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Medical Aspects (medical + aspect)
Selected AbstractsMedical aspects of fitness to drive.INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008What do public hospital doctors know, think No abstract is available for this article. [source] ,Balance' is in the eye of the beholder: providing information to support informed choices in antenatal screening via Antenatal Screening Web ResourceHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 4 2007Shenaz Ahmed BSc (Hons) PhD Abstract Objectives, The Antenatal Screening Web Resource (AnSWeR) was designed to support informed prenatal testing choices by providing balanced information about disability, based on the testimonies of disabled people and their families. We were commissioned by the developers to independently evaluate the website. This paper focused on how participants evaluated AnSWeR in terms of providing balanced information. Setting, West Yorkshire. Participants, A total of 69 people were drawn from three groups: health professionals, people with personal experience of tested-for conditions (Down's syndrome, cystic fibrosis and spina bifida) and people representing potential users of the resource. Method, Data were collected via focus groups and electronic questionnaires. Results, Participants believed that information about the experience of living with the tested-for conditions and terminating a pregnancy for the conditions were important to support informed antenatal testing and termination decisions. However, there were differences in opinion about whether the information about the tested-for conditions was balanced or not. Some people felt that the inclusion of photographs of people with the tested-for conditions introduced biases (both positive and negative). Many participants were also of the opinion that AnSWeR presented insufficient information on termination of an affected pregnancy to support informed choice. Conclusion, This study highlighted the difficulty of designing ,balanced' information about tested-for conditions and a lack of methodology for doing so. It is suggested that AnSWeR currently provides a counterbalance to other websites that focus on the medical aspects of disability. Its aim to provide ,balanced' information would be aided by increasing the number and range of case studies available on the website. [source] Swedish Women's Interest in Home Birth and In-Hospital Birth Center CareBIRTH, Issue 1 2003Ingegerd Hildingsson RN ABSTRACT:Background: In Sweden, few alternatives to a hospital birth are available, and little is known about consumer interest in alternative birth care. The aim of this study was to determine women's interest in home birth and in-hospital birth center care in Sweden, and to describe the characteristics of these women. Methods: All Swedish-speaking women booked for antenatal care during 3 weeks during 1 year were invited to participate in the study. Three questionnaires, completed after the first booking visit in early pregnancy, at 2 months, and 1 year after the birth, asked about the women's interest in two alternative birth options and a wide range of possible explanatory variables. Results: Consent to participate in the study was given by 3283 women (71% of all women eligible). The rates of response to the three questionnaires were 94, 88, and 88 percent, respectively. One percent of participants consistently expressed an interest in home birth on all three occasions, and 8 percent expressed an interest in birth center care. A regression analysis showed five factors that were associated with an interest in home birth: a wish to have the baby's siblings (OR 20.2; 95% CI 6.2,66.5) and a female friend (OR 15.2; 95% CI 6.2,37.4) present at the birth, not wanting pharmacological pain relief during labor and birth (OR 4.7; 95% CI 1.4,15.3), low level of education (OR 4.5; 95% CI 1.8,11.4), and dissatisfaction with medical aspects of intrapartum care (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.4,9.2). An interest in birth center care was associated with experience of being in control during labor and birth (OR 8.3; 95% CI 3.2,21.6), not wanting pharmacological pain relief (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.3,4.1), and a preference to have a known midwife at the birth (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.6,2.9). Conclusion: If Swedish women were offered free choice of place of birth, the home birth rate would be 10 times higher, and the 20 largest hospitals would need to have a birth center. Women interested in alternative models of care view childbirth as a social and natural event, and their needs should be considered. (BIRTH 30:1 March 2003) [source] Nurse-led adult ENT pre-operative assessmentCLINICAL OTOLARYNGOLOGY, Issue 2 2008M.F. Bhutta Keypoints ,,Pre-operative assessment in some ENT departments is now nurse-led rather than doctor-led. ,,Appropriately trained nursing staff can perform medical aspects of pre-operative assessment to the same or a better standard than a doctor. ,,Almost all patients are satisfied with a nurse-led pre-operative assessment, and in some cases they prefer it. [source] | ||||||||||