Biomedical subjects

Elizabeth Fries

Publications and source records attributed to Elizabeth Fries.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Randomized trial of a low-intensity dietary intervention in rural residents: the Rural Physician Cancer Prevention Project.

BACKGROUND: Dietary behavior, specifically a low-fat, high-fiber diet, plays a role in the primary prevention of chronic diseases including cancer. DESIGN: A community-based randomized trial to assess the impact of a low-intensity, physician-endorsed, self-help dietary intervention that provided tailored dietary feedback, and was designed to promote improved fat and fiber behavior in a rural, low-education/low-literacy, partly minority population. The data were collected from 1999 to 2003. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: A total of 754 patients from three physician practices in rural Virginia completed a baseline telephone survey assessing dietary and psychosocial information, and were then randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. Follow-up telephone evaluation was based on 522 participants at 1 month, 470 at 6 months, and 516 participants at 12 months. INTERVENTION: A series of tailored feedback, followed by brief telephone counseling and theory-based nutritional education booklets, provided by staggered delivery to the home. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary fat and fiber behavior, dietary intentions to change, self-efficacy for dietary change, and fat and fiber knowledge. RESULTS: The intervention group demonstrated significant improvement in dietary fat and fiber behaviors and intentions to change fat and fiber intake (p <0.05) at 1, 6, and 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The Rural Physician Cancer Prevention Project provides an effective model for achieving public health-level dietary health behavior changes among a rural, minority, and low-literacy/low-education population.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The role of disclosure patterns and unsupportive social interactions in the well-being of breast cancer patients.

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and potential effects of disclosure patterns and unsupportive social interactions in breast cancer patients. Disclosure, the thoughts and feelings people communicate to others, and unsupportive social interactions, the upsetting or unsupportive responses people receive from others, have been infrequently studied in breast cancer patients. Sixty-six early stage breast cancer patients diagnosed less than one year completed a written questionnaire. Results indicated that the women reported confiding in family and friends more than in mental health workers. Fears of recurrence and worries about the effects of the illness on family members were the most important concerns, whereas concerns about body image were the least troublesome. Failure to disclose concerns was associated with low social support, high unsupportive social interactions, and low emotional well-being. Most of the unsupportive responses received from other people were either behaviors of minimizing or distancing. Unsupportive reactions were significantly associated with greater role limitations due to emotional problems and decreased social functioning. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Gail model risk assessment and risk perceptions.

Patients can benefit from accessible breast cancer risk information. The Gail model is a well-known means of providing risk information to patients and for guiding clinical decisions. Risk presentation often includes 5-year and life-time percent chances for a woman to develop breast cancer. How do women perceive their risks after Gail model risk assessment? This exploratory study used a randomized clinical trial design to address this question among women not previously selected for breast cancer risk. Results suggest a brief risk assessment intervention changes quantitative and comparative risk perceptions and improves accuracy. This study improves our understanding of risk perceptions by evaluating an intervention in a population not previously selected for high-risk status and measuring perceptions in a variety of formats.

Adult↗