Biomedical subjects

Kate Tribe

Publications and source records attributed to Kate Tribe.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Who declines to give a name at a sexual health service?

OBJECTIVE: To characterise patients who decline to provide their surname at a public sexual health centre. METHODS: A case-control study of all patients first attending the Sydney Sexual Health Centre from 1998 to 2004, using proforma-collected electronic data to compare patients who did not provide their surname with those who did. In addition, the frequencies of the 10 most common surnames in the Sydney telephone directory were compared with the frequency of those names in the patient database. RESULTS: Of 27 241 patients, 1350 (5%) declined to provide their surname. The most common surnames were also over-represented, suggesting that aliases remained pervasive among the centre's patients. Sex workers, married people and people requesting HIV, hepatitis or sexually transmissible infection (STI) screening were all more likely to decline to provide a surname. By contrast, patients with symptoms, patients who were referred with a prior STI diagnosis and patients with a new bacterial or non-HIV viral STI or were a known contact with STI were all significantly more likely to provide a surname. Among patients who declined to provide a surname, 20 tested HIV positive. CONCLUSION: The anonymous option did not seem to eliminate the use of aliases. Although limited, there seems to be a market for anonymous sexual health screening, particularly for the asymptomatic.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Use of a community sexual health information line.

BACKGROUND: Since 1989 Sydney Sexual Health Centre has provided a community phone information line (PIL). The service aims to educate and promote the sexual health of the community and facilitate efficient use of the centre's resources through the provision of information and advice to the community and health professionals; a referral service; and patient triage. In October 1997 a comprehensive computerised database was developed to collect caller information. In 2003, a 5-year review of the PIL database was undertaken with the express aim of describing the profile of people using the service. METHODS: We analysed data from the PIL from 16 October 1997 to end 20 December 2002 using SPSS. RESULTS: A total of 34,013 callers were in the PIL database. Every year the service has seen an increase in demand from 5295 calls in 1998 (first full year of service) to 8401 in 2002. The majority of callers lived in central and southeast Sydney geographical area, however, calls were registered from over 55% of postcodes in NSW and from interstate. The average caller age each year was 32 years with similar standard deviation and the distribution over time has not changed. There were equal numbers of male and female callers each year. Peak times for people to call the PIL were 2-4 pm with a high number of callers at 10 am. In general, calls were between 4 and 6 min duration. Overall, 14,098 (41.4%) of calls in the database were for general sexual health information. The majority of the information callers over the period who have been calling about infections have called about herpes simplex virus. CONCLUSIONS: As is evident the PIL meets a specific community need. This study did not, however, look at patient outcomes and this area needs investigation to fully evaluate the benefits of a community PIL.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Deinstitutionalization for long-term mental illness: a 6-year evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: Forty-seven patients with long-term mental illness were transferred to the community following the closure of a psychiatric hospital in Sydney. This 6-year evaluation is an extension of a detailed clinical, ethnographic and economic study of the initial 2-years of community transition. METHOD: Quantitative evaluation was conducted using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Life Skills Profile, Social Behaviour Scale, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale and Quality Of Life measures. Assessments were completed prior to discharge and at two- and 6-year intervals following community transfer. Repeated measures analysis was utilized to determine changes in outcome variables over time. The residents' perception of 6-years of community living was explored in qualitative semistructured interviews. Details of accommodation, level of care, readmissions, incidents and medication were also documented. RESULTS: During the 6 years following community relocation a total of seven residents returned to hospital for long-term care, three residents died from medical causes and one resident required detention in a corrective services facility. The 36 residents who remained in the community at the 6-year follow-up no longer required intensive 24-h supervision. Living semi-independently, 23 residents resided in two to three person accommodation with either daily or weekly case manager visits. Clinically, community residents remained stable over the 6 years without significant changes in psychiatric symptoms, depression, living skills or social behaviour problems. Clinical stability was achieved with significant reduction in medication levels over the 6 years. Community-based residents continued to experience improved quality of life and reported their marked preference for living in the community. CONCLUSION: The residents maintained community tenure with significant improvement in quality of life and a reduction in medication, supported by a mental health system with adequate community resources. Issues regarding continuing rehabilitation and social integration need to be addressed. Further deinstitutionalization will require 24-h supervision for most initially and for some on a continuing basis. An ageing population will require specific age related medical and psychiatric services.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Cost of joint replacement surgery for osteoarthritis: the patients' perspective.

OBJECTIVE: To address costs of total joint replacement surgery from the patients' perspective by determining patient out-of-pocket costs during the first year following joint replacement, and to explore whether health status presurgery or in the immediate 3 months postsurgery were determinants of costs. In light of the different outcomes experienced by patients with total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR), any differences in costs between the 2 groups were also explored. METHODS: Patients with osteoarthritis (OA) scheduled for primary unilateral TKR or THR surgery at 3 Sydney hospitals were approached. Patients completed questionnaires preoperatively to record expenses during the previous 3 months and health status immediately prior to surgery. Patients then maintained detailed prospective cost diaries and completed SF-36 and WOMAC Index every 3 months for the first postoperative year. Arthritis-specific cost inforrmation obtained in the diary included medications (prescription and nonprescription), visits to health professionals, tests (radiographs, scans, blood tests, etc), special equipment, alterations to house, and the use of private or community services. RESULTS: Ninety-eight TKR and 76 THR patients provided cost details for their first postoperative year. For both THR and TKR patients, out-of-pocket costs fell considerably over the first postoperative year, and during the year the proportion of patients who experienced no out-of-pocket costs increased, as did the proportion who made no use of health services such as medical tests or visits to health professionals. Regression analysis for THR patients showed that pension status, preoperative SF-36 Physical Component Score, and 3-month postoperative WOMAC Function were significant independent predictors of postoperative costs. Regression analysis for TKR patients showed that presurgery WOMAC Stiffness and pension status were significant independent predictors of postoperative costs, indicating that those with greater stiffness had greater postsurgery costs and those on a pension had lower costs. CONCLUSION: OA patients undergoing THR and TKR have substantial out-of-pocket costs presurgery, which fall dramatically over the first postoperative year. Poorer presurgery health status predicted greater expenditure during the first postoperative year, which might be taken into consideration when patients are making a choice about the timing of joint surgery.

Aged↗