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Biomedical subjects

J A Shea

Publications and source records attributed to J A Shea.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Toward setting a research agenda for systematic reviews of evidence of the effects of medical education.

PURPOSE: To provide an update on, and a preliminary research agenda for, best evidence medical education (BEME). SUMMARY: Efforts related to evidence-based medical education are summarized briefly, including BEME, the newly formed Campbell Collaboration, and the Cochrane Collaboration's Effective Practice and Organization of Care review group. A list of topics and priorities for which evidence of effectiveness in medical education should be systematically reviewed is provided based on the results of a session at the July 2000 annual meeting of the Society of Directors of Research in Medical Education. The highest ranked topics clustered around four major conceptual areas: (a) curricular design, (b) learning and instructional methods, (c) testing and assessment, and (d) outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: BEME is gaining momentum with growing numbers of people becoming involved as well as an increased number of pertinent workshops, publications, and Web sites. The work of creating pertinent systematic reviews of the medical education literature is at hand.

Education, Medical↗
PubMed2000

Have you had your feedback today?

Feedback is an essential component of medical education and adult learning; however, there are several challenges inherent in measuring the feedback directed at medical students. The authors describe the use of a daily e-mail questionnaire to gather information from medical students about the feedback they receive.

Education, Medical↗
PubMed1999

The sequence of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from patients.

PURPOSE: To describe the observed sequence of withdrawal of eight different forms of life-sustaining treatment and to determine whether aspects of those treatments determine the order of withdrawal. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We observed 211 consecutive patients dying in four midwestern US hospitals from whom at least one of eight specific life-sustaining treatments was or could have been withdrawn. We used a parametric statistical technique to explain the order of withdrawal based on selected characteristics of the forms of life support, including cost, scarcity, and discomfort. RESULTS: The eight forms of life support were withdrawn in a distinct sequence. From earliest to latest, the order was blood products, hemodialysis, vasopressors, mechanical ventilation, total parenteral nutrition, antibiotics, intravenous fluids, and tube feedings (P <0.0001). The sequence was almost identical to that observed in a previous study based on hypothetical scenarios. Forms of life support that were perceived as more artificial, scarce, or expensive were withdrawn earlier. CONCLUSION: The preference for withdrawing some forms of life-sustaining treatments more than others is associated with intrinsic characteristics of these treatments. Once the decision has been made to forgo life-sustaining treatment, the process remains complex and appears to target many different goals simultaneously.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Two approaches to measuring quality of life in the HIV/AIDS population: HAT-QoL and MOS-HIV.

OBJECTIVES: Reduce the number of HIV/AIDS-Targeted Quality of Life (HAT-QoL) items, assess psychometric performance of the shortened HAT-QoL, and compare psychometric performance of HAT-QoL to that of Medical Outcomes study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV). DESIGN/SUBJECTS: Convenience sample of 215 cross-sectionally studied seropositive individuals. METHODS: Subjects completed the HAT-QoL, MOS-HIV, and sociodemographic and disease-specific questions. HAT-QoL and MOS-HIV responses were entered, separately, into principal components analysis (PCA). Results from PCA, internal consistency and correlation assessments were used to aid the item removal process. Dimension characteristics (e.g., score distributions, internal consistency, scaling success rates, intercorrelations, construct validity) were evaluated. RESULTS: PCA of subjects' (80% male; 45% white; 62% gay/bisexual) responses revealed nine previously identified HAT-QoL dimensions. The measure was shortened by removing 12 items. Two HAT-QoL dimensions (HIV mastery and provider trust) had ceiling effects. All internal consistency coefficients were > 0.80, except those for sexual function (0.57) and medication concerns (0.57). HAT-QoL scaling success rates were > 90% for 7 of 9 dimensions, and a majority of dimensions showed minimal to low intercorrelations. Validity assessments indicated consistent, expected relationships (p < or = 0.05) for all dimensions except the medication concerns and provider trust dimensions. PCA indicated five MOS-HIV factors. Six of the 11 previously defined MOS-HIV dimensions--physical, role, social, and cognitive function, pain, and health transition--had substantial ceiling effects. MOS-HIV scaling success rates were > 90% for only 2 out of 8 evaluable dimensions; three dimensions had very low (40-73%) scaling success rates. Most MOS-HIV dimensions were moderately-to-highly intercorrelated. Validity assessments indicated consistent, expected relationships for all MOS-HIV dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Six dimensions of the shortened HAT-QoL instrument (overall function, disclosure worries, health worries, financial worries, HIV mastery, and life satisfaction) exhibited good psychometric properties, including limited ceiling effects, low dimension intercorrelations, high internal consistency, and evidence for construct validity. All multi-item MOS-HIV dimensions had high internal consistency and all dimensions revealed consistent evidence for construct validity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1999

Infection and antimicrobial use in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Retrospective chart review of 1,702 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) revealed an overall infection rate of 2.3% and a surgical-site infection rate of 0.4%. Preoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis was received by 79% of patients, but only 33% of these received the agent within 1 hour or less prior to surgery. These facts suggest that antimicrobial prophylaxis may not be necessary for low-risk LC patients.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis↗
PubMed1999

Self-reported physician specialties and the primary care content of medical practice: a study of the AMA physician masterfile. American Medical Association.

BACKGROUND: Many internal medicine physicians report both primary and secondary specialties in the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile. Usually, those represent combinations of general internal medicine and medical subspecialty practice. Whether reported specialty combinations can be used to assess the contribution of specialists to primary care is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether internists' primary and secondary specialties reported in the Masterfile reflect the amount of primary care that they provide, and whether changes over time in internists' reported specialties reflect changes in primary care provision. DESIGN: The Masterfile was used to identify internists' reported specialties in 1992 and in 1996. A mail questionnaire was used to assess the primary care content of physicians' practices. The association between reported specialties and the amount of primary care provided was evaluated using analysis of variance. SUBJECTS: A stratified random sample of internists in active clinical practice. MEASURES: The percentage of visits which were for the general medical care of patients for whom the physicians maintained ongoing responsibility. In addition, how often the physicians initiated the provision of preventive care for their regular patients, provided general medical care to these patients, and organized and coordinated the care received by these patients from other providers. RESULTS: There was a strong association between the internists' primary and secondary specialties reported in the Masterfile and measures of the primary care content of physicians' practices (P < 0.0001). In contrast, changes over time in internists' reported specialties were not associated with physicians' assessments of changes in the primary care content of their practices. CONCLUSIONS: Aggregate estimates of the availability of primary care in the US could be adjusted by taking into account the primary and secondary specialties reported by internal medicine physicians in the AMA Physician Masterfile.

American Medical Association↗
PubMed1999

Health maintenance organizations and hospital quality for coronary artery bypass surgery.

This study uses hospital discharge data for 1992-1994 to assess differences between HMO and insured non-HMO patients in California and Florida with regard to the quality of the hospitals used for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The authors found that commercially insured HMO patients in California used higher quality hospitals than commercially insured non-HMO patients, controlling for patient distance to the hospital. In contrast, commercially insured HMO and non-HMO patients in Florida were similarly distributed across hospitals of different quality levels, whereas Medicare HMO patients in Florida used lower quality hospitals than patients in the standard Medicare program. The authors conclude that the association between HMO coverage and hospital quality may differ across geographic areas and patient populations, possibly related to the maturity and structure of managed care markets.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

The Capabilities of Upper Extremity instrument: reliability and validity of a measure of functional limitation in tetraplegia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Capabilities of Upper Extremity (CUE) instrument, designed to measure upper extremity functional limitations in individuals with tetraplegia. Functional limitations are actions such as reaching or grasping and are a link between the domains of impairment and disability. DESIGN: Survey of people with chronic spinal cord injury. SETTING: Regional spinal cord injury center. SUBJECTS: One hundred fifty-four individuals (140 male) with tetraplegia at least 1 year after injury and followed by the center. Mean age was 36.7 years (SD=11.1). Sixty-eight percent were motor complete. METHODS: The 32-item CUE was administered by telephone interview twice about 2 weeks apart. The motor portion of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was collected during the first interview. Upper extremity motor scores and motor levels were obtained from the most recent assessment in the outpatient chart. The instrument was evaluated for internal consistency, reliability, and validity. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine scale structure. RESULTS: Homogeneity of the scale was excellent. Cronbach's alpha was .96, and item-total correlations ranged from .49 to .78. Test-retest reliability was high (ICC=.94). All but three items had desired levels of agreement (K > .60). Analysis of variance indicated that the CUE distinguished between motor levels of tetraplegia more than one level apart. The CUE was correlated highly with both motor scores and FIM. Regression analysis indicated that the CUE was better than upper extremity motor scores for predicting FIM scores. The model containing the CUE explained 73% of the variance in FIM and was not enhanced by the addition of motor scores. Factor analysis suggested four potential subscales: arm function (bilateral), right hand function, left hand function, and reaching down. CONCLUSION: The CUE exhibits good homogeneity, reliability, and validity; further work is needed to determine its sensitivity to change in function.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

Indications for and outcomes of cholecystectomy: a comparison of the pre and postlaparoscopic eras.

PURPOSE: Examine changing patient characteristics and surgical outcomes for patients undergoing cholecystectomy at five community hospitals in 1989 and 1993. PROCEDURES: In a retrospective chart review, data were gathered regarding gallstone disease severity, type of admission, patient age, number of comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Physical Status Classification, length of stay, and multiple outcomes of surgery. MAIN FINDINGS: The volume of nonincidental cholecystectomies increased 26%, from 1611 in 1989 to 2031 in 1993. Nearly all of the increase occurred among patients with uncomplicated cholelithiasis and with elective admissions. In 1993, lengths of stay were significantly shorter and percentages of complications were significantly lower for infectious, cardiac, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal complications when controlling for patient case-mix characteristics. There were more major intraoperative complications (unintended wounds or injuries to the common bile duct, bowel, blood vessel(s), or other organs) in 1993. CONCLUSIONS: Different types of patients underwent cholecystectomy in 1993 compared with patients in 1989, which supports the hypothesis of changing thresholds. Statements supporting the safety of cholecystectomy in the laparoscopic era were borne out when controlling for differences in patient characteristics.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

A new HIV/AIDS-targeted quality of life (HAT-QoL) instrument: development, reliability, and validity.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to identify quality-of-life concerns, as reported by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive individuals, and to develop a measure to assess these concerns. METHODS: The HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-targeted measure was developed in two linked studies. In study one, group discussions with 42 HIV seropositive individuals were used to generate item content for the new measure. In study two, 201 HIV seropositive individuals were cross-sectionally studied to identify dimensions and to reduce the number of items of the quality of life questionnaire resulting from study one. RESULTS: Study one subjects (76% male; 66% white; 55% gay/bisexual) identified concerns captured by 76 items. Factor analysis indicated that responses of study two subjects (78% male; 42% white; 55% gay/bisexual) could be summarized by nine dimensions. Overall function, sexual function, disclosure worries, health worries, financial worries, HIV mastery, life satisfaction, medication concerns, and provider trust dimensions were refined by removing items using methods to maximize internal consistency and to minimize item redundancy. No substantial ceiling/floor effects existed, except for the provider trust dimension (43% received the highest score possible). All internal consistency coefficients were > or = 0.70, except those for the HIV mastery (0.57) and medication concerns (0.51) dimensions, as well as the sexual function dimension (0.56) in the non-AIDS subsample. Multitrait/multiitem assessment indicated scaling success rates that were high (> or = 91%) for eight of nine dimensions (HIV mastery revealed a lower but modest success rate of 79%). Validity assessments, using self-reported HIV disease severity and sociodemographic variables, indicated expected relationships for all dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Five dimensions of the new HIV/AIDS-targeted quality of life instrument (overall function, disclosure worries, health worries, financial worries, and life satisfaction) exhibited good psychometric properties, including low ceiling/floor effects, good internal consistency, and evidence for construct validity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗