Some necessary assumptions of social behavioural science in relation to medicine.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Behavioral Sciences↗
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Results for “SOCIAL SCIENCES”
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Variation in results of measurement repetition of human characteristics and activities.
The analysis of measurement variation in Ergonomics/Human Factors research reflects different approaches such as those prevalent in either the technical sciences or in the social sciences. The distinction is often a consequence of different types of measuring, for example measuring 'at' human beings as opposed to measuring 'through' human beings. In measuring 'at' human beings, as in anthropometrics, the measurement can be repeated several times. This allows the dispersion in results to be demonstrated via their standard deviation, as is usual in the technical sciences. In measuring 'through' human beings as, for example, in their performance in force exertion, a test-retest design is often adopted, i.e. a single repetition through several subjects in order to anticipate carry-over. In a number of research papers which were scrutinised, test-retest dispersion seems to have been analysed incompletely, ambiguously or incorrectly. In this paper a more appropriate way to specify within-subject dispersion is proposed, taking into account the dispersion patterning throughout the subjects. The relevance of studying this patterning is discussed, in terms of insight into human control, setting margins in design and for limiting the number of measurement repetitions per subject.
Ergonomics↗
An examination of social capital and social disorganisation in neighbourhoods in the British household panel study.
Recent developments in social science research suggest that social environmental factors may be important for explaining community variations in health. We investigate the structural sources of two mechanisms that produce community variations in health. Using survey data collected from a representative cross-section of British households we examine variations in neighbourhood social capital and neighbourhood social disorganisation across a sample of British neighbourhoods. Adjusting for respondent's attributes, we assess the effects of neighbourhood characteristics measured by the 1991 census in Britain. The results show that concentrated affluence, residential instability and ethnic heterogeneity predict social capital for women. Population density is the only neighbourhood characteristic to predict social capital for men. For both men and women concentrated disadvantage and population density are associated with social disorganisation. Residential instability is additionally associated with social disorganisation for women. For women it was found that neighbourhood characteristics interact with individual social class in accounting for variations in social capital, the effects of neighbourhood characteristics being larger for those in professional and managerial and skilled non-manual occupations. The results show that neighbourhood structural characteristics influence social organisation processes. This helps establish a link between the structural characteristics of neighbourhoods and individual health outcomes.
Adult↗
[The precaution principle and blood transfusion].
Because of the HIV and HCV virus transmission by transfusion during the eighties, there has been a retrospective reflection about the non-application of the precautionary principle, which has appeared only recently in the medical world. Since it was difficult to identify the real cause of the above-cited transmission in France, mainly because of the bad selection of blood donors, we feel we are justified in applying this precautionary principle more and more, in a monopolistic way, for biological security reasons. As a result, the biological research is not limited to looking for a 'degree zero' risk. Whether it concerns the 'PCR', the research of a new potential virus, the excessive fear regarding the transfusion of the new ESB agent, the worry caused by the blood donors who lived in the British Isles, the need for security based upon the precautionary principle is increasing endlessly. It is, however, more reasonable to consider that the precautionary principle should be essence incite a multi-disciplinary reflection involving biological sciences as well as social sciences. The precautionary principle would not make sense if it were not questioned for bad estimations, its harmful influences or its opportunistic use. Transfusion security, which is so important as a goal and as a principle, cannot appeal to the precautionary principle all the time, since the excessive use of this principle would lead to the paradox of not being able to identify the issues anymore.
AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
Assessment of the learning curve in health technologies. A systematic review.
OBJECTIVE: We reviewed and appraised the methods by which the issue of the learning curve has been addressed during health technology assessment in the past. METHOD: We performed a systematic review of papers in clinical databases (BIOSIS, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, HealthSTAR, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index, and Social Science Citation Index) using the search term "learning curve." RESULTS: The clinical search retrieved 4,571 abstracts for assessment, of which 559 (12%) published articles were eligible for review. Of these, 272 were judged to have formally assessed a learning curve. The procedures assessed were minimal access (51%), other surgical (41%), and diagnostic (8%). The majority of the studies were case series (95%). Some 47% of studies addressed only individual operator performance and 52% addressed institutional performance. The data were collected prospectively in 40%, retrospectively in 26%, and the method was unclear for 31%. The statistical methods used were simple graphs (44%), splitting the data chronologically and performing a t test or chi-squared test (60%), curve fitting (12%), and other model fitting (5%). CONCLUSIONS: Learning curves are rarely considered formally in health technology assessment. Where they are, the reporting of the studies and the statistical methods used are weak. As a minimum, reporting of learning should include the number and experience of the operators and a detailed description of data collection. Improved statistical methods would enhance the assessment of health technologies that require learning.
Biomedical Technology↗
Behaviorial science and social conscience.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Behavior↗
Prosthetic posterior teeth with cusps may improve patient satisfaction with complete dentures.
DATA SOURCES: The Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, OLDMedline, Embase, Zetoc (Zetoc provides access to the British Library's electronic table of contents of approx. 20,000 current journals and 16,000 conference proceedings published per year. The database covers 1993 to date and is updated daily. It includes an e-mail alert service to enable you to keep up-to-date with relevant new articles and papers), System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE) (SIGLE is a bibliographic database covering European non-conventional (or 'grey') literature in the fields of pure and applied science and technology, economics, social sciences and humanities), and the Science Citation Index were used to source studies. Reference lists of identified, relevant trials and review articles were scanned. Unpublished data were sought through personal contact with experts in the field. There was no language restriction. STUDY SELECTION: Randomised controlled trials (RCT) or quasi-RCT were selected that recruited edentulous adults and compared complete dentures with different occlusal schemes, with regard to patient satisfaction and masticatory function. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: The quality assessment of included trials was undertaken independently and in duplicate by two reviewers. Data were also extracted by two reviewers independently. Disagreements were discussed and a third reviewer consulted as necessary. Authors were contacted for clarification or missing information. Data were excluded until further clarification if agreement could not be reached. RESULTS: Thirteen trials were thought to be potentially relevant. Ten of these studies were subsequently excluded following further analysis. Two trials require further information from the author before being considered eligible for inclusion. Only one crossover trial (n=30), which compared lingualised teeth and zero-degree teeth, fully met the review's inclusion criteria. Twenty patients preferred the lingualised denture, five the zero-degree denture and five patients had no preference. There was a statistically significant difference in favour of the lingualised denture with an odds ratio of 10.00 (95% confidence interval, 2.04-48.96). CONCLUSIONS: There is weak evidence that it may be advantageous for dentists who provide a complete denture service to prescribe prosthetic posterior teeth with cusps, rather than cuspless teeth, to improve patient satisfaction. This conclusion may only be made tentatively until further, well-conducted trials are undertaken that compare different occlusal schemes for complete dentures.
Comment↗
Nursing research in Spain: bibliometrics of references of research papers in the decade 1985-1994.
BACKGROUND: Spain is one of the few European countries to have recently totally incorporated the study of nursing into the university sector. Bibliometric studies may be of a great help for the consolidation of nursing research. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this paper is to describe bibliographic references in Spanish nursing research papers and their evolution over a decade. METHOD: The method consists of a retrospective bibliometric study of a sample (cluster sampling) of 622 research papers (original papers and review papers), which were contained in the Spanish nursing journals Enfermería Científica, Revista ROL de Enfermería, Enfermería Clínica and Enfermería Integral, and published from 1985 to 1994. The journal Nursing Research was selected for qualitative comparative purposes. A series of classic bibliometric indexes were used. RESULTS: The mean of references per paper is 10.64 +/- 10.42; this increased over time (P < 0.001). Review papers have more references (P < 0.001). Price index (percentage of references published during the last 5 years) is 44% and the Insularity (percentage of references published in same country as the article) is 55%. References to journals predominate (58.6%), with a growing tendency for references to Spanish nursing journals, although they are still scarce (18.1% of the references to journals). Spanish is the language of most of the references (60.3%), the second language being English (36.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Bibliographic references in Spanish nursing research papers are scarce and not very specific: this happens both in regard to Nursing Research and to publications in other national and international science areas. However, there is an increasing tendency of references (including references to nursing journals) in the period analysed. The age of the references places Spanish nursing in an intermediate position between the 'hard' sciences and the humanities; and, according to the type of documentation used, we find it halfway between experimental and natural sciences, and technologies and social sciences. There has been a slight increase in references in English in recent years.
Bibliometrics↗
Research contributions in ophthalmology: Australia's productivity.
BACKGROUND: In 2000, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Ophthalmology (ANZJO) changed title to Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. At this time, a review of Australia's contributions to the literature over the previous 21 years appears timely. Bibliometric indicators are used extensively to assess research performance as they offer views of a field that might not otherwise be apparent. The aim of this study was to explore publication output data to construct a picture of ophthalmology that may be of benefit to researchers and ophthalmologists. METHODS: Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index databases were used to collate data on ophthalmology research literature from 1980 to 2000. Subsequent analysis particularly focused on Australia's contribution to this literature, including publication frequency vis-à-vis the world, collaboration, and the journals in which Australian researchers frequently publish. These data were also compared with other countries of similar scientific stature or language. RESULTS: Since 1980, Australia has ranked in the top 10 nations contributing to world ophthalmology research. Its contribution was close to world average in the 1980s, but increasing numbers of researchers and papers show Australia exceeding the world average during the 1990s. Most ophthalmology research collaboration by Australians is within Australia. Although fewer in number, collaborative papers with overseas researchers include 28 other countries. Data on the journals in which Australians publish show that Australian researchers continue to exhibit a preference for publication in their own regional journals. CONCLUSIONS: This paper, one of a series on the literature of the vision sciences, provides some initial benchmarks on Australia's standing and contribution to the field of ophthalmology research.
Australia↗
[The concept of social marketing--potential and limitations for health promotion and prevention in Germany].
"Social marketing" is the use of marketing principles to design and implement programmes to promote socially beneficial behaviour changes. In the field of health promotion and prevention, the systematic planning process of social marketing can offer new ideas and perspectives to the traditions of social science. Major characteristics of social marketing encompass continuous market research focussing on attitudes, motives and behavioural patterns of the target group, an integrated mix of strategic key elements, and the perpetual evaluation of all procedures. So far, however, it is unclear in how far social marketing is actually more effective than other concepts of programme planning. Furthermore, it has to be discussed whether the underlying philosophy of social marketing and its implicit understanding of relationships to the public are reconcilable with health promotion principles. In Anglo-Saxon countries, the social marketing concept has achieved widespread application and is subject to controversial scientific discussions, whereas this approach is hardly considered in German health promotion research and practice. Given the increasing call for quality management and evaluation of health promotion interventions, the social marketing concept may contribute useful insights at an operational level and thus add to a discussion on effective approaches for programme planning.
Germany↗
Limitations of patient satisfaction studies in telehealthcare: a systematic review of the literature.
The objective of this study is to provide a systematic review of studies on patient satisfaction with telemedicine. The review included empirical studies that investigated patient satisfaction with that telemedicine service. The search strategy involved matching at least one of 11 'telemedicine' terms with one of 5 'satisfaction' terms. The following databases were searched: Telemedicine Information Exchange (TIE) database, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Psycinfo, and Citation Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL). A highly structured instrument was used for data extraction. The review included 93 studies. Telepsychiatry represents the largest portion of these studies (25%), followed by multispecialty care (14%), nursing (11%), and dermatology (8%). Real-time videoconferencing was used in 88% of these studies. Only 19 (20%) included an independent control group, including 9 (10%) randomized control trial (RCT) studies. One third of studies were based on samples of less than 20 patients, and only 21% had samples of over 100 patients. Aspects of patient satisfaction most commonly assessed were: professional-patient interaction, the patient's feeling about the consultation, and technical aspects of the consultation. Only 33% of the studies included a measure of preference between telemedicine and face-to-face consultation. Almost half the studies measured only 1 or 2 dimensions of satisfaction. Reported levels of satisfaction with telemedicine are consistently greater than 80%, and frequently reported at 100%. Progression of telemedicine services from "trial" status to routine health service must be supported by improved research into patients' satisfaction with telemedicine. Further investigation of factors that influence patient acceptance of telemedicine is indicated.
Humans↗
Relative efficacy of differential methods of dietary advice: a systematic review.
BACKGROUND: Dietary advice to lower blood cholesterol may be given by a variety of means. The relative efficacy of the different methods is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the effects of dietary advice given by dietitians compared with advice from other health professionals, or self-help resources, in reducing blood cholesterol in adults. DESIGN: We performed a systematic review, identifying potential studies by searching the electronic databases of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Human Nutrition, Science Citation Index, and Social Sciences Citation Index. We also hand-searched relevant conference proceedings, reference lists in trial reports, and review articles. Finally, we contacted experts in the field. The selection criteria included randomized trials of dietary advice given by dietitians compared with advice given by other health professionals or self-help resources. The main outcome was difference in blood cholesterol between the dietitian group compared with other intervention groups. Inclusion decisions and data extraction were duplicated. RESULTS: Eleven studies with 12 comparisons met the inclusion criteria. Four studies compared dietitians with doctors, 7 with self-help resources, and 1 with nurses. Participants receiving advice from dietitians experienced a greater reduction in blood total cholesterol than those receiving advice from doctors (-0.25 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.37, -0.12 mmol/L). There was no statistically significant difference in change in blood cholesterol between dietitians and self-help resources (-0.10 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.22, 0.03 mmol/L). CONCLUSIONS: Dietitians appeared to be better than doctors at lowering blood cholesterol in the short to medium term, though the difference was small (about 4%), but there was no evidence that they were better than self-help resources or nurses.
Cholesterol↗
From the profane to the sacred: why we need to retrieve Christian bioethics.
Christianity has been crucial in the conceptualization and articulation of the moral framework of the Western tradition. The social sciences, including ethics, were modeled on physical science. However, the Enlightenment project inculcated a metaphysics and an epistemology that reduced the subject to an object and thus undermined the conditions of freedom, agency and an accessible cosmic order; all of which are essential to morality. Competing value claims were shunted into a political context for resolution, but the politicalized morality itself requires a framework for evaluating resolutions. While neither the Enlightenment nor post-modernism can provide such a framework, Christian tradition can, in fact, provide just such a framework and response.
Bioethics↗
Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries. Prospects for public health benefits in developing countries from new vaccines against enteric infections.
The symposium participants concluded that vaccines with even moderate efficacy can be highly useful to prevent large numbers of severe illness episodes and deaths and that the decision of whether to initiate a vaccine program should be based on measures or estimates of public health effectiveness rather than only on protective efficacy. Studies of protective efficacy are of course critical to establish the vaccine's biologic activity, but additional aspects of public health effectiveness are also crucial in making these decisions. First-generation vaccines are available against typhoid, cholera, and soon rotavirus diarrhea, and vaccines against enterotoxigenic E. coli diarrhea and shigellosis are under development. The problems related to enteric diseases are enormous; the vaccines may soon be produced at low cost and promise to be relatively more easy to distribute than most previous vaccines. The number of illnesses and deaths averted from vaccine programs are potentially great. Pilot programs using the new vaccines should urgently be considered in areas where the disease burden is high, and steps should be taken to monitor effectiveness of the intervention in these programs. Such studies of vaccine effectiveness and costs in a "real world" situation are an essential step of the research process and should be used to guide the organization of larger-scale programs. Finally, many of the necessary research and development activities relevant to public health vaccinology must address country-specific problems. Developing countries should consider the role of vaccine-related research among the priorities for their essential national health research and build the necessary capabilities in applied and basic medical sciences and in the social sciences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
Combating smoking in the United States: progress through science and social action.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Humans↗
Successful ageing: from cell to self.
Many people see ageing as a time of cognitive and physical decline. For the past three decades, most scientists and the general public have accepted this negative age-stereotype as the norm, but fortunately this view is now challenged. New findings show that well-being and a positive view of ageing are major protective factors against the effects of age on the organism. These results challenge the scientific studies that place emphasis on the negative side of ageing. This ageism view has been observed in each sphere of science, from genetics to social sciences. Perspectives from each domain are described, and new integrative views of successful ageing are summarized.
Aging↗
Law, evolution and the brain: applications and open questions.
This paper discusses several issues at the intersection of law and brain science. It focuses principally on ways in which an improved understanding of how evolutionary processes affect brain function and human behaviour may improve law's ability to regulate behaviour. It explores sample uses of such 'evolutionary analysis in law' and also raises questions about how that analysis might be improved in the future. Among the discussed uses are: (i) clarifying cost-benefit analyses; (ii) providing theoretical foundation and potential predictive power; (iii) assessing comparative effectiveness of legal strategies; and (iv) revealing deep patterns in legal architecture. Throughout, the paper emphasizes the extent to which effective law requires: (i) building effective behavioural models; (ii) integrating life-science perspectives with social-science perspectives; (iii) considering the effects of brain biology on behaviours that law seeks to regulate; and (iv) examining the effects of evolutionary processes on brain design.
Behavior↗
The science of social diseases.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗