One Urban (one + urban)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Conflict-induced Displacement and Involuntary Resettlement in Colombia: Putting Cernea's IRLR Model to the Test

DISASTERS, Issue 3 2000
H.C.R. Muggah
This paper tests Cernea's (1997) impoverishment risks and livelihood reconstruction (IRLR) model in cases of conflict-induced displacement (CID). In applying the model to a situation involving internal conflict, the article illustrates the particular problems encountered by internally displaced people (IDPs) and policymakers charged to respond to them. The article searches for local interpretations of CID and resettlement through a comparative profile of two IDP settlements in Colombia: one urban, the other rural. It concludes that the IRLR model, when contextualised, provides a useful tool to identify and categorise risks of impoverishment and resettlement priorities. At the same time, however, the article demonstrates that the model insufficiently captures the root causes or causality of CID. [source]


Subjective side effects of antipsychotics and medication adherence in people with schizophrenia

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 3 2009
Terence V. McCann
Abstract Title., Subjective side effects of antipsychotics and medication adherence in people with schizophrenia. Aim., This paper is a report of a study conducted to describe the prevalence of antipsychotic medication side effects in individuals with schizophrenia, and to assess if a relationship existed between side effects and medication-taking. Background., Non-adherence to antipsychotics is common in people with schizophrenia. There is a direct relationship between non-adherence and relapse, but it is unclear if an association exists between side effects and non-adherence. Method., The Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side-effect Rating Scale was used with a convenience sample of 81 mental health service users with schizophrenia. Participants were recruited from one urban and one rural area in Australia in 2004. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science and nonparametric statistical methods based on the nature of data. Findings., Around 20% of participants had missed taking their medication at least once in the week before data collection. About half experienced one or more side effects, but the level of accumulated side effects was not associated with medication omission. Older participants were more likely to experience anticholinergic and allergic side effects than their younger counterparts. Younger women were more likely to experience hormone-related side effects than older women. Overall, medication omission was not statistically significantly correlated with any of the seven Liverpool University Neuroleptic Side-effect Rating Scale subscales. Conclusion., Greater attention needs to be paid to age- and gender-specific side effects and to monitoring side effects in people prescribed atypical medication antipsychotics. Service users, case managers and prescribers may need additional training to assist them to identify side effects and to take steps to ameliorate or at least minimize their effects. [source]


Lower Systolic Blood Pressure Is Associated with Greater Mortality in People Aged 85 and Older

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 10 2008
Lena Molander Bsc
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between blood pressure and mortality in very old people. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: County of Västerbotten, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Half of all subjects aged 85 and all of those aged 90 and 95 and older (N=348) in one urban and five rural municipalities in the north of Sweden. MEASUREMENTS: Among others, supine blood pressure, Mini-Mental State Examination, Barthel Index of activities of daily living, Mini Nutritional Assessment, and body mass index. Information on diagnoses, medications, and 4-year mortality was collected. Associations between blood pressure and mortality were investigated using Cox regression analyses, controlling for a number of diagnoses and health factors. RESULTS: Baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure were all inversely associated with mortality within 4 years according to univariate analysis. SBP was the strongest predictor. In Cox regression analyses, low SBP (,120 mmHg) correlated with greater 4-year all-cause mortality alone and when controlling for health status. This connection persisted after exclusion of deaths within the first year. There was a tendency toward a U-shaped mortality curve for the adjusted model, with SBP of 164.2 mmHg (95% confidence interval=154.1,183.8 mmHg) being associated with the lowest mortality. CONCLUSION: Lower SBP seems to be associated with greater mortality in people aged 85 and older, irrespective of health status. There are indications of a U-shaped correlation between SBP and mortality, and the optimal SBP for this age group could be above 140 mmHg. [source]


Antidiabetic Drug Therapy of African-American and White Community-Dwelling Elderly Over a 10-Year Period

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2003
Catherine I. Lindblad PharmD
Objectives: To determine the prevalence and predictors of antidiabetic medication use over a 10-year period in a general population of African-American and white community-dwelling elderly. Design: Survey. Setting: Five adjacent counties (one urban and four rural) in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. Participants: Those aged 65 and older present at the baseline (n=4,136), second (n=3,234), third (n=2,508), and fourth (n=1,633) in-person waves of the Duke Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Measurements: The use of six discrete categories of antidiabetic medications (insulin, first-generation oral sulfonylureas, second-generation oral sulfonylureas, metformin, oral combination therapy, and insulin combination therapy) was determined. Multivariate analyses, using weighted data adjusted for sampling design, were conducted to assess the association between antidiabetic medication use and race and other sociodemographic, health-status, and access-to-healthcare factors at baseline and 10 years later. Results: Antidiabetic medications were taken by 21.4% of the population at baseline; this increased to 28.1% at the 10-year follow-up (P<.001). Insulin was the most commonly used drug at baseline (7.9%). The use of second-generation sulfonylureas increased, and use of first-generation sulfonylureas decreased over the 10-year time period. Combination antidiabetic therapy and metformin use was infrequent throughout the study. Multivariate analyses revealed that, at baseline, African Americans were nearly twice as likely (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.46,2.54) to receive any antidiabetic medication as their white counterparts. Other significant (P<.05) factors were hypertension (AOR=1.38, 95% CI=1.03,1.84), stroke (AOR=1.98, 95% CI=1.43,2.73), one or more mobility difficulties (AOR=1.29, 95% CI=1.01,1.66), continuity of care (AOR=1.74, 95% CI=1.20,2.54), and multiple doctor visits (1,4 visits, AOR=1.69, 95% CI=1.08,2.65; ,5 visits, AOR=3.15, 95% CI=1.95,5.07). Being underweight (AOR=0.45, 95% CI=0.30,0.67) and being cognitively impaired (AOR=0.60, 95% CI=0.41,0.87) were factors significantly (P<.05) associated with a decreased risk of antidiabetic medication use. At the 10-year follow-up, similar trends were seen associating these sociodemographic, health-status, and access-to-healthcare factors with antidiabetic medication use. Conclusion: Antidiabetic medication use is common and increases over time for community-dwelling elderly. Race is significantly associated with antidiabetic medication use, even after controlling for other sociodemographic, health-status, and access-to-healthcare variables. [source]


Urban-Rural Differences in a Memory Disorders Clinical Population

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 5 2001
Sarah B. Wackerbarth PhD
OBJECTIVES: To compare patient characteristics and family perceptions of patient function at one urban and one rural memory disorders clinic. DESIGN: Secondary, cross-sectional data analyses of an extant clinical database. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: First time visits (n = 956) at two memory disorders clinics. MEASUREMENTS: Patient and family-member demographics and assessment results for the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), activities of daily living (ADLs), the Memory Change and Personality Change components of the Blessed Dementia Rating Scale, and the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist. RESULTS: In both clinics, patients and family members were more likely female. The typical urban clinic patient was significantly more likely to be living in a facility and more educated than the typical rural patient. Urban and rural patients did not show significant differences in age- and education-adjusted MMSE scores or raw ADL/IADL ratings, but the urban family members reported more memory problems, twice as many personality changes, more-frequent behavior problems, and more adverse reactions to problems. CONCLUSION: Physicians who practice in both urban and rural areas can anticipate differences between patients, and their families, who seek a diagnosis of memory disorders. Our most important finding is that despite similarities in reported functional abilities, urban families appear to be more sensitive to and more distressed by patients' cognitive and behavioral symptoms than rural families. These differences may reflect different underlying needs, and should be explored in further research. [source]