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Simon Smith

Publications and source records attributed to Simon Smith.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Is a career in emergency medicine associated with stigma?

OBJECTIVE: Many emergency medicine staff report anecdotally that fellow hospital staff have a low opinion of emergency medicine. No research into this attitude has been published. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is stigma attached to emergency medicine and practitioners. METHOD: A postal questionnaire of all medical staff at a district general hospital, to evaluate the presence or absence of eight perceptions associated with stigma. RESULTS: The response rate was 49.5%, with the response rate decreasing with decreasing grade. Of the stigmatizing themes tested in this study, six of the eight were demonstrated to be associated with negative attitudes, with the remaining two themes positive attitudes towards emergency medicine were suggested. The responses were similar, irrespective of grade and speciality (where given by respondees). Responses that were ambivalent or not completed varied between 25 and 48% in the returned questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: This paper demonstrates that stigmatizing opinions towards emergency medicine exist and that these negative opinions may be widely held by hospital staff.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2003

Examining the influence of biological and psychological factors on cognitive performance in chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

The pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains unclear; however, both biological and psychological factors have been implicated in establishing or maintaining this condition. People with CFS report significant and disabling cognitive difficulties such as impaired concentration that in some cases are exacerbated by exposure to chemical triggers. The aim of this study was to determine if neuropsychological deficits in CFS are triggered by exposure to chemicals, or perceptions about the properties of these substances. Participants were 36 people with a primary diagnosis of CFS, defined according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) criteria. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design was used, with objective assessment of neuropsychological function and participant rating of substance type, before and after exposure to placebo or chemical trigger. Results showed decrements in neuropsychological tests scores on three out of four outcome measures when participants rated the substance they had been exposed to as "chemical." No change in performance was found based on actual substance type. These results suggest that cognitive attributions about exposure substances in people with CFS may be associated with worse performance on neuropsychological tasks. In addition, these findings suggest that psychological interventions aimed at modifying substance-related cognitions may reduce some symptoms of CFS.

Adult↗