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Biomedical subjects

N M Morris

Publications and source records attributed to N M Morris.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Primary care arrangements and access to care among African-American women in three Chicago communities.

African-American women of child-bearing age residing in three high-risk communities in Chicago were surveyed regarding their primary care arrangements and access to care (n = 552). This study examined factors which differentiated women who used office-based practices from those who used institutional settings (community clinics, health department clinics, hospital-based clinics) for primary care. Results of multivariate analysis indicate that women who used office-based practices were more likely than those who used institutional settings to see the same provider, to walk to their provider, to have less travel time and to walk in without an appointment. They were less likely to be hospitalized in the past year and less likely to report the availability of family planning at their usual source of care. Satisfaction with care, insurance status and sociodemographic characteristics were not associated with use of a particular facility type. Implications for organizing comprehensive health services for this population are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Maternal satisfaction with primary care for children with selected chronic conditions.

One hundred forty mothers of children with chronic illnesses seen in two pediatric specialty clinics of a major urban teaching hospital were surveyed regarding their primary care arrangements and satisfaction with care received. Three dimensions of maternal satisfaction were measured: general satisfaction, satisfaction with access to care and satisfaction with doctor conduct (physician humaneness and technical quality). Results of multivariate analyses indicate that receipt of anticipatory guidance, access to care during evening hours and having a child in excellent reported health status were significantly associated with at least two of the three dimensions of maternal satisfaction. Findings have implications for organizing comprehensive, accessible primary care in the community, which is consistent with recent trends in child health policy. Results supported the need for enrichment of primary care for children with chronic illnesses to allow for physician continuity, provision of information and advice to families and extended office hours.

Baltimore↗
PubMed1991

Biophysical alteration of lung surfactant by extracts of cotton dust.

Byssinosis, a lung disease that can affect cotton mill workers, may be caused in part by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Gram negative bacteria. In vitro, LPS complexes with sheep lung surfactant (SLS). To determine whether LPS in extracts of cotton dust alters the biophysical characteristics of lung surfactant, aqueous extracts (1.0% w:v) of sterile surgical cotton (SSC) and a bulk raw cotton dust (1182DB) were prepared. Aliquots of the soluble extracts were incubated with SLS and studied by sucrose gradient centrifugation, surface tension analysis, and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The chromatography was employed to analyse for 3-hydroxymyristate (3-HM), a fatty acid indicating LPS. Also, purified Enterobacter agglomerans LPS and 3-HM as controls and as mixtures with SLS, were studied by HPLC. Sucrose gradient centrifugation showed that SLS-SSC, SLS-1182DB, and the SLS control had similar densities that differed from the remaining controls. The SLS-1182DB exhibited a floccule absent in the other samples. Surface tension values of SLS-SSC and SLS-1182DB differed significantly from all controls but only slightly from one another. 3-Hydroxymyristate was detected by HPLC in the 3-HM control, EA-LPS, SLS-EA-LPS, and SLS-1182DB, but not in SLS-SSC or the remaining controls. Apparently, 3-HM was below the HPLC detection range in SSC. The data indicate that LPS in the 1182DB, SSC and EA-LPS samples complexed with SLS. Floccule development in SLS-1182DB but not in SLS-EA-LPS suggests a further component(s) present in the bulk raw cotton dust, as well as LPS, which complexes with SLS. The data suggest that biophysical alterations to lung surfactant may play a part in the pathogenesis of byssinosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

A study of the relationship between coitus and the luteinizing hormone surge.

Twenty-seven wives participating in a study of sexual activity patterns had identifiable shifts in basal body temperature and midcycle surges of serum luteinizing hormone (LH). When sexual activity data were examined using the LH surge as a centering point, it was observed that the day before the LH surge had only an average probability of coitus and organism. These findings suggest that neither coitus nor orgasm often triggers ovulation in humans. This cannot be taken as evidence that coitus-induced ovulation never occurs.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The distribution of events in the human menstrual cycle.

Daily reports of 85 married couples concerning their sexual behaviour for about 3 menstrual cycles per couple were organized according to menstrual events by using six techniques of aggregation. While there were some similarities among the different displays, including an apparent peak about 6 days before mid-cycle, different methods of aggregation produce widely different frequency curves. It is concluded that there is no single method of display of events of the menstrual cycle which will fit all investigations.

Coitus↗
PubMed1976

The effect of subsidized family planning services on reproductive behavior in the United States, 1969-1974.

This paper evaluates the impact of federally subsidized family planning programs in the United States, from 1969 to 1974, on the reproductive behavior of ever-married women, 15-44 years old. The study began with an experimental design and the random assigment of areas to treatment and control but was completed as a multivariate analysis, treating program input as an interval-scaled independent variable. Using "before" and "after" area sample surveys and patient service data from operating programs, the demographic impact of the program was estimated. The impact detected was nonsignificant; according to our analysis, overall use of physician-administered contraception was not affected by the subsidized programs. The only program-induced change of activity related to reproduction that we recorded was increased use of subsidized services in study areas with high program input and increased use of private physician services where program input was low. These findings need to be interpreted with the caution usually exercised in evaluating imperfect field experiments.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

The frequency of sexual intercourse during pregnancy.

Reports of day-by-day sexual activity for the previous week were collected from a total community sample of over 900 pregnant and nonpregnant Thai women of childbearing age during a fertility survey in 1967-1968. About 13% of the women were pregnant. Examination of the women's intercourse frequencies at various stages of pregnancy revealed a downward trend as pregnancy progressed. However, a difference between the mean frequency for age-matched, nonmenstruating, nonpregnant women and that during any stage of pregnancy was not statistically significant at the p = 0.05 level (t test, two-tailed) until the seventh month. Much individual variation existed among the women. Complete abstinence from intercourse during the previous week reached a peak of 72.7% in the ninth month. The increase in abstinence with the progression of pregnancy appeared linear. The importance of these data lies in two methodological facts: they were collected from a total population sample and are therefore unbiased by sample selection; the women were not asked to report their "average" frequencies for some time period in the past. Reports of behavior on each day of only the preceding week were the basis for the conclusion. Although the women are from a different culture, lay and professional advice concerning intercourse during pregnancy is similar to that in the United States. Because intercourse may be discouraged, particularly in the third trimester, it is difficult to attribute the observation of the gradual decline in frequency to a "physiological" reason. This tempting hypothesis, however, is worthy of further study.

Adolescent↗