Helsebibliotekets Research Archive
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Attitudes towards prisoners, as reported by prison inmates, prison employees and college students.
No full textBACKGROUND: Positive attitudes towards prisoners are important in securing the effectiveness of various correctional rehabilitation programs and the successful reintegration of prisoners after release. We wanted to investigate the attitudes towards prisoners among prison inmates, prison employees and college students. METHODS: The Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale was completed by 298 inmates in 4 Norwegian prisons, 387 employees working in the same prisons, and 183 college students. In addition, all respondents were asked a number of general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. RESULTS: The study groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards prisoners, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale, with prison inmates holding the most positive attitudes. Prison officers held more negative attitudes than other prison employees. Prison employees working in female-only facilities held more positive attitudes than those working in male-only facilities. Students differed significantly in their attitudes, with those studying business economics holding more negative attitudes than those studying nursing. A number of strong correlations emerged between negative attitudes towards prisoners and more pessimistic and punitive answers on general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment. CONCLUSION: The attitudes towards prisoners differed markedly among the groups investigated. The findings could have important implications, particularly for the preventive work carried out in our prisons. Whether attitudes toward prisoners can be influenced by educational programs and the dispersion of factual information needs to be investigated
NorthStar, a support tool for the design and evaluation of quality improvement interventions in healthcare.
No full textBACKGROUND: The Research-Based Education and Quality Improvement (ReBEQI) European partnership aims to establish a framework and provide practical tools for the selection, implementation, and evaluation of quality improvement (QI) interventions. We describe the development and preliminary evaluation of the software tool NorthStar, a major product of the ReBEQI project. METHODS: We focused the content of NorthStar on the design and evaluation of QI interventions. A lead individual from the ReBEQI group drafted each section, and at least two other group members reviewed it. The content is based on published literature, as well as material developed by the ReBEQI group. We developed the software in both a Microsoft Windows HTML help system version and a web-based version. In a preliminary evaluation, we surveyed 33 potential users about the acceptability and perceived utility of NorthStar. RESULTS: NorthStar consists of 18 sections covering the design and evaluation of QI interventions. The major focus of the intervention design sections is on how to identify determinants of practice (factors affecting practice patterns), while the major focus of the intervention evaluation sections is on how to design a cluster randomised trial. The two versions of the software can be transferred by email or CD, and are available for download from the internet. The software offers easy navigation and various functions to access the content. Potential users (55% response rate) reported above-moderate levels of confidence in carrying out QI research related tasks if using NorthStar, particularly when developing a protocol for a cluster randomised trial CONCLUSION: NorthStar is an integrated, accessible, practical, and acceptable tool to assist developers and evaluators of QI interventions
Effekt og sikkerhet for SSRI og andre nyere antidepressive legemidler ved depresjon hos voksne
No full textKEY MESSAGES:\ud
Efficacy and safety for the newer antidepressants in adults\ud
Background Depression is a varied illness, patients may present with symptoms such as\ud
lack of initiative, a sense of meaninglessness, depressive thoughts and/or suicidal behaviour.\ud
Problems with sleep, lack of appetite, energy, drive, anxiety and concentration are\ud
also common. Our understanding of the neurobiological causes of depression is incomplete.\ud
Reduced accessibility of monoaminerge neurotransmitters in the central nervous\ud
systems is one possible explanation. Several antidepressant drugs are available. SSRI (selective\ud
serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and other second generation anti depressants have\ud
been increasingly used in recent years.\ud
Antidepressants increase the accessibility of serotonin and/or noradrenalin, either by\ud
inhibiting the reuptake or inhibiting the decomposition. This does not seem to explain\ud
the effect.\ud
Methods We have systematically reviewed the literature for effect and safety in head-tohead\ud
studies of SSRI and other second generation antidepressants used in adults with\ud
depression. The literature was identified by a systematic search in international, electronic\ud
databases. We also received literature from the pharmaceutical industry. We assessed\ud
and summarised studies that fulfilled our predetermined criteria.\ud
Results 23 studies are included in the report. The 23 studies deal with 12 different comparisons\ud
out of 66 possible. Nine different antidepressants were compared. The documentation\ud
is of low quality for most of the comparisons. We did not find any differences\ud
in effect and safety in the head-to-head studies we analyzed with the exception of:\ud
Escitalopram was significantly more effective (response and remission rate) than citalopram.\ud
Loss to follow up was significantly lower for escitalopram than for citalopram.\ud
Citalopram had a significantly lower adverse event rate than venlafaxin. Mirtazapin was\ud
significantly more effective (remission rate) than paroxetin. Loss to follow up due to side\ud
effects was significantly lower for fluoksetin than for venlafaxin.\ud
.\ud
Conclusion We have included 12 different head-to head comparisons out of 66 possible.\ud
Nine different antidepressants were involved in the comparisons. We did not find any\ud
significant differences in effect and safety between the antidepressants except for the\ud
comparisons escitalopram versus citalopram, citalopram versus venlafaxin and mirtazapin\ud
versus paroxetin where we found significant differences for some of the outcomes.\ud
The conclusions are based on documentation of medium or low quality
Pain and psychological health status over a 10-year period in patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis.
No full textOBJECTIVE: To examine rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with short disease duration over 10 years, and to identify factors that are associated with the course of pain, depression and anxiety. METHODS: A cohort of 238 patients with RA (age 20-70 years, mean disease duration 2.3 years, 68% rheumatoid factor positive) was followed with assessments at baseline and after 1, 2, 5 and 10 years. Self-reported health status was assessed by pain on a 100 mm visual analogue scale, the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS), the 28-item version of General Health Questionnaires, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire. We also examined the erythrocyte sedimentation ratio, grip strength (kg) and radiographic progression of the hands (van der Heijde modified Sharp score). Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to explore the effect of time on measures of outcome among completers, whereas repeated measures analyses using a mixed model were applied to identify factors that were longitudinally associated with pain, depression and anxiety. RESULTS: At the various assessment points 30% had a visual analogue scale pain score of > or =40 mm, 5-13% had an AIMS depression score of > or =4.0 and 20-30% had an AIMS anxiety score of > or =4.0. The perceived level of pain was explained longitudinally by anxiety, disease activity, physical function and female gender, depression by high disease activity and anxiety, whereas anxiety was explained by low disease activity and depression. CONCLUSION: More patients had increased levels of anxiety (20-30%) than increased levels of depression (5-13%). Several factors, including anxiety, but not depression, were associated with the course of pain
Helseeffekt av nyfødtscreening for medfødte stoffskiftesykdommer
No full textCurrently in Norway, we screen our newborn for two inherited metabolic disorders: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and Phenylketonuria (PKU).\ud
\ud
There is now a proposal to expand the newborn screening program with an additional 19 inherited metabolic disorders:\ud
\ud
* Maple syrup urine disease, MSUD\ud
* Tyrosinemia type 1 and 2, TH1 and 2\ud
* Homocystinuria, HCU\ud
* Propionic acidaemia, PA\ud
* Methylmalonyl- CoA mutase deficiency, MMA\ud
* Multiple carboxylase deficiency, MCD/ BIOT\ud
* Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, GA1\ud
* Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA lyase deficiency, HMG/ 3MGA\ud
* 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency, 3-MCC\ud
* 3-Ketothiolase deficiency, BKT\ud
* Isovaleric acidaemia, IVA\ud
* Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, MCAD\ud
* Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, VLCAD\ud
* Long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, LCHAD\ud
* Multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, GA2\ud
* Carnitine transporter defect, CTD\ud
* Carnitine palmitoyl transferase deficiency 1 and 2, CPT1 and 2\ud
* Carnitine acylcarnitine translocase deficiency, CACT\ud
* Congenial adrenal hyperplasia, CAH\ud
\ud
These are rare diseases in Norway. The proposed disorders can cause serious morbidity including mortality if left untreated. The majority of these diseases can be treated by customized diets.\ud
\ud
For 17 of the inherited metabolic disorders, we did not find summarized documentation describing the effect of newborn screening.\ud
\ud
We found systematic reviews regarding newborn screening for four of the inherited metabolic diseases; PKU, tyrosenemia, MCAD and CAH. Mortality was reported only for MCAD and CAH. The overall quality of the evidence is very low.\ud
\ud
We do not know what effect to expect from newborn screening for inherited metabolic disorders
Fri tilgang til forskning
No full textHeRA (Helsebibliotekets Research Archive) an istitutional repository for Norwegian hospitals and other health institution
Modulation of gene expression in a human cell line caused by poliovirus, vaccinia virus and interferon.
No full textBACKGROUND: The project was initiated to describe the response of a human embryonic fibroblast cell line to the replication of two different viruses, and, more specifically, to look for candidate genes involved in viral defense. For this purpose, the cells were synchronously infected with poliovirus in the absence or presence of interferon-alpha, or with vaccinia virus, a virus that is not inhibited by interferon. By comparing the changes in transcriptosome due to these different challenges, it should be possible to suggest genes that might be involved in defense. RESULTS: The viral titers were sufficient to yield productive infection in a majority of the cells. The cells were harvested in triplicate at various time-points, and the transcriptosome compared with mock infected cells using oligo-based, global 35 k microarrays. While there was very limited similarities in the response to the different viruses, a large proportion of the genes up-regulated by interferon-alpha were also up-regulated by poliovirus. Interferon-alpha inhibited poliovirus replication, but there were no signs of any interferons being induced by poliovirus. The observations suggest that the cells do launch an antiviral response to poliovirus in the absence of interferon. Analyses of the data led to a list of candidate antiviral genes. Functional information was limited, or absent, for most of the candidate genes. CONCLUSION: The data are relevant for our understanding of how the cells respond to poliovirus and vaccinia virus infection. More annotations, and more microarray studies with related viruses, are required in order to narrow the list of putative defence-related genes
The association between weekly hours of physical activity and mental health: a three-year follow-up study of 15-16-year-old students in the city of Oslo, Norway.
No full textBACKGROUND: Mental health problems are a worldwide public health burden. The literature concerning the mental health benefits from physical activity among adults has grown. Adolescents are less studied, and especially longitudinal studies are lacking. This paper investigates the associations between weekly hours of physical activity at age 15-16 and mental health three years later. METHODS: Longitudinal self-reported health survey. The baseline study consisted of participants from the youth section of the Oslo Health Study, carried out in schools in 2000-2001 (n = 3811). The follow-up in 2003-2004 was conducted partly at school and partly through mail. A total of 2489 (1112 boys and 1377 girls) participated in the follow-up. Mental health was measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire with an impact supplement. Physical activity was measured by a question on weekly hours of physical activity outside of school, defined as exertion 'to an extent that made you sweat and/or out of breath'. Adjustments were made for well-documented confounders and mental health at baseline. RESULTS: In boys, the number of hours spent on physical activity per week at age 15-16 was negatively associated with emotional symptoms [B (95%CI) = -0.09 (-0.15, -0.03)] and peer problems [B (95%CI) = -0.08 (-0.14, -0.03)] at age 18-19 after adjustments. In girls, there were no significant differences in SDQ subscales at age 18-19 according to weekly hours of physical activity at age 15-16 after adjustments. Boys and girls with five to seven hours of physical activity per week at age 15-16 had the lowest mean scores for total difficulties and the lowest percentage with high impact score at age 18-19, but the differences were not statistically significant after adjustments. CONCLUSION: Weekly hours of physical activity at age 15-16 years was weakly associated with mental health at three-year follow-up in boys. Results encourage a search for further knowledge about physical activity as a possible protective factor in relation to mental health problems in adolescence
Physical activity in Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors with and without chronic fatigue compared with the general population - a cross-sectional study.
No full textBACKGROUND: Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors (HLSs) commonly report chronic fatigue, defined as high levels of fatigue for 6 months or more. Underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Based upon knowledge from other populations, lifestyle parameters may be related to this increased and persistent fatigue. The primary objective of the present study was to assess self-reported levels of physical activity, smoking habits and sleep patterns in HLSs with and without chronic fatigue. The secondary objective was to compare these results with data from age and gender adjusted data from the general population (Gen-Pop). METHODS: The Fatigue Questionnaire (FQ) and questions about daily smoking, sleep patterns and level of physical activity were completed by 476 HLSs treated at Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet Trust (RR). The Gen-Pop data was derived from 56.999 inhabitants in a Norwegian county responding to a mail survey. Fischer's exact test, chi square test and t-tests were used to compare groups. P-values < .05 were considered statistically significant. A logistic regression analysis was performed in comparing the Gen-Pop with the HLSs. RESULTS: Level of physical activity, smoking habits and sleep patterns did not differ significantly between HLSs with and without chronic fatigue. The multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for different covariates, showed significantly more physically active men among HLSs compared with the Gen-Pop (OR = 1.50, CI 1.04 - 2.17), p = .031. No significant difference was found among females (OR = 1.20, CI = 0.83 - 1.74), p = .33. CONCLUSION: Lifestyle parameters did not seem to be related to increased and persistent fatigue among HLSs. The results may indicate that the experience of Hodgkin's lymphoma increases the level of physical activity among male HLSs