Search PubMedSearch

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “knowledge”

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

The knowledge and use of screening tests for colorectal and prostate cancer: data from the 1987 National Health Interview Survey.

Data based on the 1987 National Health Interview Survey are presented depicting factors associated with the knowledge and use of three tests for the early detection of colorectal and prostate cancer: digital rectal examination, fecal occult blood tests, and flexible sigmoidoscopy. The percentage of the at risk adult population who have ever heard of or had these tests is reported. The association of demographic, personal resource, and health system factors with knowledge of these tests is explored using multivariate logistic regression. Health system factors are most consistently associated with use of the tests and with knowledge. Family income, family size, education, knowledge of cancer early warning signs, and measures of encounters with the health care system are associated both with knowledge of and, independent of knowledge, with use of the tests. Residency in the non-South, being white or female, and having an optimistic attitude about cancer prevention are all factors associated with greater knowledge of the tests, but not greater use among those aware of the tests. Membership in a health maintenance organization is more strongly associated with knowledge and use of fecal occult blood tests than the other tests. No association was found between current smoking status and knowledge of or use of any of the tests.

Adult

A measure of knowledge and confidence in relation to HIV and AIDS: reliability and validity.

Knowledge of HIV and AIDS is widely seen as an important determinant of anxiety about such infection in health care workers. However, existing measures of this knowledge suffer from a number of methodological problems and few demonstrate adequate reliability and validity. This paper documents the development of a new measure detailing its reliability and validity. Knowledge, and also confidence in knowledge, were assessed across seven domains of relevant information (e.g. epidemiology, personal risk, symptomatology) in one non-expert group (non-medical undergraduate psychologist) and in three groups with greater expertise (nursing students and third year and final year medical students). The measure was shown to be reliable and to discriminate between the four groups in a manner consistent with the level of education received by each group and in terms of both the scale scores for the seven domains and the individual items. In general, final year medical students were shown to be more knowledgeable, and more confident in their knowledge, than the other groups. The non-medical undergraduates showed the lowest level of knowledge. In general, the groups appeared under-confident in their knowledge about HIV/AIDS. This was interpreted in terms of members of these groups exhibiting caution and the perceived fluctuating nature of the HIV knowledge base. Implications for the training of health care workers in relation to HIV/AIDS are discussed.

Adult

Rural youth: HIV/STD knowledge levels and sources of information.

Though it is recognised that a sound knowledge of HIV/STD transmission is insufficient on its own to ensure that young people practise safer sex, knowledge of this sort is a necessary prerequisite to safe sex behaviours. Research on the HIV/STD knowledge levels of young people has shown that, while they have high levels of HIV knowledge, they generally have little idea about the transmission of other STDs. Moreover, most of this research has been conducted with more accessible youth in large urban centres. The research reported in this paper focused on HIV/STD knowledge levels, awareness of safe and unsafe sexual practices, and the information sources accessed by 1168 young people living in small rural towns in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. As with mainstream youth, the participants in this study had high levels of HIV knowledge and very low levels of knowledge about the transmission of other STDs, their names and symptoms. Practical knowledge of the safety of sexual practices was good, although a number of students confused high risk practices with high risk groups. Students mainly accessed informal information sources such as parents, peers and magazines and took little advantage of more formal sources even when they were available in their towns. There were few gender differences in levels of knowledge; however, girls accessed more information sources and knew more names of STDs. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to young people developing critical attitudes towards more informal sources, and the better use of more formal sources.

Adolescent

Validation of an asthma knowledge questionnaire.

Asthma is responsible for much morbidity and mortality, which might be decreased by increasing parental and patient knowledge about asthma. This report describes the development and validation of an asthma knowledge questionnaire for use in the assessment of asthma knowledge. Two groups of respondents were examined. One group was designated 'high knowledge' and the other 'low knowledge'. The questionnaire had a maximum possible score of 31. The mean score of 69 'high' knowledge parents was 25.3 (median 25, range 18-31). By contrast, the mean score of 69 'low' knowledge parents was 13.0 (median 13, range 0-21). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P less than 0.0001). The questionnaire results were reproducible (tau = 0.94, P less than 0.01). Demographic characteristics such as education and socio-economic status were not important confounding variables. Face and content validity of the questionnaire were based on reference to published experience. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by the ability of the questionnaire to distinguish low from high knowledge parents. The questionnaire should prove to be a valuable research tool for the assessment of asthma knowledge either as part of an educational intervention or in a clinical situation.

Asthma

Knowledge and beliefs about common eye diseases.

PURPOSE: To ascertain the level of knowledge of common causes of blindness in an adult Australian population and to relate this to use of eye care services. METHODS: A population-based study of common eye diseases in an urban population aged 49 years or older was conducted. The questions were concerned with the awareness and knowledge of and the ability to describe three common eye diseases, namely cataract, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). RESULTS: Awareness of cataract (98%) and glaucoma (93%) were high in this population, but awareness of AMD was low (20%). Among people who were aware of the target eye disease, only 29% showed some knowledge of glaucoma, 26% showed some knowledge of AMD and 20% showed some knowledge of cataract; this was also low in people who had previous eye treatment, such as cataract surgery. Knowledge was related to education level, occupational prestige and knowledge of other eye diseases. After excluding people with a previous eye disease diagnosis, those people who were aware and had some knowledge of eye disease accessed eyecare services more frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of common eye diseases is generally lacking. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Australia, yet only 20% of the present study population had heard of it. As there are often no early symptoms for glaucoma, community awareness of this disease and the need for screening of people at risk may allow timely diagnosis and more effective therapy before advanced visual field loss has occurred. An informed public is more likely to present earlier with visual symptoms before irreversible visual loss has occurred and is more likely to comply better with recommended therapy.

Adult

Knowledge on the Haemophilia Care Among Healthcare Providers in Tanzania: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Haemophilia is a rare inherited bleeding disorder associated with recurrent bleeding, disability, and mortality when diagnosis and management are delayed. In low- and middle-income countries, limited diagnostic capacity, access to treatment and gaps in Healthcare Providers' (HCPs') knowledge are major contributors to morbidity and mortality. In Tanzania, the recent improvement in haemophilia services highlights the need for systematic evaluation of HCPs' knowledge and clinical practices. OBJECTIVE: The study assessed the knowledge of haemophilia care among healthcare providers in Tanzania. METHODS: A multicenter hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among HCPs in tertiary and regional hospitals in Tanzania. A structured self-administered questionnaire assessed knowledge on haemophilia, including the pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and complications. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 27. RESULTS: Among 799 HCPs assessed (50.9%) aged 20-29 and (59.2%) males. Nurses were the majority (31.8%), and 75.2% had &#x2264;5 years' experience. Overall haemophilia knowledge was high (median 83.3%, IQR: 75.9-88.9), strongest performance in general knowledge and weakest in treatment (68.2%, IQR: 54.5-77.3). Most respondents identified haemophilia as inherited (95.6%), non-infectious (93.7%), and recognized prolonged bleeding after injury or circumcision as key-symptoms (>90%). Knowledge varied by cadre, department, and experience (p<0.05); physicians and specialists scored higher than nurses, while health attendants scored lower. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers demonstrated fairly adequate general knowledge of haemophilia. However, gaps remain in understanding genetic inheritance, acquired haemophilia, and modern treatment strategies, with knowledge variation by cadre, department, and experience, highlighting the need for targeted education across all HCPs groups.

Tanzania

University students and AIDS: knowledge, attitudes and behavioral adjustment.

This study addresses the relations between AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior change among university students. A questionnaire covering such issues and personal background variables was administered to 750 students at the University of Zagreb. Over-all, 62.7% of the knowledge items were answered correctly, while functional, self-protective aspects of knowledge proved to be much better than general knowledge. On the average, attitudinal responses were moderately liberal. Both self-reported change in risk-reduction behavior and personal concern due to the appearance of AIDS were very small. Correlations of risk-reducing behavior with permissive (.15) and restrictive (.14) attitude orientations and with general and functional knowledge (.08) were modest. The level of personal concern correlated neither with permissive attitudes nor with functional knowledge, while it correlated negatively with restrictive attitudes (-.20) and with general knowledge (-.08). Substantial association was only established between functional knowledge and permissive (.51) and restrictive attitude orientations (-.23). It is concluded that, in addition to knowledge and attitudes, a number of factors which restrain desired behavioral adjustment should be considered in anti-AIDS campaigns, such as perceived level of exposure to HIV in a particular environment, young age-specific illusion of invulnerability, peer norms, and others.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

[Pregnant women's knowledge about HIV and AIDS].

This investigation is based upon information from 820 pregnant women who replied to a questionnaire about AIDS during the period 17.4.1989-14.7.1989. The questions included sources of information, knowledge about routes of infection and risk groups and the extent of spread of infection and disease in the population. 95% agreed to participate. Knowledge had been obtained primarily via the electronic media, while the health services had limited significance. The employment of sources of information depended on age and occupation. Apart from knowledge about the risk involved in breast feeding, the women were, in general, well informed about routes of infection. Knowledge about risk groups and the current extent of spread of infection was, on the the other hand, deficient. Defective knowledge was concentrated in groups which may be characterized by age (less than 24 years) and occupation (trained and untrained workers and the group of "other occupations"). Information obtained from health staff was connected with better knowledge about the extent of spread of infection. The majority of women desired routine information about AIDS in connection with antenatal control. Prophylactic measures should be based, among other things, on knowledge about development in the knowledge in the population and its employment of sources of information, so that specific information may be directed to certain groups of the population by using the most frequently employed and most effective routes of information. The knowledge of population groups, the attitudes and behaviour should be followed continuously.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Pennsylvania dental hygienists' knowledge, attitudes, and infection control practices in relation to AIDS and AIDS patients.

PURPOSE: Limited documentation is found on dental hygienists' attitudes toward acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients and their knowledge and practice of clinical infection control to prevent disease transmission to themselves and their patients. The purpose of this paper was to survey practicing Pennsylvania dental hygienists to document 1) their infection control practices; 2) their attitudes towards AIDS patients; and 3) their knowledge of clinical infection control practices. METHODS: A self-administered survey questionnaire, with fixed-alternative responses, was mailed in January 1991 to a random sample (N = 300) of licensed, practicing Pennsylvania dental hygienists. The questionnaire comprised eight multiple-choice questions for demographic purposes and 89 Likert-type questions eliciting information in five areas: AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes toward AIDS patients, knowledge of recommended Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infection control measures, individual infection control measures, and individual laboratory infection control measures. Means and modes for individual questions and for specific categories were determined and analyzed utilizing Spearman rho correlation coefficients (p < .05). Mean scores were also tabulated for actual operator/laboratory infection control practices for both a routine patient and an AIDS patient. Those scores were analyzed utilizing the Wilcoxen signed-ranks test. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty questionnaires were returned for a 73.3% initial response rate. One hundred fifty-four of those returned were usable, for a 64% response rate. Results indicated that 94.2% of surveyed dental hygienists had comprehensive knowledge about AIDS and 92% had comprehensive knowledge of CDC-recommended infection control procedures. Eighty-five percent of respondents possessed a moderate or high feeling of worry concerning treatment of AIDS patients. The majority of surveyed dental hygienists routinely practiced the use of glasses, masks, and gloves; the use of disposable items; and surface disinfection of light handles, instrument bracket trays, and patient chair switches. Knowledge of recommended infection control procedures for dentistry was found to be associated (r = .22) with adherence to recommended infection control practices. Accurate knowledge about AIDS showed a weak (r = -.088) and nonsignificant relationship with dental hygienists' attitudes toward AIDS patients. Use of recommended infection control practices was found to be associated (r = -.20) with less fear concerning the treatment of AIDS patients. In addition, dental hygienists' infection control practices varied according to their perception of patient HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: Since Pennsylvania dental hygienists, within the limitations of this study, appear not to follow CDC guidelines on proper and responsible operatory/laboratory aseptic techniques stringently, and to differentiate infection control procedures based on perceived patient HIV status, recommendations are that 1) the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should mandate that all Pennsylvania-licensed dental hygienists take at least one state-approved course on operatory/laboratory infection control every two years to qualify for relicensure; 2) all dental and dental hygiene education institutions and professional organizations should place more emphasis on strict adherence to the various agency recommended clinical guidelines for infection control; and 3) all dental hygienists should continually strive to update their own knowledge of current infection control practices.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Increasing disparity in knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk factors and risk-reduction strategies by socioeconomic status: implications for policymakers.

During the 1980s extensive local and national cardiovascular health promotion campaigns were implemented to improve knowledge of risk reduction. This study analyzed changes from 1980 to 1990 in knowledge of acquired cardiovascular risk factors (i.e., actual, objective knowledge of adverse lifestyle factors affecting cardiovascular health); perceived knowledge of risk-reduction strategies (i.e., subjective knowledge about how to reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular disease); and interest in risk modification (i.e., interest in changing risk-factor habits) by socioeconomic status using level of education. The study population included 2,455 women and men 25-74 years of age from three population-based cross-sectional surveys in two northern California cities. We found significant differentials in baseline knowledge that widened over the 10-year study period, resulting in larger disparities across educational groups at the final survey in 1990 (P < .05). From 1980 to 1990, individuals with < 12 years of education experienced only slight improvement in their knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors (mean summary score of 4.4 increasing to 5.5, based on a 17-item questionnaire of risk factors); those with > or = 16 years of education experienced twice as much improvement (mean of 8.4 increasing to 11.1) (P < .05). There were similar time-effect disparities in knowledge of risk-reduction strategies (P < .05). In contrast, interest in risk modification was high for all educational groups and remained uniform across time. The continuing and widening disparity in knowledge between socioeconomic groups suggests the need for policymakers to reform existing cardiovascular risk-reduction education campaigns.

Adult

Knowledge and attitudes about depression among non-generalists and generalists.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to learn more about barriers to managing depression by comparing knowledge and attitudes about depression among physicians, internists, obstetrician-gynecologists, and a reference group of psychiatrists. Among the non-psychiatrists, we hypothesized that generalist physicians would have more favorable attitudes and greater knowledge about depression than non-generalists. METHODS: Survey questionnaires were sent to resident and faculty physicians (N = 375) of two university-affiliated medical centers. The physicians were classified as non-generalists (medicine subspecialists, transitional year interns, and obstetrician-gynecologists), generalists (general internists and family physicians), and psychiatrists. A 33-item written questionnaire assessed knowledge and three attitudinal dimensions: attitudes attributed by physicians to patients; physicians' confidence in managing depression; and physicians' psychosocial orientation. A knowledge scale and an attitudes scale were scored by adding the number of knowledge items answered correctly and the more favorable attitudinal responses. Multivariable regression was used to identify physician characteristics among non-generalists and generalists associated with higher knowledge and attitudinal scores. RESULTS: Response rate was 82%. Sixty percent of the respondents were male, 63% were resident physicians, and 14% had advanced psychosocial training. Non-generalists and generalists had similar demographic characteristics, but psychiatrists were significantly more experienced. Psychiatrists had the most favorable attitudes, followed by generalists and non-generalists. Compared with non-generalists, generalists were more confident in prescribing antidepressants (62% vs 25%), more likely to report that treating depression is rewarding (71% vs 39%), and less likely to refer to a psychiatrist (58% vs 79%). Generalist classification, increased experience, and higher levels of psychosocial training were associated with more favorable attitudes. Knowledge scores were significantly higher for psychiatrists than for non-generalists and generalists. Among non-psychiatrists, correct responses for knowledge items were: treatment efficacy (61%), treatment duration (59%), > or = 5 DSM-III-R criteria (52%), and prevalence of depression (30%). Among those with incorrect responses, both non-generalists and generalists overestimated the prevalence (52%) and underestimated the efficacy of drug therapy (30%). CONCLUSIONS: Generalists and non-generalists have similar and relatively good basic knowledge about depression. Misperceptions about treatment efficacy, and attitudinal barriers, particularly among non-generalists, may compromise the physician's ability to diagnose and manage depression.

Depression

[Visiting nurses' self evaluation of their professional skills and knowledge related to care management].

Evaluation methods for assessing professional skills and knowledge has become very important in this age of cooperation and coordination of health-social professionals. We have developed conceptual framework as well as practical methods to assess professional skills and knowledge for health-social professions' interrelationship. The purpose of this study is to clarify the visiting nurses' self evaluation of their professional skills and knowledge related to care management. Subjects (238 visiting nurses) and controls (894 other kinds of health-social professionals) were asked to answer a questionnaire on "Evaluation of professional skills and knowledge", which had 3 mainstreams--basic skills and knowledge, management skills and knowledge, and general evaluation. Each subscale included essential items for professional skills and knowledge, covering all health-social professions. Results of investigation showed that more than 98.2% of visiting nurses agreed to the framework of this evaluation and items. Differences in evaluation according to kinds of profession were few. The structure of items related to professional knowledge and skills were clearly shown by cluster analysis, and coefficient alphas were more than 0.95 for each subscale. In conclusion, this evaluation would be practical for visiting nurses. "Evaluation of professional skills and knowledge" will be useful for visiting nurses to facilitate their coordination with other kinds of professionals on the job and they will also be able to utilize it in educational situations.

Clinical Competence

A general model for the adaptive function of self-knowledge in animals and humans.

This article offers a general definition of self-knowledge that embraces all forms and levels of self-knowledge in animals and humans. It is hypothesized that various levels of self-knowledge constitute an ordinal scale such that each species in a lineage displays the forms of self-knowledge found in related species as well as new forms it and its sister species may have evolved. Likewise, it is hypothesized that these various forms of levels of self-knowledge develop in the sequence in which they evolved. Finally, a general hypothesis for the functional significance of self-knowledge is proposed along with subhypotheses regarding the adaptive significance of various levels of self-knowledge in mammals including human and nonhuman primates. The general hypothesis is that self-knowledge serves as a standard for assessing the qualities of conspecifics compared to those of the self. Such assessment is crucial to deciding among alternative reproductive and subsistence strategies. The qualities that are assessed, which vary across taxa, range from the size and strength of the self to its mathematical or musical abilities. This so-called assessment model of self-knowledge is based on evolutionary biological models for social selection and the role of assessment in animal communication.

Adaptation, Psychological

A functional analysis of phonological knowledge and generalization learning in misarticulating children.

It has been suggested that a child's productive phonological knowledge may be one factor that potentially accounts for individual differences in generalization learning observed among phonologically disordered children (Dinnsen & Elbert, 1984; Elbert, Dinnsen, & Powell, 1984). This paper evaluates the hypothesis that productive phonological knowledge influences generalization. Three related studies involving 6 functionally misarticulating children were conducted. In the first study, a description of each child's phonological system was developed using procedures of standard generative analysis. Based upon these descriptions, each child's productive phonological knowledge of his or her own sound system was determined and then ranked on a continuum ranging from "most" to "least" knowledge relative to the adult target. The second study implemented an experimental treatment program based upon each child's productive phonological knowledge, with treatment sounds selected directly from each child's continuum of knowledge. The third study reassessed each child's productive phonological knowledge following treatment. The results of these three studies indicated that a child's productive phonological knowledge of the sound system influenced the overall amount of generalization learning. However, the extent of generalization learning was associated with the point on the knowledge continuum at which treatment was initiated. These findings are discussed with reference to individual differences in generalization learning.

Articulation Disorders

Expert-novice knowledge of computer programming at different levels of abstraction.

Computer programming knowledge can be classified into five levels of abstraction: objective, conceptual, functional, logical, and physical. An experiment was carried out to determine whether the mastering of knowledge at different levels of abstraction changed with the level of skill. Ten experts and ten novices in C computer programming participated in the experiment. The subjects' knowledge at the five levels of abstraction was tested through 20 multiple-choice questions. The experimental results indicated that knowledge differences between experts and novices at an abstract level or a concrete level depended on what abstract or concrete knowledge was implied. Experts had better abstract knowledge than novices at the conceptual and functional levels but not at the objective level. Experts had better concrete knowledge than novices at the physical level but not at the logical level. The classification of computer programming knowledge in levels of abstraction and the experimental results helped in clarifying a general finding from previous studies that experts had better abstract knowledge than novices.

Cognition

Knowledge and belief in nutrition.

In a nutrition questionnaire, subjects have been given the options of answering questions with yes, no, or don't know. From these responses it has been possible to calculate the levels of their "correct knowledge," their "perceived knowledge" (that is the knowledge that each subject believed he had) and the "accuracy of knowledge". Questions about common nutritional problems were given to physicians, medical students, nurses, and theology students. All groups had a high level of "perceived knowledge," generally greater than 80% for the questions asked, but the accuracy of the knowledge was alarmingly low. The highest level was in physicians, in whom 79% of the perceived knowledge was accurate, but in theology students only 36% of the perceived knowledge was accurate. Two thirds of the "knowledge" of nutrition held by theology students was therefore false by current scientific standards. These findings have implications for future nutrition education.

Educational Measurement

An international comparison of knowledge levels of medical students: the Maastricht Progress Test.

The increasing international mobility of medical students has inspired the search for an international assessment format. As one step along this line, kinetics of knowledge acquisition and final cognitive levels of students were compared among one Dutch, one German and four Italian medical faculties. For this comparison, the Maastricht Progress Test (MPT) was used. For four out of the six participating faculties, it was possible to compare the level of knowledge of sixth-year students. These data showed no significant differences on the test as a whole. On the other hand, as judged from cross-sectional data on students from all study years, the kinetics of knowledge acquisition showed different trends. In one school applying problem-based learning, acquisition of knowledge by students occurred almost linearly. In another school, over the first 2 years, acquisition of knowledge occurred only in the basic sciences but not in clinical or public health/behavioural sciences. In two other schools over that same period, students seemed to gain no knowledge at all. In some faculties, a marked boost in knowledge was noted with third- or fourth-year students. These findings may be explained by peculiarities of the respective curricula, selection of students during their studies, and national or local assessment procedures. It is preliminarily concluded that the different educational approaches and assessment systems in medical education in Europe seem to have only limited influence on the final level of knowledge of the graduates. On the other hand, these differences may influence the kinetics of knowledge acquisition, especially in distinct domains like basic or clinical sciences. Therefore, the MPT may not be suitabe to solve the problem of assessment of individual international exchange students, but it may be helpful in identifying corresponding cognitive levels on, for example, basic sciences for students in different curricula.

Clinical Competence

Does knowledge of drug prescribing predict drug management of standardized patients in office practice?

Drug prescribing for the elderly is an important area of medical knowledge since inappropriate prescribing may lead to significant adverse drug events. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between knowledge of drug use and quality of drug management by general practitioners in practice. A cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate a sample of 37 GPs in practice. A set of common musculoskeletal problems was chosen to evaluate doctors' knowledge of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, while performance in practice was assessed using elderly standardized patients. The reliability of knowledge test scores was evaluated using measures of internal consistency. The relationship between knowledge of drug use and quality of therapeutic management in practice was evaluated by rank order and linear correlation analysis. Demographic characteristics of participating and non-participating doctors were similar. The reliability of the knowledge test was 0.55. The reliability of performance scores was 0.66. The correlation between overall performance on the standardized patient cases and total knowledge test score was 0.22 (95% confidence interval = 0-0.63). Knowledge test scores were poorly correlated with quality of therapeutic management in office practice. This indicates that knowledge tests alone cannot predict quality of performance with regard to drug prescribing for the elderly in primary care office practice.

Clinical Competence