Biomedical subjects

Heinz-Dieter Basler

Publications and source records attributed to Heinz-Dieter Basler.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Feedback for general practice trainers: developing and testing a standardised instrument using the importance-quality-score method.

INTRODUCTION: Although general practice vocational training has been mandatory in Germany since 1993, a service philosophy still prevails. To help general practice trainers develop their identity and skills as trainers we developed and tested a standardised instrument. The questionnaire is to be filled in by registrars after their attachment to a given practice and handed to the trainer as personal feedback on the training provided. METHODS: Items were collected by asking experts in the field to name content that should be covered. The resulting items were reduced using the importance-quality method derived from health-related quality of life research. Reliability was tested by registrars rating their training twice 3 weeks apart. They also provided free text comments that were coded and analysed to establish criterion validity. RESULTS: A total of 121 items were collected. Eighty registrars provided importance and quality ratings to reduce these to 43 items. Test-re-test reliability and criterion validity were also established. CONCLUSION: The importance-quality method proved to be useful for item reduction according to the objective of the questionnaire. Instruments evaluating the quality of vocational training must be context-sensitive.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗

PubMed1994

The Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory: further evidence for a 4-factor structure.

This study employed the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBPAI) (Williams and Thorn 1989) with a German sample (n = 193) of pain patients. The original version has 3 subscales: (1) self-blame (S-B), (2) perception of pain as mysterious (MYST), and (3) beliefs about the temporal stability of pain (TIME). Item statistics, factor structure, and discriminant validity are reported. Factor analysis favored a 4-factor structure and replicated a finding by Strong et al. (1992). The TIME scale can be subdivided into 2 subscales: beliefs that pain is a constant and enduring experience ("Constancy"), and beliefs about the long-term chronicity of pain ("Acceptance"). Constancy showed higher correlations with self-reported psychological symptomatology (anxiety, general physical troubles, pain intensity) than did Acceptance, MYST, and S-B.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sex differences in cortisol response to noxious stress.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence has accumulated that men and women show different responses to noxious stimuli, with women exhibiting greater sensitivity to pain than men. Data concerning sex differences in cortisol response patterns have revealed inconsistent results so far. The purpose of the present study was to examine sex differences in subjective pain and cortisol response to a noxious stressor. METHODS: Seventy-six subjects (39 male and 37 female) were investigated by a modification of the cold pressor test that consisted of intermittent immersion of the hand into ice water (plunge test, PT). The PT was conducted twice, in consecutive trials, to guarantee a sufficient exposure to the noxious stressor for eliciting cortisol responses. In each trial, tolerance time and pain ratings visual analog scale (VAS) were assessed. Seven saliva samples (c1-c7) were collected to determine cortisol levels at baseline (c1-c2), directly before (c3) and 20 minutes after noxious stress (c4), and during recovery period (c5-c7). RESULTS: We found no significant sex differences in tolerance time in trial 1, but highly significant differences in tolerance time in trial 2, with higher tolerance times in men. No significant sex differences were found for the VAS ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness in the 2 trials. In contrast, a significantly larger cortisol increase in men was observed compared with women. Analysis of covariance revealed that this result could not be attributed to sex differences in cortisol level at baseline and in tolerance time. DISCUSSION: The present study demonstrates that men show a larger cortisol response to a noxious stressor than women that is not attributable to sex differences in subjective pain. The conclusion of a causal relation between larger cortisol responses and higher pain tolerance thresholds in men is tempting but yet speculative.

Adult↗