Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Report Form (report + form)
Kinds of Report Form Selected AbstractsComparing the psychometric properties of multiple teacher report instruments as predictors of bipolar disorder in children and adolescentsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Eric A. Youngstrom Abstract The psychometric properties of four teacher report measures and their utility for accurate diagnosis of pediatric bipolar spectrum disorders (BPSDs) were examined. Participants were 191 youth (65% male; 62% African-American; 23% diagnosed with a BPSD), age 5,18 (M=10.16, SD=3.27) years, 70% recruited from a community mental health center and 30% recruited from a mood disorders clinic. Teachers "who knew the child best" were asked to complete the Achenbach Teacher Report Form (TRF) as well as teacher versions of the General Behavior Inventory (T-GBI), the Child Mania Rating Scale (CMRS-T), and the Young Mania Rating Scale (T-YMRS). Teacher response rates and missing data varied significantly depending on the age of the child. Exploratory factor analysis identified stable and interpretable factors; however, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and logistic regression analyses showed that teacher report measures were not able to discriminate BPSD cases from non-BPSD cases, or from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cases. Teacher report appears to be insufficiently specific or sensitive to BPSD for clinical diagnostic use, although teacher scales might have research utility. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64: 1,20, 2008. [source] Association of bullying with adolescent health-related quality of lifeJOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 6 2003A Wilkins-Shurmer Objective: To examine the relationship between being bullied and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in adolescence. Methodology: Subjects were a cohort of 805 adolescents with a mean age of 13.6 years (standard deviation 0.2 years). An adolescent questionnaire elicited the frequency of being bullied. HR-QOL was measured using the Child Health Questionnaire , Parent Report Form (CHQ-PF50) and Dartmouth COOP Functional Health Assessment Charts for Adolescents. Results: Thirty-six per cent of boys and 38 per cent of girls reported being bullied at least weekly. Adolescent psychosocial HR-QOL was inversely related to frequency of being bullied, while physical HR-QOL was not related. Conclusion: Peer bullying is an important determinant of adolescent HR-QOL with a negative impact on psychosocial well-being. [source] The Impact of Maternal Age on the Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on AttentionALCOHOLISM, Issue 10 2010Lisa M. Chiodo Background:, Prenatal exposure to alcohol has a variety of morphologic and neurobehavioral consequences, yet more than 10% of women continue to drink during pregnancy, placing their offspring at risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Identification of at-risk pregnancies has been difficult, in part, because the presence and severity of FASD are influenced by factors beyond the pattern of alcohol consumption. Establishing maternal characteristics, such as maternal age, that increase the risk of FASD is critical for targeted pregnancy intervention. Methods:, We examined the moderating effect of maternal age on measures of attention in 462 children from a longitudinal cohort born to women with known alcohol consumption levels (absolute ounces of alcohol per day at conception) who were recruited during pregnancy. Analyses examined the impact of binge drinking, as average ounces of absolute alcohol per drinking day. Smoking and use of cocaine, marijuana, and opiates were also assessed. At 7 years of age, the children completed the Continuous Performance Test, and their teachers completed the Achenbach Teacher Report Form. Results:, After controlling for covariates, stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed a negative relation between levels of prenatal binge drinking and several measures of attention. The interaction between alcohol consumption and maternal age was also significant, indicating that the impact of maternal binge drinking during pregnancy on attention was greater among children born to older drinking mothers. Conclusion:, These findings are consistent with previous findings that children born to older alcohol-using women have more deleterious effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on other neurobehavioral outcomes. [source] Social Cognitive and Emotion Processing Abilities of Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: A Comparison With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderALCOHOLISM, Issue 10 2009Rachel L. Greenbaum Background:, Although children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are at high risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), direct comparisons show distinct cognitive phenotypes in the 2 diagnoses. However, these groups have not been directly compared for social problems or social cognition, nor has social cognition been directly examined in FASDs. Objectives:, To compare FASDs and ADHD groups on social cognition tasks and determine whether deficient social cognition and emotion processing predict behavioral problems and social skills. Methods:, Studied were 33 children with FASDs, 30 with ADHD, and 34 normal controls (NC). All received tasks of social cognition and emotion processing. Parents and teachers rated children on measures of completed questionnaires assessing child's behavioral problems and social skills using the Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form, and Social Skills Rating Scale. Children received 3 subtests from the Saltzman-Benaiah and Lalonde (2007) Theory of Mind Task as a measure of social cognition and 4 subtests from the Minnesota Test of Affective Processing (Lai et al., 1991) to assess emotion processing. Results:, Parents and teachers reported more behavior problems and poorer social skills in children in FASD and ADHD than NC groups. FASDs demonstrated significantly weaker social cognition and facial emotion processing ability than ADHD and NC groups. Regression analyses identified social cognition as a significant predictor of behavior problems and emotion processing as a significant predictor of social skills. Conclusions:, Children with FASDs show a distinct behavioral profile from children with ADHD. Difficulties in social cognition and emotion processing in children with FASDs may contribute to their high incidence of social behavioral problems. [source] Identification and characterization of errors and incidents in a medical intensive care unitACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 7 2005J. Graf Background:, To assess the frequency, type, consequences, and associations of errors and incidents in a medical intensive care unit (ICU). Methods:, Two-hundred and sixteen consecutive patients with predominantly cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders admitted between December 2002 and February 2003 were enrolled. Demographic data, SAPS II, and TISS-28 were obtained for all patients. Prior to patient enrolment all staff members (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists) were repeatedly encouraged to make use of the Incident Report Form (IRF) and detailed descriptions on how, why and when to use the IRF were provided. Results:, During the observation period of 64 days, 50 errors involving 32 patients (15%) were reported. Patients subjected to errors were more severely ill (SAPS II 42 ± 25 vs. 32 ± 18, P < 0.05), had a higher hospital mortality (38% vs. 9%), and a longer ICU stay (11 ± 18 vs. 3 ± 5 days, P < 0.05). Gender, age and TISS-28 were equally distributed. Each day of ICU stay increased the risk by 8% (odds ratio 1.078, 95% confidence interval 1.034,1.125, P < 0.001), and by 2.3% per SAPS II point (odds ratio 1.023, 95% confidence interval 1.006,1.040, P < 0.001). The majority of errors and incidents were judged as ,human failures' (73%), and 46 errors and incidents (92%) as ,avoidable'. Conclusions:, The identification and characterization of errors and incidents combined with contextual information is feasible and may provide sufficient background information for areas of quality improvement. Areas with a high frequency of errors and incidents need to undergo process evaluation to avoid future occurrence. [source] Self-report on the social skills rating system: Analysis of reliability and validity for an elementary samplePSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 4 2005James Clyde Diperna The Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; F.M. Gresham & S.N. Elliott, 1990) is a norm-referenced measure of students' social and problem behaviors. Since its release, much of the published reliability and validity evidence for the SSRS has focused primarily on the Teacher Report Form. The purpose of this study was to explore reliability and validity evidence of scores on the SSRS-Student Elementary Form (SSRS-SEF) for children in Grades 3 to 5. Findings provided support for the use of Total scale as a measure of student social behavior for initial screening purposes; however, evidence for the subscales was not as strong as predicted. Directions for future research regarding reliability and validity of scores from the SSRS-SEF are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 345,354, 2005. [source] Assessment of child problem behaviors by multiple informants: a longitudinal study from preschool to school entryTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 10 2007David C.R. Kerr Background:, Children's early problem behavior that manifests in multiple contexts is often more serious and stable. The concurrent and predictive validity of ratings of externalizing and internalizing by four informants was examined at preschool and early school age in an at-risk sample. Methods:, Two hundred forty children were assessed by mothers and fathers (Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)), and teachers and laboratory examiners (Teacher Report Form (TRF)) at ages 3 and 5 years. Results:, All informants' ratings of externalizing converged on a common factor at ages 3 and 5 that showed strong stability over time (, = .80). All informants' age 3 externalizing ratings significantly predicted the problem factor at age 5; mothers', fathers', and teachers' ratings were independently predictive. Ratings of internalizing (except by examiners at age 3) also converged at both ages; the problem factor showed medium stability (, = .39) over time. Only fathers' ratings of age 3 internalizing predicted the age 5 problem factor. Conclusions:, Findings support the value of multi-informant assessment, uphold calls to include fathers in childhood research, and suggest that examiners provide valid, though non-unique assessment data. Examiner contributions may prove useful in many research contexts. [source] Prevalence and correlates of psychopathology in a sample of deaf adolescentsTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 9 2007Tiejo Van Gent Aims:, To examine prevalence and correlates of psychopathology in deaf adolescents using a multi-method multi-informant approach. Methods:, Data for the study came from checklist assessments by parents (Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)) and teachers (Teacher's Report Form (TRF)) of 70 deaf adolescents aged 13 to 21 years, from semi-structured clinical interviews of the adolescents (Semi-structured Clinical Interview for Children and Adolescents (SCICA)), and from expert ratings of dossier data. Results:, The percentages of Total Problems scores in the borderline clinical range in this population as found with the CBCL, TRF and SCICA are 28%, 32% and 49,63% respectively. Expert dossier ratings identified psychiatric caseness in 49% and DSM-classifications in 46% of the adolescents (primary classifications: emotional disorder 27%, behavioral disorder 11%, other disorder 7%). Cross-informant agreement between single ratings and expert dossier ratings was better than agreement between single ratings. Logistic regression analyses revealed that low IQ, a signing mode of communication and a history of three or more physical disorders were associated with psychiatric caseness. Conclusions:, Findings suggest a high prevalence of psychopathology in the population studied and argue for a special focus on the early detection of significant emotional and behavioral problems as well as a multi-informant approach to the assessment of disorder in deaf children and adolescents. The correlational findings support the view that it is not deafness per se that contributes to psychiatric problems. [source] A Follow-up Study of Characteristics of Young People that Dropout and Continue Psychotherapy: Service Implications for a Clinic in the CommunityCHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2009Geoffrey Baruch Background:, The paper reports the findings from a follow-up study of the factors that contribute to whether young people dropout or continue once-weekly psychotherapy at a voluntary sector psychotherapy service for young people aged 12 to 21 years. Method:, The study uses data from an ongoing audit of the psychotherapy service that started in 1993; 882 young people were included in the study. Premature termination of treatment was defined as dropping out before the 21st session. Continuation in treatment was defined as remaining in therapy after 20 sessions. Measures and areas of interest used in the study include diagnostic measures, the Youth Self Report Form and Young Adult Self Report Form, demographic characteristics and treatment related information. Results:, Young people who continued in treatment were more likely to be older, have anxieties about sexual and relationship issues and have higher scores on self-reported anxiety-depression. Young people who dropped out of treatment were more likely to be younger, have higher self-reported delinquency scores, have a diagnosis of hyperactivity-conduct disorder and be homeless. Conclusions:, The study of treatment termination has demonstrated the value of service audit and has led to a significant change in clinical practice. [source] Early motherhood and disruptive behaviour in the school-age childACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 1 2004P Trautmann-Villalba Aim: To determine the significance of young maternal age, family adversity and maternal behaviour during mother-toddler interaction in the prediction of child disruptive behaviour at age eight. Methods: From an ongoing longitudinal study of infants at risk for later psychopathology (n= 362), 72 young mothers aged between 15 and 24 y (median 22 y) at first birth were compared with 197 primiparous older mothers ranging in age from 25 to 41 y (median 29 y). Family adversity at childbirth was assessed using a modified version of Rutter's Family Adversity Index (FAI) and measures of child disruptive behaviour at age eight were obtained using Achenbach's Teacher Report Form (TRF). An observational procedure was used to assess maternal behaviour during mother-child interaction at the age of 2 y. Results: Young mothers encountered more adverse family characteristics and were more inadequate, restrictive and more negative during interaction with their toddlers. Their school-aged children showed higher scores on all disruptive behaviour scales of the TRF. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that family adversity and maternal behaviour during toddler interaction could account for most of the association between early motherhood and child disruptive behaviour. Conclusion: The impact of young motherhood on child mental health is not confined to teenage mothers and is mainly attributed to psychosocial and interactional factors. [source] Early childhood factors influencing health-related quality of life in adolescents at 13 yearsCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2004Elise Maher Early childhood factors influencing health-related quality of life in adolescents at 13 years . Wilkins, A.J., O'Callaghan, M.J., Najman, J.M., Williams, G.M. & Shuttlewood, G. ( 2004 ) Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health40 , 102 , 109 . Objective To understand the relationship of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) to early life experience. Methodology Eight thousand five hundred and fifty-six women enrolled in a prospective study at their first antenatal clinic visit. At 13 years, of 5345 women remaining, a consecutive sample of 901 mother/child pairs provided data on adolescent HRQOL using the Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Report form (CHQ-PF50) and the Dartmouth COOP Functional Assessment Charts for Adolescents. The CHQ-PF50 yielded physical (PHS) and psychosocial (PSS) summary scores. We examined the relationship between HRQOL and early childhood predictive variables. Results PHS was related to gestation, maternal health symptoms in pregnancy, maternal anxiety at 6 months, child health and hours of childcare at 5 years (P < 0.05). PSS was related to maternal age at index visit, maternal attitude to pregnancy, maternal satisfaction with caregiving and maternal depression at 6 months, and child health and behaviour problems at 5 years (internalizing and social/attentional/thought (SAT) domains) (P < 0.05). Findings from adolescent self-reports were similar. Conclusions This study has identified a number of early childhood determinants of adolescent HRQOL. These findings add to the evidence of the effects of early adversity on the developmental pathways of children and support the need for effective early intervention. [source] A Community Intervention by Firefighters to Increase 911 Calls and Aspirin Use for Chest PainACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2006Hendrika Meischke PhD Abstract Objectives: To test the effectiveness of an intervention, delivered face-to-face by local firefighters, designed to increase utilization of 911 and self-administration of aspirin for seniors experiencing chest pain. Methods: King County, Washington was divided into 126 geographically distinct areas that were randomized to intervention and control areas. A mailing list identified households of seniors within these areas. More than 20,000 homes in the intervention areas were contacted by local firefighters. Data on all 911 calls for chest pain and self-administration of aspirin were collected from the medical incident report form (MIRF). The unit of analysis was the area. Firefighters delivered a heart attack survival kit (that included an aspirin) and counseled participants on the importance of aspirin and 911 use for chest pain. Main outcome measures were 911 calls for chest pain and aspirin ingestion for a chest pain event, obtained from the MIRFs that are collected by emergency medical services personnel for 2 years after the intervention. Results: There were significantly more calls (16%) among seniors on the mailing list in the intervention than control areas in the first year after the intervention. Among the seniors who were not on the mailing list, there was little difference in the intervention and control areas. The results were somewhat sensitive to the analytical model used and to an outlier in the treatment group. Conclusions: A community-based firefighter intervention can be effective in increasing appropriate response to symptoms of a heart attack among elders. [source] The Accuracy and Completeness of Data Collected by Prospective and Retrospective MethodsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2005J. Tobias Nagurney MD Abstract Objectives: To describe and test a model that compares the accuracy of data gathered prospectively versus retrospectively among adult emergency department patients admitted with chest pain. Methods: The authors developed a model of information flow from subject to medical record to the clinical study case report form, based on a literature review. To test this model, a bidirectional (prospective and retrospective) study was conducted, enrolling all eligible adult patients who were admitted with a chief complaint of chest pain. The authors interviewed patients in the emergency department to determine their chest pain history and established a prospective database; this was considered the criterion standard. Then, patient medical records were reviewed to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information available through a retrospective medical record review. Results: The model described applies the concepts of reliability and validity to information passed on by the study subject, the clinician, and the medical record abstractor. This study was comprised of 104 subjects, of which 63% were men and the median age was 63 years. Subjects were uncertain of responses for 0,8% of questions and responded differently upon reinterview for subsets of questions 0,30% of the time. The sensitivity of the medical record for risk factors for coronary artery disease was 0.77 to 0.93. Among the 88 subjects (85%) who indicated that their chest pain was substernal or left chest, the medical record described this location in 44%. Timing of the chest pain was the most difficult item to accurately capture from the medical record. Conclusions: Information obtained retrospectively from the abstraction of medical records is measurably less accurate than information obtained prospectively from research subjects. For certain items, more than half of the information is not available. This loss of information is related to the data types included in the study and by the assumptions that a researcher performing a retrospective study makes about implied versus explicitly stated responses. A model of information flow that incorporates the concepts of reliability and validity can be used to measure some of the loss of information that occurs at each step along the way from subject to clinician to medical record abstractor. [source] Association between pacifier use and breast-feeding, sudden infant death syndrome, infection and dental malocclusionINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED HEALTHCARE, Issue 6 2005Ann Callaghan RN RM BNurs(Hons) Executive summary Objective, To critically review all literature related to pacifier use for full-term healthy infants and young children. The specific review questions addressed are: What is the evidence of adverse and/or positive outcomes of pacifier use in infancy and childhood in relation to each of the following subtopics: ,breast-feeding; ,sudden infant death syndrome; ,infection; ,dental malocclusion. Inclusion criteria, Specific criteria were used to determine which studies would be included in the review: (i) the types of participants; (ii) the types of research design; and (iii) the types of outcome measures. To be included a study has to meet all criteria. Types of participants,The participants included in the review were healthy term infants and healthy children up to the age of 16 years. Studies that focused on preterm infants, and infants and young children with serious illness or congenital malformations were excluded. However, some total population studies did include these children. Types of research design, It became evident early in the review process that very few randomised controlled trials had been conducted. A decision was made to include observational epidemiological designs, specifically prospective cohort studies and, in the case of sudden infant death syndrome research, case,control studies. Purely descriptive and cross-sectional studies were excluded, as were qualitative studies and all other forms of evidence. A number of criteria have been proposed to establish causation in the scientific and medical literature. These key criteria were applied in the review process and are described as follows: (i) consistency and unbiasedness of findings; (ii) strength of association; (iii) temporal sequence; (iv) dose,response relationship; (v) specificity; (vi) coherence with biological background and previous knowledge; (vii) biological plausibility; and (viii) experimental evidence. Studies that did not meet the requirement of appropriate temporal sequencing of events and studies that did not present an estimate of the strength of association were not included in the final review. Types of outcome measures,Our specific interest was pacifier use related to: ,breast-feeding; ,sudden infant death syndrome; ,infection; ,dental malocclusion. Studies that examined pacifier use related to procedural pain relief were excluded. Studies that examined the relationship between pacifier use and gastro-oesophageal reflux were also excluded as this information has been recently presented as a systematic review. Search strategy, The review comprised published and unpublished research literature. The search was restricted to reports published in English, Spanish and German. The time period covered research published from January 1960 to October 2003. A protocol developed by New Zealand Health Technology Assessment was used to guide the search process. The search comprised bibliographic databases, citation searching, other evidence-based and guidelines sites, government documents, books and reports, professional websites, national associations, hand search, contacting national/international experts and general internet searching. Assessment of quality, All studies identified during the database search were assessed for relevance to the review based on the information provided in the title, abstract and descriptor/MeSH terms, and a full report was retrieved for all studies that met the inclusion criteria. Studies identified from reference list searches were assessed for relevance based on the study title. Keywords included: dummy, dummies, pacifier(s), soother(s), comforter(s), non-nutritive sucking, infant, child, infant care. Initially, studies were reviewed for inclusion by pairs of principal investigators. Authorship of articles was not concealed from the reviewers. Next, the methodological quality of included articles was assessed independently by groups of three or more principal investigators and clinicians using a checklist. All 20 studies that were accepted met minimum set criteria, but few passed without some methodological concern. Data extraction, To meet the requirements of the Joanna Briggs Institute, reasons for acceptance and non-acceptance at each phase were clearly documented. An assessment protocol and report form was developed for each of the three phases of review. The first form was created to record investigators' evaluations of studies included in the initial review. Those studies that failed to meet strict inclusion criteria were excluded at this point. A second form was designed to facilitate an in-depth critique of epidemiological study methodology. The checklist was pilot tested and adjustments were made before reviewers were trained in its use. When reviewers could not agree on an assessment, it was passed to additional reviewers and discussed until a consensus was reached. At this stage, studies other than cohort, case,control and randomised controlled trials were excluded. Issues of clarification were also addressed at this point. The final phase was that of integration. This phase, undertaken by the principal investigators, was assisted by the production of data extraction tables. Through a process of trial and error, a framework was formulated that adequately summarised the key elements of the studies. This information was tabulated under the following headings: authors/setting, design, exposure/outcome, confounders controlled, analysis and main findings. Results, With regard to the breast-feeding outcome, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising two randomised controlled trials and eight cohort studies. The research was conducted between 1995 and 2003 in a wide variety of settings involving research participants from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Information regarding exposure and outcome status, and potential confounding factors was obtained from: antenatal and postnatal records; interviews before discharge from obstetric/midwifery care; post-discharge interviews; and post-discharge postal and telephone surveys. Both the level of contact and the frequency of contact with the informant, the child's mother, differed widely. Pacifier use was defined and measured inconsistently, possibly because few studies were initiated expressly to investigate its relationship with breast-feeding. Completeness of follow-up was addressed, but missing data were not uniformly identified and explained. When comparisons were made between participants and non-participants there was some evidence of differential loss and a bias towards families in higher socioeconomic groups. Multivariate analysis was undertaken in the majority of studies, with some including a large number of sociodemographic, obstetric and infant covariates and others including just maternal age and education. As might be expected given the inconsistency of definition and measurement, the relationship between pacifier use and breast-feeding was expressed in many different ways and a meta-analysis was not appropriate. In summary, only one study did not report a negative association between pacifier use and breast-feeding duration or exclusivity. Results indicate an increase in risk for a reduced overall duration of breast-feeding from 20% to almost threefold. The data suggest that very infrequent use may not have any overall negative impact on breast-feeding outcomes. Six sudden infant death syndrome case,control studies met the criteria for inclusion. The research was conducted with information gathered between 1984 and 1999 in Norway, UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands and USA. Exposure information was obtained from a variety of sources including: hospital and antenatal records, death scene investigation, and interview and questionnaire. Information for cases was sought within 2 days after death, within 2,4 weeks after death and in one study between 3 and 11 years after death. Information for controls was sought from as early as 4 days of a nominated sudden infant death syndrome case, to between 1 and 7 weeks from the case date, and again in one study some 3,11 years later. In the majority of the studies case ascertainment was determined by post-mortem. Pacifier use was again defined and measured somewhat inconsistently. All studies controlled for confounding factors by matching and/or using multivariate analysis. Generally, antenatal and postnatal factors, as well as infant care practices, and maternal, family and socioeconomic issues were considered. All five studies reporting multivariate results found significantly fewer sudden infant death syndrome cases used a pacifier compared with controls. That is, pacifier use was associated with a reduced incidence of sudden infant death syndrome. These results indicate that the risk of sudden infant death syndrome for infants who did not use a pacifier in the last or reference sleep was at least twice, and possibly five times, that of infants who did use a pacifier. Three studies reported a moderately sized positive association between pacifier use and a variety of infections. Conversely, one study found no positive association between pacifier use at 15 months of age and a range of infections experienced between the ages of 6 and 18 months. Given the limited number of studies available and the variability of results, no meaningful conclusions could be drawn. Five cohort studies and one case,control study focused on the relationship between pacifier use and dental malocclusion. Not one of these studies reported a measure of association, such as an estimate of relative risk. It was therefore not possible to include these studies in the final review. Implications for practice, It is intended that this review be used as the basis of a ,best practice guideline', to make health professionals aware of the research evidence concerning these health and developmental consequences of pacifier use, because parents need clear information on which they can base child care decisions. With regard to the association between pacifier use and infection and dental malocclusion it was found that, due to the paucity of epidemiological studies, no meaningful conclusion can be drawn. There is clearly a need for more epidemiological research with regard to these two outcomes. The evidence for a relationship between pacifier use and sudden infant death syndrome is consistent, while the exact mechanism of the effect is not well understood. As to breast-feeding, research evidence shows that pacifier use in infancy is associated with a shorter duration and non-exclusivity. It is plausible that pacifier use causes babies to breast-feed less, but a causal relationship has not been irrefutably proven. Because breast-feeding confers an important advantage on all children and the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome is very low, it is recommended that health professionals generally advise parents against pacifier use, while taking into account individual circumstances. [source] Fall Prediction in Inpatients by Bedside Nurses Using the St. Thomas's Risk Assessment Tool in Falling Elderly Inpatients (STRATIFY) Instrument: A Multicenter StudyJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 5 2007Koen Milisen RN OBJECTIVES: To assess the predictive value of the St. Thomas's Risk Assessment Tool in Falling Elderly Inpatients (STRATIFY) instrument, a simple fall-risk assessment tool, when administered at a patient's hospital bedside by nurses. DESIGN: Prospective multicenter study. SETTING: Six Belgian hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2,568 patients (mean age±standard deviation 67.2±18.4; 55.3% female) on four surgical (n=875, 34.1%), eight geriatric (n=687, 26.8%), and four general medical wards (n=1,006, 39.2%) were included in this study upon hospital admission. All patients were hospitalized for at least 48 hours. MEASUREMENTS: Nurses completed the STRATIFY within 24 hours after admission of the patient. Falls were documented on a standardized incident report form. RESULTS: The number of fallers was 136 (5.3%), accounting for 190 falls and an overall rate of 7.3 falls per 1,000 patient days for all hospitals. The STRATIFY showed good sensitivity (,84%) and high negative predictive value (,99%) for the total sample, for patients admitted to general medical and surgical wards, and for patients younger than 75, although it showed moderate (69%) to low (52%) sensitivity and high false-negative rates (31,48%) for patients admitted to geriatric wards and for patients aged 75 and older. CONCLUSION: Although the STRATIFY satisfactorily predicted the fall risk of patients admitted to general medical and surgical wards and patients younger than 75, it failed to predict the fall risk of patients admitted to geriatric wards and patients aged 75 and older (particularly those aged 75,84). [source] Group-based evaluations for pupil-on-teacher violence: The impact of teacher intervention strategyJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Claire Lawrence Abstract Although extreme violence to teachers is rare, the fact remains that in the UK, 29% of teachers report having been physically assaulted by a pupil (ATL, 2008a). The ways in which responsibility for such assaults are attributed can have legal, educational and managerial implications. In the current study, teachers (N,=,66), pupils (N,=,68) and parents (N,=,64) from a large secondary school in the UK read an incident report form outlining an incident depicting a pupil physically assaulting a teacher. The incident report was manipulated such that, prior to being assaulted, the teacher had either separated the assailant pupil from another pupil using a physical or non-physical intervention. Results revealed that participating parents' and teachers' evaluations of the assailant's parents and the teacher differed from those of pupils in several ways. The results are discussed in terms of group-based responsibility for deviant behaviour and implications for teacher behaviour in response to pupil on teacher violence. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The role of second health professionals under New Zealand mental health legislationJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 3 2006A. J. O'BRIEN rgn rpn ba mphil The development of generic statutory roles in mental health care has been the subject of discussion by New Zealand nurses for the past decade. One such role is that of second health professional in judicial reviews of civil commitment. Issues identified by New Zealand nurses have also been raised in England, where it seems that nurses are likely to assume the role of Approved Mental Health Worker under English mental health law. A survey of mental health nurses found that few had received any preparation for the role of second health professional and 45% did not feel adequately prepared for the role. Some of these issues are reflected in a New Zealand inquiry which resulted in the Ministry of Health developing a written report form for second health professionals. However, the form has the potential to reduce the mental health nursing role to a narrow legal role. Statutory roles such as that of second health professional challenge mental health nurses to critically reflect on the conceptual and ethical basis of their practice. While traditional concepts such as therapeutic relationships and advocacy need to be reviewed in light of these changes, nurses need to be vigilant in articulating the moral and clinical basis of their roles. The development of guidelines for he second health professional role is suggested as a way of supporting clinical practice in this area. [source] A National Study of Efficiency for Dialysis Centers: An Examination of Market Competition and Facility Characteristics for Production of Multiple Dialysis OutputsHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 3 2002Hacer Ozgen Objective. To examine market competition and facility characteristics that can be related to technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs from the perspective of the industrial organization model. Study Setting. Freestanding dialysis facilities that operated in 1997 submitted cost report forms to the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), and offered all three outputs,outpatient dialysis, dialysis training, and home program dialysis. Data Sources. The Independent Renal Facility Cost Report Data file (IRFCRD) from HCFA was utilized to obtain information on output and input variables and market and facility features for 791 multiple-output facilities. Information regarding population characteristics was obtained from the Area Resources File. Study Design. Cross-sectional data for the year 1997 were utilized to obtain facility-specific technical efficiency scores estimated through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A binary variable of efficiency status was then regressed against its market and facility characteristics and control factors in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Principal Findings. The majority of the facilities in the sample are functioning technically inefficiently. Neither the intensity of market competition nor a policy of dialyzer reuse has a significant effect on the facilities' efficiency. Technical efficiency is significantly associated, however, with type of ownership, with the interaction between the market concentration of for-profits and ownership type, and with affiliations with chains of different sizes. Nonprofit and government-owned facilities are more likely than their for-profit counterparts to become inefficient producers of renal dialysis outputs. On the other hand, that relationship between ownership form and efficiency is reversed as the market concentration of for-profits in a given market increases. Facilities that are members of large chains are more likely to be technically inefficient. Conclusions. Facilities do not appear to benefit from joint production of a variety of dialysis outputs, which may explain the ongoing tendency toward single-output production. Ownership form does make a positive difference in production efficiency, but only in local markets where competition exists between nonprofit and for-profit facilities. The increasing inefficiency associated with membership in large chains suggests that the growing consolidation in the dialysis industry may not, in fact, be the strategy for attaining more technical efficiency in the production of multiple dialysis outputs. [source] | ||||||||||||||||