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Biomedical subjects

Colin MacDougall

Publications and source records attributed to Colin MacDougall.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Factors influencing women's use of health services for sexually transmitted infections in eastern Nepal.

This paper explores low levels of women's health service utilization for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Nepal. We interviewed 120 women individually and 53 in focus groups. Predictors of lower utilisation were self-medication, consultation with faith healers, inadequate knowledge of STIs, belief about causes, fear, social taboos and stigmatisation, womens secondary status, and presence of male health professionals. Results indicate the importance of peoples belief in their decisions about health care. Strategies to improve access to health services in Nepal should systematically investigate the role of all these factors to improve access to and utilisation of health services for STIs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Professional issues for physiotherapists in family-centred and community-based settings.

This paper reports results from a qualitative study of physiotherapists in a community-based and family-centred setting in which a growing awareness of the family-centred approach accompanied the transition from an institutional structure to a predominantly community-based structure. The goal was to gain insight into how a family-centred philosophy was working and to explore the benefits and dilemmas for physiotherapists in such a setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 physiotherapists working with children with disabilities. Analysis of the results against a continuum of family control versus physiotherapist control showed that physiotherapists saw their roles as working with the family to discuss shared goals. However, qualitative analyses showed tensions between the policy of family involvement and another influential policy in physiotherapy: evidence-based practice. Further, there were tensions if the desires of the family could not be matched with available resources. The results show benefits and barriers to working in a community-based, family-centred approach. Barriers included practical dilemmas, policy dilemmas, and career dilemmas. This paper argues that, while family-centred practice is supported by the literature and physiotherapists, significant policy and professional issues need to be addressed before such practice can be fully adopted.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

Supportive environments for physical activity and the local government agenda: a South Australian example.

In the promotion of moderate physical activity it is increasingly argued that a supportive physical environment is a key factor, and that local government is ideally placed to play an important role. This study reports on the factors that led one local government to take such a leading role. A semi-structured interview was conducted to find out why a chief executive officer of a local government decided that the creation of supportive environments for physical activity was the core business of council. The results show that key ingredients were that local government should take a strategic rather than an operational focus on the issue, that there should be open organisational structures to allow the various functions of local government to work together, and that there must be appropriate leadership. The findings suggest ways for engaging local government as a key partner in promoting supportive environments that are consistent with literature on policy, organisational structure and leadership theory.

Exercise↗