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Biomedical subjects

T Hancock

Publications and source records attributed to T Hancock.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Developing a rural community-based disability service: (I) service framework and implementation strategy.

In response to widely recognised dilemmas associated with rehabilitation and disability service provision in remote and rural areas of Australia, a community-based, participatory approach to service development was adapted for a disability service project in central Queensland. The service framework, known as Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR), fosters the involvement of community members in disability service provision. Although this framework has been described previously, few guidelines exist regarding appropriate implementation of such an approach. Consequently, the implementation strategy known as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was adopted. Participatory Rural Appraisal has been reported to foster the participation and decision-making of community members in community projects. The present article describes the application of this implementation strategy to disability service provision in a relatively under-resourced rural shire. The rationale, framework and process of the pilot are described. A subsequent publication will document the service component, detail evaluation findings and describe the long-term outcomes of this research.

Community Health Planning↗
PubMed2001

People, partnerships and human progress: building community capital.

The Victorian-era journal The Sanitarian used on its masthead the slogan 'A nation's health is a nation's wealth'. Today, we are re-discovering that wisdom, recognizing that health is indeed a form of wealth. Moreover, we are beginning to understand that wealth is not merely our economic capital, but includes three other forms of capital--social, natural and human capital. Health is one key element of human capital. A healthy community is one that has high levels of social, ecological, human and economic 'capital', the combination of which may be thought of as 'community capital'. The challenge for communities in the 21st century will be to increase all four forms of capital simultaneously. This means working with suitable partners in the private sector, making human development the central purpose of governance, and more closely integrating social, environmental and economic policy. Community gardens, sustainable transportation systems and energy conservation programmes in community housing projects are some of the ways in which we can build community capital.

Canada↗
PubMed1999

Creating health and health promoting hospitals: a worthy challenge for the twenty-first century.

States that it seems self-evident that a hospital should be a healing environment, a healthy place to work, should not harm the health of the environment and should contribute to and be a source of health in the community, but argues that hospitals have not paid a great deal of attention to many of these issues until recently. Suggests that in recent years, a new and broader understanding of health promotion has led to a re-examination of the ways in which hospitals can be both healthy and health-promoting. Begins by exploring the broader concepts of health promotion that lay the foundation for the creation of healthy and health-promoting hospitals and provides some examples of how these approaches are being applied.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1999

A comparison of HIV/AIDS knowledge among high school freshmen and senior students.

Statistical data show that heterosexual transmission of AIDS among teenagers is a significant problem. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the level of knowledge concerning HIV/AIDS among high school freshmen- and senior-level students and to determine the association between certain demographic variables and the students' knowledge level. A convenience sample of 169 freshmen and 274 senior high school students were surveyed at a local area high school (N = 443). A 49-item knowledge questionnaire, used by the high school district HIV/Abstinence program, and a demographic questionnaire developed by the investigators were used to collect the data. The findings revealed that both the freshmen and senior students had several misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, including the modes of transmission, the sure way of preventing the sexual transmission, donating blood, and the usual causes of death for people with AIDS. A comparison of the mean knowledge scores among freshmen and senior students indicated there was no significant difference among the two groups. The mean knowledge score of the seniors was significantly affected by whether they had received HIV/AIDS education. However, this was not the case for the freshmen. African American students, especially the female students, had significantly lower knowledge scores than other ethnic groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide copurifies with plasmid DNA: implications for animal models and human gene therapy.

During the course of gene therapy experiments in rodents, using intramuscular injections of plasmid DNA derived from Escherichia coli, we noted dose-related toxicity. This observation prompted a search for possible contaminants of DNA samples. We used the highly specific and sensitive limulus amoebocyte lysate assay (LAL), to monitor endotoxin bioactivity in DNA samples, and found plasmid DNA derived from standard E. coli bacterial strains, using traditional DNA isolation protocols, to be heavily contaminated with endotoxin, or lipopolysaccharide (LPA). Standard DNA isolation procedures resulted in the copurification of up to 500 micrograms/ml of LPS. LPS is a potent inducer of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators, and may complicate the use of naked DNA in gene therapy. The copurification of endotoxin with plasmid DNA also has important implications for in vitro transfection studies and microinjection of DNA into embryos. A simple and efficient protocol to reduce LPS contamination of plasmid DNA was developed. The conversion of intact bacteria to spheroplasts prior to the isolation of plasmid DNA, incubation with lysozyme, treatment with the detergent n-octyl-beta-D-thioglucopyranoside (OSPG) and polymyxin-B (PMB) chromatography, allowed the isolation of plasmid DNA containing less than 50 ng/ml LPS. This represents a 10,000-fold reduction in LPS contamination, compared to conventional methods of plasmid DNA purification, avoids potentially toxic reagents such as ethidium bromide, and produces a higher yield of plasmid DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A comparative study of prothrombinase and thrombin inhibitors in a novel rabbit model of non-occlusive deep vein thrombosis.

A quantitative and non-occlusive deep vein thrombosis model was developed in rabbits. We used this model to test the antithrombotic activity of the prothrombinase complex inhibitors factor rXai and its chemical analog glutamyl-glycyl-arginyl chloromethyl ketone inactivated human factor Xa (EGR-Xai), along with the thrombin inhibitors D-phenylalanyl-prolyl-arginyl chloromethyl ketone (PPACK) and heparin. Dose dependent effects of the inhibitors during constant infusion were monitored. Measurements included thrombus weights, hemostatic parameters and both cuticle and ear bleeding times. In this model, factor rXai and EGR-Xai had comparable in-vivo efficacy, and showed 80%-93% inhibition at plasma levels of 6.5 nM (rXai) and 8 nM (EGR-Xai). Effects on ex-vivo clotting times varied among the inhibitors. At 80-100% thrombus inhibition, factor rXai and EGR-Xai had no statistically significant effect, while PPACK extended thrombin clotting time (TCT) times 2.3-fold, and heparin prolonged both activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and TCT ex-vivo clotting times 6.9-, 1.2-, and 7-fold respectively. At these dosages, cuticle and ear bleeding times were prolonged for all inhibitors and showed increases of 177%-389% (cuticle) and 45%-129% (ear). Our results demonstrate that direct inhibition of prothrombinase complex assembly is effective in arresting venous thrombosis.

Amino Acid Chloromethyl Ketones↗
PubMed1993

The evolution, impact and significance of the healthy cities/healthy communities movement.

The Healthy Cities movement, or Healthy Communities as it is known in some parts of the world, has grown rapidly since it was launched in 1986. In addition to the 35 cities formally associated with the WHO Europe project, there are now 18 national networks and hundreds of towns and cities actively involved in Europe, North America, and, increasingly, the developing world. This article reviews the concept, its evolution and current practice, considers some of the problems in applying the concept, and speculates on its potential future development.

Europe↗
PubMed1989

Enhancing health--a new agenda for Ontario.

Recognizing that changes in demography, the social environment, economics, technology and political trends are underlying factors affecting health, Paradigm Health in Toronto examined these considerations to assess change to achieve a positive vision of health. Phase I of the study looked at opportunities and threats from the broad external environment affecting health, examined the internal strengths and weaknesses of the present Ontario health system, and analyzed the participants in the system. Phase II identified the important strategic issues gathered from the environmental study, and the strategies which could deal with these issues.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1989

Integrating social work and public health education: a clinical model.

In Florida, the need for clinically oriented social workers with expertise in planning and evaluating maternal and child health programs has led to the establishment of a joint master of social work and master of public health degree program. This program has a clinical social work concentration combined with a public health concentration in maternal and child health content, administration, and research design. The philosophy and development of the program, the course content and degree requirements, the field placement content, issues regarding student acceptance and advisement, faculty appointments, and program directions and goals are discussed. Descriptions of both the social work and public health programs that operate the joint-degree curriculum and the differing perspectives are outlined as well as skills that students obtained through their participation in the program.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1986

Lalonde and beyond: looking back at "A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians".

The Lalonde Report was published in 1974, and was the first significant government report to suggest that health care services were not the most important determinant of health. After reviewing the evidence, the report suggested that there were four "health fields"--lifestyle, environment, health care organization, human biology--and that major improvements in health would result primarily from improvements in lifestyle, environment and our knowledge of human biology. Lalonde also indicated a broad understanding of the determinants of health in subsequent speeches. While the report was greeted sympathetically at the time, it did not have all that significant an impact in Canada. It was criticised on a number of grounds, in particular that it paid too much attention to lifestyle and too little attention to environment. Furthermore, because health is a provincial responsibility in Canada, while the report was a federal report, there was no mechanism readily available to implement the recommendations of the report. The report was nonetheless widely hailed outside Canada, and similar (and often better) reports were published in Britain, the USA, Sweden and elsewhere. The report remains a highly regarded contribution to the transformation in thinking about health that has occurred in the past decade.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Biology↗