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Biomedical subjects

A Miu

Publications and source records attributed to A Miu.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Access to inpatient or residential substance abuse treatment among homeless adults with alcohol or other drug use disorders.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a theoretically guided study of access to inpatient or residential treatment among a probability sample of homeless adults with alcohol or drug use disorders in Houston, Texas. METHODS: This study used a cross-sectional, retrospective design with data collected from a multistage random sample of 797 homeless adults age 18 or older who were living in Houston shelters and streets in 1996. Structured, face-to-face interviews produced screening diagnoses for alcohol and drug use disorders, treatment use data, and candidate predictors of treatment use. Logistic and linear regression analyses were performed on the subset of 326 homeless persons with either alcohol or drug use disorder. RESULTS: 27.5% of persons with substance use disorder had accessed inpatient or residential treatment during the past year. Controlling for additional need factors such as comorbidity, persons having public health insurance and a history of treatment for substance problems had greater odds of receiving at least one night of treatment. Contrary to expectation, contact with other service sectors was not predictive of treatment access. Schizophrenia and having a partner appeared to hinder access. Greater need for treatment was associated with fewer nights of treatment, suggesting retention difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to previous findings on access to health care among homeless persons and highlights a pattern of disparities in substance abuse treatment access. Health insurance is important, but enhancing access to care involves more than economic considerations if homeless persons are to receive the treatment they need. Referral relationships across different service sectors may require strengthening.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

HIV-infected parents and their children in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the number, characteristics, and living situations of children of HIV-infected adults. METHODS: Interviews were conducted in 1996 and early 1997 with a nationally representative probability sample of 2864 adults receiving health care for HIV within the contiguous United States. RESULTS: Twenty-eight percent of infected adults in care had children. Women were more likely than men to have children (60% vs 18%) and to live with them (76% vs 34%). Twenty-one percent of parents had been hospitalized during the previous 6 months, and 10% had probably been drug dependent in the previous year. Parents continued to have children after being diagnosed with HIV: 12% of all women conceived and bore their youngest child after diagnosis, and another 10% conceived before but gave birth after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and support services for people affected by the HIV epidemic should have a family focus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Physician response to prenatal substance exposure.

OBJECTIVES: To examine physician responses to suspected prenatal substance exposure and the reasons underlying these responses. METHODS: National mail survey of practicing obstetricians and pediatricians who see neonates. Response rate: 63%. RESULTS: More than 70% of physicians reported having ever suspected prenatal substance exposure. Response rates did not vary by specialty. Twenty-seven percent reported that they had never suspected prenatal substance exposure. The most common lifetime pattern (60%) was some response whenever prenatal substance exposure was suspected; next most common was no suspicion (27%). Just over 10% had a discretionary response: acting in some cases of suspected prenatal substance exposure but ignoring others. Two percent consistently ignored their suspicions. Getting help for the patient and protecting the fetus were the most common reasons to act. Among those who had ignored their suspicions, lack of sufficient evidence of substance use was the most often cited reason. There were some important specialty differences in reasons for response and non-response and in specific responses likely to be taken. Obstetricians are far more likely to provide the patient with information and get a substance use history; pediatricians are more inclined to involve outsiders. CONCLUSIONS: Obstetricians and pediatricians seem quite willing to act on their suspicions of prenatal substance exposure, and generally respond by taking positive actions. Specialty differences are few and reflect practice differences.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1995

Cancer incidence among Filipinos in Los Angeles County, 1972-1991.

Although Filipinos are the second largest Asian subgroup in the United States, little is known about their patterns of cancer incidence. We have examined cancer incidence rates among Filipinos living in Los Angeles County from 1972 through 1991 and evaluated their risk of non-localized cancer relative to non-Hispanic whites. Although Filipinos have substantially lower cancer rates than non-Hispanic whites in Los Angeles County, their incidence rates of liver cancer, cancer of the nasopharynx and thyroid cancer are higher. Filipino men and women had somewhat more advanced cancer at diagnosis, on average, than non-Hispanic whites, though no statistically significant differences were observed for sites where early detection methods exist. Our data suggest that Filipino-Americans would benefit from increased screening for cervical and breast cancer as well as efforts to interrupt transmission of hepatitis B virus to reduce liver cancer incidence.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fertility desires and intentions of HIV-positive men and women.

CONTEXT: HIV-positive men and women may have fertility desires and may intend to have children. The extent of these desires and intentions and how they may vary by individuals' social and demographic characteristics and health factors is not well understood. METHODS: Interviews were conducted from September through December 1998 with 1,421 HIV-infected adults who were part of the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study, a nationally representative probability sample of 2,864 HIV-infected adults who were receiving medical care within the contiguous United States in early 1996. RESULTS: Overall, 28-29% of HIV-infected men and women receiving medical care in the United States desire children in the future. Among those desiring children, 69% of women and 59% of men actually expect to have one or more children in the future. The proportion of HIV-infected women desiring a child in the future is somewhat lower than the overall proportion of U.S. women who desire a child. The fertility desires of HIV-infected individuals do not always agree with those of their partners: As many as 20% of HIV-positive men who desire children have a partner who does not Generally, HIV-positive individuals who desire children are younger, have fewer children and report higher ratings of their physical functioning or overall health than their counterparts who do not desire children, yet desire for future childbearing is not related to measures of HIV progression. HIV-positive individuals who expect children are generally younger and less likely to be married than those who do not. Multivariate analyses indicate that black HIlV-positive individuals are more likely to expect children in the future than are others. While HIV-positive women who already have children are significantly less likely than others both to desire and to expect more births, partner's HIV status has mixed effects: Women whose partner's HIVstatus is known are significantly less likely to desire children but are significantly more likely to expect children in the future than are women whose partner's HIV status is unknown. Moreover, personal health status significantly affects women's desire for children in the future but not men's, while health status more strongly influences men's expectations to have children. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that many HIV-infected adults desire and expect to have children has important implications for the prevention of vertical and heterosexual transmission of HIV, the need for counseling to facilitate informed decision-making about childbearing and childrearing, and the future demand for social services for children born to infected parents.

Adult↗