Personal Practice (personal + practice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Personal Practices Regarding Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Health Care Professionals in Rural Colorado: A Pilot Survey

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2009
Sun Hee Rim MPH
ABSTRACT:,Purpose: This study reports the baseline knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and personal practices of health care professionals regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in the High Plains Research Network (HPRN) of rural Colorado prior to a community-based educational intervention. It also examines the association between health care staff members' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and personal practices for CRC screening and patient screening levels by practice. Methods: Surveys were mailed to health care professionals in the HPRN. Participating clinics (n = 21) distributed patient surveys on CRC screening to persons aged ,50 for a 2-week period in 2006. Results: The survey response rate was 81% for providers (n = 46) and 90% for nursing staff (n = 63). Only 54% of health care professionals knew CRC is a leading cause of cancer deaths. When surveyed on their attitudes toward colon cancer, 92%"strongly agreed" or "agreed" that colon cancer is preventable. About 99% (n = 107) of providers and nurses "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that testing could identify problems before colon cancer starts. Most health care professionals (61%) aged ,50 years had previously been tested and were up-to-date (52%) with screening. Provider knowledge was significantly associated with higher patient screening (P = .02), but provider attitudes and beliefs were not. Moreover, personal screening practices of health care professionals did not correlate with more patients screened. Conclusion: Background knowledge of CRC among HPRN health care professionals could be improved. The results of this pilot study may help focus effective approaches such as increasing provider knowledge to enhance CRC screening in the relevant population. [source]


The role of the adult urologist in the care of children: findings of a UK survey

BJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2001
D.F.M. Thomas
Objective To document the current role of adult urologists in the care of children in the UK and to consider the future provision of urological services for children within the context of published national guidelines. Methods A detailed postal questionnaire was sent to all 416 consultant urologists listed as full members of the British Association of Urological Surgeons and resident in the UK. The range of information sought from each urologist included details of personal paediatric training, scope of personal practice, and information about facilities and provision of urological services for children in their base National Health Service hospital. Results The response rate was 69%; most consultant urologists (87%) in District General Hospitals (DGHs) undertake paediatric urology, mainly routine procedures of minor or intermediate complexity. Of urologists in teaching hospitals, 32% treat children but their involvement is largely collaborative. Consultants appointed within the last 10 years are less willing to undertake procedures such as ureteric reimplantation or pyeloplasty than those in post for ,10 years. Currently, 18% of DGH urologists hold dedicated children's outpatient clinics and 34% have dedicated paediatric day-case operating lists. Almost all urologists practise in National Health Service hospitals which meet existing national guidelines on the provision of inpatient surgical care for children. Conclusion Urologists practising in DGHs will retain an important role as providers of routine urological services for children. However, the tendency for recently appointed consultants to limit their practice to the more routine aspects of children's urology is likely to increase. Training and intercollegiate assessment should focus on the practical management of the conditions most commonly encountered in DGH practice. The implementation of national guidelines may require greater paediatric subspecialization at DGH level to ensure that urologists treating children have a paediatric workload of sufficient volume to maintain a high degree of surgical competence. [source]


Interventions for apnoea of prematurity: a personal view

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2 2010
CF Poets
Abstract Aim:, To review treatments for apnoea of prematurity (AOP). Methods:, Literature Review and description of personal practice. Results:, Provided that symptomatic apnoea has been ruled out, interventions to improve AOP can be viewed as directed at one of three underlying mechanisms: (i) a reduced work of breathing [e.g. prone positioning, nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)], (ii) an increased respiratory drive (e.g. caffeine), and (iii) an improved diaphragmatic function (e.g. branched-chain amino acids). Most options currently applied, however, have not yet been shown to be effective and/or safe, except for prone, head-elevated positioning, synchronized nasal ventilation/CPAP, and caffeine. Conclusion:, Treatment usually follows an incremental approach, starting with positioning, followed by caffeine (which should be started early, at least in infants <1250 g), and nasal ventilation or CPAP via variable flow systems that reduce work of breathing. From a research point of view, we most urgently need data on the frequency and severity of bradycardia and intermittent hypoxia that can yet be tolerated without putting an infant at risk of impaired development or retinopathy of prematurity. [source]


Conflicting Preferences: A Reason Fertility Tends to Be Too High or Too Low

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 4 2003
David Voas
Fertility has often seemed to be too high or too low, relative not only to social and economic goals, but also to reproductive preferences. In developing countries actual fertility has often been higher than desired family size, while in developed societies fertility tends to be below replacement level even though people generally say that they want at least two children. In explanations of fertility extremes, or of the discrepancies between desired and actual fertility, the effect of partners' holding different preferences has tended to be overlooked. Individual preferences expected to lead to replacement-level reproduction may in combination generate substantially higher or lower fertility. In explaining such outcomes, a crucial question is what happens when spousal preferences diverge. Given that personal practices or social norms may systematically favor high or low preferences in the event of disagreement, chance alone will ensure that desired and actual fertility do not coincide. [source]


Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Personal Practices Regarding Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Health Care Professionals in Rural Colorado: A Pilot Survey

THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2009
Sun Hee Rim MPH
ABSTRACT:,Purpose: This study reports the baseline knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and personal practices of health care professionals regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in the High Plains Research Network (HPRN) of rural Colorado prior to a community-based educational intervention. It also examines the association between health care staff members' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and personal practices for CRC screening and patient screening levels by practice. Methods: Surveys were mailed to health care professionals in the HPRN. Participating clinics (n = 21) distributed patient surveys on CRC screening to persons aged ,50 for a 2-week period in 2006. Results: The survey response rate was 81% for providers (n = 46) and 90% for nursing staff (n = 63). Only 54% of health care professionals knew CRC is a leading cause of cancer deaths. When surveyed on their attitudes toward colon cancer, 92%"strongly agreed" or "agreed" that colon cancer is preventable. About 99% (n = 107) of providers and nurses "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that testing could identify problems before colon cancer starts. Most health care professionals (61%) aged ,50 years had previously been tested and were up-to-date (52%) with screening. Provider knowledge was significantly associated with higher patient screening (P = .02), but provider attitudes and beliefs were not. Moreover, personal screening practices of health care professionals did not correlate with more patients screened. Conclusion: Background knowledge of CRC among HPRN health care professionals could be improved. The results of this pilot study may help focus effective approaches such as increasing provider knowledge to enhance CRC screening in the relevant population. [source]