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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Evaluating student performance in an obstetrics and gynecology clerkship.

The development of a comprehensive evaluation system for an obstetrics and gynecology clerkship at the Unviersity of Utah is described and the results of two years experience using it are presented. Seven different measurement procedures were developed and used with 111 junior medical students including pre- and post-tests, oral examination, clinical performance ratings by residents, and ratings by faculty on oral and written presentations and participation in tutorial sessions. Learning gains as measured by pre-post test scores were significant at the 0.001 level. Only six of 37 correlations among the evaluation measures were significantly related at the 0.01 level; furthermore, little relationship could be found between measures of student achievement in cognitive as compared to clinical skill areas. The need for multiple sources of information on student performance in clerkships is discussed.

Clinical Competence↗

Clinical ophthalmology instruction for medical students.

A ten-day ophthalmology clerkship for third-year medical students is described. The curriculum, detailed in a day-by-day syllabus, sets specific student goals, evaluates attainment of the goals by a pre-post test, utilizes a student-oriented study guide keyed to major textbrooks as core material with slide-tape and videotape supplements, and emphasizes daily supervised patient examinations. Constant modification of the clerkship on the basis of student assessment has sustained it as a popular workable clinical experience.

Audiovisual Aids↗

Impact of a physician intervention program to increase breast cancer screening.

In order to improve compliance with the National Cancer Institute's breast cancer screening guidelines, we developed a multifaceted intervention designed to alter physician screening practice. A pre-post test, two-community design was used. Primary care physicians in one community served as the control. Data were collected by two mailed surveys (1987 and 1990). Response rates were 61% and 64%, respectively. The physician intervention program consisted of a hospital-based continuing medical education program and an outreach component which focused on implementing a reminder system. Outcome measures were self-reported attitudinal, knowledge, and screening practices changes. In spite of an impressive change in comparison community physicians' practice, the difference in change over time in the intervention community physicians' ordering of annual mammography compared to the change in the comparison community physicians' ordering was significant (P = 0.04). The adjusted odds ratio is nearly 8. We conclude that our in-service continuing medical education program was successful in improving breast cancer screening practices among primary care physicians.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗

Evaluating A Patient-Led Health Literacy Program for People Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer.

IntroductionLow cancer health literacy undermines patients' ability to interpret complex information and participate in shared decision making, and is associated with worse outcomes. Evidence for effective health literacy interventions in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remains limited. We evaluated a patient-led, virtual health literacy program designed to strengthen MBC-specific knowledge and self-efficacy.MethodsWe conducted a mixed-methods, pre-post evaluation across two program iterations (Fall 2023; Spring 2024) delivered by a national, patient-led-MBC organization, Project Life. The five-week synchronous course called Spinning Science covered breast cancer subtyping, genetic/genomic testing, clinical trials, circulating tumor DNA, and information literacy, with small-group activities and polling. Program participants were adults living with MBC. De-identified pre/post surveys assessed (1) self-efficacy for engaging in health decisions, and (2) knowledge using items adapted from the Cancer Health Literacy Test aligned to course content. Paired two-sample t-tests examined pre-post changes (&#x3b1;=0.05). Open-ended responses were analyzed thematically.ResultsFifty-four people with MBC were enrolled (cohort 1, n=17; cohort 2, n=37); 46 provided matched pre- and post-surveys (14 and 32, respectively). Agreement with "I don't know enough to make my own medical decisions" declined from 43% pre to 13% post (p<0.05), indicating improved self-efficacy. Baseline knowledge scores were high, and knowledge item gains were not statistically significant, consistent with ceiling effects. Post-program items showed >80% agreement for increased confidence in self-advocacy, improved health literacy, and sense of community. Qualitative feedback highlighted strengths like digestible content, approachable patient facilitators and flexible scheduling, as well as priorities for refinement such as continued access to materials, and more MBC-specific and numeracy content.ConclusionsA patient-developed, virtual health literacy program for people living with MBC showed meaningful improvements in self-efficacy, with actionable, participant-driven refinements between cohorts. This model offers a practical, scalable pathway for advancing self-efficacy within and beyond MBC.

Humans↗

A Health Belief Model-Social Learning Theory approach to adolescents' fertility control: findings from a controlled field trial.

We evaluated an 8- to 12-hour Health Belief Model-Social Learning Theory (HBM-SLT)-based sex education program against several community- and school-based interventions in a controlled field experiment. Data on sexual and contraceptive behavior were collected from 1,444 adolescents unselected for gender, race/ethnicity, or virginity status in a pretest-posttest design. Over 60% completed the one-year follow-up. Multivariate analyses were conducted separately for each preintervention virginity status by gender grouping. The results revealed differential program impacts. First, for preintervention virgins, there were no gender or intervention differences in abstinence maintenance over the follow-up year. Second, female preintervention Comparison program virgins used effective contraceptive methods more consistently than those who attended the HBM-SLT program (p less than 0.01); among males, the intervention programs were equally effective. Third, both interventions significantly increased contraceptive efficiency for teenagers who were sexually active before attending the programs. For males, the HBM-SLT program led to significantly greater follow-up contraceptive efficiency than the Comparison program with preintervention contraceptive efficiency controlled (p less than 0.05); for females, the programs produced equivalent improvement. Implications for program planning and evaluation are discussed.

Adolescent↗

[Treatment of infantile hepatitis syndrome with injection of yin zhi huang].

The infantile hepatitis syndrome is defined as a liver disease which occurs during the infantile period with the clinical manifestation of jaundice, hepatomegaly and hepatic dysfunction. The cause of disease is complex and the treatment is difficult. From March 1987 to June 1988, 55 patients (treatment group) were treated with injection of yin zhi huang, and 15 cases (control group) with injection of Inosine, vitamin C and glucose. The course of treatment lasted 15 days. At the beginning and the end of the treatment, serum bilirubin level, sALT level, duodenal juice bilirubin level, liver size and T cell subsets in peripheral blood had been detected separately. The results showed that among the treatment group, serum bilirubin level was significantly lower at the end of the treatment than that of the control group. The sALT, and hepatomegaly were also reduced or lessened, while the duodenal juice bilirubin level was increased. But there was no difference in T cell subsets between the two groups.

CD4-CD8 Ratio↗

Improving the quality of service delivery in Nigeria.

This study evaluates the effect of a nurse training program in family planning counseling skills on the quality of service delivery at the clinic level, as well as its impact on client compliance with prearranged appointments. The study used a quasi-experimental design to compare certified nurses who received six weeks of family planning technical training with certified nurses who, in addition to the technical training course, received a three-day course in counseling skills. Data were collected through client exit interviews, expert observation, and inspection of medical record abstracts. Trained nurses performed better than their untrained counterparts in the quality-of-care areas investigated--interpersonal relations, information giving, counseling, and mechanisms for encouraging continuity. The likelihood that clients will attend follow-up visits was also found to improve when they were attended by trained professionals. Short-term counseling training can significantly improve the quality of care provided by family planning workers, as well as client compliance with follow-up appointments.

Adolescent↗

Pregnancy, STDS, and AIDS prevention: evaluation of New Image Teen Theatre.

New Image Teen Theatre combines peer education and theatre in an informative and entertaining package. This study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of New Image Teen Theatre on altering teenagers' attitudes, knowledge, and intentions regarding sexual behavior. A total of 143 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 viewed the performance. The performance focused on the prevention of pregnancy, AIDS, and STDs and included content aimed at increasing communication. Teen participants completed pretest and posttest questionnaires. Almost half of the adolescents reported having engaged in sexual intercourse. About one third of the sexually active reported never using birth control, and only 21% reported consistent use of condoms. These results confirm adolescents' risk for pregnancy, STDs, and AIDS in particular. Following the performance, the teens reported significantly more willingness to discuss sexual issues with others, significantly greater intention to use birth control (for sexually active teens), and demonstrated significantly greater sexual knowledge. Furthermore, they indicated that they had experienced more positive emotions than negative emotions while viewing the production. Results suggest that theatre education may set the stage for more comprehensive interventions designed to prevent pregnancy, STDs, and AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

[The matched-pairs differences-W-test for evaluating clinical treatment effects in matched-pair samples (author's transl)].

Starting from the U-test (see Buck 1975), for 2 independent samples of differences (e.g. pre-post differences), a corresponding test for 2 dependent samples of differences of pre- and post-measurements of 2 treatments (e.g. verum vs. placebo) is described (matched-pairs differences-W-test). Clinically relevant applications (verum vs. placebo) of the matched-pairs differences-W-test are mentioned and discussed as to their restrictions.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Baseline correction in a two-way randomized blocks design.

Randomized blocks designs are used in clinical psychopharmacology research to test the hypothesis that relative effectiveness of different drug treatments depends on the type of patient being treated. Monte Carlo methods were used to evaluate the adequacies of different approaches to statistical control over baseline differences in such a design with special concern for the treatments x blocks interaction effect. Given the usual assumptions, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was shown to provide adequate baseline correction with consequent unbiased tests for the treatments x blocks interaction, as well as the main effect for the randomized treatments. Tests relying on simple pre-post difference scores and percentage change scores evidenced seriously conservative or nonconservative bias in the test for treatments x blocks interaction effect, a bias that depended on the direction of the corresponding interaction effect observed in the baseline measurements alone. This is discussed as a serious matter because the interaction effect in a randomized blocks design is a common basis for the claim of specific indications of drug treatments for particular types of patients.

Humans↗

Maintenance of function in relocation of community-dwelling older adults.

Relocation is often seen as a high-risk stress for the elderly. The present study compared relatively healthy older people moving voluntarily with nonmovers. An examination of behavioral test performance in a pre-post design revealed no decrement in function among those who changed residence. The proscription against relocation of older adults would appear to best be tempered with a careful examination of the conditions surrounding the move and the particular population involved. If there is indeed risk in the relocation of the institutionalized aged, there appears to be no necessary comparable risk among the noninstitutionalized old.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Validation of a new quality of life questionnaire for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

In planning a longitudinal study to characterize the natural history of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), we validated a new disease-specific quality of life questionnaire in a pilot study. We studied 110 men in Rochester, Minnesota who spanned the severity of BPH, from men with no known BPH to men who underwent surgery for this condition. Baseline data were obtained on all men, and the 30 who underwent prostatectomy were re-interviewed to test responsiveness. Reproducibility was examined on the pre-post responses (10 weeks apart) of the 37 men with BPH who did not undergo prostatectomy. Six of twelve question domains were retained in the final questionnaire on the basis of their responsiveness to change, reproducibility, internal consistency, and validity. These were: urinary symptoms, degree of bother due to urinary symptoms, BPH-specific interference with activities, general psychological well-being, worries and concerns, and sexual satisfaction. Most of the more generic measures were deleted.

Adult↗

Does memory loss occur after MR imaging?

In four separate studies, the existence of specific memory loss after magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 1.5 T was assessed by means of recognition and recall tests for faces, common objects, lexical items, and by digit span, in a pre-post paradigm. Although specific memory loss was demonstrated, it was shown that the loss was not due to the main magnetic field of the imager or to radio-frequency pulse sequences, but rather to probable psychological (not physical) factors. No gross or subtle memory changes could be attributed to MR imaging, because control groups showed similar patterns of memory loss.

Adolescent↗

Follow-up effects of a medical school course in human sexuality.

The effects of a course in human sexuality for a class of second-year male medical students are described. The course consists of two interacting components: a 2-day seminar and a 2-week didactic presentation. The purpose of the seminar is to develop humanistic understanding and tolerance of one's own and others' sexuality. The didactic presentation focuses on factual information. A variety of evaluation instruments were used, and students were tested precourse, postcourse, and at the end of 6 and 12 months. Results show a significant pre-post increase in tolerance in attitude and amount of knowledge. There appears to be some moderation in level of attitude and knowledge gain at the 6-months point, and significant increases from the precourse level to the 12-months point persist. Participants almost uniformly report personal benefit, with a significant number described greater satisfaction in their own sexual behaviour.

Adolescent↗

Effect of induced elation and depression on internal-external locus of control.

This study tested the notion that depression is associated with external locus of control and elation is related to internal locus of control. Temporary mood states (depression, elation, neutral) were produced by means of Velten's auto-suggestion technique. Fifteen female undergraduates were assigned to each mood condition, and locus of control scores were obtained both before and after the mood induction procedure. Pre-post changes were as predicted: elation caused an increased sense of internality, and depression caused an increased sense of externality. Neutral mood induction did not alter locus of control.

Adolescent↗