Biomedical subjects

A C Lodder

Publications and source records attributed to A C Lodder.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Determinants of change in the intention to use benzodiazepines.

OBJECTIVE: To examine attitudes and beliefs associated with changes in the intention to use benzodiazepines during the six-month period after first benzodiazepine use. DESIGN: Population-based 6-month follow-up with 3 measurement points (baseline, 2 weeks after inclusion, 6 months after inclusion). SETTING: Starting or initial benzodiazepine users were included during a period of 4 months from November 1994 in the only pharmacy of a Dutch community of 13,500 people. MEASURES: Variables proposed by the Model of Planned Behaviour and the Health Belief Model. Drug exposure data from automated pharmacy records. RESULTS: At baseline, the intention to use benzodiazepines was primarily predicted by the perceived norm of the general practitioner regarding benzodiazepine use, and by the participants' own attitudes. After fourteen days, the determinants of change in the intention to use benzodiazepines were the initially perceived norm of the general practitioner and the change in the severity of participants' illnesses. After six months, the change in the severity of the illness and the perceived health benefits of benzodiazepines at the time of inclusion were the main determinants of the change in the intention to use benzodiazepines between the second and third measurement point. The intention to use benzodiazepines showed a decrease during follow-up. The three intention measures were significant predictors of actual benzodiazepine use during the year following baseline assessment. CONCLUSION: The study sheds light on interesting determinants of decrease or increase in the intention to use during the six-month period after first benzodiazepine use.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Assessment of the quality of life of patients with advanced and end-stage cancer or serious infections with a symptom-based or an impact-based instrument.

In 1992 a project was started in which home care technology was made available to patients with cancer or serious infections. Primary care providers were trained and supported to administer parenteral drugs and fluids in the home setting. Between 1992 and 1995 we applied the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) as questionnaires for quality of life (QoL) assessment in a group of 112 hospitalized patients who were prepared to receive further treatment at home. Scores on the RSCL revealed a high level of symptomatology in both the physical and the psychological dimension. Factor analysis showed a five-factor rather than a two-factor structure. The SIP showed considerable restrictions in daily living, particularly in the physical dimension. Whereas the RSCL and the SIP correlated well in the psychological and physical dimensions in advanced cancer patients, this correlation disappeared in the group of endstage cancer patients. The data indicate that the health-related QoL of end-stage cancer patients cannot be reliably be assessed with a symptom-based instrument alone; it needs to be supplemented by other instruments, such as the SIP.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1998

Disturbed solid-phase gastric emptying in functional dyspepsia: a meta-analysis.

Functional dyspepsia is a common disorder with a diverse pathophysiological background, but the role of motility disorders in functional dyspepsia remains unclear. We aimed to quantify the relationship between disturbed gastric emptying and functional dyspepsia, using a meta-analytic approach. Through a structured literature search of Medline and Embase from 1983 to 1996, we selected all studies in which scintigraphic solid-phase gastric emptying was measured in both functional dyspeptic patients and controls. Seventeen studies involving 868 dyspeptic patients and 397 controls were pooled. Gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia was 1.46 (1.23-1.69) times slower than controls; the proportion of patients with abnormally slow emptying was either 37% (34-40%, simple numeric pooling) or 39% (29-49%, weighted pooling). We conclude that gastric emptying of solids in patients with functional dyspepsia is 1.5 times slower than in healthy controls and that a significant delay of emptying is present in almost 40% of patients with functional dyspepsia.

Dyspepsia↗