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Computer-enhanced studies of diabetic retinopathy: I.

A computer program designed according to the needs of clinical investigators has recently been implemented. This ambitious undertaking allows the ophthalmologist direct interfacing and control over all his data, presently 3,252 diabetic patient records, and thus harnesses his hypothesis-testing intuitions with the memory, speed, and flexibility of modern-day computers. There are three program modes: QUERY, a disease-independent language by which the clinician selects his population; SELECT, the actual computer selection, and DISPLAY: where general statistical maneuvers, relationships among disease parameters, ancillary data compilations, and printouts are performed. Being computer-independent and disease-independent, and adaptable to most needs of clinical investigators, this computer program brings a refreshingly new approach to the study of disease.

Diabetic Retinopathy↗

The Contemplation Ladder: validation of a measure of readiness to consider smoking cessation.

Presents evidence for the validity of the Contemplation Ladder, a measure of readiness to consider smoking cessation. Analyses of data collected from more than 400 smokers at two worksites before and during a 10-month intervention indicate that Ladder scores were significantly associated with reported intention to quit, number of previous quit attempts, perceived co-worker encouragement to quit, and socioeconomic status. Ladder scores predicted subsequent participation in programs designed to educate workers about their smoking habit and its contingent risks. The Ladder did not predict biochemically validated abstinence of 24 hr or more. To assess its ability to distinguish between groups known a priori to differ in readiness, we administered the Ladder to 36 participants in a clinic-based smoking cessation program. As predicted, clinic patients scored significantly higher than the workers on the Ladder. The importance of distinguishing between smokers at the lowest stages of readiness to quit is discussed.

Adult↗

Language plus for international graduate students in nursing.

PURPOSE: To provide information about an English-language support program that focuses on the needs of international graduate nursing students. The growing presence of these students coincides with the increasing numbers of universities committed to world health. Crucial social and language competence affect the success and progress of international students in graduate nursing programs. DESIGN: Reviewed literature was 1980 to 1998, in nursing and applied linguistic research including second-language acquisition, phonology, discourse analysis, and language pragmatics to identify social and language phenomena. FINDINGS: Investigators suggest essential elements such as conventions of academic writing, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and pronunciation skills be included in the supportive Language Plus program. CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing development of the Language Plus program can promote collaboration between nurses and linguists and increase the success of international graduate nursing students.

Communication Barriers↗

The role of parents and older peers in school-based cardiovascular prevention programs: implications for program development.

This article describes a set of studies which compare the effectiveness of innovative interventions led by older peers and which included a parent component with teacher-led interventions for nutrition, blood pressure, and smoking prevention. Information about the agreement between parents' and children's (grades six through eight) perception of the children's health behavior and family interaction was also found, by surveying parents and children in 1051 households. Both teacher-led and older peer-led interventions were successful in increasing behavioral capabilities for nutrition and blood pressure, measured one year after the interventions. Results of the parent-child survey showed reasonable agreement between parents and children for reports of the child's exercise, dieting, and fast food consumption, but poorer agreement for smoking and perceptions of family interaction. Results are discussed in relation to the planning of future programs designed to address the importance of peer and parental role models.

Adolescent↗

Teaching staff to respond effectively to cognitively impaired residents who display self-protective behaviors.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of a 7 1/2 hour educational program designed to provide staff with the knowledge, skill, and confidence to manage physical self-protective behaviors of cognitively impaired long-term care residents. This RCT using a pretest/post-test design was conducted using consenting staff members (n = 40) who were randomly allocated to either a control or experimental group. The main outcome measure was a skills lab that evaluated participants 'responses to simulated patients. Both groups participated in the skills lab prior to training, and six weeks after the experimental group completed the program. Pre- and post-training and skills lab observational field notes were subjected to thematic content analysis. Twenty-eight staff members completed both pre- and post-training assessment measurements. Descriptive statistics and paired t-test analyses yielded statistically significant differences in change scores for performance indicators in three simulation scenarios. Analysis of the qualitative data support the finding that, once trained, staff felt better prepared to manage self-protective behaviors. The results suggest that an initiative to educate staff will enhance knowledge, improve performance, and provide the confidence necessary for staff to respond positively to overt physical behaviors in cognitively impaired elders.

Adolescent↗

Civil rights in a changing health care system.

Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discriminatory conduct by recipients of federal financial assistance. The law has been used in the past to challenge discrimination in health care. The evolution of the health care system from fee-for-service to managed care holds much promise for minority persons, who historically have faced serious, extensively documented barriers to health care access. However, managed care providers, like their fee-for-service counterparts, may perpetuate past discriminatory practices in new ways. Understanding new forms of discrimination is important at this stage of the development of managed care, when program design and policy action can most effectively prevent the occurrence of such practices.

Civil Rights↗

The Mayo Lung Project for early detection and localization of bronchogenic carcinoma: a status report.

The Mayo Lung Project (MLP) is a screening program designed to detect bronchogenic carcinoma at a curable stage. Screening tests include chest roentgenograms, three-day "pooled" sputum cytology studies, and lung-health questionnaires. These are being applied every four months to a study population of outpatients who have a high probability of developing lung cancer. Initial patient acceptance of the screening program has been excellent. Small asymptomatic lung cancers have been detected both roentgenographically and cytologically. The two procedures have complemented each other with little overlap. Chest roentgenography has proved most useful in diagnosing peripherally situated cancers, whereas sputum cytology studies have been most effective in identifying early squamous cancer involving major airways. At present, more cancers have been detected roentgenographically than cytologically, but the cytologically detected cases appear to have a better prognosis. Roentgenographically occult cancers have been localized with regularity, although the localization process is complicated. Theoretically, vigorous application of radiologic and cytologic screening, combined with optimum use of localizing procedures and treatment, could increase the five-year survival rate among lung cancer patients to nearly 50 percent. However, the actual survivorship attained will ultimately be determined by currently imponderable factors such as patient acceptance of longterm screening, frequency of multicentric respiratory cancers, and incidence of noncancerous smoking-related diseases, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease.

Aged↗

The relationship between perceived stress and self-reported illness-related absenteeism.

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between perceived stress and illness-related work absenteeism. DESIGN: A standardized health profile questionnaire developed by Johnson & Johnson Advanced Behavioral Technologies, Inc., was used to collect demographic and personal health data between June 1988 and January 1993. Chi-square, odds ratio, and stepwise regression tests were used to analyze perceived stress and self-reported absenteeism data. SETTING: Worksite health promotion programs in 250 U.S. companies. SUBJECTS: Subjects consisted of 79,070 employees. MEASURES: Stress data, grouped as low, moderate, and high, were correlated with absenteeism data grouped by annual days missed (None, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5+). RESULTS: Significant relationships were found (p < or = .05) between high stress and absenteeism for both genders. Female workers reported higher stress levels and absenteeism than men. Those with high stress were 2.22 more likely to be absent 5+ days per year than those with low stress. Work, finances, and family were the highest stress sources. Greatest absenteeism predictors were health, legal, social, and financial stress. CONCLUSIONS: These data primarily represented self-selected white workers and may not apply to all employees. However, if high stress relates to absenteeism, these data may provide valuable information for program design in stress management.

Absenteeism↗

Participation in a public insurance program: subsidies, crowd-out, and adverse selection.

This paper examines how varying the level of subsidies affects participation in a public insurance program, crowd-out of private insurance, and adverse selection. We study the experience in Washington's Basic Health program in 1997. Findings show that adverse selection is not a problem in voluntary public programs. Increasing subsidies have only modest effects on participation in subsidized programs, though the gains are not at the expense of the private market. Overall participation in the subsidized plan is also modest, even though participants benefit from it. The challenge to policymakers is to find program design characteristics, beyond subsidies, that attract the uninsured.

Adolescent↗

Prophylaxis against gallstone formation with ursodeoxycholic acid in patients participating in a very-low-calorie diet program.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prophylactic treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid can prevent gallstone formation in persons participating in a very-low-calorie weight reduction diet program. DESIGN: Multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multidose clinical trial. Patients were treated with placebo or with 300 mg/d, 600 mg/d, or 1200 mg/d of ursodeoxycholic acid. SETTING: 31 Health Management Resources weight management centers. PATIENTS: 1004 patients were initially enrolled in a 16-week, 520-kcal/d, Health Management Resources liquid protein diet program. All patients had a body mass index of 38 kg/m2 or more and a normal gallbladder ultrasonogram before study entry. Bile analysis was done in 32 patients. MEASUREMENTS: Body weight and body mass index were measured before the diet was started and at 2-week intervals for 16 weeks. Gallbladder ultrasonography was done before enrollment and after 8 and 16 weeks of dieting. Bile was obtained by endoscopy and analyzed for cholesterol crystals and lipid levels. RESULTS: Mean body weight for all patients at the start of dieting was 128.2 kg +/- 23.2 kg; mean initial body mass index was 44.2 kg/m2 +/- 6.0 kg/m2. Gallstones developed in 28% (95% CI, 22% to 35%) of patients receiving placebo, in 8% (CI, 5% to 13%) of patients treated with 300 mg/d of ursodeoxycholic acid, in 3% (CI, 1% to 7%) of patients treated with 600 mg/d of ursodeoxycholic acid, and in 2% (CI, 0.5% to 5%) of patients treated with 1200 mg/d of ursodeoxycholic acid. The differences between patients receiving placebo and patients receiving ursodeoxycholic acid were statistically significant. The percentage of ursodeoxycholic acid in bile increased stepwise with increasing doses of ursodeoxycholic acid. CONCLUSIONS: Ursodeoxycholic acid, 600 mg/d, is highly effective in preventing gallstone formation in patients having dietary-induced weight reduction.

Adolescent↗

Medicare managed care and the need for quality measurement.

With the increasing penetration of managed care as health insurance coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, accountability for quality of care is being demanded. While HEDIS 2.5 has become the standard for assessing the performance of health plans in caring for their commercial members, no such standard exists for Medicare enrollees. U.S. Quality Algorithms, the performance measurement subsidiary of U.S. Healthcare, has developed the Medicare Quality Report Card as a tool for performance assessment and quality improvement. This article describes how the measures of quality important to the Medicare population were chosen, how the measures were calculated, and how they have been used in programs designed to improve the quality of care for U.S. Healthcare Medicare members.

Aged↗

America's elderly: policy implications.

Senior citizens, particularly those aged 75 or older, are the fastest growing group in the US today. 25 million strong, the elderly make up 11% of the total population, the proportion ranging from 18.1% in Florida to 2.6% in Alaska. 1/4 of the federal budget, $155 billion in 1980, now goes to their support yet many face difficulty in gaining access to the programs designed to benefit them. The elderly, especially those who rely solely on Social Security, comprise a disproportionate share of all poor households. The retirement system itself is facing financing challenges that promise to grow as the baby boom generation swells the number of senior citizens to 55 million in 2030. Plans to coordinate government programs and improve the method of financing the retirement system are receiving increasing attention. Financing Social Security from revenue funds, or with actuarial reserves, are 2 alternatives to the present pay-as-you-go system. Another area of concern to policymakers is America's health care system, which is now crisis oriented and heavily biased toward institutionalization. Health care must be made more responsive to the long-term needs of the oldest segment of the population, many of whom suffer from chronic illnesses. Impaired elderly receive most of their care from family or friends, and private organizations, but this natural support network largely has been ignored by government. New program initiatives might emphasize homemaker services, geriatric day care, compensation for families that provide for the needs of an elderly relative, and the strengthening of the informal partnership between the elderly themselves, their families and friends, community groups, private organizations, and government at the state and local as well as the federal level.

Adult↗

Contraceptive practice in the Philippines: a synthesis.

This article puts together all available data on contraceptive prevalence and effectiveness from 1968-83 in an attempt to assess the Philippine family planning program's performance in reducing fertility. 3 indicators of contraceptive effectiveness are discussed -- Pearl pregnancy rates, 12-month continuation rates, and effective protection level. Findings on factors associated with contraceptive prevalence are presented and discussed, with special emphasis on the effects of the Outreach project variables. The argument is that popualtion programs can influence demographic behavior, but the extent of this influence largely depends on the quality of program design and implementation.

Asia↗

Improving patient retention and access to oral health care: the CARES program.

Improving access to dental care for patients experiencing barriers such as financial, transportation, or mental health is a public health concern. Dental schools have an obligation to assist patients experiencing such barriers as well as to educate future dentists and allied professionals on how to assist these patients in overcoming barriers. Once admitted to the dental clinic, retention issues can further complicate the provision of dental care. This article will describe an innovative program designed to address biopsychosocial barriers to dental care. Needs assessments of patients sitting in the waiting room of the dental clinic were conducted by master's of social work (M.S.W.) students. Based on needs assessment results, common dental care barriers were identified and served as the foundation for the establishment of a social work program in the dental clinic. Dental students, faculty, and staff refer patients to the social work program when barriers to care are found. These biopsychosocial barriers are addressed by social workers, uniquely qualified professionals in providing case management, advocacy, referrals, education, and services (CARES). Over the course of three years, 80 percent of patients experiencing an identified barrier to the receipt of dental care were retained through social work intervention. These patients were able to receive dental care within the past year. Dental schools can collaborate with social work schools to establish a protocol and assistance program for dental patients experiencing difficulty accessing care, thereby improving oral health status, retention rates, and dental student education.

Adolescent↗

Assessing the needs of breast cancer patients and their families.

Patient needs have long been elicited only through the use of customer satisfaction surveys, which unfortunately are not designed to obtain the in-depth information needed to guide the improvement of health care services. Through the use of the integrative group process and the help of many patients and hospital staffs, we developed a needs assessment survey for women with breast cancer. This article outlines this process and the results and discusses how we used these results to create a computer program designed to help women with breast cancer and their families.

Adult↗

Ocular complications in the Department of Defense Smallpox Vaccination Program.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this case series was to present an overview of the nature and frequency of ocular complications in the Department of Defense (DoD) Smallpox Vaccination Program. DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: The authors retrospectively evaluated data collected on individuals with an ophthalmologic complaint after receiving smallpox vaccination or after contact with a recently immunized individual. The vaccinee and contact cases occurred secondary to inoculations given between December 13, 2002 and May 28, 2003 as part of the DoD Smallpox Vaccination Program. METHODS: Data were collected primarily from reports to military headquarters or to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and individual medical records. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The incidence, types, and timing of ocular complications were evaluated. Diagnostic and treatment considerations also were reviewed. RESULTS: Between December 13, 2002 and May 28, 2003, 450,293 smallpox vaccinations were given. We identified 16 confirmed or probable cases of ocular vaccinia, with an incidence of 3.6 per 100,000 inoculations. Of these cases, 12 (75%) were seen in the vaccinees, and 4 (25%) in close contacts. Of the 12 self-inoculation cases, 7 (58.3%) were seen in individuals receiving the vaccine for the first time (primary vaccination), and 3 (25.0%) were seen in individuals previously vaccinated (revaccination); the vaccination status in 2 cases was unknown. Clinical manifestations included lid pustules, blepharitis, periorbital cellulitis, conjunctivitis, conjunctival ulcers, conjunctival membranes, limbal pustules, corneal infiltrates, and iritis, with onset of symptoms 3 to 24 days after inoculation or contact. Five of 9 tested cases were culture or polymerase chain reaction positive for vaccinia. Treatment for most cases was topical trifluridine 1% (Viroptic; King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bristol, TN). Vaccinia immune globulin was used in 1 case. In all patients, recovery occurred without significant visual sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: When compared with historical data on the ocular complications of smallpox vaccination, the incidence of ocular complications during the DoD Smallpox Vaccination program has been low. In addition, the severity of disease seems to be less than during other vaccination periods. These findings perhaps are the result of improved screening of vaccinees, prevaccination counseling, postvaccination wound care, and the suggested efficacy of trifluridine in the treatment of ocular vaccinia.

Acyclovir↗

Making a successful transition: effects of a treatment-based and school-based program on emotionally troubled children and their adjustment to new placements.

This study compares the outcomes of two groups of 12-to-13 year olds who were in their last year at a day or five-day residential treatment center for seriously emotionally troubled children. One group was enrolled in a treatment-based program; the second group participated in a school-based program designed to ease the transition to new placements. Each group was evaluated when discharged from the center and 6 weeks after entering their new placements. Interviews with parents and teachers indicated that the school-based children scored significantly higher on six of eight indicators of adjustment than did children in the treatment-based program.

Adolescent↗