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Biomedical subjects

G Stevenson

Publications and source records attributed to G Stevenson.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Health and housing: a historical examination of alternative perspectives.

The deleterious effect of low-quality housing and related environmental factors on the physical and mental health of its residents is a widely accepted phenomenon. Yet low-quality housing continues to exist, partly because of the nature of housing as a commodity in a capitalist system. This paper defines three political-analytic perspectives within which the housing-health relationship can be seen: individualistic, reformist, and dialectical-materialist. These approaches incorporate perspectives on the nature of the relationship as well as strategic implications arising from them. In this context, the housing-health relationship is examined in fact and interpretation from the 1840s to the present. All three perspectives are illustrated by various popular analyses of changes in urban form and housing as well as the housing-health relationship. The dependence of housing quality on the mode of production is shown, demonstrating the weaknesses of the individualistic and reformist perspectives, which assume housing quality to be independent of the mode of production. The different strategic implications of the three perspectives are illustrated in the conclusion in a discussion of the case of lead paint poisoning.

Environmental Health↗
PubMed1979

Changing patterns of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis.

In a 4 year and 4 month period 80 patients with necrotizing enterocolitis were treated. Review of the mode of clinical presentation, radiological features, management, mortality, and complications showed that there have been considerable changes over this period. The disease is now frequently diagnosed clinically prior to the development of paralytic ileus. Scalloping of the bowel wall and separation of the bowel loops are probably the earliest radiological signs. The management has become a more aggressive medical approach with more limited and well-defined surgical indications. These changes have been associated with a marked decrease in mortality and a concomitant increase in the number of late complications.

Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous↗
PubMed1978

Laws of motion in the for-profit health industry: a theory and three examples.

The dynamics generated in the for-profit health industry by the drive for accumulation combine with the life cycle of a product to produce, within a given political framework, tendencies toward certain types of industry structure. The evolution of this structure is characterized by increased concentration of economic activity in diversified multinational corporations which combine health and non-health products. Three industries representing different stages of product and market development are analyzed in this article. The pharmacological industry is a mature industry dominated by large diversified multinational corporations which grow mainly through expansion abroad and diversification. The medical and dental instruments and supplies industry is newer, smaller, and faster growing. Its growth potential is attracting many companies an; increasing competition. The newest industry, investor-owned hospitals and hospital chains, is characterized by rapidly growing but still relatively small companies. The appendix, included to illustrate certain social, economic, and political issues, focuses on Medtronics, a highly scientific, fast-growing firm which produces electronic pacemakers.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1978

Social relations of production and consumption in the human service occupations.

This paper presents a Marxist analysis of human service occupations. As the forces of monopoly capitalism increased the need for human services and destroyed the social institutions which previously satisfied those needs, employment in the human service industries grew rapidly, and may now exceed that in manufacturing. The nature of human services is discussed: production and consumption occur simultaneously; the social relations of consumption and production are closely related; and service workers play a direct social control role. These characteristics generate contradictions between service and control in service work, and between service workers' roles as both oppressed workers and oppressors. Discussions of the ideologies impacting on the relationships between workers and "clients," the dynamics of these relationships, and the struggles to which they give rise conclude the paper.

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMed1978

Profits in medicine: a context and an accounting.

The U.S. health care industry is composed of a dynamic mixture of profit and non-profit entities. These sectors sometimes compete in the same activities and may have virtual monopolies over other activities. Estimates of the relative and absolute sizes and growth trends of the profit and non-profit sectors are developed in this article. These estimates show that approximately 39 percent of total health care expenditures in the U.S. in 1975 went to for-profit institutions, generating $3.3 billion in profit. This represented 7 percent of for-profit and 2.8 percent of total expenditures. Some for-profit subsectors grew more rapidly and others less rapidly than total health care expenditures. As a whole, the for-profit sector grew faster than the non-profit sector before and after Medicare and Medicaid were introduced as well as during the period when price controls were in effect. The relative growth of the for-profit sector was greatest right after the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid. The true significance of profit lies not in numbers, but in the effects that the drive for profit have on the nature and quality of health and health care. This is discussed in the final section.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1977

The distribution of gastric ulcers: double contrast barium meal and endoscopy findings.

One thousand consecutive double contrast barium meals and 424 consecutive upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examinations have been reviewed. 70 gastric ulcers were found radiologically in 56 patients and 82 gastric ulcers endoscopically in 70 patients. 55% of radiological and 53.6% of endoscopic ulcers were located in the mid or upper body of the stomach. The distribution is contrary to previous radiological findings with the traditional barium meal. Age did not seem to be a major factor. The double contrast meal and in particular the left anterior oblique view with the head elevated, display en face the lesser curve of the upper body around the cardia where many benign ulcers and carcinomas arise.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiology in the detection and prevention of colorectal cancer.

Imaging techniques available for detection of colorectal cancer include barium enema, endoscopy, computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, magnetic resonance (MR) and immunoscintigraphy. Technical advances continue rapidly and prompt frequent re-evaluation of the optimal approach to management of these patients. Barium enema and colonoscopy are the main techniques for evaluation of symptomatic patients, although CT may well assume the predominant role within a few years. Variation in quality of barium enemas and colonoscopy poses a challenge for continuing medical education (CME) activities. Screening of asymptomatic individuals has to be considered separately for high, moderate and low risk population. Recommendations have to be made at present in the absence of evidence of effectiveness. Staging of disease pre-operatively is of limited value. Follow-up after surgery should be primarily clinical although endoscopy, CT, MR, ultrasound and immunoscintigraphy all have specific roles in the evaluation of patients suspected of harbouring recurrent disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nursing implications of a vancomycin resistant enterococcus outbreak in a renal unit.

Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus is a difficult organism to treat and is becoming more prevalent world-wide. When it was identified in a busy renal unit, radical and expensive measures were taken to try and control the outbreak. Although these had costs to both patients and staff, the organism was eradicated from the unit.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Radiology in screening for colorectal cancer.

This paper is in two sections. The first reports our own experience at McMaster University with screening for colorectal cancer (CRC), and the second discusses some general aspects of screening, and problems with the methods that are available.

Adult↗