Voice recognition for radiology reporting: is it good enough?

Aim: To compare the efficiency and accuracy of radiology reports generated by voice recognition (VR) against the traditional tape dictation-transcription (DT) method.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred and twenty previously reported computed radiography (CR) and cross-sectional imaging (CSI) examinations were separately entered into the Radiology Information System (RIS) using both VR and DT. The times taken and errors found in the reports were compared using univariate analyses based upon the sign-test, and a general linear model constructed to examine the mean differences between the two methods.

Activities of home-based heart failure nurse specialists: a modified narrative analysis.

Background: Heart failure nurse specialists strive to optimize patients' outcomes in home-based settings.

Objective: To document the activities of home-based heart failure nurse specialists.

Method: A modified narrative analysis of clinical notes of home-based heart failure nurse specialists during a 12-month period was used.

Is a computer questionnaire of childhood asthma acceptable in general practice?

Objectives: To determine whether a previously-validated touch screen computer program of symptoms and management of childhood asthma is acceptable to parents who accompany their children to consult a GP, and to examine whether any parent characteristics are associated with acceptability.

Methods: Conducted in general practice in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. A cross sectional pen and paper survey was given to parents of children consulting a GP after completing the computer questionnaire on childhood asthma in the waiting room.

Borg's rating of perceived exertion scales: do the verbal anchors mean the same for different clinical groups?

Objective: To examine the interpretation of the verbal anchors used in the Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scales in different clinical groups and a healthy control group.

Design: Prospective experimental study.

Setting: Rehabilitation center.

Prevalence and correlates of perceived unmet needs of people with systemic lupus erythematosus.

To assess the prevalence and correlates of perceived unmet need among people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 386 people with SLE, recruited from a support association in NSW, Australia, completed a mail-back survey that included 97 items measuring perceived unmet needs across seven domains: physical, daily living, psychological/spiritual/existential, health services, health information, social support and employment/financial. Ninety-four percent of participants had at least one unmet need. The highest levels of unmet need were tiredness (81%); pain (73%); not being able to do things one used to (72%); fear of exacerbation (72%); sleeping problems (70%); anxiety and stress (69%); and feeling down (68%).

How to recognize and manage psychological distress in cancer patients.

Psychological distress is common in cancer patients, however, it is often unrecognized and untreated. We aimed to identify barriers to cancer patients expressing their psychological concerns, and to recommend strategies to assist oncologists to elicit, recognize, and manage psychological distress in their patients. Medline, Psychlit, and the Cochrane databases were searched for articles relating to the detection of emotional distress in patients.

Membrane structure and interactions with protein and DNA in bacteriophage PRD1.

Membranes are essential for selectively controlling the passage of molecules in and out of cells and mediating the response of cells to their environment. Biological membranes and their associated proteins present considerable difficulties for structural analysis. Although enveloped viruses have been imaged at about 9 A resolution by cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction, no detailed crystallographic structure of a membrane system has been described.

Insights into assembly from structural analysis of bacteriophage PRD1.

The structure of the membrane-containing bacteriophage PRD1 has been determined by X-ray crystallography at about 4 A resolution. Here we describe the structure and location of proteins P3, P16, P30 and P31. Different structural proteins seem to have specialist roles in controlling virus assembly.

A perspective from countries using organized screening programs.

Cancer screening may be offered to a population opportunistically, as part of an organized program, or as some combination of the preceding two options. Organized screening is distinguished from opportunistic screening primarily on the basis of how invitations to screening are extended. In organized screening, invitations are issued from centralized population registers.

An evaluation of three community-based projects to improve care for incontinence.

The Australian National Continence Management Strategy commissioned the implementation and evaluation of three community-based projects designed to improve care for people with incontinence by improving the detection and treatment of urinary incontinence. Projects were located in demographically diverse areas, overseen by co-operating professional groups with an interest in continence and aimed at facilitating a pathway of care for those with incontinence. Project activities focused on health care provider training and improving local referral networks, as well as raising public awareness.

Non-valvular atrial fibrillation and stroke: implications for nursing practice and therapeutics.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac rhythm disturbance and is increasing in prevalence due to the ageing of the population, and rates of chronic heart failure. Haemodynamic compromise and thromboembolic events are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in Australian communities. Non-valvular AF is a significant predictor for both a higher incidence of stroke and increased mortality.

Patient-centered needs assessment: rationale for a psychometric measure for assessing needs in heart failure.

Determining an individual's unique perspective of an illness experience remains a challenge for clinicians, administrators, and researchers. A range of concepts and psychometric measures have been developed and evaluated to capture this information. These include patient satisfaction, quality of life, and utility measures.

Monitoring and educational feedback to improve the compliance of tattooists and body piercers with infection control standards: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Blood-borne viruses, which present a grim health and economic burden for both developed and developing countries, can be transmitted through tattooing and piercing. Limited data exist concerning intervention strategies for increasing skin penetration operators' compliance with infection control standards. We evaluated the efficacy and acceptability of an educational feedback intervention for tattooists and piercers.

The role of GPs in treating psychological distress: a study of midlife Australian women.

Background: Patient satisfaction with general practice care is important for treatment adherence, yet little is known about women's satisfaction with general practice care in relation to emotional problems.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to explore women's perceptions of the help provided by GPs for psychological distress.

Methods: Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered using semi-structured telephone interviews in NSW Australia.

Promoting urinary continence in postpartum women: 12-month follow-up data from a randomised controlled trial.

A physiotherapist-delivered continence promotion program was recently implemented with postpartum women in Australia. A previous randomised controlled trial demonstrated that the program was effective in promoting pelvic floor exercises and continence at 3 months postpartum. The present study compares pelvic floor exercise frequency and continence status for women in the intervention and 'usual care' control groups at 12 months postpartum.

Adoption of evidence into practice: can change be sustainable?

Few studies have monitored change in professional practice over time to determine the sustainability of change. Research from other behavioural change literature shows that initial change is difficult to maintain, with reported relapse rates as high as 80%. Interventions most likely to succeed are based on a clear understanding of target behaviours and the environmental context.

The adequacy of measurement of short and long-term consequences of false-positive screening mammography.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to review quantitative studies on women's experiences of consequences of false-positive screening mammography to assess the adequacy of the most frequently used instruments for measuring short-term and long-term psychological consequences.

Methods: Relevant papers reporting quantitative studies on consequences of false-positive screening mammography were identified using MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycInfo databases. Articles citing development and psychometric properties of the most frequently used measures were also retrieved.

Integrated, collaborative palliative care in heart failure: the St. George Heart Failure Service experience 1999-2002.

Background: Chronic heart failure (HF) is the only heart condition increasing in prevalence and is primarily a condition of aging. This condition has outcomes worse than many cancers; however, patients are often denied the benefits of palliative care with its important emphasis on symptom management, spirituality, and emotional health and focus on family issues.

Aim: To describe the development of a model of an integrated, consultative, palliative care approach within a comprehensive HF community-focussed disease management program.

Perceptions and experiences of heart disease: a literature review and identification of a research agenda in older women.

Background: Following diagnosis of heart disease women have poorer health related outcomes compared with men. Nursing science lacks well-evaluated interventions to address the specific rehabilitative needs of older women with heart disease. This paper seeks to inform the development of nursing intervention studies by a review of published studies on the experiences and rehabilitative needs of older women with heart disease.

Fecal incontinence after high-risk delivery.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with fecal incontinence and its precursors among high-risk women at 12 months postpartum.

Methods: A survey of women in the immediate and later postpartum was conducted. Participants were 568 women at higher risk of anal sphincter damage, namely those who had an instrumental delivery and/or delivered a high birth weight infant (4000 g or more) at tertiary teaching hospitals in Australia.

The effect of a perceptual cognitive task on exercise performance: the dual-task condition after brain injury.

Objective: To examine the effect of additional cognitive demand on cycling performance in individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI).

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre.

Delay in seeking advice for symptoms that potentially indicate bowel cancer.

Objectives: To document knowledge, behavior and experiences of adults regarding potential signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.

Methods: Telephone interviews with 1332 randomly selected adults, using similar questions to a survey conducted in 1988.

Results: Twenty three percent (n=306) of respondents reported that they had experienced blood in bowel motions and about one third of these reported that they did not seek medical advice at all.