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Biomedical subjects

R A Sturner

Publications and source records attributed to R A Sturner.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Questionnaires in behavioral pediatrics: guidelines for selection and use.

There is a death of information for pediatricians to use in choosing questionnaires that would be useful in medical practice. In this article, general guidelines are presented for primary child health clinicians to use in selecting questionnaires. Concepts such as reliability, validity, readability, response format, scoring and completion time, and norms are reviewed, and the implications of these concepts for practitioners are discussed. Guidelines are applied to selected behavioral questionnaires to illustrate their importance.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Toxocara canis infestation. Clinical and epidemiological associations with seropositivity in kindergarten children.

We studied a cohort of 333 children in kindergarten to determine the prevalence of seropositivity to Toxocara canis, and to detect and measure chronic health effects that might be attributable to past infection. We found that 23.1% of the children had serologic evidence of infection (antibody titer greater than or equal to 1:32), assayed by means of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Black children were more frequently infested than white children, as were children of parents who did not graduate from high school. In a subsample of seropositive and seronegative children, we found associations between seropositivity and both pica and puppy ownership; we did not find differences in the symptoms and signs that occur in toxocaral visceral larva migrans nor differences in measures of growth and nutrition. No child had ocular toxocariasis although 31.8% (106) of the children had antibody titers greater than or equal to 1:16. In a population in which approximately 20 to 30% of the children show serologic evidence of Toxocara infestation, care must be taken in differentiating toxocariasis-like ophthalmic lesions, due to the potential for the coincidental occurrence of retinoblastoma in a child who is seropositive for the Toxocara parasite.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Preschool Denver Developmental Screening Test as a predictor of later school problems.

We compared three preschool tests as predictors of school problems at the end of first grade. A stratified sample of 113 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-year-old children, oversampling those at risk for developmental difficulties, was administered the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST), the Stanford-Binet IQ test (SB), and a two-stage shortened form of the DDST in the spring before school entry. Data from achievement tests, special class placement, and grade retention were obtained for 106 of the children at the end of first grade. Eighty-four percent of children with abnormal DDST scores had school difficulties by the end of first grade, compared with 47% of children with scores in the questionable range and only 15% of children in the normal range. Prediction from the SB was not as accurate; 72% of the children who scored less than 68 and 42% of those who scored between 68 and 84 on the preschool SB had school problems. Prediction for those children who had abnormal or questionable scores on the two-stage DDST was as good as prediction from the full DDST. However, far fewer of the total number of school problems were identified by the two-stage DDST. It appears that the DDST can be used on an individual basis for prediction of school problems.

Child Development↗
PubMed1985

Questionnaire use in pediatric practice. Survey of practice.

A sample of members of the American Academy of Pediatrics were surveyed to determine the nature and extent of questionnaire use in pediatric practice and to assess practitioners' attitudes toward questionnaires. Thirty-eight percent of 169 respondents (of 300 contacted) reported that they were using a questionnaire in their clinical practice and an additional 36 percent indicated interest in possible future use. Most (89%) questionnaires were constructed by the practitioners themselves. Questionnaire use was associated with group practice and prepaid fee plans. Efficiency was the most common reason given for questionnaire use and impersonality was the most commonly cited objection. Practitioners' attitudes toward questionnaires are discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗