Bmc Fam Pract
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Comparative Study
Roles and practices of general practitioners and psychiatrists in management of depression in the community.
Little is known about depressed patients' profiles and how they are managed. The aim of the study is to compare GPs and psychiatrists for 1 degrees) sociodemographic and clinical profile of their patients considered as depressed 2 degrees) patterns of care provision. ⋯ Differences between patients mainly concerned educational level and area of residence with few differences regarding clinical profile. Differences between practices of GPs and psychiatrists appear to reflect more the organization of the French care system than the competence of providers.
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Comparative Study
The relationship between obesity, hyperglycemia symptoms, and health-related quality of life among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white children and adolescents.
The current study was conducted to evaluate the effects of overweight, hyperglycemia symptoms, Hispanic ethnicity, and language barriers on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among children and adolescents. ⋯ Results suggest that overweight may reduce overall quality of life among children, though it does not directly influence physical functioning. However, hyperglycemia symptoms may affect both overall health and physical functioning. Findings also suggest the need for developing programs directed at overcoming language barriers that may face Spanish-speaking children or their parents. Furthermore, targeting children who have hyperglycemia symptoms with public information campaigns may be more appropriate than targeting overweight children.
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Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination rates among adults 65 years and older or less than 65 years with high risk medical conditions are still below Healthy People 2010 recommended levels of 90%. This study was designed to: 1) assess self-reported pneumococcal vaccination rates following health center level interventions to increase adult vaccination rates; and 2) determine factors associated with vaccination. ⋯ Our findings suggest that improving overall pneumococcal vaccination rates among eligible adults, has the potential to eliminate racial disparities. Interventions delivering vaccination messages specific to older and younger adult groups may be the best strategy for improving adult vaccination rates.
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Adherence with medication taking is a major barrier to physiologic control in diabetes and many strategies for improving adherence are in use. We sought to describe the use of mnemonic devices and other adherence aids by adults with diabetes and to investigate their association with control of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. ⋯ Although adherence aids are in common use among adults with diabetes, there is little evidence that they are efficacious. In this study, we found a few statistically significant associations with adherence aids and better diabetes control. However, these findings could be attributed to multiple comparisons or unmeasured confounders. Until more rigorous evaluations are available, it seems reasonable to recommend keeping medicines in a special place for diabetic adults prescribed multiple medications.
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Estimates of life expectancy assist physicians and patients in medical decision-making. The time-delayed benefits for many medical treatments make an older adult's life expectancy estimate particularly important for physicians. The purpose of this study is to assess older adults' beliefs about physician-estimated life expectancy. ⋯ The majority of the healthy older adults in this study were open to discussions about life expectancy in the context of discussing cancer screening tests, despite awareness that their physicians' estimates could be inaccurate. Since about a third of participants perceived these discussions as not useful or even harmful, physicians should first ascertain patients' preferences before discussing their life expectancies.