Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Critique”

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.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

African American women and depression: a review and critique of the literature.

African American women are often identified as a group at high risk for depression; they are also viewed as either delaying or not seeking treatment for the depression. The assessment, diagnoses, treatment, and prevention of depression in African American women require special sensitivity. To determine whether special sensitivity is shown to this population, this review examines the literature on African American women and depression, and critiques the major scales used in assessing depression. Violence is identified as an additional risk factor for depression in African American women. It is suggested that an interactive approach to risk factors for depression in African American women provides a better basis for psychiatric nursing practice with this population.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1989

Methodological nuances and pitfalls of benefit-cost analysis: a critique.

The recent paper by Hill, Banks, Handrich, Wehman, Hill, and Shafer, entitled "Benefit-Cost Analysis of Supported Competitive Employment for Persons with Mental Retardation" was critiqued. Concerns were of three types: logic, omission, and imprecision. Logically, Hill et al. incorrectly interchanged the concepts of cost-benefit ratio and net benefits; defined the taxpayer's perspective inconsistently; and appeared to double-adjust for inflation. Omissions included taxpayers' cost of paying benefits to workers from the regular labor force who were displaced by workers from the Hill et al. project; and certain costs and benefits when an individual changed from a minimally productive day program to an employment program. Finally, many cost and benefit estimates appeared to be extremely coarse, and to err in the direction of favoring benefits over costs. Most critically, Hill et al. reported their figures as absolutely true, when it would have been preferable to present a range of feasible cost and benefit estimates to test the sensitivity of their reported net benefit to reasonable variations in the values of its components. The ranges suggested by the present authors generally supported the conclusions of Hill et al., but reduced the certainty that taxpayers would benefit from their program.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed2005

An ethical critique of boutique fetal imaging:a case for the medicalization of fetal imaging.

There has been a resurgence of boutique fetal imaging (non-diagnostic use of ultrasound scanning to make images of the fetus) after earlier efforts of this type were stopped by the Food and Drug Administration. Boutique fetal imaging is a logical extension of critiques of the medicalization of pregnancy and other aspects of our lives. We address the ethical issues that are involved in boutique fetal imaging, which include blanket prescriptions, psychosocial risks to pregnant women, the misleading label of "baby pictures," impact on decisions to terminate a pregnancy that was discovered later to be complicated by an anomaly, lack of adequate informed consent, medical cosmesis, and economic conflicts of interest. We argue for the medicalization of fetal imaging and that boutique fetal imaging is unjustified ethically.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed2005

A critique of the Women's Health Initiative hormone therapy study.

OBJECTIVE: This review critiques The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, focusing on aspects of the study design contributing to the adverse events resulting in the study's discontinuation. CONCLUSION(S): Two aspects of the design contributed to the adverse events: [1] The decision to administer continuous combined conjugated equine estrogen (CEE)/medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) or E alone as a standard regimen to a population with little previous hormonal treatment, ranging in age from 50-79 years, who, because of their age, were predisposed to coronary and cerebral atherosclerosis. [2] Selection of an untested regimen of continuous combined CEE plus MPA, which we hypothesize, negated the protective effect of E on the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. Multiple observational studies that preceded the WHI study concluded that the use of E alone and E plus cyclic (not daily) progestin combination treatments initiated in early menopause had beneficial effects. The therapeutic regimens resulted in prevention of atherosclerosis and reductions in coronary artery disease mortality. It is our conclusion that the WHI hormonal replacement study had major design flaws that led to adverse conclusions about the positive effects of hormone therapy. An alternative hormonal regimen is proposed that, on the basis of data supporting its beneficial cardiovascular effects, when initiated appropriately in a population of younger, more recently menopausal women, has promise to yield a more favorable risk/benefit outcome.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2004

A systematic critique of diabetes on the world wide web for patients and their physicians.

PURPOSE: The web, a widely accessed medium for patients to obtain health information, has special relevance for patients with diabetes. This paper critiques the publicly available web sites for diabetes, and it establishes criteria for excellence in these sites. METHODS: A web search for diabetes mellitus based on Google, Yahoo, and the directory Mendosa provided the basis for the study. We defined and evaluated three major categories for each site: usability, content, and reliability. Usability was defined by design, ease of navigation, interactivity, and internal search capability. Content was based on the quality of general information about diabetes, discussions about monitoring blood glucose, meal planning, exercise, complications, medications, alternative therapies, resources, and support systems. Reliability was defined by the presence of the HON code, identification of an author, and the availability of experts. RESULTS: The focused Mendosa search produced 47 web sites. The majority were published by commercial organizations. Five sites were found to have the best usability. Other sites were cluttered or inundated with distracting information from advertisements. Content was generally excellent but limited by an absence of specific advice and information about controlling associated risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Only 17% of sites met all criteria for reliability. The sites that best met the criteria for quality were the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) and the Joslin Diabetes Center (www.joslin.org). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the large numbers of publicly available web sites for diabetes, only a few met criteria for quality. The physician's input and ongoing evaluation of these quality measures are essential to assure that patients get meaningful and relevant information from the web about managing diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus↗
PubMed2005

Evidence-based practice: a deconstruction and postmodern critique: book review article.

This paper discusses the significance of postmodernism for healthcare practice, specifically the discourse known as 'evidence-based practice'. It considers two texts, both of which present postmodern analyses of contemporary issues. One text presents a deconstruction of evidence-based practice in an attempt to reveal its 'true' nature, which is portrayed as one that does not respect research paradigms other than the randomised controlled trial, merely pays lip service to expertise and fails to connect with the real nature of clinical practice. The second text considers the accusation that absolute relativism implied by postmodern approaches may permit an 'anything goes' mentality and provide succour to those advocating unacceptable practices. A 'defence' of postmodernism in relation to the accusation that it encourages holocaust denial is used to consider further the nature and limitations of postmodern critiques of evidence-based practice. This review concludes that postmodernism fundamentally challenges the apparent 'objectivity' of evidence-based practice but it does not challenge the fundamental rules for acquiring and testing evidence. Rather it is the selection of questions to be asked and answered by evidence-based practice/practitioners that is the true limitation. This is the ground upon which fruitful argument can be had about the significance of evidence without undermining the requirement that there be evidence and standards to judge such evidence.

Denial, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Critique on the conceptualisation of quality of life: a review and evaluation of different conceptual approaches.

Over the past decades, the concept of quality of life has been of paramount importance for evaluating the quality and outcome of health care. Despite its importance, there is still no consensus on the definition or proper measurement of quality of life. Several concept analyses of quality of life have been published. However, they appear to have had a rather limited impact on how empirical studies are conducted. Therefore, we present an overview and critique of different conceptualisations of quality of life, with the ultimate goal of making quality of life a less ambiguous concept. We also describe six conceptual problems. These problems were used as criteria to evaluate the appropriateness of different conceptualisations. This evaluation suggests that defining quality of life in terms of life satisfaction is most appropriate, because this definition successfully deals with all the conceptual problems discussed. The result of our concept evaluation was not surprising for it corroborated the results of several concept analyses and the findings of a structural equation modelling study. Based on the findings revealed by our review, we propose that the scientific community should revitalise the conceptual discussion on quality of life. Furthermore, our findings can assist researchers in developing more rigourous quality-of-life research.

Affect↗
PubMed2006

Program factors related to women's substance abuse treatment retention and other outcomes: a review and critique.

This study examined program factors related to women's substance abuse treatment outcomes. Although substance abuse research is traditionally focused on men, some more recent studies target women. A systematic review of 35 empirical studies that included solely women subjects or that analyzed female subjects separately from male subjects revealed five elements related to women's substance abuse treatment effectiveness; these are (1) single- versus mixed-sex programs, (2) treatment intensity, (3) provision for child care, (4) case management and the "one-stop shopping" model, and (5) supportive staff plus the offering of individual counseling. Although all 35 studies contribute to the knowledge base, critiques of six areas of design weakness in the studies were included to provide directions for future studies; these are (1) lack of a randomized controlled design, (2) nondisentanglement of multiple conditions, (3) lack of a consistent definition for treatment factors and outcomes, (4) small sample size, (5) lack of thorough program description, and (6) lack of thorough statistical analyses.

Female↗
PubMed2006

A critique of functional localisers.

In this critique, we review the usefulness of functional localising scans in functional MRI studies. We consider their conceptual motivations and the implications for experimental design and inference. Functional localisers can often be viewed as acquiring data from cells that have been removed from an implicit factorial design. This perspective reveals their potentially restrictive nature. We deconstruct two examples from the recent literature to highlight the key issues. We conclude that localiser scans can be unnecessary and, in some instances, lead to a biased and inappropriately constrained characterisation of functional anatomy.

Brain Mapping↗
PubMed2004

The failure of pharmaceuticals and the power of plants: medicinal discourse as a critique of modernity in the Amazon.

This paper examines how caregivers' medicinal discourse serves as an indirect critique of modernization, urbanization and development in the Brazilian Amazon. When caregivers in two peri-urban neighborhoods, Triunfo and Bairro da Luz, discuss medicinal plants they highlight the positive aspects of phytotherapy and associate it with traditional rural lifestyles. In contrast, they tend to emphasize the shortcomings of pharmaceuticals, which they link to modernity and urbanization. This discourse, which juxtaposes plants/tradition/positive with pharmaceuticals/modern/negative, contains counterhegemonic commentary about the failures of modernization, urbanization and development. While state sponsored development was supposed to bring prosperity to the Amazon, for many residents, like those in Bairro de Luz and Triunfo, it did not. In fact, some say development made their lives worse, claiming that poverty and poor health are among the prices they have paid. Due to the shortcomings of modernization and urbanization in other areas of their life, caregivers are ambivalent about biomedicine and the pharmaceuticals they associate with it. Moreover, because medicinal plant remedies embody traditional values, asserting they are stronger, more potent, better and more effective, especially in an urban context, is a moral commentary on the shortcomings of modernity. Finally, by insisting that traditional plant remedies are better at curing the health problems that result from modern, urban lifestyles, they are subtly asserting the superiority of tradition over modernity.

Brazil↗
PubMed2005

Access to rural health services: research as community action and policy critique.

Although access to rural health services has been an enduring focus for a variety of scholars, little has been recorded about the intersection between health service policy, provision and access experiences. This paper identifies how community action can highlight the gaps between policy rhetoric and access experiences. Taking the case of rural New Zealand, we document how a community organisation Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) completed a national survey as a form of community action. This study records rural households' experiences and challenges when accessing both primary and secondary health services. A range of access problems is identified. The study also illustrates how community-based activism concerning health care need not be local or single-service focussed, but can involve a multi-service critique at the national scale. Such work highlights not only the experience but also the complexity and politics of health service access.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Critique of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in genitourinary oncology.

Regional lymphadenectomy is prognostic and selectively therapeutic in urologic oncology. The role of lymphadenectomy continues to be defined with the evolving multimodal management of genitourinary malignancies. Laparoscopy is playing a greater role in the management of genitourinary malignancies and thus, it is germane to critique the role of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in the management of these tumors. Review of the literature suggests that laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy is feasible with nodal yields commensurate to those in open published series. Although laparoscopic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for nonseminomatous germ cell tumor is feasible, the technique and efficacy of this procedure require further investigation.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Psychosocial intervention in pediatric epilepsy: a critique of the literature.

It is well documented that youth with epilepsy are at increased risk for psychopathology. The current literature supports a biopsychosocial model of adjustment to pediatric epilepsy, and implies that interventions focused on changing youths' cognitions and illness appraisals, as well as enhancing their coping skills, may be an effective treatment for psychosocial maladjustment associated with pediatric epilepsy. The purpose of this article is to review and critique the extant literature covering psychological interventions that target psychosocial adjustment in youth with seizures followed by those aimed at reducing seizure frequency. For health care professionals treating epilepsy, establishing evidence-based interventions that target psychiatric difficulties in youth with epilepsy should be paramount in the promotion of optimal epilepsy outcomes. Thus, future recommendations for clinical endeavors and research proposals are also presented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Refinement of risk assessment of dermally and intermittently exposed pesticide workers: a critique.

The regulatory requirements for the registration of pesticides are mainly evolved from concern about dietary exposure and risk, i.e. chronic oral exposure. Pesticide workers, however, are predominantly exposed dermally and intermittently. The present critique provides suggestions for improvement of toxicity studies to refine the risk assessment of pesticide workers. In this respect it is considered of utmost importance that toxicity studies (either toxicokinetic or toxicodynamic) should be tuned towards the anticipated exposure scenario. Apart from suggestions for improvement of dermal toxicokinetic and dynamic studies, recommendations for further research and guidance are given, amongst which the request for information on the robustness of in vitro dermal absorption studies and guidance on how to use these data. With respect to the intermittent exposure of pesticide workers it is recognised that both information on the anticipated exposure scenario as well as knowledge on the effect of intermittent exposure on the toxicity are needed. From a toxicological point of view, the setting of more than one Acceptable Operator Exposure Level (AOEL), covering effects that may arise after different periods of exposure, as well as the development of more robust acute and short term studies are strongly recommended.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed2003

Does complexity belie a simple decision--on the Efroni and Cohen critique of the minimal model for a self-nonself discrimination.

The immune system somatically generates a large and random paratopic repertoire that must be sorted into those specificities (anti-self) which, if expressed, would debilitate the host and those specificities (anti-nonself) which, if not expressed, would leave the host unprotected from infection. The critique of Efroni and Cohen that minimal models are misleading and without heuristic value is evaluated by illustrative examples.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2001

Delya's story: from expert to novice, a critique of Benner's concept of context in the development of expert nursing practice.

The concepts identified within Benner's Nineteen Eighty Four research 'From Novice to Expert' have been widely adopted within UK nursing education and development. This paper combines a narrative from a post-registration student with analysis of the literature as a case study for gaining greater understanding of Benner's work in practice. Delya's story both validates aspects of the concept of skill acquisition and challenges some of the interpretations of the model within professional education. The focus of the critique of Benner's work within the literature to date has been on a deconstruction of the concepts and semantics of her work. In presenting verbatim extracts from a case study this paper seeks to move the focus to nursing practice.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1996

How are alexithymia and physical illness linked? A review and critique of pathways.

We review the empirical literature and critique four possible pathways linking alexithymia and physical illness; (a) alexithymia leads to organic disease through physiological or behavioral mechanisms: (b) alexithymia leads to illness behavior (physical symptoms, disability, excessive health care use) through cognitive or social mechanisms: (c) physical illness leads to alexithymia; and (d) both alexithymia and physical illness result from sociocultural or biological factors. Our review suggests that alexithymia is associated with tonic physiological hyperarousal, certain types of unhealthy behavior, and a biased perception and reporting of somatic sensations and symptoms. Alexithymia also appears to influence health care use, but in a complex fashion. Although trauma may give rise to alexithymia, whether physical illness such as chronic pain does so is not known, and there is little evidence that sociocultural or biological factors lead to both alexithymia and physical illness. We conclude that alexithymia probably influences illness behavior, but there is little support for the hypothesis that alexithymia leads to chronic organic disease, especially when one distinguishes organic disease from illness behavior.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1985

Sensori-motor transformations in the brain (with a critique of the tensor theory of cerebellum).

Section 1 lists 12 points which must be addressed by neural models of sensorimotor coordination. Section 2 addresses the problem of extrapolating motor output from noisy data or from sensory input. The Pellionisz-Llinas cerebellar lookahead module addresses this problem for the noise-free case, and we suggest theoretical and experimental tests of the model; we then suggest the investigation of neural analogs of the Kalman-Bucy filter. Section 3 offers a brief exposition of mechanics in a tensor framework to provide the irreducible minimum of mathematical machinery to evaluate the Pellionisz-Llinás tensor theory of brain function and to suggest fruitful new hypotheses. Our critique of this theory in section 4 leads us to conclude that what they offer is based on metaphorical use of terminology from Euclidean tensors, not on rigorous application of the mathematics of tensor analysis. The central claim of their theory--that the input is a covariant intention vector transformed by a metric tensor encoded in the cerebellum to a contravariant execution vector--has not been substantiated and probably cannot be substantiated. However, we do point the way to further use of tensor analysis in the study of neural control of movement. The concluding section then returns to the points raised in section 1 with a highly selective survey of models of cerebellum and tectum.

Amphibians↗