Can hospital data detect poor performing doctors?
...s the hospital episode statistics have been widely perceived as being of little value because of problems with completeness and accuracy, and the Department of Health has in the past dismissed their use for identifying poor quality services. But, despite these concerns, hospital episode statistics data were u...Heart failure drug associated with higher risk of death
...r perspective on the risks of nesiritide, which is perceived as being more effective and safer than dobutamine, an inotropic (heart strength-enhancing) drug that carries a substantial risk of increased mortality. The analysis of all three clinical trials, he says, suggests that the safety of nesiritide may ha...New research reveals common beliefs about gender differences in health
.... For example, coronary heart disease tends to be perceived as a 'male disease' even though it is the leading cause of mortality amongst women in the UK. (One study found that 30 year old women with chest pain were much less likely than 30 year old men to be given a cardiac diagnosis, much more likely to be ...Perceived discrimination linked to coronary artery calcification
...site and education, for every one unit increase in perceived discrimination on the four-point scale the odds of having any coronary calcification increased 2.8 fold. "There is a dose-response relationship," said Lewis. "The more discrimination African-American women experience, the more calcium buildup they ...Parents who don't vaccinate their children may believe vaccines cause harm
...ldren were significantly more likely to report low perceived vaccine safety and effectiveness and a low level of trust in the government. They were likely to have a low perception of their children's susceptibility to vaccine-preventable diseases and not to regard those diseases as dangerous. Parents of exempt...Genetic testing divides families
...t the type of disease, as well as the individuals' perceived need to prepare, influenced the timing of disclosure to family members. Some were selective in the information they revealed as well as with whom they shared the information. Hamilton reports that even when family members are in agreement about ha...Two-thirds of patients brush off their dentist's advice, study suggests
...h, followed it to the letter. Yet the same people perceived their brushing habits to be better than they were a finding which has major implications for dentists wishing to change their patients' behaviour. Gum disease can eventually lead to multiple tooth loss, but in many cases damage can be stabilised or...Study shows doctors and patients think differently about clinical trials
...ve our understanding of oncologists' and patients' perceived barriers, which, in turn, can help us improve the participation rate of patients in clinical trials," concluded Meropol....Minority youths self-esteem grows, not shrinks over time
...lf-esteem, family support, friendship support, and perceived school climate, (i.e. student/student relations an...escents who reported higher levels of support, and perceived a positive school climate reported higher levels of self-esteem, but family experiences were the mos...High levels of estrogen during pregnancy associated with improvement in psoriasis
...l women. The women reported on their stress level, perceived psoriatic severity and the extent of their body surface affected by psoriasis five times over the course of the year: pregnant women at 10, 20 and 30 weeks gestation, and six and 24 weeks after birth and the control group at baseline, 10, 20, 36 and ...Cancer like colonisation for Aboriginal women
...ed them from their communities. "Aboriginal women perceived cancer as a fatal disease whereas in Western society if you get a diagnosis of cancer early enough, we're all fairly optimistic about treatment." She said Aboriginal Women felt cancer was like colonisation because the disease would control them and ...New Seroquel data show significant improvement in compliance and cognition in schizophrenia
...nt is a serious symptom but one which is sometimes perceived as less important than some other symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations. However, recent studies have found that cognitive function is directly related to many areas of social interaction, and can limit an individual from being able to be...Combating fatigue associated with liver disease
...aking the drug, which may have influenced how they perceived their fatigue. For this reason, the researchers judged the results of period 2 to be invalid and used only the results from period 1 to evaluate the effects of ondansetron. They conclude that "ondansetron did not have a fatigue-reduction benefit grea...Tobacco companies designed cigarettes 'to addict women,' according to new study
...appeal to women stylishness and taste, as well as perceived health benefits. According to the authors, the study presents particularly troubling implications for world health, as tobacco companies seek to increase smoking among women in developing countries. The documents, made public following the 1998 Toba...Practice of defensive medicine widespread among physicians in specialties at high risk of lawsuits
...es. Avoidance of procedures and patients that were perceived to elevate the probability of litigation was also ... patients who had complex medical problems or were perceived as litigious. Defensive practice correlated strongly with respondents' lack of confidence in their m...New study has surprise findings on childhood depression
...ultiple risk factor model but most of the children perceived to be depressed appeared to lack any exposures to risks. On the other hand, the majority of children exposed to high risk did not appear to become depressed -- they appeared to be resilient. Professor Najman said the study posed many questions. Evi...Perceptions of weight important risk factor for suicidal behavior in adolescents
...ams divided by the square of height in meters) and perceived weight were associated with thoughts of suicide an...cent for males and 11.2 percent for females. When perceived weight was not taken into account, BMI was associated with suicidal ideation, with the odds of suici......eption that raisins promote cavities. "Raisins are perceived as sweet and sticky, and any food that contains sugar and is sticky is assumed to cause cavities," Wu said. "But our study suggests the contrary. Phytochemicals in raisins may benefit oral health by fighting bacteria that cause cavities and gum disea...Despite WHO/UNICEF push for 'rooming-in,' mothers and babies being separated at birth
...babies in the hospital nursery at night more often perceived that the staff believed that was where the babies belonged. Of the mothers who did not room-in, 73% were in favor of the option but were influenced by negative staff attitudes toward night rooming-in. The mothers who did not room-in rated closeness ...Design of neonatal intensive care units critical to infant health
..., management roles and lack of knowledge are often perceived as the most stressful by NICU nurses. Variation in the form of window views and differing lighting levels can energize routine activities, and technology that supports supervision can better support management activities, Shepley says. ...