Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Personal Health (personal + health)
Selected AbstractsThe perceived effects of holiday-taking upon the health and wellbeing of patients treated for cancerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003Philippa Hunter-Jones Abstract The role that holidays play within health and wellbeing has been addressed infrequently within academic research. Much of the work that does exist has tended to focus upon illnesses or health complaints arising as a consequence of travel. Any beneficial health effects of travel largely have been neglected. This paper reports the empirical findings of a qualitative study conducted to determine the perceived effects of holiday-taking upon the health and wellbeing of a group of cancer patients, a population ignored by the tourism community. Four perceived effects are identified relating to personal health, social effectiveness, personal identity and regaining independence, and the implications of these findings discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Promoting screening and early detection of cancer in menNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 4 2001John M. Lantz RN Abstract Gender is a factor in the risk assessment for many diseases. It may also impact on the way in which men assess their personal health or illness status and take action to prevent illness or promote well-being. This paper is focused on three objectives: (i) to foster an understanding of gender differences in health promoting behaviors; (ii) to review three health issues affecting males for which dissemination of health education, increased personal awareness and early detection may be beneficial in the reduction of morbidity and mortality; and (iii) to offer suggestions for nurses and other health care professionals to promote positive patient,provider interactions within a health-care framework for action. [source] Presidential Fitness and Presidential Lies: The Historical Record and a Proposal for ReformPRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2010ROBERT DALLEK Since at least the late nineteenth century, U.S. presidents have engaged in substantial and unjustified deception in a variety of domains, and future presidents will continue to do so unless new mechanisms are created to ensure greater accountability and oversight. The problem is particularly apparent in two very different domains: personal health and foreign policy. Several presidents and presidential candidates have concealed grave health conditions that impaired their ability to govern. As future presidential candidates are unlikely to be more forthcoming about their health, the public interest should be protected by an independent medical panel to evaluate presidential candidates. In foreign policy, recent decades have seen several egregious cases of presidential deception, including Lyndon B. Johnson on Vietnam, Richard M. Nixon on the Chilean coup, and George W. Bush on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Such ethical lapses justify a constitutional recall amendment, under which a congressional supermajority could subject the continued service of a sitting president to a popular vote. [source] No Negative Outcomes of Childhood Middle Ear Disease in Adulthood,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 3 2007David Welch PhD Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis: To test the hypothesis that childhood middle-ear disease may have disadvantageous long-term psychosocial consequences in adulthood. Study Design: Prospective, longitudinal study of a general-population birth cohort. Methods: One thousand thirty-seven people born in 1972/73 were studied from birth to age 26 when 1,019 (96% of survivors) were followed up. Childhood otitis media was assessed, and effects of it have previously been observed in childhood and adolescence. We considered outcome measures that were plausible adult counterparts of the childhood constructs shown to be impaired by otitis media: socioeconomic status, employment status, educational outcomes, personality, mental health, antisocial and criminal behavior, and subjective ratings of personal health (SF-36). Results: No outcome measure was predicted by severity of childhood otitis media. Conclusions; Adult psychological and socioeconomic outcomes are not related to childhood otitis media when appropriate treatment is available. [source] Exploratory study examining barriers to participation in colorectal cancer screeningAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2010Johanna S. Paddison Abstract Objective:,To examine the Stage of Change distribution for bowel cancer screening in a regional Australian community and the factors associated with varying positions on the continuum of change. Design:,Survey of a convenience sample. Setting:,Community sample. Participants:,A total of 59 (31 male, mean age = 59) service club members from a South Australian regional community. Main outcome measure:,Self-reported Stage of Change for bowel cancer screening behaviour. Results:,Attributing greater embarrassment and discomfort to bowel cancer screening was associated with earlier positions on the Stages of Change. Perceiving that bowel cancer screening might have positive value for personal health was associated with more advanced positions on the continuum of change. Those who perceived breast and prostate screening procedures to be embarrassing or to cause discomfort were significantly less likely to be participating in bowel cancer screening. No significant relationships were found between bowel cancer screening Stage of Change and worry about vulnerability; personal, family or wider social network case reports of bowel cancer; and the population-level value attributed to the cancer screening procedures. Conclusion:,Bowel cancer screening participation rates are currently lower than those associated with breast and prostate screening. Reducing perceptions of embarrassment and discomfort, increasing awareness of potential health benefits and maximising participation in other screening procedures might increase participation in bowel cancer screening. [source] Predictors of skin self-examination performanceCANCER, Issue 1 2002June K. Robinson M.D. Abstract BACKGROUND Skin self-examination (SSE) may reduce the death rate from melanoma by as much as 63%. Enhancing SSE performance may reduce mortality and morbidity. This study determined predictors of SSE performance in a population of individuals who were at risk of developing melanoma or nonmelanoma skin carcinoma (NMSC). METHODS Patients (n = 200) were asked about their knowledge of the warning signs, their sense of the importance of SSE to them, their attitude about and confidence in their ability to perform SSE, and their impression of their partner's comfort and ability with assisting in the skin examination. The interval since last skin examination, the number of physician visits (nondermatologist and dermatologist), the number and type of skin malignancies, the time since initial diagnosis, the number of skin biopsies, and health insurance status were determined from the medical records for the prior 3 years. RESULTS Seventy percent of participants performed SSE. The three strongest predictors of SSE performance were attitude, having dermatology visits with skin biopsies and at least one skin carcinoma in the previous 3 years, and confidence in performance (P = 0.0001). Other predictors of SSE performance were perceived risk (P = 0.0001), knowledge (P = 0.004), and younger age (P = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS Annual skin examination by physicians and monthly SSE by patients reinforce one another in promoting early detection. In this high-risk population, the dermatologist reinforced SSE performance by biopsy of skin lesions that were skin malignancies. People have intimate knowledge of their own skin and bear the consequences for failure to detect and treat skin carcinoma early; thus, monthly SSE becomes relevant as a personal health-promotion habit. Cancer 2002;95:135,46. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10637 [source] Hearing aid fitting in adults: results of a cost-effectiveness studyCLINICAL OTOLARYNGOLOGY, Issue 4 2000L.J.C. Anteunis For The Sihi Study Group Objective. Despite its high prevalence (, 20% in adults) and the adverse impact on daily life, hearing impairment is a neglected problem. Despite the fact that <,25% of the hearing-impaired seek help and acquire hearing aids in the Netherlands, hearing aid provision and rules for reimbursment are questioned. This is the reason for a cost-effectiveness study. Materials and methods. Self-reported hearing disability and its impact on quality of life was studied in 60 first-time-users, followed prospectively for 16 weeks after hearing aid fitting. They reported significant benefits in hearing ability, experienced an increased number and quality of social contacts and improved self-assessed personal health. Integrating the positive and negative effects of the intervention in a gain in quality of life, a utility value was obtained. Multiplying this utility value by the number of years the effect is expected to last, yielded Quality Adjusted Life Years. Results. In an economic evaluation, based on a model of tracing and referral and costs per QALY, hearing aid fitting in hearing-impaired adults was compared to the effectiveness of other health care interventions and, as a result, placed near the top of a QALY league table. Conclusions. Hearing aid fitting is a very cost-effective intervention. [source] | ||||||||||