Biomedical subjects

J C Linton

Publications and source records attributed to J C Linton.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Injuries to volunteer fire fighters in West Virginia.

The distribution and characteristics of workplace injuries for West Virginia volunteer fire fighters (VFFs) are described using 1992 workers' compensation data. Most of the injuries occurred in VFFs who were less than 30 years of age (62%). The most common type of injuries were those in the category of lacerations and contusions (28.9%), with a notable percentage of injuries due to smoke inhalation and respiratory problems (13.7%). The proportional rates related to falls in VFFs were almost twice the national figures for the same year (39.3% versus 22.3%). County population density was found to be directly associated with injury rates, even when adjusted for number of responses. Claims statistics mirror a similar geographical trend in overall workers' compensation claims for all injuries in West Virginia. The results of this study provide a foundation for additional follow-up studies in order to develop improved occupational safety policies and target educational programs aimed at the prevention of injuries in volunteer fire fighters. Several findings have already resulted in programmatic recommendations.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed1994

Reading versus comprehension: implications for patient education and consent in an outpatient oncology clinic.

Written educational materials and consent forms are often given to patients with little regard for their ability to read them. Nationwide sampling and data from the 1990 census suggest that 10% of U.S. adults are functionally illiterate. In this study, 100 adult patients (64 female, 36 male) seen consecutively in an oncology clinic were tested for reading vocabulary (RD-VOCAB) and reading comprehension (RD-COMP) using the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery. The mean grade levels of education (last grade completed), reading vocabulary, and reading comprehension of all participants were 12.5, 11.3, and 10.5, respectively. The discrepancy between the grade level of education and RD-COMP varied by age, the largest discrepancies being found in the 30-39 (three grades) and 60-69 (2 1/2 grades) age groups. After controlling for educational level, it was found that the mean grade level of RD-COMP was statistically lower than educational level. Statistically assuming all subjects to have completed high school, the mean levels of RD-COMP ranged from ninth grade in the 30-39 age group to twelfth grade in the 40-49 age group. This study underscores the fact that the health professional cannot assume that a patient who has completed a certain grade level in school can read at the corresponding level. Consent forms and other health education materials should be written at least three grade levels lower than the average educational level of the target population.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Helping the helpers: the development of a critical incident stress management team through university/community cooperation.

Prehospital emergency services personnel often are exposed to high levels of occupational stress. Besides chronic stress, they can be involved in critical incidents, which cause a well-recognized set of overwhelming emotional reactions. If these reactions are not addressed promptly, emergency responders and their families can suffer further emotional trauma, and this can impair the ability of responders to care for patients in the field. A critical incident stress management team has been established through cooperation between the Charleston Division of the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center and emergency personnel in Charleston, as well as the rural countries in southern West Virginia. This team provides preincident education and postincident interventions for firefighters, police, emergency medical services, and on occasion, hospital emergency department personnel. This team can serve as a model for other such teams to organize to deal with this growing problem in the health care delivery field.

Community Mental Health Services↗

PubMed1992

Critical incident stress in prehospital emergency care.

In addition to the routine pressures associated with their demanding roles, prehospital emergency responders can suffer severe stress as a result of exposure to a critical incident. Such an event overwhelms the individual's ability to emotionally adjust, and can lead to symptoms which cause suffering in emergency personnel, their families and their patients. A Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team has been established in southern West Virginia to address this occupational hazard. This group was formed as a cooperative arrangement between the Charleston Division of the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center and emergency personnel in the Greater Kanawaha Valley. This article offers an explanation of the team's functioning and specific information regarding its activation.

Critical Care↗

PubMed1983

Staff training through collaboration: the training resources center.

As fiscal resources for mental health programs dwindle, it is becoming increasingly important to preserve non-direct-service priorities such as staff development. The West Virginia Training Resources Center, a collaborative program operated by the West Virginia Department of Health and the West Virginia University department of behavioral medicine and psychiatry, addresses problems of staff training in the state mental health service system. The authors discuss the development of the center and its functions as provider of training programs, sponsor of statewide training conferences, and clearinghouse of information and expertise. They also discuss problems stemming from the increased need for continuing education for paraprofessionals, the use of outside consultants, and the relationship between academia and the health service sector.

Community Mental Health Centers↗

PubMed1979

A comparison of predictions from peripheral and central theories of emotion.

Peripheral and central theories of emotion differ in the role they ascribe to cognitive and physiological variables in arousal. This study compared the responses of quadriplegics and normal controls to sexually arousing stimuli under various conditions of false heart-rate feedback. The results support a centralist position and the relatively greater importance of cognitive factors in emotional responsiveness.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1975

Teaching behavioral principles to dental students: a pilot course.

In an effort to amalgamate the study of behavior into the dental curriculum at West Virginia University, four primary objectives were set forth by the authors 1) creating a positive learning experience, 2) providing general information concerning behavior as it relates to dentistry, 3) dealing with special problems related to the human developmental continuum, and 4) increasing the students perception of himself and his patients. These objectives were accomplished through a variety of teaching techniques including formal didactic lectures, open and informal discussions, and videotape exercises involving mock clinical situations. There was no formal grading, although the students were requested to evaluate the course. Generally the students were enthusiastic in their regard for the class, emphasizing their feelings that follow-up courses should be offered.

Behavioral Sciences↗