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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Salivary testosterone measurements: collecting, storing, and mailing saliva samples.

Salivary testosterone measurements can be especially useful in field studies, but reliable ways of collecting and handling samples need to be established. Using cotton dental rolls to collect saliva leads to inflated testosterone scores. Sugarfree gum can be used satisfactorily to stimulate saliva among both male and female subjects. Leaving unpreserved saliva samples at room temperature for 2 weeks or mailing them unrefrigerated is satisfactory for male subjects but leads to inflated scores for female subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Efficiency of address cards, experienced health visitors and motivated registry clerks in obtaining the home address of urban patients in South India.

The address card, a card on which the patient's home address is asked to be recorded by the local postman, or by a knowledgeable and literate neighbour, relative or friend, was investigated for acceptability and efficiency in 4 tuberculosis out-patient clinics, in an urban community with substantial levels of illiteracy in Madras City. In the 4 clinics combined, 96% of the patients who reattended returned the completed card. Letters posted to the address on the cared were received by 85% of 419 patients, while 5% were returned by the post office as undelivered and a further 4% were, in all probability, not delivered; no information was available about the remaining 6%. A formal comparison in 392 of the above patients demonstrated the address card method to be significantly more efficient than interrogation by experienced health visitors. A retrospective comparison suggested that the efficiency of experienced health visitors was slightly better than that of highly motivated registry clerks, the proportions of letters received being 72% and 65% respectively.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1979

An investigation of the accuracy of the home address given by patients in an urban community in South India.

Studies were undertaken in three tuberculosis clinics in Madras, a large Indian city with a good civic organization, to assess the accuracy of address recorded routinely by registry clerks at the patient's first clinic attendance. The accuracy was poor, with 20% to 30% of the letters posted not reaching the patients. It was appreciably improved, by 10% to 20%, by supplementing the clerk's efforts with questioning by a motivated, experienced health visitor. An address card, a card on which the patient's address was recorded by the local postman or a literate neighbour, relative or friend, was returned by 90% to 94% of the patients, and the accuracy of addresses was found to be at least as good as that obtained with the health visitor. Even when all three sources of information were considered, the patient's home could not be traced in 3% of cases and was found with difficulty in 4%.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1980

A study of the accuracy, and factors influencing accuracy, of home addresses of patients obtained by registry clerks and address cards in four large towns in South India.

In 4 large towns in South India with illiteracy levels of 26% to 40%, the efficiency of registry clerks in eliciting the home addresses of 1338 out-patients was assessed, by verifying receipt of a letter posted to the patients. The efficiency was found to be very poor, namely 66%. Moreover, the accuracy of address was substantially poorer for illiterate patients and for patients living for relatively short durations at their present address. Our innovation, the address card, on which the home address was recorded by a knowledgeable literate person of the patient's choice, was returned by 98% of the patients, and the addresses were found accurate in 84%; the findings were similar in the 4 towns and were unaffected by any patient characteristic. The substantially better results with the address card were found in both illiterate and literate patients. These findings establish the address card as a simple, inexpensive and efficient device for obtaining accurate addresses.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Some methodological aspects of using postal questionnaires with the elderly.

Postal questionnaires are not usually recommended for use with the elderly. This paper describes a methodological study of the use of a postal questionnaire as a method of data collection with older subjects. In particular the problems of generating an adequate response rate, of non-response bias and response quality are addressed. It is shown that postal questionnaires can generate response rates in excess of 80% with older subjects. Questionnaire length was not associated with response rate. Non-response was highest amongst the older age groups suggesting that this method of data collection is subject to non-response bias, thereby understanding the effects of age. The format of question presentation was associated with both response rate and response quality. It is concluded that postal questionnaires are a useful and cost-effective way of collecting survey data from older subjects. In particular such techniques may be effectively employed as a method of routinely screening older people living in the community.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Quality control of radiotherapy centres in Europe: beam calibration.

A European Quality Assurance Network for external radiotherapy was set up. In this, several countries participated on a voluntary basis to elaborate common protocols, using joint infrastructure. The support for the co-ordination of the project was given by the EC committee 'Europe Against Cancer'. In the first step of the programme, beam outputs and beam qualities are checked with mailed thermoluminescent dosimeters following the protocol prepared by the IAEA. The results concerning 125 beams from 66 centres are analysed. Twenty-two beams presented minor deviations (3-6%) and 15 beams (4/48 60Co beams and 11/77 X-ray beams) from 11 centres presented major deviations (> or = 6%). The analysis shows that 16/22 minor deviations and all major deviations have been detected in centres which have not benefited from an external check during the last 5 years. In 14 out of 15 large deviations, the measured dose was smaller than the stated dose. In most centres with major deviation the physicists did not have the necessary experience and did not regularly calibrate the beams. In 6 out of 11 centres there was no dosimeter or the dosimeter available had not been calibrated recently. In 3 centres, the physicist did not give any explanation.

Calibration↗
PubMed1982

Technique bias in measuring acts of altruism. The case of voluntary blood donation.

The study compared personal interviews and a postal survey, posing the same questions to two random samples independently drawn from the same population. It sought reasons why respondents began and may subsequently terminate, involvement as voluntary blood donors in Toronto Canada. The priorities of respondents (ordinal rankings) were virtually identical in the two samples, notwithstanding a clear response rate and socio-economic differential between the modes. Differences in item response rates were compatible with explanations involving interviewer bias and question threat. The study suggested the low response rates of postal surveys may not necessarily imply relevant non-respondent bias. In certain cases at least, other aspects of technique bias may be a more important research concern.

Altruism↗
PubMed1989

The prevalence of pain in a general population. The results of a postal survey in a county of Sweden.

In a postal survey, we asked 1009 randomly chosen individuals, age 18-84, about their pain problems. The pain prevalence depended on what types of questions were asked. Any pain or discomfort, including even a problem of short duration, was reported by 66% of those questioned. Forty percent reported 'obvious pain' (pain which affected them 'to quite a high degree' or more and was 'like being stiff after exercise' or worse) lasting more than 6 months. Pain problems of more than 6 months duration were reported far more often than short-lasting problems. Continuous or nearly continuous pain problems were reported as frequently as problems recurring regularly or irregularly. Pains in the neck, shoulders, arms, lower back and legs were most frequent. The prevalence of 'obvious pain' in these localizations was 15-20%. Pain was reported most frequently in the age group 45-64, where the prevalence of 'obvious pain' was 50% among males as well as females. Over 65 years of age the prevalence was less.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1989

Smoking cessation by mail: a comparison of standard and personalized correspondence course formats.

Self-Instructional behavior-change programs for reducing risks to health are potentially widely available, acceptable and cost-effective. This paper reports outcomes of a smoking cessation program administered by mail. Two hundred and eight smokers were allocated systematically to a quit kit control condition (n = 40), to a standard correspondence course (n = 86) and to a personalized correspondence course prepared with the aid of a microcomputer (n = 82). There were significantly higher rates of abstinence after the course for correspondence course participants compared to controls, but these differences did not persist at three-month and nine-month follow-ups. There were no differences between the personalized and standard courses on abstinence rates, number of cigarettes smoked per day, or return of feedback forms on each lesson. There were associations between self-efficacy strength and reduced rates of smoking, and active participation in the course was associated with lower smoking rates.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1992

Stability of salivary cotinine sent through the U.S. mail for verification of smoking status.

Until now mass media smoking cessation studies have relied almost exclusively on self-reports of smoking cessation because biochemical confirmation has not seemed practical. This study investigated the reliability of mailed salivary cotinine specimens for the determination of smoking status. Two simultaneous saliva specimens were obtained from 10 smokers and 10 nonsmokers. One of each pair was frozen immediately. The other was sent through the local U.S. mail and then subjected to additional physical agitation and heat before being frozen. All specimens were subsequently analyzed for cotinine. No cotinine was detectable in any of the nonsmokers' specimens. There was excellent correlation between the paired smokers' specimens. These results show that the mailing of saliva specimens for cotinine analysis is practical and provides accurate data on smoking status. It is an approach which could easily be used in mass media smoking cessation studies to biochemically confirm smoking behavior.

Cotinine↗
PubMed1990

Evaluation of a commercial diode monitor for mailed quality control of therapy units.

A commercial diode dosimeter was evaluated for use in a mailed radiotherapy quality control package. The quality control package contained the commercial diode dosimeter and four thermoluminescent dosimeters to measure the given dose, and it also contained a photographic film to measure the light/radiation field coincidence. The film also served as a backup dosimeter. Twenty small Midwestern hospitals participated in field measurements; approximately half of the hospitals had a consulting physicist and the others had one full-time physicist. Each hospital was asked to deliver 1.5 Gy (150 rads) to the device, which was returned to our laboratory for evaluation. Reliable results were obtained from three measurements at each hospital at about 3-month intervals. The diode dosimeter was more precise than thermoluminescent dosimeters or film.

Calibration↗