PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A O Agho

Publications and source records attributed to A O Agho.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Correlates of actual and perceived knowledge of prostate cancer among African Americans.

While digital rectal examination, prostate-specific antigen, and transrectal ultrasound have been identified as effective means of early detection of prostate cancer, African American men tend to underuse these services as compared to white men. Using a nonrandom sample of 108 African American men, the authors conducted an exploratory investigation of the effects of education, income, age, and health insurance coverage on actual and perceived knowledge of prostate cancer. The extent to which the use of prostate cancer screening services may be attributed to actual and perceived knowledge of prostate cancer was also explored. Respondents demonstrated a poor knowledge of prostate cancer and less than 40% reported having had prostate cancer screening as part of their annual physical examination. The results of the study also revealed that (a) there was a moderately strong correlation between actual and perceived knowledge of prostate cancer, (b) use of prostate cancer screening service was positively associated with actual and perceived knowledge of the disease, (c) actual knowledge of prostate cancer was negatively correlated with education, age, and income, and (d) actual and perceived knowledge of prostate cancer were both correlated with having health insurance coverage.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

A national survey of current admission practices in selected allied health educational programs.

This study investigated the admission practices of selected allied health programs, specifically considering the priorities placed on cognitive and noncognitive factors. The extents to which diversity and a student's desire to work in underserved areas are considered in the selection process were also examined. Of 206 questionnaires mailed to accredited baccalaureate occupational therapy, physical therapy, health information management, and respiratory therapy programs, 144 were returned. The results indicate that allied health programs use combinations of cognitive and noncognitive factors in selecting students for admission. A higher priority is placed on overall grade-point average (GPA) and GPA in foundation courses, whereas lower priorities are placed on the need for diversity and a student's desire to work in underserved areas. The authors discuss the implications of the findings and urge the rethinking of the traditional selection method, which places applicants from ethnic/racial minority backgrounds at a disadvantage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Perceptions of computer literacy among occupational therapy students.

OBJECTIVE: Educational programs for the occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant are mandated to include content on technologies in their curricula. Given the increasing use of technology skills among occupational therapists, especially computer technology skills, it seemed judicious to ascertain the current and desired levels of skill of occupational therapy students as well as their opinions about computer technology. METHOD: Program directors from five baccalaureate-level curricula distributed the Computer Opinion Survey and the Computer Knowledge Survey to 109 junior and senior occupational therapy students. The students were instructed to complete and return questionnaires to their program directors who, in turn, forwarded the questionnaires to the principal investigators. RESULTS: Respondents were generally positive about computer technology, and the level of knowledge they desired about computer technology applications in occupational therapy was much greater than their current level of knowledge. Although respondents' positive attitudes were significantly correlated with their current levels of computer knowledge, no significant relationship was established among positive attitudes, current levels of computer knowledge, and number of computer courses completed before entering an occupational therapy curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Even though the respondents were computer literate (i.e., they had a general working knowledge of the uses, limitations, and impact of computers), no relationship was established between their previous computer course work and their current knowledge of the use of computer technology in occupational therapy. The linkage between generic computer literacy and knowledge of its relationship to the use of computer technology in occupational therapy was not evident to this sample of junior and senior students.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Flexible benefits plans. Perceptions of their effectiveness.

Flexible benefits plans have been used in businesses since the 1970s to control healthcare costs and meet the needs of an increasingly diverse work force. More recently, healthcare organizations have begun to implement the flexible benefits concept. This study collected data from human resources executives at hospitals with and without flex plans to investigate how they perceive the effectiveness of and the problems associated with such plans.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1995

In pursuit of computer literacy in health management education.

Computer literacy skills are essential tools students must possess to do well in computer-related and quantitative courses, and to be effective health managers. Many health management education programs are faced with the challenge of finding an ideal framework for teaching computer literacy courses. Recently, Austin and Malec (1990) proposed an instructional method for teaching computer literacy. This method was used for three consecutive semesters to teach the computer literacy course offered at Sangamon State University. A case analysis technique was utilized to assess of the effectiveness of this method. A pre-test and post-test design was used in the study. Post-test scores were found to be significantly higher than pre-test scores. Improvements in students' attitudes toward computers were noticed in the areas pertaining to how they view their competency levels. Overall, the data for this study suggest that this instructional method is effective for teaching computer literacy to adult students who have had limited exposure to computers.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed1995

Actual and desired computer literacy among allied health students.

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of computer literacy among allied health students, with specific focus on physical therapy, occupational therapy, and respiratory therapy students, and to investigate the perceived differences between actual computer literacy and desired computer literacy. Two established measurement instruments were used to collect data from a sample of 377 allied health students. T-tests and Pearson product-moment correlations were conducted to analyze the data. Results show that allied health students take very few computer courses, but they are generally aware of the applications of computers in the practice of allied health and they desire a higher level of computer literacy than they currently have.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The moderating effects of dispositional affectivity on relationships between job characteristics and nurses' job satisfaction.

Using the job satisfaction model embedded in the Price-Mueller nurse turnover model, the moderating effects of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) on the relationships between the seven independent variables in the model and job satisfaction were examined. Multiple regression procedure was used to analyze data collected from 162 nursing employees of a 327-bed Veterans Administration Medical Center. The major determinants of job satisfaction were found to be routinization, instrumental communication, and PA. The impact of participation, instrumental communication, integration, distributive justice on job satisfaction were found to be moderated by PA. NA moderated the impact of promotional opportunity on job satisfaction. These predictors, in conjunction with demographic variables, explained 45% of the variance of job satisfaction.

Adult↗