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Biomedical subjects

B C Fletcher

Publications and source records attributed to B C Fletcher.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Disease concordances amongst marital partners: not 'way of life' or mortality data artifact.

Mortality statistics for Great Britain (1979-80, 1982-3) for more than 500 occupations and 20 different causes of death were examined. The paper demonstrates that there is clear concordance of cause of death between men and married women which can be linked to the occupation of the male. Various possible explanations are considered including shared social class and way of life and the suggestion that the associations reported are the result of various forms of statistical bias inherent in Standardized Mortality Ratio statistics. It is proposed that this is consistent with a psychosocial hypothesis, although longitudinal empirical research would be required to establish this.

Adult

The stressors and strains of health visiting: demands, supports, constraints and psychological health.

An empirical study investigated the work stressors and psychological strains experienced by health visitors in three areas of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. A questionnaire, based on Payne's model of occupational stress, probed the perceived demands, supports and constraints of the work and the coping strategies used by the health visitors. The research aimed to establish the extent and nature of strain using validated indicators of general anxiety and depression, to pinpoint specific features of the work which are associated with the strain measures, and to suggest possible changes to working practices. While health visitors found their jobs generally satisfying, a significant number of staff were under strain even though the mean levels of strain were lower than those observed in social workers and hospital-based nursing staff working with people who have a mental handicap, and little different from women who work in industry. Many aspects of the job were perceived to be demanding yet the demanding nature of cases was not related to strain measures. There were, however, interesting statistical relationships between strain scores and demands concerned with colleagues and managers and the amount of support a health visitor perceived.

Adaptation, Psychological