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Biomedical subjects

E J Posavac

Publications and source records attributed to E J Posavac.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Peer-based interventions to influence health-related behaviors and attitudes: a meta-analysis.

The effects of 47 peer-based health education programs described in 36 published studies were examined. The over-all effect size was small: the mean d was .190 when controls received no program and .020 when controls received an alternative program. Programs were divided into those focusing on preventing or reducing smoking and programs on other health issues; the latter were further divided into primary prevention and secondary prevention programs. Differences among studies suggested several biases which were likely to have influenced the effect sizes. Preventive interventions that produce only small effects can be valuable because many participants would not have developed the problem even without the program. This review suggested that, when health education programs are studied, (a) detailed statistical information should be provided to facilitate using the research findings in meta-analyses and (b) the costs of innovative programs should be presented to judge whether the results are worth the cost.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

College students' views of excessive drinking and the university's role.

Views of college students (N = 133) regarding excessive drinking were explored in terms of the amount of drinking which constitutes a drinking problem, the behaviors that indicate a student has been drinking excessively, and university alcohol policies that students would endorse. Students accepted levels of drinking by peers that markedly exceed definitions of excessive drinking by experts. A sizable minority of students refuse to label very dangerous behaviors associated with excessive drinking as indicating a drinking problem. The views of male and female students differed only marginally. Since students seem to define excessive drinking in ways that differ from professionals, it is suggested that student affairs personnel need to plan programs that recognize the students' views, otherwise students may continue to believe that while excessive drinking is bad, their level of drinking cannot lead to any problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Reasons for the trend toward null findings in research on Type A behavior.

The findings of many studies conducted before 1978 suggest that Type A behavior (TAB) contributes to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). In contrast, many recent studies have found no association between these variables. Through meta-analysis, several reasons for null findings are identified. First, a type of range restriction bias, disease-based spectrum (DBS) bias, produced many null findings. A study is vulnerable to DBS bias when researchers select only high-risk or diseased Ss for study. Second, self-report measures of TAB were often associated with null findings. Finally, null results were found for all studies that used fatal myocardial infarction as a disease criterion. In addition to identifying the reasons for null findings, this research suggests that TAB, as assessed by the structured interview, is associated with CHD. More Type As (70%) were found in diseased populations of middle-aged men than in healthy populations of middle-aged men (46%).

Coronary Artery Disease↗
PubMed1988

Disease based spectrum bias in referred samples and the relationship between type A behavior and coronary artery disease.

Using referred samples to study predictors of disease produces statistical problems that reduce the likelihood of obtaining statistically significant results even when a substantial relationship is present between a risk factor and a disease. The present paper refers to these problems as disease based spectrum (DBS) bias. DBS bias is present when subjects are directed into or excluded from the study sample according to their disease status. For example, healthy individuals are excluded from and diseased individuals are directed into referred samples. Therefore, DBS bias is present in referred samples. Examples from the literature on Type A behavior and coronary artery disease (CAD) are presented to illustrate how DBS bias reduces statistical associations. The results of the current research indicate DBS bias has reduced the association between Type A behavior and CAD in a number of studies reported in recent years. In addition, the present article discusses techniques for assessing and controlling for DBS bias.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Who makes the most progress in inpatient rehabilitation? An analysis of functional gain.

This study describes the functional gain made by 6,194 inpatients in 22 rehabilitation facilities in 1985 and 1986. Functional gain was measured by the Revised Level of Rehabilitation Scale (LORS-II). Results showed that age, length of stay, and functional ability at admission were all factors in patient progress, but not always in the way expected. Younger patients and those with a longer length of stay generally made more progress, but there were variations by impairment group. A curvilinear relationship between functional status at admission and functional gain was observed for several impairment groups. Head injury patients made the most functional gains. However, orthopedic patients made the most gains of all impairment groups when length of stay, age, functional ability at admission, and consistency of progress were considered.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1982

Rehabilitation program evaluation using a revised level of rehabilitation scale (LORS-II).

The Level of Rehabilitation Scale (LORS) was prepared to aid in meeting program evaluation needs of rehabilitation facilities. Advantages of the original LORS-I, including economy of administration, behaviorally defined levels of function, multiple points of view, and concise presentation of findings were retained. Normative information concerning improvement levels for the activities of daily living subscale was developed for cerebrovascular accident inpatients. Data showed that expected improvement varies according to functional level at admission and patient age.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1980

Evaluations of patient education programs: a meta-analysis.

A literature search located 23 evaluations of patient education programs that utilized a randomly selected control group (i.e., an experimental design) or a nonequivalent control group (i.e., a quasi-experimental design), Meta-analysis procedures were used to combine the findings of these studies. The effect size for each of 102 dependent variables was derived from the mean of an experimental group and the mean and standard deviation of an untaught control group. The effect size is a =-score that can be converted into the mean percentile rank of taught patients relative to the untaught controls. The mean effect size for all studies was .74, which is equivalent to improving the average taught patient from the fiftieth to the seventy-seventh percentile relative to the untaught patient group. Suggestions for improving the usefulness of patient education research design and report content are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Program evaluation of a physical medicine and rehabilitation unit: a new approach.

Rehabilitation units must meet the increasing demand for empirical documentation of the quality of care patients receive. Hospitals wanting to do program evaluations will find few published materials providing norms by which to judge the adequacy of the functional outcomes achieved by their rehabilitation patients. The purpose of this research was to develop an approach to program evaluation that would serve the accreditation needs and would be relatively inexpensive to implement. Sixty-nine consecutive admissions for cerebral vascular accidents (CVA) were assessed on activities of daily living (ADL) and cognition using a behaviorally defined procedure called the "Level of Rehabilitation Scale" that was developed for program evaluation purposes. Nurses and spouses of patients were interviewed to obtain the observations that were rated. Further ratings on ADL and cognition were made at discharge. Those at home 6 weeks and 4 1/2 months after discharge were assessed on the same scales and on home-relevant activities. Experience with the instrument showed that ratings of function can be made in a reliable and valid fashion. The research provides the beginning of the accumulation of improvement norms for CVA inpatients and documents maintenance of improvement 4 1/2 months after discharge. Hospitals and rehabilitation units can utilize these norms and this method of program evaluation economically using nonclinically trained staff.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1977

Further factor-analytic investigation of the Thorne femininity study.

The responses of 512 undergraduate women to 198 items of the Thorne Femininity Study were factor analyzed in order to isolate the dimensions of femininity represented among the items of this instrument. The procedure used isolated 11 orthogonal factors that accounted for 21.1% of the total variance. Three additional samples of women were tested (total N=222) and compared to the college age samples on the 11 factors. The various samples differed in many systematic and statistically significant ways. Suggestions were made as to the possibility of developing new items to measure some aspects of femininity not represented completely among the items analyzed.

Adolescent↗