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Biomedical subjects

Philip O Ozuah

Publications and source records attributed to Philip O Ozuah.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Availability of Spanish prescription labels.

The research team conducted a cross-sectional telephone survey of all pharmacies in the Bronx, New York (99.4% participation rate) to determine availability of Spanish prescription labels. One hundred twenty five pharmacies (78%) were small independent pharmacies; 36 (22%) were large-chain pharmacies. Overall, 111 (69%) stated that they could provide prescription labels in Spanish. Overall, for all the pharmacy ZIP codes, the mean proportion of the population that was Spanish-speaking was 46.8% (range 11% to 71.6%). Seventy-eight (48%) pharmacies were located in areas where more than 50% of the population were Spanish-speaking, 48 (30%) were located in areas with 25.1-50% Spanish-speakers, and 35 (22%) were in areas with up to 25% Spanish-speakers. Small independent pharmacies were more likely than large chain pharmacies to provide prescription labels in Spanish (71% vs. 61%, p=0.25). All the pharmacists commented that a patient must specifically request a Spanish prescription label in order to receive one. Pharmacies located in areas with the highest proportion of Spanish speakers were more likely to provide prescription labels in Spanish (82% vs. 62% vs. 49%; p=.001). Of the 111 pharmacies that could provide Spanish labels, 95 (86%) used a computer program to perform the translation and 16(14%) used a lay employee. Of pharmacies using a computer program, only one had a Spanish-speaking pharmacist who could check and correct the computer translations.

Communication Barriers↗
PubMed2006

Health literacy among English-speaking parents in a poor urban setting.

We surveyed English-speaking parents attending an inner-city health center. Subjects read the label on a bottle of liquid medicine and 1) demonstrated how much medicine they should give, 2) stated how many times a day they should give the medicine, and 3) stated when they should give the next dose. We calculated adjusted odds ratios to test for the likelihood of incorrect medication dosing for subjects with and without demographic risk factors. Three hundred twenty six subjects participated. Overall, 252 (77%) demonstrated incorrect medication dosing. Medication dosing was more likely to be incorrect among young parents (AOR 2.45; CI 1.14, 5.26), immigrants (AOR 2.27; CI 1.04, 4.96), subjects without a high school degree (AOR 2.05; CI 1.04,4.05), and those who did not recall ever having been shown how to use a medicine dropper (AOR 1.79; CI 1.01,3.19). Implications for practice are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Tuberculin skin testing in children.

In 1996, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended targeted tuberculin skin testing (TST) of children while discouraging routine TST of children without risk factors for tuberculosis (TB). Recent studies have provided evidence in support of the targeted TST and recommendations that favor risk assessment over universal screening with TST. While evidence for targeted TB testing exists and benefits of screening programs are clear, administrative logistics could be a greater issue. The challenge for public health and school officials is to develop a screening program that avoids stigmatization of the at-risk group. Until then, pediatric healthcare providers will continue to have a key role in identifying children at risk for latent TB infection by using the AAP-endorsed risk-assessment questionnaire and should screen children with TST only when >1 risk factor is present.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of asthma management policies in New York City public schools.

The aim of this study was to investigate asthma management policies and protocols in Bronx, New York, public elementary schools in light of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Resolution on Asthma Management in Schools. An anonymous survey was conducted in November 2001 of principals, teachers, counselors, and nurses at five Bronx elementary schools. The response rate was 62%, and the majority of respondents (84%) were teachers; 51% of respondents learned of a student's asthma only through informal conversation with the student or parent, 28% said they were usually not informed of a student's asthma status, and only 10% learned of a child's asthma through existing school protocols; 21% of respondents did not know whom in the school was responsible for supervising the health needs of children with asthma, and 30% did not know how asthma inhalers were supposed to be handled at their school. Only 1.6% of teachers were "very familiar" with Board of Education asthma policies. The results are interpreted as showing poor adherence to the NHLBI recommendations. They also reflect a lack of consistent strategies for communication of a child's asthma diagnosis and for management of the disease in the schools. Ongoing efforts to improve asthma management in public schools through teacher education and policy development should be supported and evaluated for outcomes in teacher knowledge and student health.

Asthma↗
PubMed2005

Fad therapies.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorder↗
PubMed2004

Rubbing ointments and asthma morbidity in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between the use of rubbing ointments and asthma morbidity in adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTINGS/LOCATION: Inner-city high school in the Bronx, New York. SUBJECTS: 165 adolescents with asthma. OUTCOME MEASURES: Asthma morbidity, defined as emergency department (ED) use for asthma in the past year and over the lifetime. RESULTS: While 127 (77%) of subjects used albuterol as the first treatment for their last asthma attack, 18 (11%) used rubbing ointments. The rubs and albuterol groups were similar in asthma severity, mean age, gender, and ethnicity. However, subjects in the the rubs group were less likely than subjects in the albuterol group to have made an ED visit over the past 12 months or over their lifetime. Regression analysis revealed that, after controlling for asthma severity, use of rubs independently predicted less lifetime ED use. CONCLUSIONS: After controlling for asthma severity, use of rubs by adolescents with asthma was associated with lower asthma morbidity as measured by ED use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Intravenous rehydration for gastroenteritis: how long does it really take?

BACKGROUND: For treatment of mild to moderate dehydration arising from viral gastroenteritis, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends oral rehydration therapy over a 4-hour period. However, oral rehydration therapy remains largely underused by emergency physicians. Studies suggest that a major barrier is a perception that the time requirement for oral rehydration therapy is too long relative to intravenous (IV) hydration. OBJECTIVE: : To test the hypothesis that children who receive IV hydration for gastroenteritis spend significantly less than 4 hours in the emergency department (ED). DESIGN/METHODS: A prospective case series involving a consecutive sample of 549 children treated with IV hydration for mild to moderate dehydration at an urban pediatric ED. Treatment time was defined as period elapsed between when a physician placed a patient in an ED room and when he/she discharged the patient. We excluded time spent in the waiting room before seeing a physician. Using a standardized procedure, we collected data in September/October 2000 (fall), November 2000 to January 2001 (winter), and April/May 2001 (spring). To provide a measure of average pass-through time at this ED, we also collected data on all patients treated during consecutive 7-day periods in the fall (n = 502), winter (n = 776), and spring (n = 653). We performed univariate analysis of continuous variables using t tests for independent samples. RESULTS: 549 subjects received IV treatment for dehydration; of whom 55% were female, and mean age was 9.7 years. Treatment time for patients undergoing IV hydration exceeded 4 hours (mean = 5.4 +/- 2.4 hours; median = 5.0 hours). Mean time for IV treatment of dehydration was significantly longer than the mean time for treating other patients (5.4 vs. 1.2 hours, P < 0.001). Mean IV treatment times were: fall (5.1 hours), winter (5.5 hours), and spring (4.7 hours). Mean treatment time exceeded 4 hours regardless of time of day, day of the week, or age of child. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to our hypothesis, mean treatment time for IV therapy for mild to moderate dehydration exceeded the 4-hour period recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for oral rehydration. The data did not support the perception by emergency physicians that children treated with IV hydration spend significantly less time than 4 hours in the ED. These findings have implications for addressing one of the major barriers to the use of oral rehydration therapy in the ED setting.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed2004

Inner-city availability of preservative-containing albuterol.

Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) added to nebulized albuterol may induce bronchospasm. The objective of this study was to determine the availability of BAC-containing nebulized albuterol in the Bronx, New York pharmacies. A cross-sectional telephone survey of pharmacies was conducted. Overall, 158 (80%) pharmacies participated in the survey; 133 (84%) carried BAC-containing albuterol; 25 (16%) dispensed BAC-containing albuterol solution when presented with a prescription written for generic albuterol. Only 14 (9%) pharmacists had seen a prescription for nebulized albuterol where a physician specified "without BAC." Despite availability of BAC-free albuterol, pharmacies in the Bronx still carried and dispensed BAC-containing product.

Albuterol↗
PubMed2004

The role of telemedicine in the care of children in under-served communities.

Children living in rural and other medically under-served areas are confronted with a shortage of paediatric specialists. Telemedicine has become increasingly popular as a means of providing health education and medical care to people living in rural areas of the United States and other countries. Some US hospitals have had experience with the use of telemedicine to provide subspecialty services to rural children with special health-care needs and health education for immigrant parents. The Medical Missions for Children, a non-profit organization, aims to provide a 'virtual information bridge' between sponsoring hospitals in the United States and hospitals located in developing nations. The organization serves children in hospitals in 58 countries throughout Latin America, eastern Europe, South Africa, Nigeria and India, and delivers three to four videoconferences per month. Since its inception, the programme has provided teleconsultations and services to approximately 18,000 children annually. In addition, there are on average 50 educational videoconferences per month, during which physicians at the mentoring hospitals exchange ideas with physicians in the developing countries. About 600 educational videoconferences are conducted annually.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Asthma educational videoconferencing for parents: a case-control study.

We used a case-control, pre-post study to determine the effectiveness of educational videoconferencing in the delivery of an asthma education programme. The participants were immigrant parents attending scheduled classes on English as a second language. The cases participated in the educational videoconferences, while the controls attended a class on American civics. Knowledge in both groups was assessed with 10 true/false statements. Ninety subjects participated (47 cases and 43 controls). Controls showed no significant post-test improvement in knowledge scores (6.6 for pre-test, 6.4 for post-test). In contrast, cases demonstrated significant knowledge gain after the videoconference (7.3 vs 8.3). Educational videoconferencing was an effective tool for the delivery of health education in asthma.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Use of interactive videoconferencing to deliver asthma education to inner-city immigrants.

Videoconferencing to deliver asthma health education to patients or their parents has not been widely used in the USA. We used two 90 min interactive videoconferences to deliver an asthma education programme to a convenience sample of mainly Latino immigrant parents in the Bronx, New York. In these sessions short presentations were given on asthma triggers, medications and the prevention of asthma exacerbations. To test gains in knowledge, we administered a self-completion questionnaire consisting of true/false statements before and after the videoconferences. Sixty subjects participated in the first videoconference and 56 in the second. Asthma knowledge improved significantly after both. Three months later, knowledge retention from the first videoconference was good. The majority of subjects asked questions and commented on their personal experiences of asthma. Interactive videoconferencing allowed asthma education to be delivered to a large immigrant population, elicited concerns from the audience and was effective in improving knowledge.

Asthma↗