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Biomedical subjects

Y W Cheung

Publications and source records attributed to Y W Cheung.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Ethnicity and risk factors in needle sharing among intravenous drug users in Sichuan Province, China.

Combining survey and ethnographic data, this research examined differences in the risk factors associated with needle sharing amongst intravenous drug users (IDUs) in the Sichuan Province of China. A comparison was made between the province's majority Han population and its Yi minority. We developed a theoretical framework consisting of risk factors at the individual level (including risk factors such as lack of AIDS knowledge, low self-efficacy, and economic pressure), interpersonal level (having an IDU primary partner and lack of family support), and community level (social discrimination). The findings suggested that the Yi minority group was more socially disadvantaged and had a higher risk of contracting HIV than the Han group. Furthermore, the factors that put them at risk were different to those which affected the Han group. OLS regression results showed that, for Han IDUs, needle sharing was positively associated with having an IDU primary partner and with economic pressure. On the other hand, for the minority group, needle sharing was significantly associated with being male, AIDS knowledge, the lack of family support, and social discrimination. These findings highlight the need for HIV prevention work to target marginalized populations in China, such as ethnic minorities, and to tailor appropriate prevention strategies to meet the specific needs of different groups.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Substance abuse and developments in harm reduction.

A drug is a substance that produces a psychoactive, chemical or medicinal effect on the user. The psychoactive effect of mood-altering drugs is modulated by the user's perception of the risks of drug use, his or her ability to control drug use and the demographic, socioeconomic and cultural context. The ability to control drug use may vary along a continuum from compulsive use at one end to controlled use at the other. The "drug problem" has been socially constructed, and the presence of a moral panic has led to public support for the prohibitionist approach. The legalization approach has severely attacked the dominant prohibitionist approach but has failed to gain much support in society because of its extreme libertarian views. The harm reduction approach, which is based on public health principles, avoids the extremes of value-loaded judgements on drug use and focuses on the reduction of drug-related harm through pragmatic and low-threshold programs. This approach is likely to be important in tackling the drug problem in the 21st century.

Drug and Narcotic Control↗
PubMed1999

Previous participation in outpatient methadone program and residential treatment outcome: a research note from Hong Kong.

Methadone maintenance programs are good examples of harm-reduction efforts because heroin addicts stabilized on methadone have been found to be able to reduce illicit drug use and criminality and improve their life condition, even though they have not achieved abstinence. While excluding the criterion of abstinence allows the harm-reduction approach to distinguish itself from traditional treatment, little research attention has been paid to the relationship between methadone programs and abstinence-oriented treatment programs. This research note reports some of the findings of a study of 77 former male clients of SARDA, a voluntary residential treatment agency in Hong Kong, pertaining to such a relationship. Findings suggest that a client's previous participation in the Outpatient Methadone Program of the Department of Health could facilitate successful outcome in his subsequent participation in SARDA's treatment program and help him to continue his drug-free status in the post-SARDA treatment period. Conceptual and policy implications of the findings are discussed. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1993

Ethnic identification and alcohol use among Canadian-born and foreign-born high school students in Toronto.

Unlike other demographic and sociopsychological correlates of student alcohol and other drug use, the variable of ethnic identification and its possible effects on student substance use have not received adequate attention from researchers. This paper seeks to examine the relationship between ethnic identification and alcohol use on the basis of data collected from a survey of 667 high school students in Toronto. Results show that when other variables (sociodemographic, school, family, availability, and informal social control) are controlled for, the relationship between ethnic identification and alcohol use remains significant in Canadian-born students but not in foreign-born students. Also, foreign-born students are found to exhibit lower levels of alcohol use than their Canadian-born counterparts, regardless of cultural origin. Implications of the findings for future studies of ethnicity and alcohol/drug use and for prevention efforts are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Approaches to ethnicity: clearing roadblocks in the study of ethnicity and substance use.

This paper reviews a number of indicators of ethnicity commonly used in alcohol/drug use studies. These include the racial, natal, symbolic and cultural approaches to ethnicity. The utility and limitations of each of these approaches is scrutinized. Because ethnicity is a multidimensional concept, using only one dimension, as is the case in many alcohol/drug use studies, is inadequate. One of the major weaknesses of studies of ethnicity and substance use is the failure to recognize the presence of subcultural differences within an ethnic group. Implications of the present review for future research in ethnicity and substance use/misuse and for future development of culturally sensitive programs and services are discussed.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1993

Beyond liver and culture: a review of theories and research in drinking among Chinese in North America.

Low levels of alcohol consumption and drinking problems have been consistently found among the Chinese in North America and in other Chinese societies. Two theories of Chinese drinking have been popular in the literature. First, the physiological explanation attributes the light alcohol use among the Chinese to their high propensity to flush, which protects them from heavy drinking. Second, the cultural explanation suggests that Chinese cultural values emphasizing moderation and self-restraint discourage drinking to the point of drunkenness. A review of existing research shows that both explanations are not supported by adequate empirical research findings and are plagued with conceptual and methodological shortcomings. It is also noted that both theories cannot explain why some Chinese do become heavy or problem drinkers. It is suggested that we should look beyond physiological and cultural factors for a better understanding of contemporary Chinese drinking patterns.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1987

Stability of cisplatin, iproplatin, carboplatin, and tetraplatin in commonly used intravenous solutions.

The stability of cisplatin, iproplatin, carboplatin, and tetraplatin in common intravenous solutions was studied. Admixtures of each drug in each of the following vehicles were prepared in glass containers: 0.9% sodium chloride injection, 5% dextrose injection, 5% dextrose and 0.9% sodium chloride injection, 5% dextrose and 0.45% sodium chloride injection (admixtures were prepared in plastic bags also), and 5% dextrose and 0.225% sodium chloride injection. Drug concentrations were monitored for 24 hours using stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic methods. The stability of cisplatin and tetraplatin was related to the chloride ion content of the infusion fluid; when the infusion fluid contained 0.9% sodium chloride, each of these drugs was present at greater than 90% of the original concentration after six hours. The stability of iproplatin was not related to chloride concentration. A slight increase in the decomposition rate of carboplatin was observed in the presence of chloride ion. Carboplatin and iproplatin are stable for 24 hours in all the infusion fluids studied, but carboplatin should not be diluted with solutions containing chloride ions because of possible conversion to cisplatin. Cisplatin is stable for 24 hours in admixtures containing sodium chloride concentrations of 0.3% or greater. Tetraplatin is stable for six hours in admixtures containing sodium chloride concentrations of at least 0.018%.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1985

Missionary doctors vs Chinese patients: credibility of missionary health care in early twentieth century China.

This paper deals with the encounter between the Chinese and Western medical missionaries in early twentieth century China. Based on data of two Canadian Protestant missions in China before 1937, this study reveals that medical missionaries were generally ignorant of Chinese medicine, and they regarded Chinese medicine as part of an inferior, heathen culture. Such a 'mission-centric' perspective prevented the missionary doctors from creating an effective doctor-patient relationship with the Chinese patients. To the Chinese, missionary health care provided an additional health care pathway. The functional complementarity of Western medicine to the pluralistic Chinese medical structure enabled missionary medicine to gain increasing credibility from the Chinese, although few Chinese actually understood the basic principles of Western medicine. Implications of this missionary doctor-Chinese patient relationship in China are discussed.

China↗
PubMed1984

Stability of azacitidine in infusion fluids.

The stability of azacitidine in four infusion fluids was studied. Azacitidine was reconstituted and diluted to final concentrations of 0.2 mg/ml and 2.0 mg/ml in glass bottles and plastic i.v. bags containing 0.9% sodium chloride injection, 5% dextrose injection, lactated Ringer's injection, or Normosol -R. All admixtures containing azacitidine 2.0 mg/ml and both drug concentrations in Normosol -R were prepared in glass bottles only. The pH of each solution was measured before mixing, immediately after mixing, and after six hours. Duplicate samples of each solution were removed for assay by high-performance liquid chromatography at zero time, then at hourly intervals for six hours, and again at 25 hours. Three experimental runs were performed for each combination of drug concentration, infusion fluid, and type of container. The percentage of initial (zero time) concentration remaining was determined and plotted versus time. This plot was used to calculate the t90 (time at which 90% of the initial concentration remained) for each solution. The t90 values did not exceed three hours for any of the solutions studied. At the 0.2 mg/ml concentration, the t90 value in 5% dextrose injection (0.8 hours) was much smaller than that of the other solutions, which had t90 values of about two hours. In plastic bags, the percentage of initial azacitidine concentration remaining after six hours was less in 5% dextrose injection than in any other solution. The t90 values for all solutions containing azacitidine 2.0 mg/ml were similar, ranging from 2.4 to 3.0 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Azacitidine↗
PubMed1984

Stability of cytarabine, methotrexate sodium, and hydrocortisone sodium succinate admixtures.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for simultaneous determination of cytarabine, methotrexate sodium, and hydrocortisone sodium succinate, and the stability of the three drugs mixed together in four infusion fluids was assessed. Solutions were prepared with two concentrations of the three drugs similar to those administered intrathecally. Admixtures were prepared in Elliott's B solution, 0.9% sodium chloride injection, 5% dextrose injection, and lactated Ringer's injection. and lactated Ringer's injection. Solutions were filtered and kept in a disposable syringe in a 25 degrees C water bath for 24 hours. An HPLC assay capable of separating the three drugs and their degradation products was developed and validated. With one exception, all three drugs were stable in all four solutions for 24 hours. Hydrocortisone sodium succinate concentrations decreased to less than 90% of initial concentration in one of the admixtures with Elliott's B solution. No precipitation was noted in any admixture during the first eight hours of storage, but longer storage led to precipitation of unknown substances in some solutions. Admixtures of these three drugs in the four solutions tested are stable for at least 10 hours at 25 degrees C. However, intrathecal and administration of such admixtures within several hours of preparation is encouraged since none contains antibacterial preservatives.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethnicity and alcohol/drug use revisited: a framework for future research.

Despite the large pool of research findings pertaining to ethnic and racial variations in the use of drugs (including alcohol), the relationship between ethnicity and drug use has not been thoroughly examined. This paper describes some of the major findings regarding ethnic and racial variations in drug use, and examines the methodological limitations of such studies. Moreover, this paper addresses the problem of shortage of theoretical explanations for ethnic variations in drug use. It is argued that the variable of ethnicity has not been properly conceptualized and measured in most studies. Cultural and structural aspects of ethnicity at both the individual and collective levels are examined, and their possible contributions to more rigorous research on the relationship between ethnicity and drug use are discussed.

Alcoholism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Drug use and drug policy in Hong Kong: changing patterns and new challenges.

This paper is a sociohistorical examination of drug misuse and drug policy in Hong Kong. It briefly traces the history of drug policy since Hong Kong became a colony of Britain in the nineteenth century, and then highlights the major drug issues that have emerged in the past several decades. Drug policy in Hong Kong has gone through three stages, from "Government Opium Monopoly" (1841-1945) to "The Prohibition Era" (1946-1960) to "Enlightened Prohibition" (1961-1995). The evolution in drug policy is analyzed in the light of both domestic and international social, economic, and political forces affecting Hong Kong. The major drug issue in the past two decades has been the trends of rising levels of drug use among young people and the increasing popularity of psychoactive drugs among young drug users. It is argued that these trends may be understood in terms of rapid social change resulting from industrialization and socioeconomic growth since the 1960s, and the presence of conditions favorable to the demand and supply of psychoactive drugs. Lastly, major challenges to future drug policy in Hong Kong are discussed.

Drug and Narcotic Control↗