The productivity of primary care research networks.

Primary care research networks are being publicly funded in the United Kingdom to promote a culture of research and development in primary care. This paper discusses the organisational form of these networks and how their productivity can be evaluated, drawing on evidence from management science. An evaluation of a research network has to take account of the complexity of the organisation, the influence of its local context, and its stage of development.

Women's control and choice regarding HRT.

The promotion and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the focus of much medical activity and a social phenomenon studied by sociology. The decision to prescribe HRT by a doctor may be a response to a woman's distress and is a decision involving uncertainty about risks and benefits. Sociological analysis has seen the promotion and use of HRT as medicalisation of the menopause.

General practice and the new science emerging from the theories of 'chaos' and complexity.

This paper outlines the general practice world view and introduces the main features of the theories of 'chaos' and complexity. From this, analogies are drawn between general practice and the theories, which suggest a different way of understanding general practice and point to future developments in general practice research. A conceptual and practical link between qualitative and quantitative methods of research is suggested.

Women's decisions about whether or not to take hormone replacement therapy: influence of social and medical factors.

Background: General practitioners have been described as reluctant to prescribe hormone replacement therapy although its use is widely discussed and advocated in the popular media.

Aim: This study set out to identify women's perceptions of media coverage of hormone replacement therapy; the people influencing women's decisions about therapy and women's sources of information; their general practitioners' attitudes to therapy; and women's experiences of the primary health care team in relation to hormone replacement therapy.

Method: In 1993, a postal questionnaire survey was undertaken of 1649 women aged between 20 and 69 years registered with eight general practices in Stockton-on-Tees.

Women's use of hormone replacement therapy for relief of menopausal symptoms, for prevention of osteoporosis, and after hysterectomy.

Background: Hormone replacement therapy is used for the relief of menopausal symptoms. In the United Kingdom, guidelines have been developed for the use of hormone replacement therapy in the prevention of osteoporosis, and in the United States of America its use has also been recommended for cardiovascular disease prevention. However, compliance has been found to be a problem, and rates of prescribing vary between general practitioners.

The use of hormone replacement therapy; results of a community survey.

Hormone replacement therapy is used for both menopausal symptoms and in prevention, but for the latter to be effective there may be a need to promote its use. Suitable strategies need to be informed by current practice. A postal questionnaire was therefore sent to 1649 women aged 20-69 years in Stockton-on-Tees to assess which women consider and take hormone replacement therapy.

Women's health concerns. Is the promotion of hormone replacement therapy for prevention important to women?

The objectives of this study were to find out women's health concerns for the community and for themselves as they age and whether the promotion of hormone replacement therapy for prevention is important to them. A postal questionnaire was sent to 1649 women aged 20-69 years. The sample was random but stratified for age and taken from the lists of eight general practices in the town of Stockton-on-Tees in north east England.

The molecular epidemiology of rotavirus-associated gastro-enteritis in the Transkei, southern Africa.

Rotaviruses were detected in 32.8% (71/216) of stool specimens collected from young children with gastro-enteritis attending the Rehydration Unit at Umtata General Hospital between April 1988 and March 1989. A seasonal distribution was observed with an increase in numbers shedding the virus during the colder months of the year.

Natural establishment of thiaminase activity in the alimentary tract of newborn lambs and effects on thiamine status and growth rates.

Thiaminase activity was detected in the faeces of lambs at 2 to 5 days of age. Levels of activity increased for 10 days and then declined over the next 3 to 4 weeks. Decreased erythrocyte transketolase activity indicated thiamine insufficiency in lambs with high thiaminase activity.