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Biomedical subjects

T Hoare

Publications and source records attributed to T Hoare.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Breast screening and ethnic minorities.

The concern for minority ethnic women is whether they are disadvantaged either in terms of the incidence of breast cancer or because of a lower uptake of screening. There are considerable worldwide variations in the incidence of breast cancer. The lowest rates are found in Chinese, Japanese and Arabic populations and women from the Indian subcontinent, and are 2-3 times lower than that of the UK. This may change in future generations. Although minority ethnic women are not a high risk group for the breast screening programme, in absolute terms breast cancer is a major health problem. Very few studies have measured ethnic differences in the uptake of screening, and they may be confounded by such factors as socio-economic group. When this is accounted for, uptake by Asian women may not necessarily be lower than by other women in the same area and can be higher for black than white women. One of the most important reasons for non-attendance is inaccurate screening registers, compounded for Asian women by their return, or extended visits, to the Indian subcontinent. A further organisational issue concerns poor awareness of minority ethnic naming systems, causing confusion over the receipt of invitations. Comprehension of the concept of screening may be difficult for minority ethnic women yet there has been little evaluation of strategies to promote understanding. However a randomised controlled trial of a linkworker intervention, designed to be feasible for implementation on a population basis, showed no increase in the uptake of breast screening by Asian women. This does not undermine linkworkers' role but suggests that their efforts should be used in other ways. It is essential to assess the relative importance of reasons for low uptake and evaluate measures to meet any unmet need, so that resources can be directed in the most effective way.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1994

Can the uptake of breast screening by Asian women be increased? A randomized controlled trial of a linkworker intervention.

This study investigates the effectiveness of a linkworker intervention, giving encouragement and explanations about breast screening, on the subsequent attendance for screening by 'Asian' women. The control group received no visits. The study population comprised all women with Asian names, from a batch of general practices where high proportions of patients were Asian, who were invited for screening. It was found that 59 per cent of the intervention group could be contacted by linkworkers. No difference in attendance was found between the intervention and control groups (49 per cent and 47 per cent). Twenty-five per cent of women were permanently or temporarily not resident at the invitation address. Attendance for screening was related to length of stay in the United Kingdom. This type of intervention was not a successful strategy for promoting uptake by Asian women, and indicates that it is essential to evaluate rigorously projects with such objectives.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Outpatient clinic referrals and their outcome.

A cohort of 392 patients referred to six outpatient clinics by general practitioners during 1987 with diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, peripheral vascular disease, psoriasis or eczema, were studied from the time of their first attendance until up to two years later. Six consultant clinics were studied in the three specialties: rheumatology, vascular surgery and dermatology. For each specialty a clinic in both a teaching hospital and a district general hospital were included. The cohort members were predominantly middle-aged or elderly people, with a greater proportion of women, except at the vascular surgery clinic where 65% of patients were men. The 392 patients made a total of 936 visits (median two, range one-eight) during the study period; 91 patients were still attending up to two years after the first visit. Patients referred by their general practitioner for therapy were less likely to be discharged than those referred for other reasons. The principal reason for continuing attendance as perceived by patients, general practitioners and hospital doctors was the necessity for consultant supervision, although agreement was far from complete in individual cases. Junior staff tended to see a higher proportion of patients at follow-up visits than did consultants, and were found to have lower discharge rates than consultants. Analyses of data showed that at the first visit, diagnosis, disease severity and the grade of doctor seeing the patient in the clinic was significantly associated with patient discharge at the P < 0.05 level of significance. Patients considered that their visits had produced improvement in their condition in 38% of cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗