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[Evaluation of food consumption in overweight women before starting voluntary dieting programs].

The dietary intake of 50 premenopausal, overweight women, aged between 18 and 50 years old (31 +/- 9 years), with a mean body mass index of 29.9 +/- 3.1 kg/m2, was evaluated using the 24 hour recall method, the day before the start of a voluntary dietetic treatment. All the women had repeatedly tried losing weight throughout the courses of their lives. Caloric restriction was compared with weight loss after a week of dietetic treatment. Our results indicate that none of the women taking part in the study reported diets balanced in energy and nutrients. Although in 50% of the patients dietary energy intake was insufficient, all of them, when submitted to a diet of 1200 kcal per day, lost more weight (0.8-1.5 kg) than expected. The high fat intake and above all carbohydrate deficiency in these patients, indicate the lack of nutritional knowledge in their weight loss attempts. In our opinion, nutritional education is necessary to help them implement a balanced diet.

Adolescent↗

Initiation of a voluntary certification program for health education specialists.

As health education has become a major strategy for addressing current health problems, the need for expertise in health education has increased. Today health education specialists work not only in health agencies and educational institutions but also in hospitals and other health and medical facilities, in businesses and industries, and in consulting firms. To promote quality assurance in the delivery of health education services to the public, the profession has launched a voluntary credentialing system for health education specialists. Seven areas of responsibilities and the competencies that they require have been delineated as generic to the practice of entry level health education specialists, regardless of the setting (for example, school, health agency, work site) where they work. The purposes and rationale for new National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc., are described as well as the benefits of certification for the profession. The events and accomplishments of the past decade that have provided the foundation for the newly established credentialing program for the health education profession are chronicled.

Allied Health Personnel↗

The current status of surgical second opinion programs.

Second opinion programs proliferated in the 1970s, and most of these were voluntary programs. Until more complete evaluations of voluntary and mandatory programs are done, it seems likely that second opinion programs will continue to be on a voluntary basis. Second opinion programs have been shown to identify potential surplus surgery and are designed to contain costs.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Trial of labor following cesarean section: a two-year experience.

Elective repeat cesarean section is one of the major factors responsible for the increase in the total cesarean section rate observed since 1970. Beginning in January, 1980, a voluntary program encouraging a trial of labor for patients with a documented previous low-transverse cesarean section and no apparent recurring indication was instituted. Two hundred seven patients were managed with an adequate trial of labor, and 84.5% were delivered vaginally over a 2-year period. There were no deaths associated with a trial of labor, and maternal and fetal morbidity was negligible. This voluntary program resulted in a 27.9% decrease in the repeat cesarean section rate over the 2 years reported. Patient and physician acceptance of such a program was evaluated by follow-up questionnaires. Current recommendations include a mandatory trial of labor in patients with only one previous low-transverse cesarean section and no current indication for cesarean delivery. A more liberal management policy regarding patients with two or more previous low-transverse cesarean sections also seems warranted.

Cesarean Section↗

Is balance or posture at the end of a voluntary movement programmed?

Two leg movements, differing only by the final balance conditions, were analysed to determine whether the final body posture or the equilibrium were taken into account by the motor programming. The test movement was a flexion-extension of a lower limb executed at maximal velocity. The initial body posture was bipedal, while the final one was either bipedal or unipedal. The biomechanical and electromyographic data showed significant differences between parameters of the two movements. The results indicate that the final body equilibrium is the major parameter controlled.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

Voluntary screening program for prostate cancer: detection rate and cost.

In a community-wide screening program conducted in Jacksonville, Florida, 564 participants received free screening for prostate cancer. Frequency of positive results of prostate-specific antigen measurement and digital rectal examination was comparable to that found in similar programs in other communities. The estimated cost for each participant was $231, and the cost to discover each cancer was $7,240. If one also includes initial therapy in cost estimates, then the cost per participant was $520, and the cost to find and treat each patient was $16,300. The value of screening for prostate cancer must be judged by treatment outcome and underlying costs.

Aged↗

Qui tam claims: threat to voluntary compliance programs in health care organizations.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports that after violent crime, health care fraud is the department's top priority. The number of health care fraud investigations pending at the DOJ increased from 270 cases in 1992 to more than 4,000 in 1997. The DOJ's primary weapon in prosecuting health care fraud is the federal False Claims Act (FCA) of 1863 (31 U.S.C. secs. 3729-3733). Almost unique among federal antifraud provisions, the FCA may also be used by "private prosecutors" to file lawsuits on behalf of the federal government charging organizations with submitting false claims to the government. The FCA rewards such whistle-blowers with a share of any resulting recoveries as a bounty and protects them from discharge for filing false claims lawsuits against their employers. It also requires defendants to pay the costs and attorneys fees of successful claimants. Although the private "bounty hunter" features of the FCA data back to the Civil War, these so-called qui tam claims were nearly dormant until 1986, when Congress amended the FCA to revive their use. Following the 1986 amendments, and paralleling the rapid increase in federal reimbursements for health care costs, private qui tam claims have far expanded beyond their traditional purview of defense contracts into the field of health care. By 1997, health care providers were the targets of 54 percent of the 530 private qui tam lawsuits field that year.

Fraud↗