562 research outputs found
Erratum to: A mixed methods feasibility study of nicotine-assisted smoking reduction programmes delivered by community pharmacists – The RedPharm study
No full textFollowing publication of this article [1], it has come to our attention that the author, Susan MacAskill, has had her name captured incorrectly. The correct spelling is the aforementioned
Maya Angelou
No full textRapport d’Annick MacAskill, UWO Le bureau des étudiants (première année à Licence) de la faculté des humani tés (Arts and Humanities) de l’Université de Western Ontario (London, Ontario) a invité Dr . Maya Angelou à présenter un discours jeudi, le 3 novembre 2011, à 19h dans l’amphithéâtre Alumni Hall. La salle était comble d’étudiants, de professeurs et de me mbres de la communauté, réunis pour écouter la poète, autobiographe et activiste américaine r enommée. Devenue célèbre à la suite de la publication de son roman autobiographique, Je sais pourquoi chante l’oiseau en cage ( I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ) en 1969, témoignage de son enfance de jeune fille noire dans l’Arkansas, elle a depuis publié des récits autobiographiques, des recueils de poésies, des essais, des pièces de théâtre et de s livres pour la jeunesse. Mais elle est toujours surtout connue pour son premier chef-d’œuvre, dans lequel elle raconte son viol à l’âge de sept ans et la période suivante pendant laquelle elle refusait de parler, jusqu’à ce qu’elle retrouve sa voix dans la poésie.Rapport d’Annick MacAskill, UWO Le bureau des étudiants (première année à Licence) de la faculté des humani tés (Arts and Humanities) de l’Université de Western Ontario (London, Ontario) a invité Dr . Maya Angelou à présenter un discours jeudi, le 3 novembre 2011, à 19h dans l’amphithéâtre Alumni Hall. La salle était comble d’étudiants, de professeurs et de me mbres de la communauté, réunis pour écouter la poète, autobiographe et activiste américaine r enommée. Devenue célèbre à la suite de la publication de son roman autobiographique, Je sais pourquoi chante l’oiseau en cage ( I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ) en 1969, témoignage de son enfance de jeune fille noire dans l’Arkansas, elle a depuis publié des récits autobiographiques, des recueils de poésies, des essais, des pièces de théâtre et de s livres pour la jeunesse. Mais elle est toujours surtout connue pour son premier chef-d’œuvre, dans lequel elle raconte son viol à l’âge de sept ans et la période suivante pendant laquelle elle refusait de parler, jusqu’à ce qu’elle retrouve sa voix dans la poésie
The Validity of Drug Effects on Proteinuria, Albuminuria, Serum Creatinine, and Estimated GFR as Surrogate End Points for ESKD: A Systematic Review
No full textRationale & Objective: Proteinuria, albuminuria, and serum creatinine level are widely used as surrogate end point measures of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). We evaluated the correlation between antihypertensive drug effects on surrogate renal end points and ESKD.Study Design: Systematic review.Setting & Participants: Randomized controlled trials of blood pressure-lowering therapy.Selection Criteria for Studies: Trials of pharmacological blood pressure-lowering strategies reporting drug effects on albuminuria, proteinuria, or serum creatinine level and ESKD through March 26, 2018.Analytical Approach: Bayesian bivariate meta-analysis to calculate correlations between drug effects on surrogate end points and drug effects on ESKD. Risks of bias were adjudicated using the Cochrane tool.Results: 22 randomized controlled trials involving 69,642 participants were eligible. Risks of bias in the included trials were frequently unclear due to incomplete reporting. Relative risk for ESKD was statistically significant in 1 of 29 (3.4%) treatment comparisons. There appeared to be little or no correlation between antihypertensive drug effects on serum creatinine level, albuminuria, proteinuria, and the corresponding effects on ESKD. All correlations had wide 95% credible intervals that included the null effect.Limitations: Low power due to infrequent outcomes of ESKD and incomplete data reporting in primary trials.Conclusions: The association between antihypertensive drug effects on doubling of serum creatinine level and albuminuria or proteinuria with ESKD in treatment trials is not sufficiently certain to enable the confident use of these markers to guide clinical or regulatory decision making
Engaging hotel guests to reduce energy and water consumption: A quantitative review of guest impact on resource use in tourist accommodation
No full textCompared to residential and commercial buildings, hotels use a high amount of resources in their operation, particularly electricity, water and gas. Resource use in hotels is influenced by both hosts and guests, however initiatives to reduce consumption are typically initiated by the host. To improve the effectiveness of host requests aimed at guests to use less resources, it is important to understand how hotel guests contribute to overall consumption. This study assesses quantitative resource consumption and occupancy data from two Australian case study hotels and investigates the impact of guest occupancy on net resource use. Agency theory is adopted as a framework to examine the host (principle) – guest (agent) exchange, and the agency costs associated with discretionary resource usage by the guest. It is found that guest numbers have little impact on net electricity consumption, however, are closely correlated with water consumption in both case studies. The findings suggest that strategies to reduce resource use are to be organised differently between electricity and water, with the former targeted at the hosts and the latter with the guests. Engaging with guests to reduce discretionary water consumption is expected to achieve greater reductions as compared to electricity and gas. The findings have implications for hotel operators and researchers toward designing and implementing effective resource use reduction strategies in hotels, and for understanding hotel resource use in the context of agency theory
Results from an exploratory study of sun protection practice: Implications for the design of health promotion messages
No full textPurpose - The primary aim of the research reported here is to provide strategic guidance for the development of a national communication strategy to improve sun protection practice amongst young people. Design/methodology/approach - The research adopted an exploratory approach, employing qualitative focus groups to represent three population groups, mothers, teenagers and young adults living independently of the family home. A total of 12 focus groups were conducted (with six to eight participants per group) in the UK. Participants were recruited door-to-door using quota sampling methods. Findings - Consistent with other studies, awareness of sun protection measures was high compared with actual practice. A number of factors were identified which help to explain this behaviour deficit. These include environment and exposure context, financial cost, understanding of protection process, behavioural influence and control, experiential learning and benefits attached to tanning. Originality/value - While the findings highlight the importance of supporting parents through the provision of information and guidance, they also identified a need to develop initiatives specifically tailored to meet the needs of young people as they achieve independence
Consumer attitudes towards self-referral with early signs of cancer: Implications for symptoms awareness campaigns
No full textTraditionally, secondary prevention programmes have employed mass screening approaches to assess for asymptomatic signs of cancer. It has been suggested that early detection strategies, involving public education and self-referral may prove more costeffective, with low-risk populations for cancers with symptomatic presentation. The success of public education approaches is dependent on careful consideration of the psycho-social factors of self-examination and referral. This paper presents the findings from an exploratory study, using qualitative methods with an at-risk population of older people living in deprived communities in west-central Scotland. The study examines consumer perceptions of the early detection of cancer and the cultural barriers to self-referral, as well as response to aspects of communication strategy. The implications for design of symptom awareness campaigns, including use of message appeals, specification of target symptoms, identification of target audience and selection of communication channels, are discussed
Symptom awareness and cancer prevention: Exploratory findings from an at-risk population
No full textPurpose: Secondary prevention programmes have traditionally employed mass screening approaches to assess for asymptomatic signs of cancer. It has been suggested that early detection strategies involving public education and self-referral may prove more cost-effective with low risk populations for cancers with symptomatic presentation. This study, which was commissioned to inform the development of a cancer awareness campaign, examines public perceptions of the early detection of cancer, the psycho-social barriers to self-referral amongst a key at-risk population and the implications for patient education. Methodology: An exploratory study using qualitative focus groups with an at-risk population of older people living in deprived communities in west-central Scotland. Findings: The findings reveal broad support for initiatives designed to raise symptom awareness. However fear of cancer can lead to apparently irrational responses to symptoms and subsequent delay , particularly amongst men who are less likely to seek support from lay networks. Implications: Early detection messages need to take account tone and symptom description to allay fears and ensure appropriate presentation. Consideration also needs to be given to the role played by lay and professional opinion formers to informing and supporting patients decision to present with suspicious symptoms, particularly when targeting harder to reach patients of men, older people, and people living in deprived communities
Development and evaluation of an early detection intervention for mouth cancer using a mass media approach
No full textScotland has a high incidence of mouth cancer, but public awareness and knowledge are low compared with other cancers. The West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Project sought to increase public awareness and knowledge of mouth cancer and to encourage early detection of symptoms among an at-risk population of people aged over 40 years from lower socio-economic groups using a mass media approach. The media campaign aimed to increase people’s feelings of personal risk, while also enhancing feelings of efficacy and control. To achieve this, a testimonial approach (using real people to tell their own stories) was adopted
Meta-analysis of agreement between MRI and pathologic breast tumour size after neoadjuvant chemotherapy
No full textBackground:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed to guide breast cancer surgery by measuring residual tumour after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This study-level meta-analysis examines MRI's agreement with pathology, compares MRI with alternative tests and investigates consistency between different measures of agreement.Methods:A systematic literature search was undertaken. Mean differences (MDs) in tumour size between MRI or comparator tests and pathology were pooled by assuming a fixed effect. Limits of agreement (LOA) were estimated from a pooled variance by assuming equal variance of the differences across studies.Results:Data were extracted from 19 studies (958 patients). The pooled MD between MRI and pathology from six studies was 0.1 cm (95% LOA: -4.2 to 4.4 cm). Similar overestimation for MRI (MD: 0.1 cm) and ultrasound (US) (MD: 0.1 cm) was observed, with comparable LOA (two studies). Overestimation was lower for MRI (MD: 0.1 cm) than mammography (MD: 0.4 cm; two studies). Overestimation by MRI (MD: 0.1 cm) was smaller than underestimation by clinical examination (MD: -0.3 cm). The LOA for mammography and clinical examination were wider than that for MRI. Percentage agreement between MRI and pathology was greater than that of comparator tests (six studies). The range of Pearson's/Spearman's correlations was wide (0.21-0.92; 16 studies). Inconsistencies between MDs, percentage agreement and correlations were common.Conclusion:Magnetic resonance imaging appears to slightly overestimate pathologic size, but measurement errors may be large enough to be clinically significant. Comparable performance by US was observed, but agreement with pathology was poorer for mammography and clinical examination. Percentage agreement can provide supplementary information to MDs and LOA, but Pearson's/Spearman's correlation does not provide evidence of agreement and should be avoided. Further comparisons of MRI and other tests using the recommended methods are warranted
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