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Biomedical subjects

N Urban

Publications and source records attributed to N Urban.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Clinical breast examination in primary care: perceptions and predictors among three specialties.

To assess predictors of reported performance of screening clinical breast examination (CBE) by internists, family physicians, and obstetrician/gynecologists, we surveyed members of these specialties in four counties of Washington State. We contacted all physicians in the counties and identified 334 providers who saw women ages 50-75 and provided primary care as their principal activity. Seventy-five percent (252 of 334) responded. Physicians were mailed a survey and contacted for telephone completion if they did not respond in writing. The survey inquired about their current performance of CBE and factors that might predispose, enable, or reinforce its use. Differences across specialties were assessed using the chi-square statistic. Factors associated with reported performance of screening CBE in > or =90% of women were evaluated using logistic regression. Fifty-one percent of physicians reported that they perform regular CBE on > or =90% of their patients, although the proportion varied across specialty type. Beliefs about the benefit of CBE were positive and similar across specialties. Twelve percent of male physicians, but no female physicians, reported that women's embarrassment affected their use of screening CBE. In a multivariate model, male gender, family practice specialty, and the perception of patient embarrassment were all associated with lower reported rates of performing regular CBE (p < 0.05). Work to increase the performance of CBE should consider the role of male physician embarrassment and family physician training. Ways to facilitate delivery of preventive care and factors influencing the women themselves may also be important to increased use of CBE.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Prevalence of pedigrees suggestive of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer among a community sample of women eligible for screening mammography.

OBJECTIVE: To determine from a large cohort of women eligible for screening mammography, the number who would meet criteria for genetic testing for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). METHODS: Detailed personal and family cancer histories, obtained from 6,682 women aged 50-80 years randomly selected from communities in Washington State, were matched to the Amsterdam criteria, Bethesda guidelines, and Japanese criteria for HNPCC. RESULTS: One (0.015%) respondent met the Amsterdam criteria, 2 (0.035%) met the Japanese criteria and 5 (0.075%) met the Bethesda guidelines. CONCLUSION: Using the time of presentation for initial mammography as an opportunity to screen for HNPCC would detect very few families at high risk for this condition.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Community attitudes and mammography use: does it really matter what other people think?

This study examined whether community characteristics, particularly community attitudes regarding mammography use, are associated with women's use of mammography in rural communities. Forty communities in predominantly rural areas of Washington State were selected for inclusion in this study based on their size and distance from an urban center. Characteristics of the communities were assessed as were characteristics of women living in the communities. From each community, random samples of 352 women between 50 and 80 years old participated by completing a telephone survey that included questions on a variety of topics, including their use of mammography. Logistic regression analyses revealed community of residence to be a significant predictor of individual women's mammography use after adjusting for individual level predictors of mammography use including age, education, employment, marital status, financial situation, and ease of access to medical services. An examination of the influence of community characteristics revealed women living in communities with supportive community attitudes towards mammography use report higher levels of mammography use than do women living in communities with less supportive attitudes. The presence or absence of male or female physicians or of mammography facilities in a local community was not associated with statistically significant effects on women's mammography use. Community attitudes are associated with mammography use in rural communities. Public health interventions that change community attitudes may have effects that extend beyond the people directly contacted by these interventions.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Effect of age and breast density on screening mammograms with false-positive findings.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of breast density and age on screening mammograms with false-positive findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample was taken from the Washington State Mammography Tumor Registry, which links data from participating radiologists with the Puget Sound Cancer Surveillance System and the Washington State Cancer Registry. Participants (n = 73,247) were women 35 years old and older who underwent screening mammography for which an assessment and a four-category density rating were coded. A total of 46,340 mammograms were sampled to avoid interpreter bias. In this study of false-positive mammograms, only women with no diagnosis of breast cancer within 12 months of the index mammogram were included. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios of a false-positive mammogram being associated with each category of breast density or age, adjusting for the other factor as a covariate. RESULTS: After controlling for breast density, we found that the risk of a false-positive mammogram was not affected by age (p = 27). However, the trend of increasing risk of a false-positive mammogram with increasing breast density was highly significant (p < .001). Women with extremely dense breast tissue were almost two times more likely to have a false-positive mammogram than were women with fatty breast tissue. This effect persisted after controlling for age. CONCLUSION: Breast density, not age, is an important factor when predicting risk of a false-positive mammogram. Breast density should be considered when educating individual women on the risks and benefits of screening mammography.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Recruitment strategies in the women's health trial: feasibility study in minority populations. WHT:FSMP Investigators Group. Women's Health Trial:Feasibility Study in Minority Populations.

The Women's Health Trial:Feasibility Study in Minority Populations (WHT:FSMP) examined the feasibility of recruiting postmenopausal women from a broad range of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds into a primary prevention trial requiring marked reductions in dietary fat. Postmenopausal women aged 50-79 yr who had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer and who consumed 36% or more total energy from fat qualified to participate. We randomized the women into dietary intervention (60%) or control (40%) groups; we aimed to randomize 750 women in 18 months in each of the three clinical centers. All centers achieved goals for randomization based on ethnicity, and two centers exceeded overall recruitment goals. The greatest source of randomized participants was mass mailing, followed by items in the media, referrals, and community outreach. Recruitment yields were generally similar for the ethnic groups but lower for less-educated participants. The experience of WHT:FSMP indicates that postmenopausal women from the African-American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white communities can be recruited into dietary intervention studies for the prevention of disease.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1998

A health priorities model: application to mammography screening.

This study describes and empirically tests a health priorities model. This model predicts underuse of regular mammography screening among adult women within the larger health context in which such decisions are made. The model incorporates women's comparative illness threats, comparative importance of health behaviors, and demographic variables. A telephone survey was conducted with a sample of women (N = 887) older than 50, in 40 rural communities in the state of Washington. Logistic regression analyses showed that women who perceived themselves at low risk for getting breast cancer and/or who perceived another disease (i.e. heart attack) as an equal or greater threat than breast cancer were less likely to be regular screeners of mammography. In addition, women who perceived other health behaviors as more important than regular mammography screening were less likely to be regular screeners than those women who perceived regular mammography screening as more important. Current or anticipated health problems were not related to screening behavior. The results are discussed in light of the practical, theoretical, and empirical implications.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

The use of mammography by survivors of breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Survivors of breast cancer are at high risk for development of a second breast cancer and are thus a group for whom annual mammography screening is recommended. However, survivors' use of mammography rarely has been examined. METHODS: We surveyed a representative population sample of survivors who lived in rural communities about their mammography use after cancer. RESULTS: Of these women, 30% had not received a mammogram in the preceding year. Predictors of mammography use included physician recommendation and whether the original cancer had been detected by mammography. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should recommend mammography to survivors of breast cancer to ensure regular use.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Use of a stochastic simulation model to identify an efficient protocol for ovarian cancer screening.

The intervention protocol for an ovarian cancer screening trial should be efficient as well as effective, because it may become the standard of care if the trial demonstrates mortality reduction. To identify an efficient ovarian cancer screening protocol, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of selected single modality and multimodal screening strategies were estimated using a stochastic simulation model. Screening was simulated over a 30-year period in a hypothetical cohort of 1 million women aged 50 at the beginning of the period. The net present value of the cost per year of life saved was estimated for six protocols involving transvaginal sonography (TVS) and/or the tumor antigen CA 125. Internal and external validation was performed, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the ranking of the strategies. A multimodal strategy involving CA 125 with a threshold for positivity of either elevation above 35 U/ml or doubling since the previous screen, followed by TVS only if CA 125 is positive, was found to be efficient in the sense that no other strategies saved as many years of life at lower cost per year of life saved. Used annually, this strategy cost under $100,000 per year of life saved over a range of assumptions. The model's predictions are consistent with results reported in the literature regarding the performance of TVS and CA 125. The multimodal strategy used annually or every six months was efficient compared to either ultrasound or CA 125 used alone, over a range of assumptions. Simulation of screening may be useful in selecting a screening protocol to be tested in a randomized controlled trial.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Design of a study to improve accuracy in reading mammograms.

This paper is concerned with the design and analysis of mammography reading studies. In particular we consider studies aimed at evaluating interventions to improve the accuracy with which mammograms are read. A simple randomized design is suggested in which a relatively large group of readers read sets of mammograms before and after an intervention phase. We propose solutions to three difficult statistical issues that arise in the context of such studies: (i) the choice of primary outcome measure; (ii) the data analysis technique to be employed; and (iii) the methodology for calculating sample sizes for readers and images to be read. First, we argue in favor of using sensitivity and specificity as the primary outcome measures rather than receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in mammography studies, although the latter are considered state of the art for many types of radiology reading studies. We argue that sensitivity and specificity are more clinically relevant and conceptually more straightforward than ROC curves. Second, we suggest a bivariate approach to data analysis for evaluating intervention effects on sensitivity and specificity. This accommodates the correlations inherent between these measures and allows for estimation of joint effects on them. Finally we propose a method for power calculations that uses computer simulation techniques. Simple formulas for sample size calculations are not available in part because variability in accuracy amongst readers and variation in difficulty among images introduce complexity into power calculations. The simulation method that we propose accommodates such complexity and is easy to implement. The methodology was motivated by a study funded by the Department of Defense to evaluate the potential efficacy of an educational intervention. In the context of this study we illustrate the steps involved in power calculations and apply the data analytic techniques to the sort of data expected to result from this study. Though the proposed methods were motivated by this particular study, the statistical considerations are relevant more broadly in mammography and indeed in other types of radiologic imaging studies. Standards for the conduct of radiologic reading studies are not yet well developed, as they are for randomized clinical trials and for case-control studies. We hope that the discussion in this paper will add to the dialogue necessary for development of such standards.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1997

Confirmatory analysis of opinions regarding the pros and cons of mammography.

This investigation extends prior research to apply decision-making constructs from the transtheoretical model (TTM) of behavior change to mammography screening. Study subjects were 8,914 women ages 50-80, recruited from 40 primarily rural communities in Washington State. Structural equation modeling showed that favorable and unfavorable opinions about mammography (i.e., pros and cons) fit the observed data. Analysis of variance supported the associations between readiness to obtain screening (i.e., stage of adoption) and opinions about mammography (i.e., decisional balance) previously found in research using smaller samples from another geographic region. This report extends these earlier studies by using structural equation modeling, opinion scales based both on principal component analyses and on a priori definitions, a developmental sample and a confirmatory sample, and by sampling from a different geographic region. It is recommended that future research examine whether opinions regarding the cons of mammography are more individually specific than the pros.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Managed care challenges and opportunities for cardiovascular advanced practice nurses.

The aggressive changes in the health-care system are mandating revolutionary new approaches in patient-care delivery. Cardiovascular care, in particular, is under scrutiny due to its high cost and wide variation in outcome. The need to comprehensively coordinate cardiac surgical care and aggressively manage complex cases has resulted in growing interest in using cardiovascular advanced practice nurses (APNs) to ensure high-quality, yet cost-effective patient care. The unique skills of the cardiovascular APN as practitioner, consultant, educator, researcher, and change agent ensure optimal outcomes for patients and their families as well the staff, physicians, and the hospital's bottom line.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1997

Physician gender and screening: do patient differences account for differences in mammography use?

Women are more likely to receive mammography if they see a female, rather than a male, physician (Lurie et al., 1993). This difference in mammography use could arise from differences in the behavior of male and female physicians, or from differences in their patients. This paper examines the extent to which differences in mammography use are attributable to physician differences, controlling for patient differences, and expands on previous research by examining both demographic and attitudinal differences between the patients of male and female physicians. A population based sample of Washington State women (n = 852) between the ages of 50 and 80 years old were asked to complete an extensive telephone interview regarding their demographic and attitudinal characteristics, their mammography use, and the gender of their primary care physician. Women patients of male and female physicians were not found to differ significantly in their education, financial status, employment, assertiveness with their physician, or values regarding physician characteristics including preventive care and communication skills. Analyses conducted to examine the contribution of physician gender to mammography use revealed almost a two-fold reduction in screening associated with having a male physician (adjusted odds ratio 1.95; p < .05). Differences in mammography use associated with male and female physicians do not appear to arise from characteristic demographic or attitudinal differences between their patient populations.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Cost-effectiveness of lumbar discectomy for the treatment of herniated intervertebral disc.

STUDY DESIGN: A cost-effectiveness analysis of lumbar discectomy based on existing efficacy data and newly gathered cost data. OBJECTIVES: For patients with herniated lumbar discs unresponsive to conservative management, surgery relieves pain more rapidly but at higher costs than continued medical therapy. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of lumbar discectomy for these patients. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Effectiveness estimates were based on the results of a published trial of 126 herniated disc patients randomized to surgical or nonsurgical treatment. Quality of life values were based on a study of 83 subjects with low back pain. Treatment costs for herniated discs were estimated from insurance data for 372 patients treated surgically and 1,803 treated medically. METHODS: Efficacy results were weighted by quality of life values to estimate the quality-adjusted benefit of surgery. Cost-effectiveness was calculated in dollars per quality-adjusted year of life gained. Supplemental data sources for cost and effectiveness provided ranges for sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Surgery increased average quality-adjusted life expectancy by 0.43 years during the decade following treatment, a benefit similar to extending a healthy life by 5 months. Reimbursements for surgical patients were $12,550 more than for medical patients. Nondiscounted and 5% discounted cost-effectiveness were $29,200 and $33,900 per quality-adjusted year of life gained. Supplemental analyses confirmed the basecase effectiveness estimates but suggested that the cost of discectomy was overestimated. Replacing the main cost estimate with one based on HMO patients lowered discectomy's cost to $12,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained. CONCLUSION: For carefully selected patients with herniated discs, surgical discectomy is a cost-effective treatment. Discectomy's favorable cost-effectiveness results from its substantial effect on quality of life and moderate costs.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1996

Community organization to promote breast cancer screening ordering by primary care physicians.

Community organization has been viewed as a promising approach to changing preventive behaviors. We evaluated the impact of community organization strategies to promote breast cancer screening ordering by primary care physicians in Washington State. Physicians practicing in two intervention and two control communities were surveyed by mail pre-intervention (1989) and post-intervention (1993). Intervention activities targeting the health care sector included the formation of local physician planning groups, a series of informational mailings, medical office staff training sessions, and reminder system support. There were no significant post-intervention differences in the self-reported mammography ordering of physicians practicing in the intervention and control areas. Over the four-year study period, the proportions of physicians who ordered regular mammography increased by 36%. By 1993, over 80% of the respondents routinely used mammographic screening. Concerns about the high price of mammograms and inadequate insurance coverage were significantly reduced over time in both community pairs. Also, use of patient reminder systems increased significantly between 1989 and 1993. Secular trends resulting from diffusion of strategies to promote mammography were responsible for increases in physician ordering of the procedure. Year 2000 goals for breast cancer screening use by physicians may already have been met in some communities.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Estimating the costs attributable to a disease with application to ovarian cancer.

This article is concerned with the methodological issues that arise when estimating the expected costs attributable to a disease. In particular, the article considers methods appropriate for handling incomplete or censored cost and survival data, incorporating discounting, and computing attributable costs. After motivating the need for an estimate of the average, present value of the attributable costs, we present the Kaplan-Meier sample-average (KMSA) estimator, which takes into account the censored nature of the data that are typically available. We investigate the statistical properties of the estimator and compare it to others employed in the literature, showing how certain methods for incorporating discounting can introduce bias. We demonstrate the utility of the estimator by applying it to estimation of the costs attributable to ovarian cancer, using data from a database linking Medicare claims with the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry. Our analysis suggests that the average, present value of the 15-year costs attributable to ovarian cancer is $21,285 for local-stage cases and $32,126 for distant-state cases in 1990 dollars.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

The Women's Health Trial Feasibility Study in Minority Populations: design and baseline descriptions.

The Women's Health Trial: Feasibility Study in Minority Populations (WHT:FSMP), a randomized trial of 2208 women, was conducted to investigate three questions. First, can women from minority and low-socioeconomic-status populations be recruited in numbers sufficient to evaluate a dietary intervention designed to lower fat intake. Second, the efficacy of a low fat, increased fruit/vegetable/ grain product intervention for reducing fat consumption. Third, will participation in the intervention lower plasma cholesterol and estradiol levels relative to the controls. The baseline results showed that an adequate number of minority and low SES women could be recruited to test the study hypotheses. A diverse study population of postmenopausal women consuming a high fat diet was recruited: 28% of participants were Black, 16% were Hispanic, 11% had less than a high school level of education, and 15.5% had household incomes of < $15,000.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Stage, age, comorbidity, and direct costs of colon, prostate, and breast cancer care.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of stage at diagnosis, age, and level of comorbidity (presence of other illness) on the costs of treating three types of cancer among members of a health maintenance organization. METHODS: Among 388,000 members enrolled anytime during 1990 and 1991 in Group Health Cooperative (GHC) of Puget Sound (Washington State), we estimated the total and net direct costs of medical care for colon, prostate, and breast cancers, including both incident (290, 554, and 645 patients, respectively) and prevalent (1046, 1295, and 2299 patients, respectively) cases. We summarized costs for initial, continuing, and terminal phases of care. Net costs were the difference between the costs of the care of each case subject and the average costs of the care for all enrollees without the cancer of interest who were of the same sex and in the same 5-year age group. Differences in estimated total and net costs by stage at diagnosis, age, and comorbidity were separately evaluated using multivariate regression modeling. All P values were two-sided. Comorbidity was based on a score calculated from 1988 pharmacy data. RESULTS: Total costs of initial care increased with stage at diagnosis for colon (P = .0013) and breast (P < .0001) cancer cases, but not for prostate cancer cases. Total initial costs decreased with age for prostate (P = .0225) and breast (P = .0002) cancers but did not change with degree of comorbidity for any of the three cancers. Total continuing medical care costs increased with stage at diagnosis for colon (P < .0001) and breast (P < .0001) cancer cases but not for prostate cancer cases. Total terminal care costs were similar by stage for all three cancers. Net initial costs differed with stage for all three cancers (P < .05). Net continuing care costs increased with stage (P < .0001) and decreased with age (P < .001) for colon and breast cancers but not for prostate cancer. Net continuing care costs decreased with comorbidity for all three cancers (P = .004, P = .011, and P < .0001 for colon, prostate, and breast cancers, respectively). Among regional stage cancers, continuing care costs decreased with age for colon (P < .0017) and breast (P = .033) cancers but not for prostate cancers. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that total costs vary by stage at diagnosis and age, but the patterns of variation differ for each cancer. Costs of cancer are not simply additive to costs of other conditions. IMPLICATIONS: More needs to be done to explore the reasons and implications of age-related cost differences. Cost-effectiveness analyses of cancer control interventions that shift cancer stage distributions may need to consider both the age and comorbidity of the target populations.

Adult↗