Biomedical subjects

Sheryl M Strasser

Publications and source records attributed to Sheryl M Strasser.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

An educational campaign to increase chiropractic intern advising roles on patient smoking cessation.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use, particularly smoking, is the most preventable cause of death in the United States. More than 400,000 premature deaths are associated with its use and the health care costs are in the billions. All health care provider groups should be concerned with patients who continue to smoke and use tobacco. The US Preventive Services Taskforce and Health People 2010 guidelines encourage providers to counsel smokers on cessation. Current studies, though limited regarding chiropractic advising practices indicate a low engagement rate when it comes to providing cessation information. OBJECTIVE: To test a campaign regarding initial impact aimed at increasing chiropractic interns advising on cessation and delivery of information to smokers on cessation. DISCUSSION: Chiropractic interns do engage patients on smoking status and can be encouraged to provide more cessation messages and information to patients. The initial impact assessment of this campaign increased the provision of information to patients by about 25%. The prevalence of smoking among chiropractic patients, particularly at teaching clinics may be lower than the national averages. CONCLUSION: Chiropractic interns can and should be encouraged to advise smokers about cessation. A systematic method of intake information on smoking status is needed and a standardized education protocol for chiropractic colleges is needed. Chiropractic colleges should assess the adequacy of their advising roles and implement changes to increase cessation messages to their patients as soon as possible.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Racial disparities in tobacco use and social influences in a rural southern middle school.

This study investigated racial differences of tobacco use and social exposure to tobacco products in a sample of middle school students. Questionnaires were administered in January 2005 to 290 students in a Mississippi Delta-area middle school. The participants were 51.0% female and 56.6% African American. Unadjusted odds ratios revealed that Caucasian students were statistically more likely than were African American students to (1) have ever tried smoking, (2) have ever been a daily smoker, (3) have smoked in the past 30 days, (4) live with someone who smokes, (5) have seen a parent or guardian smoke, and (6) have friends who smoke. In contrast, African Americans were more likely to report "no one is allowed to smoke" in their home. Caucasian females had the highest rates of smoking, as well as the highest exposure to social smoking behaviors. This study not only showed that Caucasians were indeed smoking more but also that African American adolescents do not have the same exposure to social smoking, particularly African American females. Of particular interest was why the differences eventually dissipate and smoking rates are virtually the same in adulthood. A greater understanding of the impact of exposure to tobacco use on an adolescent's own tobacco use is vital to prevention efforts, especially in regard to racial differences. Future research on youth tobacco prevention and cessation programs should focus on sociocultural and racial differences in the development of tobacco use in adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Physicians' Internet information-seeking behaviors.

INTRODUCTION: Our understanding about the role of the Internet as a resource for physicians has improved in the past several years with reports of patterns for use and measures of impact on medical practice. The purpose of this study was to begin to shape a theory base for more fully describing physicians' information-seeking behaviors as they apply to Internet use and applications for continuing education providers to more effectively support learning. METHODS: A survey about Internet use and physician information seeking was administered by facsimile transmission to a random sample of 3,347 physicians. RESULTS: Almost all physicians have access to the Internet, and most believe it is important for patient care. The most frequent use is in accessing the latest research on specific topics, new information in a disease area, and information related to a specific patient problem. Critical to seeking clinical information is the credibility of the source, followed by relevance, unlimited access, speed, and ease of use. Electronic media are viewed as increasingly important sources for clinical information, with decreased use of journals and local continuing medical education (CME). Barriers to finding needed information include too much information, lack of specific information, and navigation or searching difficulties. DISCUSSION: The Internet has become an important force in how physicians deliver care. Understanding more about physician information-seeking needs, behaviors, and uses is critical to CME providers to support a self-directed curriculum for each physician. A shift to increased use of electronic CME options points to new demands for users and providers. Specific information about how physicians create a question and search for resources is an area that requires providers to develop new skills.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2003

Designing tailored Web-based instruction to improve practicing physicians' preventive practices.

BACKGROUND: The World Wide Web has led to the rapid growth of medical information and continuing medical educational offerings. Ease of access and availability at any time are advantages of the World Wide Web. Existing physician-education sites have often been designed and developed without systematic application of evidence and cognitive-educational theories; little rigorous evaluation has been conducted to determine which design factors are most effective in facilitating improvements in physician performance and patient-health outcomes that might occur as a result of physician participation in Web-based education. Theory and evidence-based Web design principles include the use of: needs assessment, multimodal strategies, interactivity, clinical cases, tailoring, credible evidence-based content, audit and feedback, and patient-education materials. Ease of use and design to support the lowest common technology denominator are also important. OBJECTIVE: Using these principles, design and develop a Web site including multimodal strategies for improving chlamydial-screening rates among primary care physicians. METHODS: We used office-practice data in needs assessment and as an audit/feedback tool. In the intervention introduced in 4 phases over 11 months, we provided a series of interactive, tailored, case vignettes with feedback on peer answers. We included a quality-improvement toolbox including clinical practice guidelines and printable patient education materials. RESULTS: In the formative evaluation of the first 2 chlamydia modules, data regarding the recruitment, enrollment, participation, and reminders have been examined. Preliminary evaluation data from a randomized, controlled trial has tested the effectiveness of this intervention in improving chlamydia screening rates with a significant increase in intervention physicians' chlamydia knowledge, attitude, and skills compared to those of a control group. CONCLUSIONS: The application of theory in the development and evaluation of a Web-based continuing medical education intervention offers valuable insight into World Wide Web technology's influence on physician performance and the quality of medical care.

Adolescent↗