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Biomedical subjects

M Hennessy

Publications and source records attributed to M Hennessy.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Behavioral risks for HIV infection associated with HIV-testing decisions.

Adolescent and adult women were offered HIV testing as part of a clinic-based research program on HIV/AIDS in New York City. Sixty-four percent consented to testing and 87% of those tested returned to receive their results. This paper uses two-stage regression methods to identify sexual behavioral risk factors for HIV infection associated with the decision to accept the HIV test and subsequently to return for the results. Of the risk factors examined, having more than a single sex partner and never using a condom in the last year were strong predictors of taking the test; three or more sex partners had the strongest effects on the decision to return for the HIV test results. We conclude that voluntary HIV testing in this group can identify women with behavioral risks of HIV infection. Thus, voluntary HIV testing may be effective in targeting persons at high risk because behavioral risks are associated with the decision to take the HIV test.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1995

Oxidative metabolism in Rett syndrome: 2. Biochemical and molecular studies.

In an attempt to identify a possible defect of mitochondrial metabolism in Rett syndrome we studied 9 girls with typical Rett syndrome using a clinical protocol designed to identify disorders of oxidative metabolism. One girl, (RO) had marked lactic acidemia. Biochemical studies on samples from these patients included leukocyte pyruvate carboxylase assay, serum biotinidase and skin fibroblast pyruvate production, pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthetase and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase assay. Muscle electron transport activities were studied on samples from 4 typical Rett patients including RO. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutational analysis for the np3243 MELAS mutation, the np8993 NARP mutation, the np8344 MERFF mutation and the 4977 kb common deletion found in Kearns-Sayre syndrome and aged tissues were tested for in 1 of the muscle samples and 2 blood samples from typical Rett patients. Western blotting of electron transport complex III was performed on mitochondrial samples obtained from autopsy brain tissue in 2 Rett patients and compared to pediatric control brain samples. No abnormalities were found in blood biotinidase or pyruvate carboxylase. Western blotting of 2 Rett brain mitochondrial samples for complex III appear normal. Pyruvate consumption in medium from 8 Rett fibroblast lines grown with and without dichloroacetate (DCA) showed a normal fall in pyruvate suggesting normal pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in these cells, however the fibroblasts from patient RO had a high pyruvate production in culture. Pyruvate dehydrogenase, 2-oxo-glutarate dehydrogenase and citrate synthetase activities in 8 Rett fibroblast lines were normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blotting, Western↗
PubMed1994

The impact of alcohol beverage container warning labels on alcohol-impaired drivers, drinking drivers and the general population in northern California.

Using data collected in a random-digit dial telephone survey in a northern California county, an examination of the impact of alcohol beverage container warning labels was conducted. In a broadly conceived approach to the possible impact of warning labels, we examined recall and content as well as risk assessment and the use of warning labels as public policy to combat drunk driving. In a repeated measures pre- and post-design, respondents reported significantly higher recall of labels and their content in the post-introduction period. Evidence from a multivariate analysis of post-introduction data indicate that both drinking drivers and impaired drivers (based on self-reports) were more likely to recall the labels and their content, an indication that warning labels are reaching "at risk" individuals. In addition, increases in the perceived risk of driving and drinking are consistent with the notion that warning labels, as one part of a larger social movement, are helping to create an atmosphere in which drinking and driving is less acceptable. However, our findings also indicate that, at least among at risk drinking and impaired drivers, increased use of public policies such as warning labels in an effort to reduce the negative consequences of drinking and driving may generate a public opinion backlash.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Nurses' perceptions of the support of patient autonomy in do-not-resuscitate (DNR) decisions.

This replication of Ott's study [Ott, B. (1986). An Ethical Problem Facing Nurses: The Support of Patient Autonomy in the Do Not Resuscitate Decision. University Microfilms International, Dissertation, Texas Women's University] and McLaughlin et al.'s study [McLaughlin, T., Brown, O. and Herman, J. (1988). Nurses' Perception of the Support of Patient Autonomy in Do Not Resuscitate Situations. Unpublished Research Report] explored hospital staff nurses' perceptions of their role in supporting patient autonomy in the do-not-resuscitate (DNR) decision. One-hundred and sixty-five registered nurses (RNs) participated: 93 from the Veterans Administration Medical Center and 72 from a private non-profit hospital. Ott's questionnaire had four hypothetical cases in which a DNR decision would probably be made with three questions about whose opinion would most support patient autonomy and whose opinion would actually be regarded as the most appropriate for making the DNR decision. Seventy per cent of perceptions of the person whose decision would be best able to support the patient's autonomy in the DNR decision and 51% of the people perceived to actually be deemed most appropriate to make the DNR decision were consistent with Ott's DNR Decision Model.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Modeling social influences on public drinking.

This article combines the qualitative tradition of naturalistic observations with quantitative multivariate methods to quantify the relationships between drinker characteristics, group composition, duration of the drinking period and alcohol consumption. Employing observational data on over 6,000 drinkers collected in six on-premise licensed establishments in California, structural equation regression methods were used to estimate the simultaneous effects of duration of the drinking period and total consumption on each other, controlling for patron characteristics and group composition. Results from all six establishments indicate that consumption is higher in larger groups because of longer drinking times at the establishment and not because of any direct effect of consumption on length of the drinking period. Group composition effects on consumption are also indicated since females in mixed drinking groups tend to reduce the alcohol consumption of males, but not the group as a whole.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1992

The difference context makes: Americans' views on abstinence and impairment.

While it is acknowledged that social norms play a role in determining acceptable drinking levels, there has been little research on the factors that determine approved or prohibited consumption levels in particular social contexts. This paper investigates the factors that influence the choice of abstention or impairment (as compared to 'social drinking') through an analysis of the 1984 survey of American drinking patterns using logistic regression, a method that allows the separate identification of social and demographic factors that encourage abstention or impairment. Results show that although the effects of drinking status variables (such as lifelong abstainer) are contextually neutral, most social and demographic characteristics have differential effects depending on the specific context and the choice of abstention or impairment.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The situational riskiness of alcoholic beverages.

Using face-to-face interview data on a sample of young adults, this study investigates the perceived risk of alcohol consumption in drinking and driving, interactions with police and the probability of intoxication. Results show that beer is perceived as less risky than liquor in two risk situations, with men and drinkers in particular ranking beer as a lower risk beverage. When intoxication is considered, drinkers rank their preferred beverage as less risky than their alternative. Finally, an analysis of the relative riskiness of beer in comparison to liquor reveals that beer is perceived as less risky than liquor. This consensus does not vary significantly by sex or most other respondent characteristics.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epilepsy self-management: a test of a theoretical model.

This study examines the role of social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and anxiety as predictors of medication management in persons with epilepsy. A model based on social cognitive theory was constructed to explain managing medications under conditions of scarcity. A survey instrument was sent to 450 individuals who participated in job training programs for persons with epilepsy. One hundred ninety-five completed questionnaires were returned and met the inclusion criteria. The proposed structural model was tested using structural equation modeling procedures. The assistance aspect of social support was positively related to regimen-specific support. The paths from self-efficacy to outcome expectancy and anxiety were significant and in the predicted directions, as was the path from anxiety to self-management.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Spiritual activities as a resistance resource for women with human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the role that spiritual activities play in the adaptational outcomes of women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of spiritual activities as a resource that may reduce the negative effects of disease-related stressors on the adaptational outcomes in HIV-infected women. METHODS: A theoretically based causal model was tested to examine the role of spiritual activities as a moderator of the impact of HIV-related stressors (functional impairment, work impairment, and HIV-related symptoms) on two stress-related adaptational outcomes (emotional distress and quality of life), using a clinic-based sample of 184 HIV-positive women. RESULTS: Findings indicated that as spiritual activities increased, emotional distress decreased even when adjustments were made for HIV-related stressors. A positive relationship between spiritual activities and quality of life was found, which approached significance. Findings showed that HIV-related stressors have a significant negative effect on both emotional distress and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the hypothesis that spiritual activities are an important psychological resource accounting for individual variability in adjustment to the stressors associated with HIV disease.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Battling bad breath: a new approach to an old problem.

Bad breath plagues millions of people in the US. Because breath malodor is viewed as a social, not medical, condition, bad breath usually is not part of dental school curriculums. Desperate halitosis sufferers looking for help are turning to the dental profession for answers.

Halitosis↗