Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2004
Age-related disparities in cancer screening: analysis of 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data.
Although few studies have explored age-related health care disparities, some researchers have asserted such disparities uniformly disfavor the elderly and are largely attributable to ageism in the health care system. We compared age-related patterns of screening for colorectal cancer with those for breast and prostate cancer in persons aged 50 years and older. ⋯ Significant age-related disparities appear to exist for both evidence-based and non-evidence-based cancer-screening interventions. The issue of age-related disparities in cancer screening is complex, with the direction of disparity favoring the elderly for some services yet disfavoring them for others.
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Annals of family medicine · Sep 2004
The Spirituality Index of Well-Being: a new instrument for health-related quality-of-life research.
Despite considerable interest in examining spirituality in health-related quality-of-life studies, there is a paucity of instruments that measure this construct. The objective of this study was to test a valid and reliable measure of spirituality that would be useful in patient populations. ⋯ The Spirituality Index of Well-Being is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in health-related quality-of-life studies.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2004
Multicenter StudyA string of mistakes: the importance of cascade analysis in describing, counting, and preventing medical errors.
Notions about the most common errors in medicine currently rest on conjecture and weak epidemiologic evidence. We sought to determine whether cascade analysis is of value in clarifying the epidemiology and causes of errors and whether physician reports are sensitive to the impact of errors on patients. ⋯ Cascade analysis of physicians' error reports is helpful in understanding the precipitant chain of events, but physicians provide incomplete information about how patients are affected. Miscommunication appears to play an important role in propagating diagnostic and treatment mistakes.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2004
Discussing spirituality with patients: a rational and ethical approach.
This study was undertaken to determine when patients feel that physician inquiry about spirituality or religious beliefs is appropriate, reasons why they want their physicians to know about their spiritual beliefs, and what they want physicians to do with this information. ⋯ This study helps clarify the nature of patient preferences for spiritual discussion with physicians.