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PubMed1993

Is cost-awareness really improving?

The findings of a comparative study of cost awareness amongst particular groups of health service staff are reported. The study is a repeat of that undertaken in 1987 by Fairbrass and Chaffe. The findings are compared to assess how awareness of the cost of anaesthetic drugs, fluids and disposables has changed as a result of the publicity since 1987. Without prior warning, the study group were asked to estimate the cost of twenty-eight items. The results show that their degree of accuracy remains poor. Overall the tendency was to overestimate costs, whilst a small number of expensive items such as volatile agents were consistently underpriced. The results show that, over the last three years, there has been no significant change in the knowledge of cost awareness. At a time when the effective use of scarce resources is being emphasised, a staff programme of continuing cost awareness training is recommended.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1975

The awareness of risk and personal relevance in alcoholics.

From the perspective of health professionals, the estimated nine million alcoholics in America are engaged in repetitive health-avoidance behavior. The purpose of this study was to asses whether alcoholics were themselves aware of the risk-taking implications of their drinking, particularly in view of the denial clinically attributed to alcoholics. Horn's Smoker's Self-Testing Kit, modified to measure respondents' attitudes toward excessive drinking and its consequences, was administered to 61 alcoholic inpatients. This instrument evaluates awareness of the health hazards of excessive drinking, awareness of the seriousness of alcoholism as a health problem, awareness of its personal relevance, and the value of stopping, concern with mastery of the drinking problem, and belief in capability for stopping. The results indicated that during sobriety these alcoholics definitely acknowledged the health hazards of excessive drinking, the seriousness of the problem, its personal relevance, and the value of stopping. However, subjects generally anticipated great difficulty in making any significant change in their self-destructive drinking patterns.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2001

[Study on the awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Qingdao rural residents].

In order to study the awareness, treatment and control rates and the risk factors of hypertension in Qingdao rural residents, a cluster random sampling method was used. Blood pressure measurement and questionnaire regarding risk factors for hypertension were applied to 3700 residents aged over 18. The standardized prevalence of hypertension in selected Qingdao rural residents was 19.5%. The awareness rate of hypertension was 31.5%. The main factors affecting awareness included age, cultural level, family income, family history of hypertension, and knowing the criteria for normal blood pressure (BP). The rate of taking regular treatment for hypertension was 35.7%. The factors affecting treatment for hypertension were age, culture level, times of measuring blood pressure (BP), suffering from complications of hypertension and family income. The awareness, treatment and control of hypertension should be improved and a comprehensive measure should be taken to prevent hypertension in Qingdao rural residents.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Stroke awareness among Georgia adults: epidemiology and considerations regarding measurement.

BACKGROUND: To design and evaluate interventions for reducing the impact of stroke in Georgia, we assessed knowledge of signs, risk factors, and burden of stroke. METHODS: Adults in Georgia were studied with a random digit dial telephone survey. RESULTS: Answering an unaided question, 39% of 602 respondents named > or =1 stroke warning sign. Awareness was considerably greater when assessed with prompted questions. Most respondents (70%) said they would call 911 if someone had a stroke; almost all (95%) considered stroke an emergency. Risk factor awareness ranged from 97% (previous stroke) to 69% (diabetes). Altogether, 6% reported having had a stroke; 48% reported a stroke in their family. CONCLUSIONS: Georgia adults have low awareness of stroke warning signs. Our findings underscore the importance of conducting an effective educational campaign. Furthermore, a need exists for questions on stroke awareness that approximate more closely the situation in which a person must identify a potential stroke.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Awareness about the disease in asthma patients receiving treatment from physicians at different levels.

Morbidity and mortality due to asthma continue to increase worldwide. One of the reasons is an inadequate patient awareness regarding the disease and its treatment. One thousand four hundred patients with reversible airflow obstruction due to bronchial asthma were included in this study and assigned to one of the four groups depending on whom they had consulted before. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire which included questions regarding the disease, its course, understanding of treatment schedules, correct use of inhaler devices, use of peak flow meter and when to take emergency actions. The awareness regarding the disease, avoidance of trigger factors, treatment adherence, and correct use of inhaler devices was found to be greater in patients who had received initial treatment from a qualified physician and was best among those treated at the Institute level. The use of peak flow meter by the patients for objective assessment of asthma and the awareness regarding use of emergency care services was found to be poor among all the groups. To improve patient awareness and quality of asthma care delivery, private practitioners as well as Institute doctors must be included in continuing medical education programmes and various methods of communications with patients should be used along with separate clinics for asthma at the Institute level.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The role of awareness in Pavlovian conditioning: empirical evidence and theoretical implications.

This article reviews research over the past decade concerning the relationship between Pavlovian conditioning and conscious awareness. The review covers autonomic conditioning, conditioning with subliminal stimuli, eyeblink conditioning, conditioning in amnesia, evaluative conditioning, and conditioning under anesthesia. The bulk of the evidence is consistent with the position that awareness is necessary but not sufficient for conditioned performance, although studies suggestive of conditioning without awareness are identified as worthy of further investigation. Many studies have used inadequate measures of awareness, and strategies for increasing validity and sensitivity are discussed. It is concluded that conditioning may depend on the operation of a propositional system associated with consciousness rather than a separate, lower level system.

Awareness↗
PubMed2002

Autonomic and eyeblink conditioning are closely related to contingency awareness: reply to Wiens and Ohman (2002) and Manns et al. (2002).

S. Wiens and A. Ohman (2002) disputed the conclusion that Pavlovian conditioning is strongly related to contingency awareness (P. F. Lovibond & D. R. Shanks, 2002) on the basis that an inappropriate definition of awareness was used. J. R. Manns, R. E. Clark, and L. R. Squire (2002) contended that delay eyeblink conditioning is independent of awareness. The authors of the present article consider these arguments, highlight several problems in the new studies described by the commentators, and conclude that there is still little evidence for unconscious conditioning in either subliminal autonomic conditioning or eyeblink conditioning. The most parsimonious account of existing data is that a single learning process gives rise to both awareness and conditioned responding. Further progress in evaluating the possibility of unconscious conditioning would be facilitated by the development of more completely specified and testable dual-process models.

Autonomic Nervous System↗
PubMed2002

Awareness of sudden infant death syndrome risk factors among mothers of Pacific infants in New Zealand.

AIM: To describe the awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) risk factors among mothers of Pacific infants in New Zealand. METHODS: The data were gathered as part of the Pacific Islands Families Study in which 1376 mothers were interviewed when their infants were six weeks old. Included in this interview were questions designed to examine the mothers' awareness of SIDS risk factors. RESULTS: Over one third (38.8%) of mothers were unable to accurately report a SIDS risk factor, 53.4% reported the risk associated with putting the baby to sleep in a prone position, 31.5% maternal smoking, and 19.5% correctly reported other SIDS risk factors. Lack of awareness of SIDS risk factors was significantly associated with Samoan and Cook Islands Maori ethnicity, being Pacific Islands born, having no post school qualifications, lower household income, not being fluent in English, having more than five children, and not attending antenatal classes. CONCLUSIONS: Despite SIDS prevention efforts, a considerable number of mothers in this cohort reported no awareness of SIDS risk factors. More effective methods are needed to provide consistent SIDS prevention information across Pacific ethnic groups.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Tobacco use in Tunisia: behaviour and awareness.

OBJECTIVE: To assess tobacco use and the awareness of and attitudes towards tobacco and its control in the adult population of Tunisia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1996 of a representative national sample of 5696 subjects aged 25 and over. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire in Arabic. FINDINGS: Tobacco use was reported by 30.4% of the respondents, of whom 24.6% smoked cigarettes and 5.8% consumed traditional tobacco, i.e. snuff, chewing tobacco and/or water pipe tobacco. Whereas 55.6% of men used tobacco, only 5.2% of women did so. Among men the proportion of tobacco users diminished with age as the rate of cessation increased. Among women, smoking peaked in the 35-54 age group. The proportion of men consuming traditional tobacco alone increased from 2.4% in the 25-34 age group to 20.4% in the 55+ age group; the corresponding values for women were 0.1% and 14.3%. Tobacco use was more widespread in rural than in urban areas and was relatively high among poorly educated men from economically deprived backgrounds. The use of tobacco was believed to be harmful to health by 98.6% of the respondents. Over 90% of the interviewees were aware that tobacco played a part in the development of heart disease. However, there were some gaps in awareness. A fear of cancer was expressed by 85% of the respondents, whereas only 5.6% were fearful of accidents. CONCLUSIONS: Informational and educational campaigns relating to tobacco control should be directed at individuals and communities, taking into account the gaps in awareness of the effects of tobacco on health.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Study-test awareness can enhance priming on an implicit memory task: evidence from a word completion task.

The role of study-test awareness in implicit memory tasks has been an open question for some time. This study investigated the possibility that study-test awareness may enhance priming on an implicit memory task. In three experiments, subjects studied words under levels of processing conditions (nonsemantic vs. semantic) and then received a word stem completion priming task. The results of all three experiments showed that study-test awareness had no effect on priming for nonsemantic study but it did on semantic study, significantly enhancing priming for that study condition. The results are interpreted according to an involuntary aware memory framework.

Awareness↗
PubMed2003

HIV: awareness of management of occupational exposure in health care workers.

BACKGROUND: There is need for safe working environment in both government and private hospitals for the safety of health-care workers (HCWs). The present study was conducted to know the present knowledge regarding occupational exposure to HIV amongst doctors in non-governmental hospitals and clinics across Delhi. METHODS: Seventy doctors from different medical and surgical specialties in various non-government hospitals/nursing homes in Delhi were given a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Majority of them have suffered needle stick injuries. Many had also experienced splash over face, eyes. Some participants were still recapping needles most of times. 85.7% of participants were fully vaccinated for hepatitis B. 44.2% didn't know if they were responders to hepatitis B vaccine or not. Most of them didn't report the needle stick injuries. In majorities of incidents source patient was not tested for blood born infections. Many of participants were not aware of post exposure prophylactic measures to be taken if there is an occupational exposure to the blood of HIV positive patient. Awareness that drugs for postexposure prophylaxis are to be started immediately was low (36%). CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the low awareness of postexposure prophylaxis measures amongst HCWs. Many HCWs were also not aware if they were responders to hepatitis B vaccine or not. Most of the needle stick injuries were neither reported nor investigated.

Awareness↗
PubMed2003

Influence of caregiver singing and background music on posture, movement, and sensory awareness in dementia care.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Previous research suggested caregiver singing could influence persons with severe dementia to communicate with increased competence, to cease aggression, and to cease disruptive screaming, while at the same time they seemed to understand what was going on when being cared for during morning care sessions. The aim of this study was to illuminate the posture, body movements, and sensory awareness of patients with dementia during three types of morning care sessions with professional caregivers: (a) the usual morning care situation, (b) a caring session in which familiar background music was played, and (c) a caring session in which the caregiver sang to and/or with the patient throughout. Nine patients with late-stage dementia and 5 professional caregivers participated in this study, and 27 sessions were videotaped (9 patients x 3 caring situations). DATA COLLECTION AND METHOD: Data collection was done by means of video recording and the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: During the usual caring situation, patients demonstrated slumped posture, sluggish and asymmetric motion, listlessness, minimal awareness of both egocentric space and the physical environment, and a poor ability to perform to completion activities necessary for personal care. Both background music playing and caregiver singing had strong influences on the body and on sensory awareness. Patients had straightened posture, stronger and more symmetric movements, and a greatly increased awareness of themselves and their environment. Patients appeared to regain skills necessary for daily living, and demonstrated that they could perform tasks with intention, purpose, and competence. Caregiver singing, in particular, was very effective at drawing out capabilities that appeared to be lost in these patients. In addition, caregiver singing elicited a larger degree of mutuality in the interaction between patient and caregiver than was seen with background music. DISCUSSION: These results provide further support for the use of caregiver singing in dementia care, and the findings on how caregiver singing can be used to help in dementia caring situations are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2004

Awareness of the process of informed consent among family practice patients in Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To study the awareness of 'Informed Consent', among patients presenting to Family Physicians. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Community Health Centre, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi in July 2002. Written Consent was taken and confidentially was assured RESULTS: Out of the 100 patients interviewed, 80 agreed to participate in the study, forty-four men and thirty-six women. Approximately half the participants (45%) were graduates and 40% had less than five years of school education. The awareness of the process of 'informed consent' was observed in only 20% of the respondents, all in the educational category of graduates. CONCLUSION: A lack of awareness of informed consent was observed in patients attending the Community Health Centre, Aga Khan University, despite stringent institutional policies, which are adequately followed. To improve awareness, 'Health Education Programs' for the population are required with media support. Readability of written consent forms should be of class V level or less to give advantage to the less educated classes in the society. Local languages should be utilized for written and verbal consent. Public health programs should also be aimed at educating physicians, nurses and paramedics. Provisions should be made to legalise the process of taking consent.

Awareness↗
PubMed2004

Change in infection control practices and awareness of hospital medical staff in the aftermath of SARS.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic illustrated the crucial role of infection surveillance and control measures in the combat of any highly transmissible disease. We conducted an interview survey of 121 medical staff 145 doctors, 46 staff nurses and 30 medical assistants) in a state hospital in Malaysia three months after the end of SARS epidemic (from October to December 2003). Staff was grouped according to those directly involved in the care of suspected SARS patients [S+ group n=41] and those who were not [S- group; n=80]. On hand washing following sneezing, coughing and touching patients, the proportions of medical staff that reported an increase after the SARS crisis were 22.3%, 16.5% and 45.5% respectively. On wearing masks, gloves, and aprons when meeting potentially infectious patients, the proportions that reported an increase were 39.7%, 47.1% and 32.2% respectively. Significantly more staff in S+ than S- group reported these increases. Sixty percent of staff was aware of changes in hospital infection control policies after SARS; 93.4% was aware of notifying procedures, and 81.8% was aware of whom to notify in the hospital. Regarding infection isolation ward, Infectious Control Nurse and Infection Control Committee Chairman in the hospital, the proportions of staff that could correctly name them were 39.7%, 38.3% and 15.7% respectively. Significantly more in S+ than S- group could do so. However, more than half the staff claimed ignorance on the knowledge of infection isolation ward (56.2%), Infection Control Nurse (57.9%) and Chairman (65.3%). Our findings demonstrated that SARS crisis had some positive impact on the infection control practices and awareness of medical staff especially on those with direct SARS involvement. Implications for future control of infectious diseases are obvious.

Awareness↗
PubMed2005

Awareness about common diseases in selected female college students of Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of awareness about five common diseases, namely: Tuberculosis (TB), Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS among college female students of Karachi. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of female students aged 16-21 years from three colleges selected by convenient sampling method was conducted from January to May 2004. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: A large number of students (71%) knew that typhoid spreads by eating contaminated food and drinking infected water. Majority (84%) knew about cough as a mode of spread for TB whereas 69% thought that TB could spread through sneeze of a TB patient. Regarding AIDS, 90% knew that it is sexually transmitted. Majority (87%) knew about the association of hepatitis B and contaminated needles; 64% were aware of hepatitis C and abuse of contaminated needles; 88% knew about the spread of HIV by the use of contaminated needles. A large number (92%) mentioned television as their main source of information. CONCLUSION: The general level of awareness regarding HIV/AIDS transmission was satisfactory among college girls in this study. The level of awareness of the young educated females about the modes of spread of typhoid, TB, hepatitis B and C is low. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of health education campaign regarding common infectious diseases, especially in young girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

[Safety awareness of anticancer drug handling among Japanese nurses].

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate Japanese nurses' awareness of the adverse effects of occupational exposure to anticancer drugs and safe handling, as well as their associations. METHODS: A self-rating questionnaire was mailed to 939 nurses in 107 university hospitals, 13 cancer-special hospitals, and 193 general hospitals with over 300 beds and at least five or more clinics in Japan. A total of 571 female nurses responded to the questionnaire. RESULTS: About 40% of the nurses were not at all aware of the potential adverse effects of occupational exposure to anticancer drugs. Eighty-eight percent of the nurses prepared anticancer drugs in the hospital wards; in most cases, nurses, not doctors or pharmacists, transported and administered such drugs to cancer patients. Regarding safety, 39% of the nurses took protective countermeasures against anticancer drugs; 15% paid special attention to the handling environment; 10% had guidelines for the handling of anticancer drugs; and, only 7% took countermeasures with body fluids or linen handling of cancer patients. Although 82% of the nurses were concerned about the potential health effects of occupational exposure, 75% or over did not know whether the exposure might affect their future health or progeny. Awareness of adverse effects was significantly related with precaution in anticancer drug handling, for which 95% of the nurses stated a desire for special education and training. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 60% of Japanese nurses are aware of the risk of occupational exposure to anticancer drugs, but this might be an overestimate because of the sampling bias. Since only small numbers of nurses take sufficient safety precaution, programs for education and training for safe handling of anticancer drugs are crucial.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Cardiovascular disease risk factor awareness in American Indian communities: the strong heart study.

OBJECTIVE: To use data from the longitudinal Strong Heart Study (SHS) to determine the level of awareness about risk factors for heart disease among 13 populations of American Indians in Arizona, Oklahoma, and South/ North Dakota. The aim of this study is to assess awareness of nine major risk factors for heart disease among participants in SHS. METHODS: During July 1993 to December 1995 (phase II of SHS), 3638 participants ages 46 to 80 years (mean age 60) were asked if nine known risk factors for cardiovascular disease affect a person's chances of getting heart disease; 3226 (89%) participants completed the study and met the method reliability criteria for inclusion. RESULTS: Among each of the nine risk factors, the percentage of correct answers provided by study participants ranged from 70% (family history of heart disease) to 90% (being very overweight). Participants with hypertension (90% vs 86%, P<.05) and diabetes mellitus (81% vs 71%, P<.05) were more likely than those without these disorders to know they were heart disease risk factors. For all nine risk factors, the percentage of correct answers was lower (P<.05) among smokers than among nonsmokers. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, female sex, advanced education, and being from Oklahoma were significantly associated with heart disease awareness. CONCLUSION: Although overall risk factor awareness for heart disease was high, subgroups were identified who could benefit from culturally appropriate health education and other interventions to motivate health prevention actions, especially for smoking.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Situational awareness is more than exceptional vision.

Superior situational awareness, an extraordinary awareness of the total flight environment and aerial combat situation, is a significant contributor to success in aerial engagement. Review of over 1,000 published sources has led to the formulation of situational awareness as being principally in the cognitive domain. Superior awareness involves exceptional sensitivity to performance-critical cues in the operational environment, an exceptional capacity to anticipate changes in system states and operational conditions, and the ability to act on those changes in a proactive mode. Three important constructs are described: 1) automatic information processing; 2) near-threshold processing; and 3) skilled memory. In combination, they constitute a pilot attribute which uniquely facilitates the full armamentarium of skills and abilities of the superior tactical pilot.

Aerospace Medicine↗