Biomedical subjects
K J Lennane
Publications and source records attributed to K J Lennane.
"Whistleblowing": a health issue.
OBJECTIVE: To examine the response of organizations to "whistleblowing" and the effects on individual whistleblowers. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey of whistleblowers who contacted Whistleblowers Australia after its publicity campaign. SETTING: Australia. SUBJECTS: 25 men and 10 women from various occupations who had exposed corruption or danger to the public, or both, from a few months to over 20 years before. RESULTS: All subjects in this non-random sample had suffered adverse consequences. For 29 victimization had started immediately after their first, internal, complaint. Only 17 approached the media. Victimization at work was extensive: dismissal (eight subjects), demotion (10), and resignation or early retirement because of ill health related to victimization (10) were common. Only 10 had a full time job. Long term relationships broke up in seven cases, and 60 of the 77 children of 30 subjects were adversely affected. Twenty nine subjects had a mean of 5.3 stress related symptoms initially, with a mean of 3.6 still present. Fifteen were prescribed long term treatment with drugs which they had not been prescribed before. Seventeen had considered suicide. Income had been reduced by three quarters or more for 14 subjects. Total financial loss was estimated in hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars in 17. Whistleblowers received little or no help from statutory authorities and only a modest amount from workmates. In most cases the corruption and malpractice continued unchanged. CONCLUSION: Although whistleblowing is important in protecting society, the typical organisational response causes severe and longlasting health, financial, and personal problems for whistleblowers and their families.
Treatment of benzodiazepine dependence.
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Social and medical attitudes toward dysmenorrhea.
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Pain and pain relief in labour.
In a survey of 50 women delivered consecutively in a modern maternity hospital, 45 suffered severe and/or very severe pain. This followed an average of just over five hours of mild or moderate pain, and lasted for an average of 3 1/4 hours, in spite of pain relief. Intramuscular pethidine, which tended to be given late in labour, was notably ineffective in relieving pain. Epidural analgesia was highly effective, but was used in only 10 patients, and after an average of 5 1/2 hours of severe or very severe pain. A majority of primiparas found the pain more severe or much more severe than they had been led to expect, and only 34% of the sample were "quite happy" about their next labour, with regard to pain. It is suggested that there is room for improvement.
Alleged psychogenic disorders in women--a possible manifestation of sexual prejudice.
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Management of moderate to severe alcohol-related brain damage (Korsakoff's syndrome).
Australia has a very high prevalence of alcohol-related brain damage. A programme for the assessment and rehabilitation of patients with moderately severe to severe damage is described. Follow-up, one to two years after admission to hospital, showed that 51% of patients were sober and living in the community--a very satisfactory outcome. However, no patients were living fully independently. It is crucial that the nature of the cognitive deficit is fully understood, and that rehabilitation programmes focus on what the damaged patient can in fact achieve. The implications for the treatment of less severely damaged alcoholic patients are discussed.