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Biomedical subjects

W Bird

Publications and source records attributed to W Bird.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Can lay-led walking programmes increase physical activity in middle aged adults? A randomised controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare health walks, a community based lay-led walking scheme versus advice only on physical activity and cardiovascular health status in middle aged adults. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial with one year follow up. Physical activity was measured by questionnaire. Other measures included attitudes to exercise, body mass index, cholesterol, aerobic capacity, and blood pressure. SETTING: Primary care and community. PARTICIPANTS: 260 men and women aged 40-70 years, taking less than 120 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week. MAIN RESULTS: Seventy three per cent of people completed the trial. Of these, the proportion increasing their activity above 120 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week was 22.6% in the advice only and 35.7% in the health walks group at 12 months (between group difference =13% (95% CI 0.003% to 25.9%) p=0.05). Intention to treat analysis, using the last known value for missing cases, demonstrated smaller differences between the groups (between group difference =6% (95% CI -5% to 16.4%)) with the trend in favour of health walks. There were improvements in the total time spent and number of occasions of moderate intensity activity, and aerobic capacity, but no statistically significant differences between the groups. Other cardiovascular risk factors remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant between group differences in self reported physical activity at 12 month follow up when the analysis was by intention to treat. In people who completed the trial, health walks was more effective than giving advice only in increasing moderate intensity activity above 120 minutes per week.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Dentists' attitudes and behaviors regarding domestic violence. The need for an effective response.

BACKGROUND: The authors examined the attitudes and behaviors of a national sample of dentists regarding domestic violence and the barriers dentists face in intervening to help victims. METHODS: The authors surveyed a national random sample of 321 dentists by mail from November 1997 to March 1998 about their attitudes and clinical practice behaviors related to domestic violence. Survey items were developed based on the domestic violence and health care literature. The authors used the Total Design Method to maximize the response rate and analyzed data to determine differences between dentists who had received domestic violence education and those who had not. RESULTS: Eighty-seven percent of responding dentists never screened for domestic violence; 18 percent never screened even when patients had visible signs of trauma on their heads or necks. Overall, respondents intervened only minimally to help patients whom they had identified as victims. Respondents reported that the major barriers to screening were the presence of a partner or children (77 percent), lack of training (68 percent), concern about offending patients (66 percent) and their own embarrassment about bringing up the topic of abuse (51 percent). Respondents who had received domestic violence education were significantly more likely to screen for domestic violence and to intervene. CONCLUSIONS: Dentists face many barriers to identifying and helping patients who are abuse victims, yet these data suggest that education about domestic violence could help them overcome some of these barriers. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: We suggest that dentists follow the AVDR model when approaching abused patients in their practice: Ask about abuse, provide Validating messages, Document presenting signs and Refer victims to domestic violence specialists.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Accidental exposures to blood and body fluids among health care workers in dental teaching clinics: a prospective study.

The authors evaluated accidental exposures to blood and body fluids reported to a hotline or to health officials at four dental teaching clinics. The authors used a standard questionnaire to solicit and record data regarding each exposure. During a 63-month period, 428 parenteral exposures to blood or body fluids were documented. Dental students and dental assistants had the highest rates of exposure. Syringe needle injuries were the most common type of exposure, while giving injections, cleaning instruments after procedures and drilling were the activities most frequently associated with exposures.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1969

TWX and interlibrary loans.

Libraries now have available to them a variety of ways of speeding the flow of information among widely scattered locations. One of the means for the improvement of interlibrary loan service is the use of the teletypewriter, and the use of Teletypewriter Exchange Service (TWX) by medical libraries during the past three years is described. The background of library applications of teletypewriter systems is outlined, and the advantages, types of use, cost factors, and experiences of some groups are discussed, as well as the impact of the "network concept" on library service.

Interlibrary Loans↗