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PubMed1990

Surgeons' knowledge, attitude, and use of preoperative autologous blood donation.

Before a comprehensive educational program on preoperative autologous blood donation was begun, 118 surgeons from three different areas of the country were tested to assess their baseline knowledge and attitude about this practice. Test results were correlated with the percentage of eligible patients that the surgeons actually referred for preoperative donation during a period of observation. The purpose of this preliminary effort was to identify areas in the educational program that required emphasis. Overall, the surgeons' attitude toward preoperative donation was quite favorable, but their depth of knowledge varied. Misunderstandings may have led to diminished use of this service (eg, about 50% didn't realize that many patients with medical conditions or low hematocrits are permitted to donate). However, it is not clear that simply bolstering surgeons' knowledge will increase their appropriate use of preoperative donation. When all 118 surgeons were studied, their knowledge and attitude were unrelated to the percentage of eligible patients referred. However, when 44 surgeons who managed the largest number of eligible patients were analyzed separately, their use of preoperative donation was directly correlated with their knowledge and attitude. The local awareness of AIDS also significantly influenced the use of this service. It is proposed that knowledge of preoperative donation may be important for inducing surgeons to begin referring patients for this service. Once a pattern of successful participation is established, referral seems to increase with the acquisition of working knowledge.

Blood Transfusion, Autologous↗
PubMed2002

Knowledge of cancer symptoms among patients attending one-stop breast and rectal bleeding clinics.

AIM AND METHOD: The aim of this questionnaire study was to identify knowledge of breast and colorectal cancer symptoms among 100 patients attending one-stop breast clinics and rectal bleeding clinics and to determine the source of the information. RESULTS: Seventy-five breast clinic (mean age 46 years, all female) and 78 colorectal clinic patients (mean age 59 years, 51% male) responded. Knowledge of breast was significantly greater than bowel cancer in both groups (P<0.0001, McNemar's chi(2)). There was no difference in knowledge of symptoms of breast cancer or bowel cancer between patients attending either clinic. There was a positive association between cancer knowledge, family history and female gender but no association with age. Knowledge of Bowel Cancer Awareness Week was positively associated with colorectal cancer knowledge. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of colorectal cancer is much less than breast cancer in clinic attenders. Seventy-five per cent of women attending breast clinic could name a breast cancer symptom whereas only 37% of patients attending colorectal clinic could name a bowel cancer symptom. These findings have implications when considering patients' anxiety, expectations of a cancer diagnosis and breaking bad news.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗
PubMed2004

The anatomy of semantic knowledge: medial vs. lateral temporal lobe.

Semantic knowledge (e.g., long-established knowledge about objects, facts, and word meanings) is known to be severely impaired by damage to the anterolateral temporal lobe. For example, patients with semantic dementia have prominent atrophy in anterolateral temporal cortex and also have significant damage within the medial aspect of the temporal lobe. However, there is uncertainty about the contribution of medial temporal lobe damage, including perirhinal cortex damage, to impaired semantic knowledge. Drawing largely on published material from multiple sources, we compared the performance of severely amnesic patients with large medial temporal lobe lesions and patients with semantic dementia on nine tests of semantic knowledge and two tests of new learning ability. On the tests of semantic knowledge, the amnesic patients performed markedly better than the patients with semantic dementia. By contrast, on the tests of new learning, the patients with semantic dementia performed markedly better than the amnesic patients. We conclude that medial temporal lobe damage impairs the formation of declarative memory, and that semantic knowledge is impaired to the extent that damage extends laterally in the temporal lobe. Reports that the extent of atrophy in perirhinal cortex correlated with the severity of impaired semantic knowledge may be understood by supposing that the extent of damage in many temporal lobe areas is intercorrelated in this progressive disease, and that the extent of atrophy in perirhinal cortex is a proxy for the overall severity of dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

A qualitative study exploring socio-economic differences in parental lay knowledge of food and health: implications for public health nutrition.

BACKGROUND: The role played by lay knowledge in understanding health inequalities has received increased interest recently. Very little is known, however, about how lay knowledge of food and health varies across social class. The present exploratory study compared and contrasted ways in which people from different social backgrounds draw on and use different forms of lay knowledge about food and health. METHOD: Parents from 40 families were recruited from two socio-economically different suburbs (20 families from each suburb). In-depth interviews were conducted with the mother and father in each family to examine lay knowledge about food and health. All interviews were transcribed and coded for specific themes. Responses from each suburb were compared and contrasted. RESULTS: Different forms of lay knowledge about food and health were noted, especially concerning children's eating habits. Parents in the high-income suburb were more likely to discuss food and health in technical terms informed by contemporary nutritional or medical priorities. Parents in the low-income suburb did not share this discourse, but instead were more likely to discuss food in terms related to children's outward appearance or functional capacity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The research highlights differences in lay knowledge about food and health across social class. It emphasises the need for public health nutrition policy-makers and practitioners to pay attention to lay knowledge on its own terms, rather than attempting to educate from predetermined assumptions, principles and standards.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The impact of knowledge and social influences on adolescents' breast-feeding beliefs and intentions.

OBJECTIVES: Many health promotion educational interventions assume that increasing knowledge directly influences beliefs, intentions and behaviour, whereas research suggests that knowledge alone is insufficient for behavioural change. Social cognition frameworks such as the Theory of Reasoned Action propose a central role for beliefs and social normative influences. This Scottish study evaluates the role of knowledge and social influences (subjective norms, exposure to breast-feeding, social barriers) on beliefs and future intentions to breast-feed or bottle-feed. Social influences from family and peers are investigated. DESIGN: A cross-sectional between-subjects observational design was used. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 229 (46%) male and 267 (54%) female adolescents aged 11-18 years. SETTING: Participants completed questionnaires during lessons at three secondary schools in Central Scotland. RESULTS: Knowledge about health benefits of breast-feeding was generally poor. Analyses found that perceived social barriers to breast-feeding moderated the relationship between knowledge and beliefs. More knowledge, positive beliefs and supportive subjective norms also predicted future intentions to breast-feed. Parental norms exerted greater influence than peer norms on adolescents' breast-feeding beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge and social influences are important predictors of positive breast-feeding beliefs and future intentions to breast-feed in adolescents. This has important implications for breast-feeding health promotion interventions in young people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Pedagogical knowledge structures in prospective teachers: relationships to performance in a teaching methodology course.

The purpose of the article is to describe the relationships of prospective teachers' pedagogical knowledge structures to performance in a physical education teaching methods class. The Pathfinder network scaling algorithm was used to elicit knowledge structures prior to and after the prospective teachers completed the class. The findings indicated that their knowledge of key pedagogical concepts was more coherent and corresponded more closely to the instructor's following the courses. Student measures of correspondence and coherence before the class were not significantly correlated with course performance; however, following the class, correlations between these measures and course performance were significant. Additionally, university grade point average (GPA) was highly related to course performance variables and knowledge measures, whereas American College Test (ACT) scores were not. A follow-up investigation of a subset of students indicated that key pedagogical concepts were retained over a 6-month period of time. However, performance on a semantic classification task provided little evidence that students with knowledge structures similar to that of the instructor organized knowledge at a more semantic level than students who were less similar. Future directions for the study of pedagogical knowledge acquisition in physical education are discussed.

Education↗
PubMed2006

Familiarity with, knowledge, and utilization of standardized outcome measures among physiotherapists in Nigeria.

Measurement tools that assess changes in patients' clinical status are called outcome measures and their integration into clinical practice promotes objective assessment and evidence-based practice. Healthcare providers' knowledge andfamiliarity with outcome measures are pertinent to their utilization. The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to determine the levels offamiliarity, knowledge and utilization of 16 standardized outcome measures (SOM) among physiotherapists in Nigeria. A 3-part questionnaire was administered (N = 236). Part 1 elicited demographic information, Part 2 assessedfamiliarity and utilization and Part 3 assessed knowledge of the SOM. Results indicated that over 60% of the respondents had never used and were not familiar with 14 out of the 16 SOM, indicating low levels of utilization and familiarity among respondents. Respondents' knowledge about the SOM was low (3.1 +/- 2.5), and correlated positively and significantly (p < 0.05) with their levels offamiliarity with and utilization of the SOM. Working experience had a positive influence on knowledge about SOM, but influence of work setting on familiarity, utilization, and knowledge about SOM was inconclusive. This study suggests that physiotherapists in Nigeria have poor knowledge, seldom utilize, and are unfamiliar with SOM and that the use of SOM should be promoted among them.

Disability Evaluation↗
PubMed2006

How successful is errorless learning in supporting memory for high and low-level knowledge in dementia?

Errorless learning has been shown to be very successful in the rehabilitation of memory problems particularly in patients with severe forms of memory impairment. Much of this research has focused on testing knowledge of specific details studied, ignoring any additional, higher-level knowledge that patients may have acquired during the learning process. Hence, it is pertinent to ask whether errorless learning is equally successful in the acquisition of high and low-level knowledge. In this paper, we present results of several studies comparing the effectiveness of errorless and standard trial-and-error methods in acquisition of high and low-level knowledge in people diagnosed with dementia and non-impaired controls. In Study 1, participants were asked to learn novel face-name-occupation associations; and knowledge across a range of levels, from very general (i.e., high-level) to very specific (i.e., low-level), was examined. For patients with probable Alzheimer's disease and controls there was evidence of increased benefit from errorless training in general, but the technique was most beneficial for patients attempting to retrieve specific detail. Study 2 was conducted to address the problem raised by the failure in Study 1 to manipulate learning condition at our highest knowledge level. This novel manipulation was successful, but neither of the patients received the standard benefit from errorless training. Study 3, involving a small group of dementia patients with mixed diagnoses, was conducted to replicate findings from Study 1. Results from the group analysis confirmed that the benefit obtained from errorless learning increased as a function of knowledge specificity, but again several patients failed to show a consistent effect of learning condition. Implications for use of the errorless technique are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Food safety knowledge and practices of streetfood vendors in a Philippines university campus.

A survey on food safety knowledge and practices of streetfood vendors from a representative urban university campus in Quezon City, Philippines was done. A face-to-face interview was conducted using a standardized survey tool containing 70 questions, which included queries on demographics and food safety knowledge and practices of streetfood vendors. Topics on food safety assessment in both practices and knowledge included: health and personal hygiene, good manufacturing procedures, food contamination, waste management, and food legislation. The study found that among the 54 streetfood vendors surveyed, knowledge on food safety concepts was established particularly on topics that dealt with health and personal hygiene, food contamination and good manufacturing procedures. However, vendors were shown to be not too knowledgeable in terms of food legislation and waste management. A significant gap between knowledge and practice on these topics was established and it was primarily attributed to the tendencies of street food vendors to compromise food safety for financial issues. Confusion in food legislation was established in this test microcosm because the purveyor of food safety regulations was not the local government health unit but the business concession office of the campus administration. The provision of continuous food safety education, some financial assistance through social services affiliations, and basic water and waste management utilities were recommended to diminish the gap between knowledge and practices of safe streetfood vending in school campuses.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Goal pursuit, goal self-concordance, and the accessibility of autobiographical knowledge.

Recent theory suggests that personal goals influence the accessibility of autobiographical knowledge. We suggest that this effect is moderated by goal self-concordance: the extent to which a goal is pursued for autonomous rather than controlling reasons. Cueing paradigms were used to measure the accessibility of autobiographical knowledge relating to (i) goals that participants were and were not pursuing, and (ii) currently pursued goals that were high and low in self-concordance. As predicted, autobiographical knowledge relating to currently pursued goals was more accessible than autobiographical knowledge relating to non-pursued goals. General event knowledge relating to self-concordant goals was more accessible than general event knowledge relating to non-self-concordant goals, but a corresponding relationship did not emerge for event-specific knowledge.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani medical students towards HIV-positive and/or AIDS patients.

As the incidence of HIV increases, one of the major steps in preventing a widespread epidemic is to make certain that medical students are prepared to recognize and treat HIV infections and their related conditions, and to counsel patients about avoiding risks that might lead to infections. This cross-sectional study assessed the knowledge level of 357 medical students and their attitudes about AIDS and HIV enrolled in a Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. Only 6% of the students had complete knowledge on symptoms of HIV/AIDS and 7% of the students had complete knowledge on the modes of transmission of HIV. Statistical analysis of demographic factors affecting knowledge was done. Linear regression and Maentel-Haenszel tests showed that older and clinical students were more knowledgeable of symptoms and modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS. Ten attitudes were correlated with knowledge and none of these showed an association. These results on knowledge indicate that education about HIV/AIDS should be incorporated in the curriculum and interventions must be taken by public health professionals to avoid poor treatment outcomes.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2004

Pap screening and knowledge of risk factors for cervical cancer in Chinese women in British Columbia, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity for Chinese Canadian women, due in part to inadequate Pap screening. A community-based survey was conducted involving 528 Chinese immigrant women residing in British Columbia, Canada, in order to identify barriers and facilitators to Pap testing. This paper addresses the relationship between knowledge level about cervical cancer risk factors and Pap screening practices. DESIGN: Female trilingual Chinese interviewers conducted personal at-home interviews about knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors, history of Pap screening, sociodemographic and acculturation factors. RESULTS: The average summary score for knowledge about cervical cancer risk factors was 5.2/10, and knowledge level was significantly associated with the woman's educational level and the gender of the doctor providing usual care. Seventy-four per cent of respondents reported ever having received a Pap test, and 56% reported having received a test within the last two years. Respondents with the highest knowledge were more likely to have ever received a Pap test (OR 6.4, 95% CI: 2.6, 15.9), and to have recently received a test (OR 3.1, 95% CI: 1.4, 6.7). CONCLUSION: The average knowledge level about cervical cancer risk factors is low in Chinese Canadian women, especially among those with less education and who receive their usual care from a male doctor. Knowledge of these risk factors influences Pap screening behaviour. Culturally and linguistically appropriate education interventions addressing Pap testing and risk factors for cervical cancer are needed in the Canadian Chinese community. Educational resources are also needed for their primary care givers.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Effectiveness of a training programme for primary care physicians directed at the enhancement of their psychiatric knowledge in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: A substantial number of patients with psychiatric disorders consult primary care physicians for comprehensive health care; however, the diagnosis and effective treatment of psychiatric disorders are deficient in primary health care. The aim of this intervention study is to assess the pre- and post-psychiatric training knowledge of primary care physicians. METHOD: The setting of this study was Buraidah Mental Health Hospital. The research design consisted of a pre- and post-test comparison of physicians' responses (n = 70) with a control group (n = 40). The instrument includes a Knowledge Test comprised of 50 questions on primary care psychiatry. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups with regard to several confounding sociodemographic variables, but physicians' age and duration of medical practice were significantly higher in the control group. There were significant differences between knowledge of intervention and controls prior to psychiatric training and this difference was further highly significant post-psychiatric training. The gain in knowledge of intervention group post-psychiatric training was highly significant as compared to pre-test knowledge but there was no difference in the knowledge of the control group. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric training courses can enhance physicians' knowledge in clinical psychiatry with possible psychiatric implications, including early diagnosis and better treatment of primary care patients with psychiatric problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A semantically enabled formalism for the knowledge management of Parkinson's disease.

Bio-ontology is a formal representation of biological concepts that is used in the interchange of communication between computers and humans alike. They can then be used in the formulation and retrieval of knowledge. In developing a knowledge-based system for Parkinson's Disease, a procedure of knowledge map was used to capture and harness the intellectual resources of an organization, and new paradigms for knowledge mapping were also formulated. Knowledge bases for symptoms and drugs, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and dieting that affect patient care were developed. Finally, the knowledge bases were merged to form a single central repository of knowledge base.

Diet↗
PubMed2002

What determines knowledge of asthma among young people and their families?

In this analysis, we sought to determine factors that predicted the level of asthma knowledge in a sample of adolescents with asthma and their parents. Eighty-five young people aged 10-24 years attending tertiary care asthma clinics and 46 of their parents answered validated respiratory and asthma knowledge questionnaires. Older adolescents were more knowledgeable about asthma than were younger adolescents (r=0.36, p=0.001). Young people with severe asthma (p=0.015) scored higher on the asthma knowledge questionnaire than those with mild/moderate asthma. Asthma knowledge among young people was related to that of their mothers (r=0.47, p=0.014), however, only age and the asthma knowledge of fathers significantly predicted adolescent asthma knowledge. Adolescents develop increasing autonomy for asthma self-management as they mature, but parents remain an important source of information about asthma for young people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Influenza vaccine: immunization rates, knowledge, and attitudes of resident physicians in an urban teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: Because resident physicians (RPs) frequently have direct patient contact, those who are unimmunized against influenza potentially subject patients to unnecessary risk of infection. OBJECTIVE: To determine the rates of, knowledge regarding, and attitudes toward influenza immunization among RPs. We hypothesized that rates of and knowledge about influenza immunization did not differ between primary care (PC) and non-PC RPs. METHODS: A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire distributed to a convenience sample of 300 RPs (150 PC and 150 non-PC). The questionnaire requested influenza immunization status in the 2003-2004 and previous seasons and factors influencing respondents' decisions whether to be immunized. It included a 20-item test of knowledge about influenza immunization. RESULTS: Two hundred five (68.3%) of 300 distributed questionnaires (196 that were evaluable) were returned. Response rates of PC and non-PC RPs did not differ (P = .79). The overall immunization rate of RPs in 2003-2004 was 38.3% and rates did not differ between PC (38.9%) and non-PC (37.6%) RPs. RPs most often cited "self-protection" as a reason for electing (93.3%) and "lack of time" for declining (47.1%) influenza immunization. Their ability to correctly answer questions about influenza immunization varied; their mean knowledge score was 13.7 (perfect = 20). PC and non-PC trainees did not differ by knowledge score (P = .48). However, RPs "ever vaccinated" had a higher knowledge score than those "never vaccinated" (P = .01). CONCLUSION: RPs have low immunization rates and significant gaps in knowledge regarding influenza immunization. These problems should be addressed during their training by education on the importance, effectiveness, and safety of influenza vaccine for them and their patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Race/ethnic disparities in HIV testing and knowledge about treatment for HIV/AIDS: United States, 2001.

In the United States, access to HIV care has remained suboptimal for people of color. To assess racial disparities in HIV testing and knowledge about treatment for HIV/AIDS in the United States, we analyzed the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We obtained the percentage of respondents aged 18 to 64 years who: (1) were tested for HIV ever and recently (in the past 12 months) excluding for blood donations and (2) responded "true" to the statement, "There are medical treatments available that are intended to help a person who is infected with HIV to live longer." We calculated the difference in rates of HIV testing and knowledge about treatment between blacks or Latinos compared to whites. Overall, of the 162,962 respondents, 44.7% had been tested for HIV and 12.8% were tested in the past year. Overall, 86.4% answered "true" to the statement on treatment for HIV/AIDS. HIV testing rates were significantly lower among whites (ever, 42.4%; recent, 10.8%) than blacks (ever, 59.7%; recent, 23.4%) or Latinos (ever 45.6%, recent 14.8%). Compared to knowledge among whites (89.6%), knowledge level was, lower among blacks (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.52, 0.64) and Latinos (OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.59, 0.75) even after adjusting for sociodemographics and HIV testing status. The knowledge gap among blacks compared to whites decreased with increasing income and education. We conclude that knowledge about the availability of antiretroviral treatment was high overall. Compared to whites, blacks, and latinos had significantly higher HIV testing rates but significantly lower knowledge about antiretrovirals.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed2003

Palliative care education: an intervention to improve medical residents' knowledge and attitudes.

BACKGROUND: Medical care at the end of life remains poor. One approach to improving end-of-life care is through education of medical trainees. However, evidence regarding the structure of an ideal educational intervention is sparse. OBJECTIVE: To test an innovative curriculum designed to improve medical resident knowledge and decrease anxiety surrounding end-of-life care. METHODS: Quasiexperimental study of medical trainees in a large academic internal medicine residency. Attitudes and knowledge were measured at baseline and at completion of a 1-month clinical ward rotation for both control (n = 40) and intervention groups (n = 30) using the Collett-Lester Death Anxiety Scale (C-LDAS), the Semantic Differential Scale (SDS), and a 16-question knowledge-based test. Residents in the intervention group completed four 1-hour sessions focused on end-of-life issues. RESULTS: Baseline anxiety levels were high while knowledge scores were poor. Linear regression modeling demonstrated that pretest scores were the strongest predictor of post-test scores for all three measures. Additional significant predictors for the knowledge test were prior palliative care experience and year of training (p = 0.02), while prior palliative care experience alone contributed to the SDS model (p = 0.06). No significant improvements on the SDS, C-LDAS, or knowledge test occurred after the curriculum intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Our classroom intervention had no significant effect on residents' attitudes towards or knowledge of end-of-life care. The fact that prior palliative care experience affects baseline scores provides a strong argument for continued research for an effective curriculum for end-of-life education, perhaps focusing on clinical rather than didactic experiences in palliative care.

Attitude to Death↗