Publications by authors named "Brian Unwin"

Approximately 19 million students attend college in the United States. Although they are generally healthy, about 20% of youth have special health care needs, including asthma, diabetes mellitus, and learning, mental health, and substance use disorders. Physicians can facilitate the transition of a youth to an adult model of health care by using structured processes to orient the youth to self-care before entry into college.

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Article Synopsis
  • Inadequate training in palliative care for medical students is a significant barrier to its provision, and this study explores the extent of palliative care education in family medicine clerkships.
  • A survey of family medicine clerkship directors revealed that a quarter do not offer any palliative care education, and many do not assess competencies in this area.
  • The research indicates that clerkship directors’ training and background in palliative care are linked to the amount of training provided and their perceived value of its importance in medical education.
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Background And Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate program director perceptions of influences on resident decisions to practice long-term care (LTC) medicine. Family physicians are well suited to provide nursing home care, but limited available data suggests a decline in the number of family physicians who do so. Family medicine residencies need to address the need for long-term care providers.

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Osteoporosis-related fractures affect approximately one in two white women and one in five white men in their lifetime. The impact of fractures includes loss of function, significant costs, and increased mortality. The U.

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Delirium is defined as an acute, fluctuating syndrome of altered attention, awareness, and cognition. It is common in older persons in the hospital and long-term care facilities and may indicate a life-threatening condition. Assessment for and prevention of delirium should occur at admission and continue throughout a hospital stay.

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There are approximately 20 million students in U.S. colleges and universities.

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Military health care providers experience considerable stressors related to their exposure to death and traumatic injuries in others. This study used survey data from 799 active duty U.S.

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House calls.

Am Fam Physician

April 2011

House calls provide a unique perspective on patients' environment and health problems. The demand for house calls is expected to increase considerably in future decades as the U.S.

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Understanding the distinctions between the management of clinical problems in nursing homes compared with the community setting helps improve the overall care of nursing home residents. Liberalizing diets helps avoid unintentional weight loss in nursing home residents, although the use of feeding tubes usually does not improve nutrition or decrease aspiration risk. Medical assessment, treatment of comorbidities, and appropriate use of rehabilitation therapies minimize the frequency of falls.

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Approximately 1.5 million Americans reside in nursing homes. A family physician often leads the interdisciplinary team that provides for the medical, functional, emotional, nutritional, social, and environmental needs of these patients.

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The elderly military beneficiary is a valued, high-risk, high-cost, and complex individual with unique medical needs. Attention to common geriatric syndromes (such as incontinence) and quality end-of-life care is critical in this population. Care of older adults is part of every adult medical and surgical specialty and represents a significant portion of the care rendered by the Military Health System (MHS)--a system that is currently oriented to warrior care and the care of young adults and families.

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Family physicians commonly care for older patients with disabilities. Many of these patients need help maintaining a therapeutic home environment to preserve their comfort and independence. Patients often have little time to decide how to address the limitations of newly-acquired disabilities.

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Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis are common, closely related vasculitic conditions that almost exclusively occur in patients older than 50 years. They may be manifestations of the same underlying disease and often coexist. Patients with polymyalgia rheumatica usually present with acute onset of stiffness and pain in the shoulder and pelvic musculature, which may be accompanied by fever, malaise, and weight loss.

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Sticks and Stones Or Throw Me a Bone BOGSAT. While not very flattering, BOGSAT (Bunch of Old Guys Sitting Around Talking) accurately describes traditional decision making across many disciplines, including medicine. In an attempt to validate expert opinion panels using the BOGSAT method, the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) movement sprang up from the original writings of Dr.

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