Publications by authors named "Daniel Van Durme"
Background And Objectives: Interest in global health (GH) has increased significantly among medical trainees in the past 3 decades. Despite the potential for family medicine to be a major contributor to GH, there are no recent, large-scale studies of GH education and experiences in family medicine training. This study was designed to assess current opportunities, educational activities, resident interest, perceived program benefits, and barriers to international and domestic GH training in US family medicine residencies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The increasing cost and inequitable access to quality healthcare, coupled with the merger of the information technology and health service sectors, has given rise to the modern field of telemedicine. Telemedicine, meaning medicine at a distance, allows us to transcend geographic and socioeconomic boundaries to deliver high quality care to remote and/or in-need patients. As technology becomes more affordable and a physician shortage looms, telemedicine is gaining attention as a possible solution to healthcare delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: To develop a standardized framework to discuss rural background, a review of the literature to identify studies regarding the association of rural background with primary care and/or rural health practice was conducted. The various definitions of rural background were collated and from this data a framework for the conceptualization of rural background is proposed.
Methods: The Medline database from 1966-2009 was searched to find citations that included a rural background definition as a variable for rural intent to practice, rural career choice, or rural practice.
Braces and splints can be useful for acute injuries, chronic conditions, and the prevention of injury. There is good evidence to support the use of some braces and splints; others are used because of subjective reports from patients, relatively low cost, and few adverse effects, despite limited data on their effectiveness. The unloader (valgus) knee brace is recommended for pain reduction in patients with osteoarthritis of the medial compartment of the knee.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively characterise the current use of electronic health records (EHRs) and personal digital assistants (PDAs) among family physicians in Florida; and to compare family physicians with other doctors with respect to the functions commonly used on their EHR and PDA systems.
Methods: A postal survey was sent to family physicians (n=2076) and other doctors with a clear and active licence in Florida (total n=14 921). To examine factors among family physicians related to EHR and PDA use, binary logistic regression modelling techniques were utilised.
In 1980, 1700 people died during a prolonged heat wave in a region under-prepared for heat illness prevention. Dramatically underreported, heat-related pathology contributes to significant morbidity as well as occasional mortality in athletic, elderly, paediatric and disabled populations. Among US high school athletes, heat illness is the third leading cause of death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Increasing supplies of dermatologists and family physicians have been associated with earlier detection of malignant melanoma. We investigated whether physician supply was similarly related to incidence and mortality rates of malignant melanoma.
Methods: Using the state tumor registry, we determined melanoma incidence and mortality rates for the years 1993 to 1995 for each Florida county.
Background: We wanted to determine the frequency with which sun protection measures are used by children at the beach.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken that combined a brief, structured interview with direct observation of the sun protection methods (sunscreen, clothing, hats, shade) used for children at a public beach in Florida.
Results: Of the 139 children observed, 97 (69.