scale of risk (OR 0.55, 95% CL 0.33 to 0.90, ordinal logistic regression). This association disappeared when methadone patients who had not injected in the month prior to interview were excluded from the analysis. Subjects' knowledge concerning HIV and AIDS had no measurable association with the outcome. It is concluded that methadone maintenance reduces heroin addicts' risk of infection with HIV by reducing the likelihood of their injecting drugs rather than by changing their injecting behavior.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Transendoscopic contact neodymium:yttrium aluminum garnet laser treatment of tympany of the auditory tube diverticulum in two foals.

Tympany of the auditory tube diverticulum was treated in 2 Standardbred foals by fenestrating the median septum, using an endoscopically placed Nd:YAG laser. Recurrence in 1 foal was treated by enlarging the fenestration, using a modified Whitehouse approach, and the pharyngeal opening of the auditory tube. Use of the Nd:YAG laser eliminates the risk of inadvertent cranial nerve damage associated with incisions into the auditory tube diverticulum. The procedure can be performed with the horse sedated or anesthetized. Clinical signs can recur in the fenestration heals closed or if the condition is bilateral rather than unilateral.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Fears of AIDS in Nigerian students: dimensions of the fear of AIDS Scale (FAIDSS) in west Africa.

A study based on a sample of 2500 individuals aged 18 years and over in six west African cities was undertaken for the purpose of determining the cross-cultural consistency and replicability of fears about AIDS. A factor analysis of the data obtained confirmed a similar factor structure to that reported in Australia. Implications for the prevention of HIV transmission in Nigeria and other west African countries is discussed. Our findings showed that the fear of AIDS Scale (FAIDSS) is a reliable index of fear of aids and is readily scaleable. Other implications for health education are considered.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Effects of two formats of informed consent on knowledge amongst persons with advanced HIV disease in a clinical trial of didanosine.

To determine subjects' perception of the purpose of informed consent, 113 subjects were recruited from a dose-controlled clinical trial of didanosine (ddI). Subjects were surveyed regarding how they made decisions regarding their medical care in general, about how they obtained information about this trial in particular, and several aspects of the informed consent procedure. Subjects were then randomly allocated to receive information about the trial by either a written only format or a written and verbal format 1 week before commencement of the trial. An eight-item instrument assessed knowledge of ddI prior to and subsequent to receiving information. Most subjects obtained information about HIV-related issues from their specialist (70%) or general (51%) medical practitioner. A large proportion of subjects (88%) reported that they believed their specialist medical practitioner always acted in their best interest. The majority of subjects (79%) believed that subjects should be allowed the choice between participating in the clinical trial and receiving the drug outside the trial mechanism. Of the subjects, 96% believed that informed consent was necessary in clinical trials; however, their opinions of the purpose of informed consent varied widely. Although they signed the informed consent, 44% of the subjects stated that they did not understand 'all' of the information that was provided. We found that the provision of information by written mode alone, or written and verbal modes were both associated with significant increases in knowledge levels and that there was a significant interaction in the degree of change between the two methods, with the written plus verbal method showing the most improvement over time. There was an interaction between degree of improvement in knowledge of didanosine in subjects who received written information versus those who received written and verbal knowledge and time (pre- versus post-consent) and a significant main effect for time. All subjects were relatively well-informed about the drug and stated that specialist and general medical practitioners were their major source of knowledge for all aspects of their HIV health care.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Development and evaluation of an inventory for rating client satisfaction with outcome in HIV counseling: the Albion Center scale.

We developed an inventory for rating client satisfaction with outcome in HIV counseling, based on interview responses with clients. The resulting 19-item scale was subject to factor analysis and four factors, accounting for 56% of the variance, emerged. The factors described dimensions of Perception of progress and improved mood; Recognition of a specific need for counseling; Behavior change from counseling; and Counseling climate. Factor-scored scales were significantly associated with time in counseling and for the Specific need for counseling scale, HIV-seropositive respondents had a significantly higher score. Scale reliabilities (Cronbach's alpha) were between 0.85 and 0.50. Concurrent administration with the Counseling Evaluation Inventory indicated that there were significant correlations between the two scales.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Reasons for entry into and understanding of HIV/AIDS clinical trials: a preliminary study.

Thirty-two men who participated in a trial of Zidovudine (> 500 CD4 cells/10(6) L) were surveyed regarding their reasons for participation in clinical trials. The major source of influence to enter the trial was the clinic doctor, and importance for self in participation was rated as the least important reason. Medical science and medical researchers were seen as the major beneficiaries. Being seen to do something about one's illness was also seen as being important and probability of delaying AIDS was rated lowest. Chance of occurrence of risks of treatment were rated as slightly below 50%. Results of Flesch and Fry tests of informed consent documents suggested that they were written in the style of a scientific article, required the readability level of a university graduate and that recall was imperfect. Those who saw more benefits in their trial participation appeared to be most knowledgeable. These data suggest that participation in this clinical trial was based on altruistic, rather than personal reasons and that participants had realistic perceptions of outcomes.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

The Mental Adjustment to HIV scale: measurement and dimensions of response to AIDS/HIV disease.

Attitudes of people with HIV disease towards HIV have seldom been measured. However, a well-established scale to measure attitudes toward cancer in those with the disease, the 38-item Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale was modified to assess adjustment to HIV disease. We administered the scale to 107 Australian men with HIV infection, of whom 36 had an AIDS-defining condition, who were patients at an ambulatory care facility and in a research study. The data were factor analyzed using a method identical to that used in the development of the MAC scale to determine the latent dimensions of attitudes toward HIV/AIDS. The Mental Adjustment to HIV scale (MAH) factor analysis revealed five factors: Helplessness-Hopelessness, Fighting Spirit, and Denial-Avoidance as in the original MAC scale, plus a Fatalism subscale which also measured Preoccupation, and a new subscale, which measured Belief in Influencing the Course of the Disease. Together, these five factors accounted for half of the variance. These data suggest that while there are similarities between mental attitude to cancer and mental attitude to HIV in the latent dimensions of the questionnaire items, there are also some differences. Most significant is the belief in people with HIV disease in being able to personally influence the course of the illness, and the combination of Preoccupation with Fatalism. The five subscales of the MAH scale had Cronbach's alpha reliabilities between 0.80 and 0.55. The MAH appears to be a useful way to measure total attitudes and subscale scores of people with HIV infection, including AIDS, to their disease.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗