Biomedical subjects

P D Baade

Publications and source records attributed to P D Baade.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

International trends in prostate-cancer mortality: the decrease is continuing and spreading.

OBJECTIVE: To measure recent changes in prostate-cancer mortality across 24 developed countries. METHODS: Mortality data for men aged 50-79 years were obtained from the World Health Organisation mortality database and we assessed trends in age-standardised mortality rates using joinpoint regression models. RESULTS: Significant reductions in prostate-cancer mortality were observed in United Kingdom, United States, Austria, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Australia and Spain, and downward trends were also observable in the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality declines for prostate cancer are now evident in 12 out of the 24 developed countries considered in this analysis. Increases in PSA screening and better treatment of early-stage disease, possibly acting in combination, remain plausible hypotheses.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Measurement of community beliefs about colorectal cancer.

Few educational campaigns have focused on bowel cancer, though studies have indicated that members of the community need and want current information about relevant issues. In order to facilitate research in this area, reliable and valid measures of community attitudes are needed. Content validity of a survey instrument was obtained through use of a Delphi process with Directors of Education from the Australia Cancer Council and focus group discussions with informed members of the public. The subsequent survey of community perceptions about colorectal cancer included a broad range of content areas related to the risk of bowel cancer, preventing and coping with bowel cancer and beliefs about susceptibility and severity. The construct validity of these content areas was investigated by use of a factor analysis and confirmation of an association with related predictor variables. Two measures related to personal influence and anticipated coping responses showed favourable psychometric properties, including moderate to high levels of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. A test of the concurrent validity of these measures requires further development of instruments related to colorectal cancer or adaptation of measures from other areas of health research.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

A measure of skin familiarity and its role in the early detection of skin cancer.

Skin self-examination (SSE) is promoted widely so that individuals will become familiar with their skin and be better able to identify suspicious changes earlier. However, individuals can also become familiar with their skin other than through purposeful SSE. In this article, we develop a measure of skin familiarity based on the density of spots on 14 different areas of the body. A factor analysis of the 14 body-area scores revealed that they could be grouped into four broad body regions (shoulders and back, front of legs, back of legs, and feet). Each total body score and body-region score has high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79 to 0.93). Moreover, the scores correlate as expected with skin self-examination behaviors and other personal characteristics, indicating high construct validity. We consider the advantages that skin familiarity measures offer over the exclusive use of SSE measures in the assessment of early detection activities and discuss the direction of future research in this area.

Factor Analysis, Statistical↗

PubMed1997

Community perceptions about the important signs of early melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Detecting melanoma early often relies on patient concern about a particular pigmented lesion. However, it is not clear what specific features the public views as being important. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to explore the importance persons place on various features of skin lesions when looking for early signs of melanoma. METHODS: This study comprised 1148 respondents (participation rate, 78%) from 60 rural communities in Queensland, Australia, who participated in a telephone interview. RESULTS: The following features were considered important and are listed in order of importance: change in the lesion (clearly identified as the most important), more than one color, uneven edges, elevation, large size (the last three of equal importance), and hairiness of the lesion. Age, sex, education, self-efficacy, perceived knowledge, and recent self-examination influenced importance levels, but having a recent skin examination by a family physician did not. CONCLUSION: To increase the skin self-examination skills of the community, guidelines may have to become more specific and all opportunities fully utilized to educate the public.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Telephone administration of the SF-36 health survey: validation studies and population norms for adults in Queensland.

The Rand Corporation medical outcomes short-form 36 health survey (SF-36) is a multidimensional measure of self-perceived general health status, which has been validated in adult populations in the United States and Great Britain, and, more recently, in an Australian population. The SF-36 is increasingly being used in health outcomes research internationally, mainly as a self-administered tool, and clearly has potential for use in Australia. This study aimed to assess the acceptability, reliability and validity of telephone administration of the instrument in the Queensland adult population, and to provide reliable population norms. We report the results of a telephone survey in which we interviewed 12,793 adults. It was the first large-scale, statewide application of the SF-36 in Australia. A response rate of 82 per cent was achieved, and the SF-36 satisfied psychometric criteria for reliability and construct validity. Population norms broken down by age and sex are provided. They will be important for the interpretation of future studies using the SF-36 in particular population or patient groups.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Effect of a public awareness campaign on the appropriateness of patient-initiated skin examination in general practice.

The aim of the study was to describe the appropriateness of patient-initiated skin examinations, and assess whether an awareness program leads to a greater proportion of inappropriate patient-initiated skin examinations. General practitioners (n = 27, response rate 71 per cent) from a regional town in Queensland recorded details of consultations involving a skin examination over a five-week period straddling the 1991 National Skin Cancer Awareness Week. The outcome measure was the clinical impression (benign, suspicious or malignant) of the most serious skin lesion presented by each general practice patient (n = 1183). Thirty-six per cent of patient-presented lesions were clinically suspicious or malignant. Lesions were more likely to be clinically suspicious or malignant if they were presented as the primary reason for the consultation (odds ratio OR = 1,219.95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.48); if the patient was aged over 35 years (OR = 5.594, CI 1.08 to 7.66); or male (OR = 1.634, CI 1.35 to 2.00). Following a public skin cancer awareness campaign, there was a slight nonsignificant decrease (OR 0.938, CI 0.91 or 1.25) in the proportion of clinically suspicious and malignant lesions detected. An increase in the number of skin examinations following an awareness campaign did not result in an increase in the proportion of inappropriate skin examinations. Patient-initiated skin examinations have an important role to play in the early detection of skin cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Changes in skin protection behaviors, attitudes, and sunburn: in a population with the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world.

This study describes changes in skin protection attitudes and outdoor behaviors of adults in Queensland, Australia, using two cross-sectional telephone surveys conducted in 1988/89 (N = 1699) and 1991/92 (N = 2317). After adjustment for potential confounders, there were significant improvements in some skin protection attitudes, time spent outside, hat wearing, sunscreen use, overall skin protection (p < 0.01) and shade use (p < 0.05) between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM on the previous Sunday. The degree of attitudinal and behavioral change varied with age, gender, region, and reported skin type. However, recent sunburn experience remained unchanged. A similar study in Victoria, Australia, observed changes in skin protection attitudes, behaviors, and recent sunburn. We speculate on possible explanations for the lack of improvement in recent sunburn experience despite the improvement in skin protection attitudes, and behaviors, and suggest that part of the explanation may be environmental differences. This has implications for generalizability of such studies outside the geographical region in which they were conducted.

Adolescent↗