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Biomedical subjects

C Brassard

Publications and source records attributed to C Brassard.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

A comparison of the prosodic characteristics of the speech of people with Parkinson's disease and Friedreich's ataxia with neurologically normal speakers.

The realization of prosody (speech rate, fundamental frequency, intonation) was investigated in a group of 10 individuals with Parkinson's disease and a group of 10 individuals with Friedreich's ataxia. Data from these two neurologically disordered groups were compared to individuals without neurological impairment. Both neurologically impaired groups retained some aspects of normal speech prosody, while other aspects were affected to a significant degree. The prosodic characteristics of speakers with Parkinson's disease were distinct from those of speakers with Friedreich's ataxia. These results were interpreted in terms of prosodic competence and prosodic performance.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Auditory comprehension problems in aphasia from the perspective of aphasic persons and their families and friends.

This study explored with a qualitative approach the experience of auditory comprehension problems from the perspective aphasic persons and their families and friends. Semi-structured group interviews were held with 55 persons (29 aphasic and 26 non-aphasic) who were asked to describe the consequences of aphasia on their lives. Most participants contributed some material to the topic of interest. They described problematic situations, and the behaviours they said they adopted at those times; they also provided explanations of what their problems were. Some discrepancies between aphasic persons and their families and friends were also noted. The essential elements of the experience of an auditory comprehension problem centre around speakers' rate of speech and situations in which aphasic persons feel they are incapable of understanding or of following because of an unfavourable environment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

[Values of certain prosodic parameters obtain with French-speaking probands without communication problems].

Acoustic data are provided in order to facilitate evaluation of the speech of adult patients with prosody disorders such as dysarthria. Forty French-speaking subjects between 45 and 75 years of age, with neither neurological disease nor a communication disorder, were grouped on the basis of sex and age. Subjects were required to produce four series of 20 matched interrogative and declarative sentences. Their productions were recorded and analyzed with an IBM Speech Viewer. Measures of fundamental frequency, of variation in fundamental frequency, of rate over the entire sentence, as well as a measure of intonation (defined as the difference in fundamental frequency between the last syllable of matched declarative and interrogative sentences) are reported in tables for clinical use. These data provide information for the evaluation of the prosody of French-speaking persons.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

An analysis of the communication of adult residents of a long-term care hospital as perceived by their caregivers.

Different groups of caregivers (nurses, orderlies, professionals, student orderlies and volunteers) who were in frequent interaction with residents from a long-term care hospital were interviewed with a nominal group process. They were asked to identify concrete situations of communication in which residents with no trouble communicating, residents with aphasia and residents with dementia need to express and/or comprehend a message. A total of 196 statements were recorded and coded using a qualitative approach into different categories of communication acts specific to daily life situations and several categories of generic communication acts, which are unrelated to the daily routine of care and treatment. The results show that communication in daily life situations varies little in relation to the different residents. However, residents with language disorders are perceived to be less involved in generic communication acts than residents with no communication disorder. They also demonstrate that the perceptions of communication of the different caregivers vary. The results are discussed in relationship to the conception of an evaluation instrument for language-impaired long-term care residents, which will help in determining intervention as well as the objective evaluation of its effects.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

[Biofeedback and relaxation for patients with hypertension].

We have known for decades that essential hypertension significantly contributes to many physical diseases. In most cases, hypertension results from a person's perception of stress producing events or situations. According to Greenberg, when a person is confronted by a situation or an event, the person must perceive it as either positively or negatively stressful. If it is perceived as positively stressful, a series of psychological reactions are incurred followed by physiological reactions. If these psychophysiological manifestations persist, the person is then faced with possible pathological conditions. This study attempted to support the hypothesis that people with hypertension should be able to benefit from biofeedback and relaxation techniques. Using these techniques, they will be better able to recognize and understand perceived stressful events or situations and will therefore act appropriately. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of biofeedback, relaxation and the combination of both techniques on medically diagnosed hypertensive patients. More specifically, the study examined the following questions: What is the clients' ability to lower their blood pressure using biofeedback, relaxation and the combination of both techniques? To what capacity can clients reduce their biofeedback and relaxation training programme? Twenty-three males, aged 40 to 70 years (M = 54 years), who were registered with a cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation centre, volunteered to participate in this study. For five weeks, clients trained Tuesdays and Thursdays, one hour per session. Compliance to the training programme was respected by using only those clients who had missed fewer than three of the sessions. The results showed little statistical significance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[A career in nursing sciences?].

A research study was conducted in a francophone high school in Northern Ontario to examine students' perceptions of nursing and the influence of these perceptions on nursing as a career choice. All students in grades 11, 12 and 13 were invited to participate. Fifty-eight percent (n = 268) completed the questionnaire. Results showed that 37 percent of the respondents considered pursuing a career in the health sciences. Only 14% percent were interested in nursing. Respondents' comments suggest that the nurse is viewed favorably but the profession is perceived as a career that does not involve pleasant tasks, good working conditions or opportunities for professional advancement. Reasons advocated for choosing nursing were altruistic rather than career-oriented. Students saw nursing practice as occurring mainly in a hospital setting. Half of the respondents who had chosen nursing as a career opted to enroll in a university program and the other half chose a college program. Results suggest that nursing continues to face an image problem regarding its role in the health care system. In these times of job losses and budget cuts, the profession still needs to attract young recruits. This is the challenge we have to face.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Measurement of ionized calcium in serum with ion-selective electrodes: a mature technology that can meet the daily service needs.

This article reviews key advances in ion-selective electrode technology that have made potentiometric measurements of ionized calcium (Ca2+) reliable and precise. Our use of two second-generation Ca2+ analyzers (Radiometer ICA1 and NOVA 8) made possible uninterrupted service as volume increased to 31 640 patient tests in 1985. The lower results on the NOVA 8 were adjusted upwards to match those of the ICA1 to give identical results. Both analyzers were evaluated under working conditions of high volumes and multiple operators to establish downtime, electrode life, and costs. We have classified all Ca2+ analyzers into first-, intermediate-, and second-generation instruments, the better to understand their differences. Results for large numbers of patients' sera were shown to be systematically different when any two analyzers were compared. These differences are the consequence of each manufacturer's unique choices of the following: (a) the matrix of the calcium calibration solutions, (b) the type and configuration of the reference electrode, and (c) the salt-bridge solution. Elimination of each analyzer's biases will require agreement on a reference system that defines the accuracy of Ca2+ measurements on serum, plasma, or whole blood. The sound analytical performance of today's second-generation Ca2+ analyzers has allowed us to exploit the inherent superiority of Ca2+ over total calcium (CaT) measurements in the daily care of patients. We report on the preference of Ca2+ over CaT by physicians at our hospital since the introduction of second-generation Ca2+ analyzers. Therefore, we state unequivocally from our very satisfactory experience over the past five years that Ca2+ is a clinical laboratory test whose time has come!

Calcium↗