PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Abbott

Publications and source records attributed to S Abbott.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Total purchasing in primary care: three case studies.

Total purchasing in primary care (TPPC) was piloted in the mid-1990's, first by four "pioneer sites", and later by over 80 first and second waves of "pilot sites". Separate evaluations of three of the pioneers show that they faced challenges similar to those experienced by the pilot sites, namely: the need to develop organisations which were effective both internally and, in their relationships with other health-care agencies, externally; and the difficulties encountered when attempting to change the behaviour of local acute care providers. Although GP fund holding and/or TPPC have had some successes in influencing the pattern of delivery for some elective and community services, the challenge of reducing hospital admissions and lengths of stay remains formidable.

Efficiency, Organizational↗
PubMed1997

Who is a heavy service user? Preliminary development of a screening instrument for prospective consumers of a mobile intensive treatment team.

OBJECTIVE: The mobile intensive treatment team (MITT) of the Valley Integrated Adult Mental Health Service in Brisbane, Australia, aims to provide services in the community to people with severe and persistent mental illness who have traditionally been heavily reliant on inpatient services (i.e. heavy service users). The MITT screening instrument (MITTSI) was developed to provide an objective measure to appropriately identify patients for referral to the service. METHOD: A literature review and a panel of multidisciplinary clinicians were consulted to identify a list of specific attributes that would assist in the detection of heavy service users. These attributes were then formulated into an easy-to-administer screening instrument entitled the MITTSI. The MITTSI was administered in an interview format to MITT case managers (intensive case management) and to case managers in standard case management with prospective MITT patients (prospective heavy service users). RESULTS: Analyses of the responses indicated support for the MITTSI as a valid screening instrument in identifying heavy service users and for determining appropriate patients for referral to the MITT. CONCLUSION: The MITTSI is an easy-to-administer screening instrument which provides clear guidelines for inclusion and exclusion, and is an objective measure regarding the patients' urgency for referral to the MITT. Follow-up of the MITTSI within a broader, longer-term project will attempt to further refine the MITTSI and to further determine its validity. Outcomes will be published at a later stage.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Dynamic bone remodeling in later Pleistocene fossil hominids.

Histomorphometric analysis of femoral and tibial diaphyseal fragments from seven Late Archaic and three Early Modern humans are compared with those of the Pecos, a pre-Columbian Native American population. The ten samples, from Broken Hill (EM-793), Shanidar 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Tabun 1, and Skhul 3, 6, and 7, provide age-at death results consistent with earlier estimates for most individuals. The Pleistocene groups exhibit less bone turnover and smaller osteons than Recent populations. Resorption and formation were both coupled and balanced in these Pleistocene populations, but the overall vigor of individual cells from both the osteoclast and osteoblast cell lines was less than in Recent populations. Thus the greater bone mass in Later Pleistocene members of the genus Homo is not the result of higher levels of bone turnover, at least among adults.

Age Determination by Skeleton↗
PubMed1992

Clinical and microbiologic characteristics of cutaneous infection with Yersinia enterocolitica.

The clinical and microbiologic features of primary cutaneous infections by Yersinia enterocolitica are described in three children. Vesiculobullous lesions developed in two patients, and an intense granulation response followed incision and drainage. In the third child, cellulitis and abscess formation developed at the site of minor skin trauma. Y. enterocolitica isolates from the patients were extensively serologically, biochemically, and molecularly analyzed and compared with virulent Y. enterocolitica strains. The ability of the isolates to adhere to and invade eukaryotic cells was determined using in vitro assays; virulence was assessed by inoculation of suckling mice. The resulting data suggest that primary cutaneous infections by Y. enterocolitica involve strains that are as virulent as pathogenic gastrointestinal isolates.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Psychological profile of somatizing patients attending the integrative clinic.

OBJECTIVE: A clinic to evaluate and treat referred somatizing patients was established in the medicine clinic of a university medical center. METHOD: Fifty-four patients were evaluated and compared to an age- and sex-matched non-somatizing patient group. RESULTS: Somatizing patients had increased rates of psychiatric and alcohol and substance abuse histories. Somatizing patients scored high on all subscales of the SCL-90 and were most frequently found in the Anxious/Moody Cluster of the MBHI. These patients also endorsed highly beliefs in medical problems as a focus of their lives. CONCLUSIONS: These patients' psychological beliefs set the stage for conflict in the medical setting. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to liaison clinics, early identification, and treatment approaches.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1987

Gender and symptoms of depression and anxiety among Kikuyu secondary school students in Kenya.

Numerous studies have confirmed that patterns of mental illness are influenced by sociocultural factors such as socioeconomic status and gender. This study describes the patterning of symptoms of depression and anxiety on a 20 item self-report questionnaire, the Health Opinion Survey, completed by 159 Kikuyu secondary school students in Kenya. Significant quantitative differences in the responses of males and females to seven of the questions were found, including females reporting more depression symptoms than males. These results are compared to an earlier study of 116 Kikuyu adults in which the differences between males and females were greater. This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between gender and depression while adding to the sparse descriptive literature on symptoms of depression and anxiety in normal African populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Screening procedure for uric acid as indicator of infestation in spices.

Uric acid levels in selected spice products were determined by using a glucose analyzer, modified and calibrated for uric acid. In the method, uricase is used to decompose the uric acid; the reaction is monitored with an oxygen-sensitive electrode. Uric acid levels correlated with infestation as determined by AOAC methods.

Condiments↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare and devastating disease of unknown etiology that manifests between the last trimester of pregnancy and five postpartum months. This disease often is confused with many other illnesses, and even with hemodynamic changes in normal pregnancy. Pathophysiology, signs, and symptoms of this unique cardiomyopathy are presented and case studies offered. Since outcome of this disease is directly related to duration of the illness, nurses must be aware of the symptoms and investigate them immediately. The nurse must support the patient and involve the family and social services in the patient's recovery.

Cardiomyopathy, Dilated↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A cluster of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections with the hemolytic-uremic syndrome and death in California. A mandate for improved surveillance.

In mid-January 1993, an outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections associated with eating hamburger patties at a fast-food restaurant chain (chain A) was reported in Washington State. From mid-December to mid-January, 9 cases of E coli O157:H7-associated bloody diarrhea and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome had been reported in San Diego County, California. A total of 34 persons had bloody diarrhea, the hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or E coli O157:H7 organisms isolated from stool during the period November 15, 1992, through January 31, 1993. Organisms of E coli O157:H7 identified from 6 persons were indistinguishable from those of the Washington outbreak strain. Illness was associated with eating at chain A restaurants in San Diego (odds ratio, 13; 95% confidence interval, 1.7, 99) and with eating regular-sized hamburgers (odds ratio, undefined; lower-limit 95% confidence interval, 1.3). Improved surveillance by mandating laboratory- and physician-based reporting of cases of E coli O157:H7 infection and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome might have alerted health officials to this outbreak sooner, which could have resulted in earlier investigation and the institution of measures to prevent more cases.

Adolescent↗