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At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Comparing patients' telephone calls after medical and surgical abortions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to monitor the content, timing of and response to telephone calls from medical and surgical abortion patients in order to improve the counseling and nursing care and allay patient's concerns. METHODS: There were 43 calls from a possible 626 surgical patients and 100 calls from a possible 671 medical patients. Calls were considered preventable in 67% of the medical patients and 46.5% of the surgical patients. Women who were having their first abortion were more likely to place preventable calls. CONCLUSIONS: Calls could be reduced by explaining variations in normal bleeding and how to use analgesics and providing this information in diagrammatic form on an information sheet.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Access to hospitals in the wake of terrorism: challenges and needs for maintaining public confidence.

The problem of surge capacity in the wake of a terror-related emergency has lead to a number of interesting proposals designed to mitigate the effects of crowds as well as deficiencies in patient care capacities. The most controversial of these is a proposal to close hospital doors in the wake of a mass casualty terror event. However, several specific challenges posed by mass casualty events make closing hospitals doors undesirable. These include the need for efficient movement of resources, maintenance of social order, and providing the moral reassurance needed by the general public in times of crisis. Importantly, these challenges are related to features of terrorist events that distinguish such events from circumstances of "normal" surge that might result in, for example, closure of emergency rooms.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2005

Erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation are the most frequently self-reported sexual concerns: profiles of 9,536 men calling a helpline.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the range of sexual problems, as reported by men calling a help-line and to investigate factors associated with help seeking behaviour. METHODS: The study included all calls between 1999 and 2004. The information used for analysis comprised caller's demographic characteristics, the sexual problem reported, previous doctor contacts, coexisting physical and mental health problems. RESULTS: Erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE) were the most frequently reported problems (57 and 19.2% respectively). ED-reporting callers were older (OR 0.63 for the ages of 50-59 yrs), with co-morbidities (OR 1.75) and in stable relationship (OR 0.46), while PE-reporting callers were younger (OR 5.83 for the ages of 20-29 yrs), relatively healthy and more likely single (OR 2.62 and OR 2.92 respectively). Type and duration of sexual concern, age, coexisting health problems and marital status relate significantly (p<0.01) with willingness to seek medical help. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates that ED and PE are men's major sexual concerns with personal and interpersonal factors influencing their help-seeking behaviour. Help-lines can serve as a link between health services and callers, while provide useful information for policy formation and improvement of support services.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms-telephone calls to a national medication helpline.

AIMS AND METHOD: Withdrawal symptoms are associated with cessation of all antidepressants but particularly paroxetine and venlafaxine. We aimed to examine rates of withdrawal symptoms reported to a national medication helpline over seven and a half year period. All calls reporting symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal were noted from a retrospective examination of contemporaneous handwritten records. RESULTS: Between October 1997 and March 2005, the national medication helpline received 22,422 calls of which 1753 (7.8%) concerned antidepressant discontinuation symptoms. Of these, 690 calls (39.36%) related to paroxetine and 252 (14.38%) to venlafaxine. Calls regarding paroxetine increased ten-fold in the month following a BBC 'Panorama' programme centring on problems associated with its use. Comparing number of calls with the number of prescriptions written over the same period revealed that MAOIs have the highest rate of reported reactions. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Withdrawal symptoms were reported with nearly all antidepressants but most commonly with paroxetine and venlafaxine. Television programmes reporting adverse consequences of drug therapy can greatly increase reporting of discontinuation reactions. The highest rate of reporting adverse discontinuation symptoms was for MAOIs.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed2006

Tobacco control interventions in the emergency department: a joint statement of emergency medicine organizations.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and illness in the United States. National practice guidelines call for all health care providers to "ask" all patients about tobacco use, and to "advise, assess, assist, arrange" when smokers want to quit smoking (the "5 As"). Emergency departments (EDs) have not been an important locus of tobacco control efforts, although ED patients typically smoke at rates exceeding that of the general population, are interested in quitting, and often have limited access to primary care. To address the role of emergency medicine in tobacco control, the American College of Emergency Physicians convened a task force of representatives of major emergency medicine professional organizations. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the group met in 2004 and 2005. This article represents a summary of the task force's recommendations for tobacco control practice, training, and research. We call on emergency care providers to routinely assess patients' smoking status, offer brief advice to quit, and refer patients to the national smokers' Quitline (800-QUIT-NOW) or a locally available program. Given the global burden of tobacco-related illness, the task force considers it essential for emergency physicians to conduct research into the efficacy of ED-based interventions and to place tobacco control into the training curriculum for emergency medicine residencies. Tobacco control fits within the traditions of other ED-based public health practices, such as injury control. ED-based tobacco control would allow the specialty to help fulfill the Healthy People 2010 mandate to reduce the prevalence of smoking among US citizens.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed2005

Patient notification exercise following a dentist's admission of the periodic use of unsterilized equipment.

During 2001, Greater Glasgow National Health Service (NHS) Board undertook a patient notification exercise in a Glasgow dental practice following the admission, by the dentist, of the use of unsterilized dental equipment on patients. Four thousand and eighty-nine exposed patients were identified; of these, 1696 contacted the NHS helpline and 1005 were counselled and screened for hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus. One patient showed evidence of previous HBV infection and 13 had antibodies to HCV. Molecular investigation of the HCV isolates indicated no significant associations. The investigation found no evidence of patient-to-patient transmission of HCV among patients attending the practice of a dentist who admitted periodically using unsterilized equipment.

Contact Tracing↗
PubMed2004

The development of a helpline for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

BACKGROUND: The goal of the helpline is to assist individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) better manage their disease through improved understanding of COPD, its symptoms and treatment. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this project was to develop and validate a protocol for a COPD helpline. METHODS: Ten key informants with expertise in helpline development or COPD were interviewed. Fifty individuals with COPD participated in content validation of the protocol. RESULTS: An initial protocol for the helpline aimed to provide: (1) information and education regarding COPD and its management via the telephone and with written materials; (2) guidance regarding course of management; (3) resource links to other support services and programs locally, provincially, and/or nationally; and (4) caring support and reassurance to those with COPD and their families. The majority of the calls from individuals with COPD sought medical information (74%) and required 36.6 +/- 14.5 min (range: 15-85) to complete. Many different topics were discussed, with medication and exercise being the most common. The availability of the call center was identified as one means of replacing information sought from other health care providers, mainly physicians and pulmonary rehabilitation staff. CONCLUSION: A protocol of a helpline for COPD has been developed based on the literature, theoretical knowledge, and input from key informants and individuals with COPD.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Information needs and sources of information among cancer patients: a systematic review of research (1980-2003).

Understanding what cancer patients need to know and from whom they receive information during the course of care is essential to ensuring quality care. We reviewed 112 articles published from 1980 to 2003 and developed a typology summarizing cancer patients' information needs and the sources from which they receive information. The majority of articles focused on information needs and sources during the diagnosis and treatment phase. Thus, the most frequent information need was treatment-related (38.1%). The most frequent information source was health professionals (27.3%). We examined patients' information needs and sources along the continuum of care and found that during diagnosis and treatment, information needs about the stage of disease, treatment options, and side-effects of treatment were prominent; during post-treatment, patients continued to need information about treatment, and information about recovery was also important. Future research should examine cancer patients' information needs and sources throughout their cancer journey.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

It's good to talk: comparison of a telephone helpline and website for cancer information.

The Internet plays an important role in the information gathering process for people affected by cancer. This paper presents the results of a study comparing two sources of cancer information; a website and a telephone helpline. Data were captured on the use of one section of the UK charity CancerBACUP's website, and systematically compared to data collected from every fifth user of the charity's helpline. Subjects of enquiry for 994 telephone enquiries and 3096 web enquiries were comparable. The majority of enquiries to both services were about women and/or patients aged 50 or older. Website users were more likely than helpline users to request factual information and less likely to request information on sensitive topics. This study provides valuable information about the types of health information people seek from different sources and how the sources may complement each other.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The Dutch cancer information helpline: more critical patients after 10 years.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to assess the impact and evaluation of the Dutch national cancer information helpline and to assess differences in evaluation and impact with a comparable study conducted in 1994. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all callers from the target groups patients, friends/relatives and the general public who contacted the information helpline from December 2003 until March 2004 (response 59%; N=665). RESULTS: All characteristics of the helpline (provided information, educator's communication skills, and telephone aspects) were evaluated positively by a large majority of the respondents. All groups evaluated the impact of the helpline on overall satisfaction, anxiety, and meeting expectations positively. However, the three target groups showed different predictors for the outcome measures. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that 10 years after the first study, callers are still very positive in their evaluation. However, the different characteristics of the helpline are nowadays slightly more negatively judged, particularly by patients. The installation of the voice response system (VRS) as well as the fact that people have more easily access to information about their disease might account for these differences in evaluation. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To maintain the positive evaluations helpline educators as well as the VRS need to attune more to the different needs and problems of the target groups and provide tailored information.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Patients evaluate accessibility and nurse telephone consultations in out-of-hours GP care: determinants of a negative evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: The shift towards large-scale organization of out-of-hours primary healthcare in different western countries has created an important role for the nurse telephone consultation. We explored the association between negative patient evaluation of nurse telephone consultations and characteristics of patients and GP cooperatives. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using postal patient questionnaires sent to patients receiving a nurse telephone consultation from one of 26 GP cooperatives in the Netherlands. RESULTS: The total response was 49.3% (2583/5239). Negative evaluations were most frequently encountered for the general information received on the GP cooperative (35%). When patients expected a centre consultation or home visit, but only received a nurse telephone consultation, they were more negative about the accessibility (OR 1.7, CI 1.4-2.1) and nurse telephone consultation (OR 4.2, CI 3.2-5.6). In the presence of a special supervising telephone doctor at the cooperative's call centre, nurse telephone consultation was evaluated significantly less negative (OR 0.4, CI 0.2-0.8). CONCLUSION: Expectation of care mode was most strongly associated with a negative evaluation of nurse telephone consultation. The presence of a supervising telephone doctor may lead to a better evaluation of nurse telephone consultations. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: More attention should be paid to the provision of patient information on the GP cooperative and discrepancies between the care expected and the care offered.

After-Hours Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Domestic violence and children.

Domestic violence affects the lives of many Americans, including children. It is imperative that primary care providers working with children, including pediatric nurse practitioners, understand the dynamics of domestic violence, recognize domestic violence, and intervene appropriately. Domestic violence places children at risk physically, emotionally, and developmentally. The effect on children who witness domestic violence will be discussed. Primary care providers have a professional responsibility to screen for domestic violence. The primary care provider can play a pivotal role in breaking the cycle of family violence by timely identification of and appropriate intervention for domestic violence.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2005

Nursing telephone triage and its influence on parents' choice of care for febrile children.

Nursing telephone triage is a mechanism whereby parents call for advice and referrals. One common call in pediatrics concerns children's fever, which may be managed at home. Giving parents proper advice may avoid unnecessary visits. This study investigated whether home-care advice given by nurses changed parents' original preference for care. Data were collected using an existing database to determine parents' preference for location of care before and actual location of care after a call. Of the 110 calls, 73 parents wanted a physician or emergency department visit but 53 followed nursing advice for home care. Findings suggest that although most parents wanted to have their child seen, a majority followed nursing advice for home care.

After-Hours Care↗
PubMed2004

A help-line for children. Seasonal variations in issues.

The objectives of the study were to describe monthly variations in issues in calls to a help-line for children and adolescents. All 80,983 calls to a Red Cross Help-Line for children in 1991-1997 were included. In 22,698 calls, information about age, sex or issue could be identified. A monthly variation in frequency of calls with peaks in April and November and a correlation with the absolute values of monthly changes in length of day were found. Conversations concerning psychiatric suffering were more frequent in January or February and less frequent than expected in May/June and December. Conversations about sexuality correlated with the frequencies of births in the adult population 9 months later. A spring and fall peak in total calling and a winter peak in calls for depression, anxiety, pain and neglect were described.

Adolescent↗