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The development of referral guidelines for dentists referring children for extractions under general anaesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a set of guidelines for referral of children for simple extractions under general anaesthesia and to determine if services providing general anaesthetic extractions comply with the guidelines. DESIGN: The guidelines were developed with reference to published literature and experts in the field. Patient's records were used to determine the compliance with the guidelines. SETTING: Community dental services in the North West of England in 2000. SUBJECTS: One hundred and ninety six sets of patient records of children attending to have teeth extracted under general anaesthesia were studied. RESULTS: The mean age of the 196 children was 6.8 years (SD = 2.5 years) and ranged from 2.7 to 15.8 years. Caries was the prime reason for extractions (182; 93b). Of the 196 children who received a general anaesthetic, 103 (53%) dentists had complied with the general anaesthetic referral guidelines whilst 93 (47%) had not. There was wide variation in compliance across 11 trusts in the North West of England. The lowest compliance was 25% and the highest 93%. CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated that there can be considerable agreement amongst a group of experts on what constitutes clear justification for extracting teeth under general anaesthesia. However there can be marked variation in compliance with these guidelines.

Adolescent↗

Pharmaceutical care and community pharmacists' understanding of bisphosphonate dosing information.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pharmacists' knowledge of approved dosing information for cyclic etidronate, alendronate and risedronate in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis; and to assess its relationship to demographic and pharmaceutical care factors. DESIGN: Fax-back questionnaire to evaluate pharmacists' knowledge of approved bisphosphonate dosing information and their involvement in pharmaceutical/patient care activities through independent indices. SETTING: Community pharmacies in both urban and rural settings in British Columbia. PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacies surveyed with 22% response rate (163 pharmacists), 47% male and 54% owners/managers. Most were independent (31%) or volunteer chain (28%) pharmacies. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mean bisphosphonate dosing knowledge score was 76 +/- 11% (mean +/- SD). Mean scores (+/-SD) for questions pertaining to alendronate (92 +/- 13%) were higher than risedronate (81 +/- 26%) and etidronate (48 +/- 19). Pharmacists were least familiar with approved dosing instructions regarding the lack of need to remain upright after etidronate dosing, spacing out of etidronate from food/antacids/calcium/vitamins, and whether risedronate may be taken at bedtime. Factors found to affect pharmacists' bisphosphonate knowledge scores included employment in higher volume pharmacies and greater number of years in practice. Pharmacists in the upper tertile of pharmaceutical care index scores had similar bisphosphonate knowledge scores to those delivering less pharmaceutical care. Pharmacist gender, being owner/manager, and continuing education hours were not significantly associated with higher knowledge or pharmaceutical care scores. CONCLUSIONS: There is a wide range of knowledge of bisphosphonate dosing and delivery of pharmaceutical care amongst community pharmacists surveyed. Given the importance of proper bisphosphonate dosing to optimize drug absorption and to minimize toxicity, pharmacist education should be a priority.

Alendronate↗

Integration of a clinical community pharmacist position: emphasis on workflow design.

OBJECTIVE: To design and implement a scope of practice for a clinical pharmacist position and assess the clinical and economic impact of a Diabetes Medication Management Program in a community pharmacy setting. SETTING: Independent community pharmacy in an urban area. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Standard dispensing and consultative services and durable medical equipment supplies and services were offered in the pharmacy. Approximately 260 prescriptions were dispensed per 10-hour workday. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Pharmacy workflow was redesigned with workstations in which each position was occupied at all times by pharmacy technicians or pharmacists. Clinical pharmacy interventions were delivered while normal dispensing processes continued. INTERVENTIONS: A Clinical Community Pharmacist provided education and counseling to patients newly diagnosed with diabetes as well as services to patients with other chronic diseases. RESULTS: During the first 6 months of the project, 221 clinical interventions were made; 16 patients with diabetes (who had received 67 of the interventions) were enrolled in a medication management program. CONCLUSION: A Clinical Community Pharmacist in an urban setting can deliver clinical services during the normal dispensing process using an efficient workflow design.

Community Pharmacy Services↗

Wandering behaviour in community-residing persons with dementia.

OBJECTIVES: To examine wandering behaviour in elderly demented persons in the community setting with respect to dementia characteristics and other factors that might influence wandering behaviour; to generate a statistical model to assess the relative importance of these various factors in predicting wandering behaviour. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, case-control investigation. SETTING: University-affiliated outpatient neuropsychiatric assessment center. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred and thirty-eight consecutive community-residing new patients with dementia referred for evaluation. MEASUREMENTS: Comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation, including rating with Mini-Mental State Examination; General Medical Health Rating; Comell Scale of Depression in Dementia and caregiver interview. RESULTS: Wandering behaviour occurred in 17.4% of participants. It was significantly more prevalent in patients with Alzheimer Dementia (AD), patients with dementia of longer duration, and patients with more severe dementia. Wandering behaviour was associated with moderate to severe depression, delusions, hallucinations, and sleep disorder. Other significant associations of wandering behaviour included use of neuroleptic medication and male gender. After statistical adjustment for other variables, duration of dementia, severity of dementia and presence of sleep disorder retained significant statistical association with wandering behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Wandering behaviour among community-residing elderly dementia patients is associated with a number of factors, some of which may be subject to modification. It is possible that management of coexistent psychopathology, particularly of sleep disorder, and of the underlying disease process of AD would help to ameliorate this problematic behavioural disorder. Further investigation is warranted into the relationship between neuroleptic medication and wandering behaviour and into possible alternative measures to control agitation in elderly dementia patients.

Age Distribution↗

Independent prescribing by pharmacists: a study of the awareness, views and attitudes of Scottish community pharmacists.

AIMS: To investigate community pharmacists' awareness, views and attitudes relating to independent prescribing by community pharmacists and their perceptions of competence and training needs for the management of some common conditions. SETTING: Community pharmacies in Scotland. METHOD: A pre-piloted postal questionnaire was mailed to 500 randomly selected community pharmacies in Scotland for completion by the 'main pharmacist'. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scottish community pharmacists' awareness, views and attitudes towards independent prescribing by community pharmacists; perceived competence and training needs in relation to diagnosis and treatment of conditions in four therapeutic areas; perceptions about patient accessibility to medicines and safety of independent prescribing by community pharmacists; and attitudes towards becoming an independent prescriber. The items regarding perceptions and attitudes were subjected to Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to identify the domains. Univariate analysis was performed on individual items in the questionnaire against total scores on the identified domains; significant variables in univariate analysis were further analysed in linear regression models. RESULTS: A response rate of 43.4% (217/500) was achieved. Despite expressing confidence in their abilities to become independent prescribers and feeling competent in diagnosing and treating those conditions listed in the questionnaire, clinical training prior to implementation of independent prescribing was regarded important by 211 (97.7%) respondents, while 191 (88.4%) regarded clinical training in drugs used for treating the conditions to be important. Gaining improved patient consultation skills and ability to communicate prescribing actions to GP practices were regarded to be important by 125 (57.9%) and 172 (80.0%), respectively. In PCA, three domains--confidence in independent prescribing, satisfaction with the current methods of supply, and requirements for the process of independent prescribing were identified. Practising more hours per week as a pharmacist (p = 0.01), supplementary prescribing training (p = 0.02), and involvement in Scottish Executive pharmaceutical care model schemes (p = 0.02), were found to be associated with greater 'confidence in independent prescribing'. CONCLUSION: High awareness of independent prescribing and perceived competence in diagnosing and selecting appropriate drugs for treating many common conditions were identified. Prescribing training with emphasis on evidence-based medicine, generic issues of prescribing and diagnostic and consultation skills is warranted before independent prescribing is undertaken by community pharmacists.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Pharmacy-based needle exchange (PBNX) schemes in south east England: a survey of service providers.

AIMS: To describe the activities of service providers with regard to (i) the business operation and policies defining pharmacy-based needle exchange (PBNX) in South East England; (ii) the day-to-day work of PBNX outlets from the provider perspective; and (iii) problems encountered by PBNX providers. DESIGN: (i) Postal self-completion questionnaire to all participating PBNX community pharmacies in South East England; and (ii) postal self-completion questionnaire to needle exchange coordinators. SETTING: Community pharmacy needle exchanges. PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacists in charge of needle exchange; and needle exchange coordinators. FINDINGS: Data were collected (i) from 381/440 (86.7%) participating community pharmacists, and (ii) 32/36 (88.9%) of coordinators. The study found that PBNX was reaching injecting drug users (many of whom used PBNX regularly), and providing a wide range of injecting equipment. Although pharmacists reported that problems such as shoplifting occurred relatively frequently, more serious problems such as violence were relatively rare. However, PBNX pharmacists reported needing further training for themselves and their staff. Suggested improvements included better advertising of services and improving returns rates for used injecting equipment. CONCLUSION: Needle exchange can reasonably be provided by non-specialist health care professionals such as community pharmacists. However, attention should to be paid to the educational needs of service providers who also require adequate support.

Education, Pharmacy↗

An exploration of midwives' attitudes to health promotion.

OBJECTIVE: To explore midwives' attitudes to health promotion. DESIGN: Quantitative study, data collected using self-completed postal questionnaires in 1996. SETTING: The North West of England, UK. PARTICIPANTS: 182 senior midwives who were working in hospital and community settings. KEY FINDINGS: The patterns of views towards health promotion approaches were complex as midwives stated that they preferred societal approaches but worked in approaches that focused on the individual. Health promotion methods that centre on the individual were also preferred. Clinical practice base, educational qualifications and age were influential in midwives' opinions. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: There is a need for further clarification of the midwife's understanding of their role as a health promoter. Educators should ensure that health promotion is explained within its practical context and there should be opportunity for midwives to develop skills of lobbying, negotiating, implementing and policy planning. Liaison with other disciplines should be fostered to understand their roles and develop joint health promotion strategies. There is a need for further research exploring midwives' opinions from a qualitative perspective.

Adult↗

Orientation for general practice in remote Aboriginal communities: a program for registrars in the Northern Territory.

BACKGROUND: Remote general practice can be a highly rewarding career, but poses many personal and professional challenges. It is characterised by significant geographical, professional and social isolation and a requirement for practitioners with public health, emergency and extended clinical skills. The remote practitioner faces further challenges in the remote Aboriginal community setting, including language and cultural barriers. OBJECTIVES: This paper discusses the specific components of a remote Aboriginal community general practice registrar orientation program in the Northern Territory, and their particular importance and relevance to remote training and practice in this context. DISCUSSION: Northern Territory General Practice Education, the regional general practice training provider in the Northern Territory, has developed a model for a comprehensive orientation program for general practice registrars planning to work in remote Aboriginal community locations. This comprises a number of core components, including communication and cultural safety training; clinical and procedural skill development; population health; self-care and personal/professional role delineation; and organisational issues. We believe it is a program that is applicable to other disciplines undertaking work in remote Aboriginal communities.

Clinical Competence↗

A Self-Report Measure of Clinicians' Orientation toward Integrative Medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Patients in the U.S. often turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and may use it concurrently with conventional medicine to treat illness and promote wellness. However, clinicians vary in their openness to the merging of treatment paradigms. Because integration of CAM with conventional medicine can have important implications for health care, we developed a survey instrument to assess clinicians' orientation toward integrative medicine. STUDY SETTING: A convenience sample of 294 acupuncturists, chiropractors, primary care physicians, and physician acupuncturists in academic and community settings in California. DATA COLLECTION METHODS: We used a qualitative analysis of structured interviews to develop a conceptual model of integrative medicine at the provider level. Based on this conceptual model, we developed a 30-item survey (IM-30) to assess five domains of clinicians' orientation toward integrative medicine: openness, readiness to refer, learning from alternate paradigms, patient-centered care, and safety of integration. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two hundred and two clinicians (69 percent response rate) returned the survey. The internal consistency reliability for the 30-item total scale and the five subscales ranged from 0.71 to 0.90. Item-scale correlations for the five subscales were higher for the hypothesized subscale than other subscales 75 percent or more of the time. Construct validity was supported by the association of the IM-30 total scale score (0-100 possible range, with a higher score indicative of greater orientation toward integrative medicine) with hypothesized constructs: physician acupuncturists scored higher than physicians (71 versus 50, p<.001), dual-trained practitioners scored higher than single-trained practitioners (71 versus 62, p<.001), and practitioners' self-perceived "integrativeness" was significantly correlated (r=0.60, p<.001) with the IM-30 total score. CONCLUSION: This study provides support for the reliability and validity of the IM-30 as a measure of clinicians' orientation toward integrative medicine. The IM-30 survey, which we estimate as requiring 5 minutes to complete, can be administered to both conventional and CAM clinicians.

Adult↗

Attrition in an exercise intervention: a comparison of early and later dropouts.

OBJECTIVE: To identify reasons for dropout and factors that may predict dropout from an exercise intervention aimed at improving physical function in frail older persons. DESIGN/SETTING: An 18-month randomized controlled intervention in a community setting. The intervention comprised 2 groups: class-based and self-paced exercise. PARTICIPANTS: 155 community-dwelling older persons, mean age 77.4, with mildly to moderately compromised mobility. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome measure was dropout. Dropouts were grouped as: D0, dropout between baseline and 3-month assessment, and D3, dropout after 3-month assessment. MEASUREMENTS: Measurements of demographics, health, and physical performance included self-rated health, SF-36, disease burden, adverse events, PPT-8, MacArthur battery, 6-minute walk, and gait velocity. RESULTS: There were 56 dropouts (36%), 31 in first 3 months. Compared with retained subjects (R), the D0 group had greater disease burden (P = .011), worse self-perceived physical health (P = .014), slower usual gait speed (P = .001), and walked a shorter distance over 6 minutes (P<.001). No differences were found between R and D3. Multinomial logistic regression showed 6-minute walk (P<.001) and usual gait velocity (P<.001) were the strongest independent predictors of dropout. Controlling for all other variables, adverse events after randomization and 6-minute walk distance were the strongest independent predictors of dropout, and self-paced exercise assignment increased the risk of dropout. CONCLUSIONS: We observed baseline differences between early dropouts and retained subjects in disease burden, physical function, and endurance, suggesting that these factors at baseline may predict dropout. Improved understanding of factors that lead to and predict dropout could allow researchers to identify subjects at risk of dropout before randomization. Assigning targeted retention techniques in accordance with these factors could result in decreased attrition in future studies. Therefore, the results of selective attrition of frailer subjects, such as decreased heterogeneity, restricted generalizability of study findings, and limited understanding of exercise effects in this population, would be avoided.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Agreement between community echocardiography and hospital echocardiography in patients suspected of having left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Smaller echocardiography machines, when used in hospitals, are accurate for detecting left ventricular dysfunction and valvular disease. This paper assessed the detection of left ventricular dysfunction and of valvular disease in the community setting by a smaller machine. AIMS: To measure the agreement in patients with suspected heart failure between community echocardiography and traditional echocardiography in the hospital in detecting left ventricular dysfunction and significant valve disease. METHODS: Suspected heart failure patients were referred to one of the authors (SJ) for community echocardiography using a Siemens Cypress machine. The patients had a second echocardiogram in the hospital by another sonographer who was blinded to the results of the first echocardiogram. The reports of the two sonographers were assessed for agreement using kappa statistics. RESULTS: 458 patients had a community echocardiogram and 136 agreed to a second echocardiogram in the hospital. There was excellent agreement, kappa = 0.87 (0.06 SE), for the detection of left ventricular dysfunction between community echocardiography and the hospital machine. The detection of significant valvular disease was good, kappa = 0.75 (0.06) between the community echocardiogram and hospital machines. CONCLUSIONS: In suspected heart failure patients, community echocardiography gives comparable results to traditional hospital echocardiography for left ventricular dysfunction detection and for significant valvular disease detection.

Aged↗

The affective experience of residency training in community psychiatry.

The community setting arouses disturbing feelings (of anxiety, loneliness, anger, and disappointment) within the resident in a manner that is both unique and potentially constructive for his development as a clinician. The examination of these feelings in the supervisory setting and through peer supervision is crucial to the success of the resident's work in the community.

Anger↗

The Hospital Anxiety And Depression Scale.

There is a need to assess the contribution of mood disorder, especially anxiety and depression, in order to understand the experience of suffering in the setting of medical practice. Most physicians are aware of this aspect of the illness of their patients but many feel incompetent to provide the patient with reliable information. The Hospital Anxiety And Depression Scale, or HADS, was designed to provide a simple yet reliable tool for use in medical practice. The term 'hospital' in its title suggests that it is only valid in such a setting but many studies conducted throughout the world have confirmed that it is valid when used in community settings and primary care medical practice. It should be emphasised that self-assessment scales are only valid for screening purposes; definitive diagnosis must rest on the process of clinical examination.

Affective Symptoms↗

Gerontological nursing. 2: Refocusing the community agenda.

This, the second in a series of articles considering potential developments in gerontological nursing, focuses on a community setting. It highlights current trends in policy which emphasizes the promotion of independence and outlines implications for community nurses. The authors argue that if new roles are to emerge then the educational preparation of community nurses must reflect more fully future policy initiatives.

Aged↗

[Consciousness of drug abuse problems and motivational intention for primary community intervention among the community residents].

PROBLEM: An influence of the community factor has a tremendous significance over the policy taken for the social rehabilitation of drug addicts as well as for the prevention of the drug problems. This study focuses, from a sociological viewpoint, on attitudes and consciousness of the community residents on drug abuse problems, particularly addressing their motivational intention of primary intervention in the community settings. METHOD: A social investigation with a random sampling of the adult male population of a ward community in Osaka was conducted by combining the self-administered schedule method and the individual interview method at the door. RESULTS: 1) More than 90% of the respondents recognized the drug abuse problem in Japan as one of the most severe social problems; 2) as for countermeasures against the drug problems, crack-down by police and severe legal punishments were much more preferred overwhelmingly to the soft measures such as education, therapy and social services; 3) ex-patients of drug abuse and dependence discharged from mental hospitals would be supposed to be faced with harsh, rejective interactions in their community life; 4) 15.4% of the respondents reported their recognition of the illegal drug users in the last three years prior to the survey and those reporting the recognition in their life time were found by 26.5%; 5) the active motivation for primary intervention with drug users on the community basis was widely shared among the community residents. DISCUSSION: It was implied that this motivational asset excavated in the community should be activated in one way or another by community programs for the primary prevention against drug abuse.

Adult↗

Photodynamic therapy for superficial basal cell carcinoma and Bowen's disease.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for superficial basal cell carcinoma (BCCs) and Bowen's disease. Several studies have reported complete response rates of 80-95% and an excellent cosmetic outcome. Bowen's disease and superficial basal cell carcinomas characteristically affect older patients who may also have associated difficulties with mobility. Using a portable PDT light source we were able to deliver PDT in a community setting with the aim of providing a more convenient service for patients. This randomised study confirmed that community delivered PDT is a viable treatment option and can be administered safely in the community by a trained dermatology nurse. The results from patient questionnaires suggest that community delivered PDT is more convenient to the patient, and also cost effective.

Adult↗

Patient noncompliance with self-administered chemotherapy.

The contribution of patient factors to nonadherence with self-administered cancer chemotherapy along with its prevalence was studied. Fifty-one patients with breast cancer enrolled in protocols that included the orally administered medications Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) and/or prednisone were interviewed and assessed at five points in time over a 6-month period. Two summary measures of patient nonadherence derived by self-report were developed: (1) dosage, the overall percentage of drug missed during 26 weeks of treatment; and (2) behavioral, the percentage of behavioral events or prescribing occasions on which a criterion level of drug was missed. Twenty-two patients (43%) met criteria for noncompliance according to both behavioral and dosage definitions. Univariate analyses showed more nonadherence in the clinic and private community settings than in the academic setting. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analyses assessed the contribution of patient demographic, psychologic, and physical symptom factors on patient noncompliance. In the regression analyses patient noncompliance was associated with (1) treatment location, more nonadherence in the private community-based treatment sector than in the academic setting; and (2) income, more nonadherence among those having lower incomes. In assessing total dose requirements in clinical research trials, rates of patient nonadherence need to be considered, and treatment location controlled.

Administration, Oral↗

Preventing epidemics with age-specific vaccination schedules.

A method is proposed for computing the coverage required to prevent epidemics by age-specific vaccination schedules. The method applies in a very general setting and provides explicit expressions in many cases. It can accommodate vaccination doses administered at different ages, heterogeneity among individuals of different ages, a community structured into households, and waning of vaccine-induced immunity. A comparison of results for two specific community settings, with analogous parameter values, indicates that the immunity coverage required to prevent epidemics in a community of households is less than that required for a community of uniformly mixing individuals.

Age Factors↗