Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Macdonald

Publications and source records attributed to S Macdonald.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Continuing education--a choice between affluence and deprivation.

The study sought to identify reasons why initial enthusiasm for in-service training was not reflected in actual attendance. An interview and questionnaire survey of 61 midwives in a London health authority assessed their perceptions of, motivation for and participation in continuing professional education (CPE). The midwives surveyed appreciated the need for CPE, kept up with professional reading and took part in a wide range of educational activities. Managers and staff midwives were the poorest attenders at study days and training sessions, which may have adverse consequences for their development. It is suggested that CPE improves clinical standards and raises morale (a cycle of affluence) and that it may also prevent stress and 'burnout'.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1993

Lucky charms.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Contract Services↗
PubMed1993

A case-control study of driving-while-impaired offenders.

A case control approach was used to identify variables associated with driving while impaired (DWI). Data utilized for this study were obtained from interviews with individuals in a representative sample of 9943 Canadians. Individuals convicted for DWI were matched with control subjects (i.e. no DWI convictions) by gender, age, province of residence, education, income, and recent drinking behaviour. During the matching process, 39 current abstainers were found among the DWI offenders and were treated as a separate group for statistical purposes. Three groups were compared: 78 DWI cases, 78 matched controls, and 39 DWI current abstainers. Statistical analyses were used to detect significant differences among these three groups for 81 variables within the following categories: (a) attitudes, knowledge and behaviour related to drinking and driving; (b) driving behaviour; (c) drinking behaviour and drug use; (d) social issues; and (e) attitudes towards different policy approaches to reducing drinking and driving. DWI cases were significantly different from control subjects for only 10 variables. A high proportion of differences found between these two groups related to attitudes regarding drinking and driving behaviour. For example, DWI cases were more likely than controls to believe that some people drive better after drinking, that it takes more alcohol to be legally impaired, and that there is an excuse for DWI. DWI cases were more likely to drink due to sadness or loneliness, and reported higher cannabis use over previous years. Little evidence was found to support the hypothesis that DWI offenders are less likely to perceive deterrents to DWI. However, evidence does support the notion that many DWI offenders do not believe that they have a drinking problem. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of the psychosocial characteristics of alcoholics responsible for impaired and nonimpaired collisions.

In this study, the psychosocial characteristics of male alcoholics with different collision records were examined. Male hospitalized alcoholics were divided into three groups: (1) collision-free drivers, (2) those responsible for collision(s) in which they were impaired by alcohol, and (3) those responsible for collision(s) in which they were not impaired by alcohol. People in each of the three groups were compared. People responsible for impaired collisions were significantly lower in socioeconomic status, drove while impaired with more dangerous styles of driving, and had more disrespect for authorities than the noncollision group. By contrast, those responsible for nonimpaired collisions possessed a variety of personality characteristics that distinguished them from people with no collisons. Specifically, those with nonimpaired collisions were significantly less responsible, more impulsive, more depressed, more aggressive, and experienced more undesirable life events than people without collisions. The results are suggestive that male alcoholics with impaired collisions might have differences from those people with nonimpaired collisions that enhance their driving risk.

Accident Proneness↗
PubMed1989

Survival analysis to explore the characteristics of employee assistance program (EAP) referrals that remain employed.

This study examined characteristics of referrals to employee assistance programs (EAP) associated with subsequent termination of employment. As well, relationships between characteristics of the referrals and program characteristics were explored. Longitudinal data were collected at several time periods for 163 referrals to EAPs from five organizations. Survival analysis was conducted to determine which variables were associated with termination of employment. Females, cohabitating couples, and employees who worked for the organization for 5 or more years were most likely to remain employed. One interesting finding was that people with alcohol problems were significantly more likely to be formal referrals.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The effect of retention interval upon hemispheric processes in recognition memory.

Simple concrete nouns were presented unilaterally in a continuous recognition memory procedure. Each word was presented twice in a session, and subjects were required to signal the second occurrence of a word. Retention interval was manipulated by varying the lag separating word presentations, and lags of 1, 4, 8, and 32 items were employed in the design. Words were projected, on first and second presentations respectively, to the following visual fields: LL, LR, RR, and RL. No visual field effects were observed at lag 1, but an advantage for RVF probes was evident from lag 4 onwards. At lag 8, a relative superiority emerged from uncrossed versus crossed presentation. The results support the idea that lateral asymmetries develop as processing engages deeper and more complex levels of representation. There was also evidence that memory representations are more salient following direct, rather than transcallosal, stimulation of a hemisphere.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Occurrence and patterns of driving behavior for alcoholics in treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the driving behaviors of male alcoholics. Two hundred and fifty-eight male alcoholics receiving treatment for alcoholism completed a self-administered questionnaire about their driving behaviour and official driver records were accessed. On average, the surveyed individuals drank and drove about 8.6 days per month at the legal level of impairment in Canada (i.e., 80 mg%). Evidence showed that about 88.3% of the sample had driven while impaired. The probability of being arrested for impaired driving was estimated to be about one in 1168 impaired driving events. People were divided into three groups according to their number of Driving While Impaired (DWI) arrests in the previous 10 years, as determined by self-reports and official driving records: zero DWI arrests, one DWI arrest, and multiple DWI arrests. Those with multiple DWI arrests drove while impaired more frequently and with more risky styles of driving than people with zero arrests. Those with two or more arrests also reported that they enjoyed driving under a greater variety of situations as compared to those with zero arrests. Multiple offenders had significantly more total collisions than zero time offenders; however, there were no significant differences among the three DWI groups for collisions without alcohol involvement or other types of traffic violations. Results showed that the number of DWI arrests was generally not related to worse driving when sober.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1987

Strains toward convergence in the consumption of alcoholic beverages: the Canadian case and implications for public health.

Sulkunen's observations that international trends in the consumption of alcoholic beverages involve quantitative as well as qualitative homogenization of drinking practices are tested against the experience of Canada and its provinces from the mid 1960s to late 1970s. Per capita consumption of spirits, beer, and wine, and the contribution of each of these types of alcoholic beverages to total consumption are examined for each province for the fiscal years 1966, 1972, and 1978. On the whole, the findings are consistent with worldwide trends. Per capita consumption is increasing generally and there is a trend toward greater similarity in per capita consumption across the provinces (quantitative homogenization). Consumption of different types of beverages is becoming more similar (qualitative homogenization) and increases in the beverage with the lowest share of the market (i.e., wine) appear to be additive to overall consumption. The observation that increases in consumption of the traditional types of beverages have the most impact on overall consumption is not observed for beer, but is observed in the case of spirits. Implications for public health and social policy are discussed.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1986

Are health care workers at risk for infection during an outbreak of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease?

We studied data from 500 health care workers to answer the question: Are health care workers at risk for infection during an outbreak of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease? These workers were employed at a hospital where eight cases of nosocomial Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 pneumonia occurred over a 4-week period. The source was potable water. Acute-phase blood samples were collected on the day the water supply was decontaminated, convalescent samples were collected 4 to 6 weeks later from 373 subjects, and a single serum sample was obtained from an additional 127 subjects. Antibody titers to L. pneumophila were determined by an indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) technique and by a microagglutination assay with the epidemic strain as the test antigen. Subjects who had an IFA titer of greater than or equal to 1:256 were retested with an anti-human IgM conjugate. None of the 373 health care workers had a fourfold rise in antibody titer. The geometric mean antibody titer of 73.8 for the 500 health care workers was significantly higher than that of 68.1 for 976 blood donors (p less than 0.01). Only 2.4% had recent infection as evidenced by a microagglutination test, despite the fact that 84% were susceptible. We conclude that in the setting of a short-term outbreak of Legionnaires' disease caused by contaminated potable water the risk of infection among health care workers is low: 2.4% or less.

Adult↗