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Being Aware (being + aware)
Selected AbstractsTrends in Parkinson's disease related mortality in England and Wales, 1993,2006EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 9 2009A. Q. N. Mylne Background:, This paper describes changes in Parkinson's disease (PD) mortality in England and Wales between 1993 and 2006 using all information on death certificates. Methods:, Information on deaths was obtained from the Office for National Statistics. Mortality rates for any mention of PD on death certificates were directly age-standardized using the European standard population. Average yearly changes in mortality rates were estimated using linear regression. The underlying cause of death on death certificates where PD was mentioned was examined by sex and calendar period. Results:, Male PD age-standardized mortality rates for any mention of PD decreased from 15.0 to 11.7 per 100 000 between 1993 and 2006. Female PD mortality rates fell from 6.3 to 4.9 per 100 000. Decreases were greater for older age-groups. The proportion of deaths with PD recorded as the underlying cause increased by 50% in 2001 following implementation of the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Conclusion:, Parkinson's disease mortality rates in England and Wales are decreasing, especially for men and for older age-groups. Because of data limitations we are unable to ascertain whether the decrease of PD recorded on death certificates is because of a reduction in PD incidence, or to improved survival for PD patients resulting from advancements in PD treatments or to improvements in general medical care. The dramatic increase in PD as the underlying cause of death following ICD revision in 2001 demonstrates the dangers of using underlying cause of death to investigate mortality trends without being aware of the potential for artifacts. [source] ,Like a friend going round': reducing the stigma attached to mental healthcare in rural communitiesHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 4 2002P. Crawford RMN DPSN BA (Hons) PhD Abstract Traditionally, stigma is seen as something that is the fault of the mental health system, and that involves an individual suffering social disapprobation and reduced life chances as a result of having been given a diagnostic label and an identity as a patient as a result of their contact with psychiatric institutions. The present study, based on focus group discussions conducted with users and mental healthcare workers in a rural setting, suggests that this classic conception of stigma does not readily apply to care in the community. First, workers described themselves as actively trying to challenge stigma at an institutional level, as well as being apt to change their own practice to reduce the stigmatizing effect of mental healthcare on their clients and make their presence less conspicuous. The ideal was to be ,like a friend going round'. However, this view included a somewhat passive notion of clients. By contrast, the present investigation showed that clients described themselves in much more active terms as being aware of possible sources of stigma and being inclined to challenge negative attitudes themselves. Future mental healthcare practice could draw upon professionals' stock of knowledge as to how their practice could lead to less stigma and could build upon clients' own strengths to achieve stigma reduction. [source] The ABC of New Zealand's Ten Year Vision for Pharmacists: awareness, barriers and consultationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACY PRACTICE, Issue 3 2009Shane Scahill Abstract Objectives This study aimed to determine New Zealand pharmacists' awareness of, recall of consultation about, and potential barriers to the implementation of the Focus on the Future: Ten Year Vision for Pharmacists in New Zealand: 2004,2014 document. Method A national postal survey was carried out in New Zealand of practising pharmacists registered with the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (n = 1892). The survey was conducted between September and December 2006. Key findings The response rate was 51.8% (n = 980 usable surveys). Approximately three-quarters (73.4%) reported being aware of the 10-year vision document and 40.9% recall being consulted. Fewer than one-third (29.8%) had read the document prior to completing the survey. Thirty-two variables describing potential barriers to implementing the 10-year vision were reduced, through factor analysis, to seven factors with significant eigenvalues (>1.0). The factors describe the underlying themes of barriers identified in the survey, including pharmacist humanistic, integrated systems of care and teamwork, funder stakeholder relationships and remuneration, lack of appreciation of knowledge and skills, lack of research support, current expertise and continuing professional development, and lack of voice. The majority of barrier variables within the seven factors were rated as extremely or quite important. Conclusions There was a high level of awareness and moderate level of recall of consultation on the document among respondents. Although 40% recall being consulted on the document, fewer than one-third reported having read the document prior to completing our survey. Pharmacists highlighted a significant number of potential barriers to the implementation of the 10-year vision. If the pharmacy profession in New Zealand is to move forward towards the state described in the 10-year vision document then these potential barriers need to be better understood and addressed. [source] The sexual lives of men with mild learning disability: a qualitative studyBRITISH JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2009Evan Yacoub Accessible summary ,,We talked to some men with learning disability about sex and relationships. Some people lived in the community, and some people lived in hospital. ,,The men knew quite a lot about sex. Most people said they got good support from their keyworkers. ,,Some people were asked for sex when they did not want it. Some people were made to have sex that was not safe. ,,We have some ideas about how men with learning disabilities can speak up for themselves about sex and relationships. Summary We aimed to explore in detail the sexual lives and behaviour of men with mild learning disabilities living both in community and in secure hospital settings. We wanted to generate hypotheses about them and identify potential unmet needs. We used a narrative interview that focused on areas such as relationships, sex education, contraception and the attitudes of others towards the participants' sexual lives and orientation. We used the constant comparative method to analyse transcribed interviews. Several clients reported engaging in unsafe practices despite being aware of the risks. Participants generally felt that services had shifted from a paternalistic to a more supportive approach towards their sexual lives and orientation. Experiences with other men were commonly reported. Several participants reported being pressurised into sex as adults. In our sample, sexual knowledge did not lead to safe sexual practices. The good rapport with services reported by the participants may be utilised to provide further education and empowerment to improve the safety of sexual practices in this group. Other ways of improved service delivery are suggested. [source] | ||||||||||