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PubMed1997

Gender as a determinant of work values among university students in Israel.

Gender differences in work values, measured by the 25-item Manhardt scale (1972), were examined among 820 (391 male and 429 female) undergraduate students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Male and female students differed on 9 items. The single students' scores were similar to the scores of the total sample; among married students, there were gender differences on only 3 items. In the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, male and female students differed on 13 items; in the Faculty of Engineering, they differed on 8 items; and in the Faculty of Medicine, they differed on 2 items. There was no consistent pattern of gender-based differences in work values. These findings show the need to control for background variables and field of study/occupation in examinations of gender-based differences in work values; they also indicate the need to revise and augment traditional explanations of gender differences in work values.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

The role of epidemiology in the committee on the costs of medical care.

Among the most important 20th century documents of American public health is the 1932 report of the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care (CCMC). In May 1927, leaders of medicine, public health, and the social sciences, met at the annual meeting of the AMA, to consider that, despite advances in medical sciences, a vast amount of preventable disease and unnecessary death existed. A committee of 50 men and women, the CCMC, was formed to investigate. Of the six public health members, three were epidemiologists. A spectrum of governmental and private organizations supported the CCMC and eight foundations provided funding. A staff of 51 conducted 26 studies, many epidemiological, to support its five categorical recommendations. Briefly these were: 1) Medical services, preventive and therapeutic, should be provided by interdisciplinary groups; 2) Basic public health services should be available to all without cost; 3) The costs of medical care should be placed on a group basis (insurance, taxation, or a combination thereof); 4) Study, evaluation, and coordination of medical and public health services should be important functions for local and state governments; and 5) Professional education for a wide variety of medical and public health personnel should be greatly expanded with emphasis on prevention and social considerations.Perhaps the most interesting of the CCMC's epidemiological studies was, "The Incidence of Illness and the Receipt and Costs of Medical Care Among Representative Families: Experiences in Twelve Consecutive Months During 1928-1931." This study included 8,639 families comprising 38,668 persons and described the then current status of medical care and public health practice in the U.S.A.The final report of the CCMC contained minority reports ranging from claims that the recommendations were too radical to assertions that they didn't go far enough! Nevertheless, they have been the focus for medical and public health concern and controversy for almost three-quarters of a century. Their roots in epidemiology should not be forgotten!

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Empirical ethics, context-sensitivity, and contextualism.

In medical ethics, business ethics, and some branches of political philosophy (multi-culturalism, issues of just allocation, and equitable distribution) the literature increasingly combines insights from ethics and the social sciences. Some authors in medical ethics even speak of a new phase in the history of ethics, hailing "empirical ethics" as a logical next step in the development of practical ethics after the turn to "applied ethics." The name empirical ethics is ill-chosen because of its associations with "descriptive ethics." Unlike descriptive ethics, however, empirical ethics aims to be both descriptive and normative. The first question on which I focus is what kind of empirical research is used by empirical ethics and for which purposes. I argue that the ultimate aim of all empirical ethics is to improve the context-sensitivity of ethics. The second question is whether empirical ethics is essentially connected with specific positions in meta-ethics. I show that in some kinds of meta-ethical theories, which I categorize as broad contextualist theories, there is an intrinsic need for connecting normative ethics with empirical social research. But context-sensitivity is a goal that can be aimed for from any meta-ethical position.

Empirical Research↗

PubMed1998

Slipping through sky holes: Yurok body imagery in northern California.

Yurok perceptions of the body as the inscribed surface of social and environmental change are explored in this paper. To the violence and brutality of Spaniards, fur traders, gold miners, American soldiers, and Indian policies of the US government since the eighteenth century, Yurok women attribute the high incidence of degenerative diseases, drug abuse and criminality in northern California. This piece contemplates the lives of eight generations of sixteen Yurok extended families, mapping intergenerational shifts in Yurok social relations and political practices. It considers the mutation of knowledge in the constitution of the natural and social sciences and the effects of this knowledge when implemented in Yurok country. Here, Foucault's genealogical method values what anthropology and biomedicine, for example, tend to disregard in the analysis of descent: the correlation between body and history. This historico-critical investigation shows how certain events mark their power and engrave memories on individuals' bodies. It is within a hybrid set of cross-cultural and interdisciplinary practices that a more fruitful understanding of Yurok body imagery can be fashioned.

Body Image↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Historical perspectives of child psychiatric research in the tension field between natural and psychological sciences].

Child and juvenile psychiatry first came to be regarded as an independent clinical field after the second world war. Up to that time, research had been concerned with confirming the findings of adult psychiatry among children and juveniles. From the time of Kraepelin, adult psychiatry had made an effort to establish an immediate relationship between pathological anatomical findings and psychopathology based on close observation of the individual. In contrast to this were efforts to overcome subjectivity by using statistics or by defining "types" (Kretschmer), which led to the concept of syndromes. In the field of child and juvenile psychiatry, this doctrine brought to the fore the study of the consequences of low-level brain damage during early childhood in the 1950's. In research in both adult and child and juveniles psychiatry there is a constant alternation between a more organic and a more psychically oriented approach to observation. But there is a fundamental limit to any effort to objectify psychic phenomena, one that is mirrored in microphysics and related borderline areas. Individual case study and statistical, mathematical methods must be used to supplement one another. One main area for future research in child and juvenile psychiatry relates to the application of the insights of developmental psychology to general psychopathology and how to integrate related fields from the social sciences. Child and juvenile psychiatry cannot be limited to "psychiatry" in the narrower sense of the term, either in clinical practice or in research.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Family planning and psychosocial support for infertile couples.

AIMS: The study was set up to analyze the psychological/emotional needs of women who undergo treatment for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and to emphasize the importance of the psychosocial support that family planning centers can provide to them. METHOD: This was a cohort study with closed questions. A total of 235 infertile women participating in an IVF program were studied. The statistical analysis of the findings was conducted by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. RESULTS: The psychosocial support and the scientific information provided to those women who participate in IVF programs are insufficient. In order to succeed in an IVF program, the women must be assisted by a doctor with much medical experience. The study shows that 59.3% of the women studied sought more medical information and another 32.5% sought emotional support. These percentages varied with reference to education, age and origin. These kinds of services must be provided by family planning centers.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Graduate education in occupational hygiene: a rational framework.

Occupational hygiene has been an important part of occupational health since it first emerged after World War II as the science and art that deals with the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of human exposures to hazards in the working environment. A need exists for well-qualified professionals who can not only respond to hazards that are currently known and understood, but also to ones that are not yet known or understood. For this, graduate-level academic programs in occupational hygiene must go beyond the training of skills and imparting of facts. Rather they must provide the education that enables the development of critical faculties, allowing future self-learning and the study of new scenarios not yet anticipated. Ideally, occupational hygiene should be taught firstly in the interdisciplinary context of the whole of occupational health (including occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, occupational safety and ergonomics) and secondly in relation to the wider field of public health (including epidemiology and biostatistics). In addition, modern occupational hygiene education also needs to embrace the management and social sciences. The Education and Research Centers (ERCs) sponsored in the United States by the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOSH) have refined this approach and provided a useful model for all occupational hygiene education, identifying the need for both masters and doctoral-level endeavor. Other countries might usefully consider integrating existing academic programs in order to emulate the NIOSH approach, perhaps through internal and external partnerships. In terms of content, such education needs to be carried out within a framework that places human exposure to hazardous agents at the center of the anticipation-recognition-evaluation-control rationale. Such a framework also places occupational hygiene in the context of the other occupational and environmental health disciplines. Finally it has to be acknowledged that occupational hygiene is (indeed always was) a changing field. Academic programs need to be responsive to such changes, and the range of responses must include not only curricular modifications but also changes in the way that the education itself is delivered. The internet provides interesting new opportunities for distance learning that appear to have the potential not only to be efficient and convenient in terms of time and resources but also to be valid in terms of meeting the desired educational objectives.

Education, Medical, Graduate↗

PubMed2004

Coping: pitfalls and promise.

Coping, defined as the thoughts and behaviors used to manage the internal and external demands of situations that are appraised as stressful, has been a focus of research in the social sciences for more than three decades. The dramatic proliferation of coping research has spawned healthy debate and criticism and offered insight into the question of why some individuals fare better than others do when encountering stress in their lives. We briefly review the history of contemporary coping research with adults. We discuss three primary challenges for coping researchers (measurement, nomenclature, and effectiveness), and highlight recent developments in coping theory and research that hold promise for the field, including previously unaddressed aspects of coping, new measurement approaches, and focus on positive affective outcomes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1978

A manpower policy for primary health care.

A National Academy of Sciences study of policy options for the supply of primary health-care manpower has produced a comprehensive set of recommendations. The study finds an adequate overall supply of physicians, but a shortage of primary health-care practitioners. It recommends maintaining current enrollment levels in medical schools and training programs for nurse practitioners and physician assistants and increasing the proportion of primary-care residents. To enhance the availability of primary care, the report advocates reimbursement for all physicians within a state at the same payment level for the same primary-care service, a reduction in payment differentials between primary-care services and nonprimary-care services, and reimbursement for educational and preventive services and for new health-practitioner services. The report supports a team approach in primary-care training and recommends that all medical students obtain clinical experience in a primary-care setting and some instruction in epidemiology and behavioral and social sciences.

Education, Medical↗

PubMed2006

[Various methods of dynamic functional analysis in human sciences and economics].

Including the temporal and developmental dimension into the measurement of human conduct is a fundamental concern for those who do research in natural surroundings. Observing an individual day after day may possibly give a more complete vision of how behavior works than measuring a group of individuals at a single time and analyzing the differences found among them. Unfortunately most of the tools allowing analyzing individual time series call for large numbers of repeated observations. Thus, practicable longitudinal research designs often do not involve either enough repeated measurements for traditional time series analyses nor either replicate enough individuals for traditional, large-sample analyses. Dynamic factor analysis is a rationale and procedure for both pooling relatively short time series information across limited numbers of participants and analyzing the pooled information for its dynamic, process-relevant elements. It is a merging of two important analytical tools - multivariate time series and the common factor model, from which it distinguishes itself mainly by the fact that in dynamic factor analysis, the values of the common factors can influence the values of the observed variables both concurrently and in delayed fashion. Dynamic factor analysis is actually a method which allows detecting structures in the time series as well as the relations between the series and the explanatory variables. We illustrate the different models used in psychology and social sciences, as well as in econometry and economics.

Economics↗

PubMed2005

Reducing the risk of sexually transmitted infections in genitourinary medicine clinic patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of behavioural interventions.

OBJECTIVES: Are behavioural interventions effective in reducing the rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic patients? DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of published articles. DATA SOURCES: Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Cochrane Library Controlled Clinical Trials Register, National Research Register (1966 to January 2004). REVIEW METHODS: Randomised controlled trials of behavioural interventions in sexual health clinic patients were included if they reported change to STI rates or self reported sexual behaviour. Trial quality was assessed using the Jadad score and results pooled using random effects meta-analyses where outcomes were consistent across studies. RESULTS: 14 trials were included; 12 based in the United States. Experimental interventions were heterogeneous and most control interventions were more structured than typical UK care. Eight trials reported data on laboratory confirmed infections, of which four observed a greater reduction in their intervention groups (in two cases this result was statistically significant, p < 0.05). Seven trials reported consistent condom use, of which six observed a greater increase among their intervention subjects. Results for other measures of sexual behaviour were inconsistent. Success in reducing STIs was related to trial quality, use of social cognition models, and formative research in the target population. However, effectiveness was not related to intervention format or length. CONCLUSIONS: While results were heterogeneous, several trials observed reductions in STI rates. The most effective interventions were developed through extensive formative research. These findings should encourage further research in the United Kingdom where new approaches to preventing STIs are urgently required.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Social construction: vistas in clinical child and adolescent psychology.

We explore here the potentials of a social constructionist orientation to knowledge for research and clinical practice. Dialogues on social construction emphasize the communal origins of knowledge. They stress the cultural basis of knowledge claims, the significance of language, the value saturation of all knowledge, and the significance of relationships as opposed to individuals. An initial illustration of constructionism in action centers on adolescent risk behavior. Such behavior is often constructed negatively within popular writings and the social science and thus ignores the meaning of such actions to the adolescents themselves. Discourse analysis indicates that for adolescents risky behavior serves important functions of enhancing group solidarity and establishing positive identity. A second illustration, exploring the implications of constructionism for therapy, places a strong emphasis on the therapist as a collaborator in the building of meaning. Traditional investments in diagnosis and treatment are replaced with the collaborative creation of new possibilities for action.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

How do nurses deal with their own grief when a patient dies on an intensive care unit, and what help can be given to enable them to overcome their grief effectively?

There is an expectation that nurses are good at caring for relatives on the death of a patient. Who, though, cares for the nurses? Using both a quantitative and a qualitative approach, this study looks at how nurses overcome their own grief when a patient dies on an intensive care unit. Information was first collected using a questionnaire. Personal grief, however, is a very emotive area, so a proportion of the nurses from the initial study were then asked to take part in a semi-structured interview, to explore their feelings in more depth. The quantitative data were analysed using the computer software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and the results were related to the interview responses. This showed how nurses deal with their grief, and that many, but not all, felt that the informal support network already present was sufficient. Some nurses, however, felt that a support group would also be helpful and some felt the availability of a counsellor would be useful. All nurses felt that more training about how to deal with their own grief was needed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Trends and spatial distribution of deaths of children aged 12-60 months in São Paulo, Brazil, 1980-98.

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in the mortality of children aged 12-60 months and to perform spatial data analysis of its distribution at the inner city district level in São Paulo from 1980 to 1998. METHODS: Official mortality data were analysed in relation to the underlying causes of death. The population of children aged 12-60 months, disaggregated by sex and age, was estimated for each year. Educational levels, income, employment status, and other socioeconomic indices were also assessed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software was used for the statistical processing of time series. The Cochrane-Orcutt procedure of generalized least squares regression analysis was used to estimate the regression parameters with control of first-order autocorrelation. Spatial data analysis employed the discrimination of death rates and socioeconomic indices at the inner city district level. For classifying area-level death rates the method of K-means cluster analysis was used. Spatial correlation between variables was analysed by the simultaneous autoregressive regression method. FINDINGS: There was a steady decline in death rates during the 1980s at an average rate of 3.08% per year, followed by a levelling off. Infectious diseases remained the major cause of mortality, accounting for 43.1% of deaths during the last three years of the study. Injuries accounted for 16.5% of deaths. Mortality rates at the area level clearly demonstrated inequity in the city's health profile: there was an increasing difference between the rich and the underprivileged social strata in this respect. CONCLUSION: The overall mortality rate among children aged 12-60 months dropped by almost 30% during the study period. Most of the decline happened during the 1980s. Many people still live in a state of deprivation in underserved areas. Time-series and spatial data analysis provided indications of potential value in the planning of social policies promoting well-being, through the identification of factors affecting child survival and the regions with the worst health profiles, to which programmes and resources should be preferentially directed.

Brazil↗

PubMed2026

What Constitutes Effective Support and Provision Within Day Service Centres for People With Intellectual Disabilities? A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research.

BACKGROUND: This review aimed to investigate the effectiveness and quality of support and provision within day service centres for people with intellectual disabilities. METHOD: The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Scopus and PsycInfo databases were searched in August 2024, and the results were reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Peer-reviewed, English-language, qualitative studies that investigated the effectiveness of day service provision for people with intellectual disabilities in non-residential settings were considered for review. Methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Tool for qualitative research. Qualitative themes were identified through thematic analysis and synthesised using the ConQual approach. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included and four key themes emerged: 'perceptions of service quality'; 'community-orientation, integration, and empowerment'; 'challenging behaviours and safety'; and 'staff-centred factors and job satisfaction'. Confidence in the evidence was 'very low' for 3/4 themes, while there was 'moderate' confidence in the evidence related to the theme 'perceptions of service quality'. CONCLUSIONS: Day service centres for people with intellectual disabilities may enhance their effectiveness and quality of provision by concentrating on promoting communication, engagement, relationships, social networks and community integration. Addressing the methodological shortcomings and incomplete reporting of related research in future would contribute to improvements in overall confidence in the evidence base. This can then be better used to inform and further enhance day service provision for people with intellectual disabilities.

Humans↗

PubMed2004

Intelligence: is it the epidemiologists' elusive "fundamental cause" of social class inequalities in health?

Virtually all indicators of physical health and mental competence favor persons of higher socioeconomic status (SES). Conventional theories in the social sciences assume that the material disadvantages of lower SES are primarily responsible for these inequalities, either directly or by inducing psychosocial harm. These theories cannot explain, however, why the relation between SES and health outcomes (knowledge, behavior, morbidity, and mortality) is not only remarkably general across time, place, disease, and kind of health system but also so finely graded up the entire SES continuum. Epidemiologists have therefore posited, but not yet identified, a more general "fundamental cause" of health inequalities. This article concatenates various bodies of evidence to demonstrate that differences in general intelligence (g) may be that fundamental cause.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1986

Prenatal nursing assessment of the expectant family.

This article provides a guide for the nurse practitioner conducting a prenatal pediatric visit with expectant parents. With their backgrounds in biological and social sciences, nurse practitioners are uniquely prepared to assess families prenatally and to plan strategies and interventions which will promote their optimal adjustment to parenthood. Major content areas of the prenatal visit include health assessment of the pregnant woman and the family; assessment of the family; assessment of the readiness to parent; and assessment of the provider-parent fit. Special focus is placed on the problems encountered and appropriate interventions indicated in assessing and working with high-risk families.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Drunk in public, drunk in private: the relationship between college students, drinking environments and alcohol consumption.

This study examines environmental differences in public (bars) and private (parties) drinking settings among of-age (21 and up years of age) and underage (18-20 years of age) college students attending college near the US/Mexico border. A random telephone survey of graduate and undergraduate students attending two large public universities in the southwestern United States was conducted during the 2000-2003 academic years. A university-based social science research laboratory conducted the telephone interviews with respondents who reported an occasion in the past 28 days where alcohol was being consumed (N = 4,964). The data were analyzed using ordinary least squares multiple regression. The results suggests that drinking settings contributed to the amount of alcohol consumed by respondents. Additionally, environmental factors contributing to drinking vary by setting. In general, having many people intoxicated at an event, BYOB parties, playing drinking games, and having illicit drugs available contribute to heavier drinking.

Adolescent↗