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Biomedical subjects

W E Waters

Publications and source records attributed to W E Waters.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Psychiatric illness after leaving university: a five-year follow-up of students.

Ninety-one undergraduates who had been referred to the Southampton University psychiatrist and matched controls who had not sought psychiatric help were followed up yearly for five years by questionnaire. The response rate for cases and controls was poor, but the difference in psychiatric morbidity was large. At least 26 of the patients subsequently consulted a doctor for emotional problems as against five of the controls; 17 of the patients were again referred to a psychiatrist, but none of the controls. It is concluded that students who are referred to a psychiatrist during their University course have a much higher rate of psychiatric morbidity in the five years after they leave University than do students who have not been so referred.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Present use of five-day wards.

A survey of five-day wards serving medical and surgical specialties indicated that 30 such units were operating in England in 1979. Six mixed surgical specialty, eight mixed specialty (medicine and surgery), four medical investigation, and 12 single specialty wards had opened since 1969. There was a varied, and often low, use of these wards. Nurse-staffing levels and allocation of operating theatre time also varied considerably. In busy wards nurse-staffing levels were high and access to operating theatre time reasonable. Medical investigation wards showed some of the highest levels of occupancy and throughput. The potential savings and service improvements that can result from five-day wards have yet to be realised on a wide scale.

Bed Occupancy↗
PubMed1980

Management of female breast disease by Southampton general practitioners.

One hundred and two Southampton general practitioners were interviewed about female breast disease. There was agreement about clinical management and the need to both teach and promote breast self-examination. The general practitioners, however, were divided as to whether any breast screening facilities were needed in Southampton. Records kept by the general practitioners of women seen with breast symptoms showed that one-quarter of all new episodes were referred to hospital at the first visit. That the general practitioners considered early diagnosis to be important was made evident from a number of the results. This attitude is encouraging in view of the evidence showing that long-term survival may be greater when delays are shorter.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1980

The Wessex abortion studies: II. Attitudes of consultant gynaecologists to provision of abortion services.

Interviews with consultant gynaecologists serving the Wessex region about various aspects of their abortion work revealed considerable variations in attitudes and practice. Although the respondents referred to the same criteria in deciding whether to do an abortion, the assessments they made about the significance of these criteria were more of an individual matter. The variation in assessments partly explains the interdistrict disparities in the availability of N.H.S. abortions.

Abortion Applicants↗
PubMed1980

The Wessex abortion studies: I. Interdistrict variation in provision of abortion services.

An analysis of fertility and the provision of abortion and abortion-related services in the health districts of Wessex showed considerable variation between districts in the provision of formal family-planning services. The patterns of fertility varied between the districts and there appeared to be some relationship between family-planning provision and the rates for illegitimate and "legitimated" births and induced abortion. Although the region as a whole was meeting the demand of 42% of its abortion patients within the National Health Service, there was a considerable variation from district to district which could be explained only in part by variations in the provision of resources. The main differences could be accounted for by the attitudes of the women and of their general practitioners and consultants. Of Wessex women obtaining induced abortions privately at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (B.P.A.S.) clinic at Brighton, 85% said they would have been willing to have an N.H.S. operation locally if one had been available but that no choice had been offered. It is concluded that the differences in provision between the health districts are more likely to be explained by the attitudes of doctors to providing this service than by the wishes of women to use private medical treatment.

Abortion Applicants↗
PubMed1979

Variation in hospital stay after inguinal herniorrhaphy.

A study was carried out of 1086 men aged 16-65 inclusive who were admitted under nine consultants to eight hospitals in Wessex for elective repair of an inguinal hernia. The mean postoperative stay was 5.7 +/- SD 2.7 days. For different consultants operating at any one hospital the mean postoperative stays were similar, whereas for consultants who operated at more than one hospital they were significantly different. The postoperative stay was also significantly related to the size of the hospital, development of postoperative complications, time spent on the waiting list, type of repair used, bilateral herniorrhapy, and the use of convalescent facilities. The hospital therefore appears to exercise a greater influence in determining the mean postoperative stay than does the individual consultant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

A study of mail survey method.

A major disadvantage of the mail survey in medical research is non-response, which may introduce bias. This study measured the effect of two simple factors on the response rate to a questionnaire concerning headache and migraine in a survey of 2,508 electors. The two factors were the class of postage and the colour of envelopes used; neither was found to have a significant effect. It was concluded that cheaper mailing methods are not likely to jeopardise response.

Color↗
PubMed1976

Risk factors for myocardial infarction in young women.

Seventy-seven women discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction and 207 control patients were investigated. All were under 45 years of age at the time of admission. Heavy cigarette smoking, reported treatment for pre-eclamptic toxaemia, and type II hyperlipoproteinaemia were found to be independent risk factors for myocardial infarction. Reported treatment for hypertension and diabetes are probably also independently associated with subsequent development of the condition, but the associations between myocardial infarction and reported treatment for obesity and psychiatric illness appear to be secondary. Previous publications have suggested that use of oral contraceptives is an independent risk factor. Examination of the effect of several factors combined, suggests that they act synergistically, the presence of three or more factors increasing the risk 128-fold.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Migraine in general practitioners.

A self-administerd questionnaire was posted to 1 129 medical general practitioners in an urban and in a rural area of England. The prevalences of headache, and of the features of migraine, in the year immediately preceding the survey were similar in the two areas. After allowing for the different age and sex composition of the populations, these prevalences were also similar to those found in the general population during an early survey in Wales. About 13% of the male and 25% of the female general practitioners thought that they had had migraine in the previous year. There was little evidence that doctors with 'classic' migraine differed from those with 'common' migraine in the proportion who experienced other migrainous features (unilateral distribution of headache and accompanying nausea) or in their response to treatment with ergotamine.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Prevalence of migraine.

The prevalence of migraine in the general population has been calculated using a standard mailed questionnaire, which inquired about headache and the individual features of migraine, and which previously had been compared with a clinical diagnosis. In three separate epidemiological surveys the prevalence in the preceding year was found to be between 23 and 29% in women and between 15 and 20% in men. The prevalence declined with age in both men and women. These surveys show that migraine is much more prevalent than the frequently quoted figure of about 10% of the population which does not seem to be based on any particular survey.

Adolescent↗