A Survey of Information Needs and Preferences of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Objectives: To determine the information needs and preferences of patients who had human papillomavirus-associated head and neck cancer (HNC) and who were aged 18-65 years in the post-treatment phase of recovery.

Sample & Setting: 205 patients who completed treatment for HNC at two large cancer centers in Western Canada.

Methods & Variables: A self-administered survey was completed in paper or online format.

Public assessment of key performance indicators of healthcare in a Canadian province: the effect of age and chronic health problems.

This study explores the effect of age and chronic conditions on public perceptions of the health system, as measured by the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of healthcare, in the province of Alberta in Canada. Drawing from data collected by Government of Alberta's Department of Health and Wellness, this research examines two key questions: (1) Do people in the 65+ age group rate the KPIs of healthcare (i.e.

Public perceptions of key performance indicators of healthcare in Alberta, Canada.

Objective: To examine the relationship between public perceptions of key performance indicators assessing various aspects of the health-care system.

Design: Cross-sequential survey research. Annual telephone surveys of random samples of adult Albertans selected by random digit dialing and stratified according to age, sex and region (n = 4000 for each survey year).

Patient and family caregiver decision making in the context of advanced cancer.

Background: A basic tenet of palliative care is to maintain an individual's control over the dying process. However, when decline occurs quickly, as may be the case in advanced cancer, transition of responsibility for illness management to a family caregiver may become necessary when care takes place in the home.

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand the decision-making process that occurs between a dying individual and his or her family caregiver.

The geographic mobility of elderly Canadians.

The monograph Changing Residence: The Geographic Mobility of Elderly Canadians (Northcott, 1988) reviewed the research that had been done up to the mid-1980s on the geographic mobility of older persons in Canada and elsewhere. The purpose of this article is to provide an update and overview of developments in the study of the geographic mobility of seniors since the mid-1980s with a particular emphasis on Canada. In this review, we first examine progress over the past 25 years in research about seniors' geographic mobility and focus on three topics: the relocation and geographic concentration of seniors, seasonal migration ("snowbirds"), and international migration.

Housing and living arrangements of Western Asian immigrant seniors in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Canadian population is aging and becoming more ethnically diverse. This paper focuses on South Asian immigrant seniors and examines differences in housing and living arrangements among seniors who immigrated at different life stages. We interviewed a convenience sample of 161 immigrant seniors of South Asian descent in Edmonton, Alberta, to assess type of living arrangement, type of housing and dwelling density (measured in persons per room), activity in the neighbourhood, and means of transportation.

Mental distress and the coping strategies of elderly Indian immigrant women.

This article explores how elderly English-speaking Indian immigrant women living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada perceive and manage mental distress. With elders' consent, in-depth interviews were recorded, transcribed and transcripts were thematically analyzed. The findings suggest that these women believed that to lower the risk of mental distress it is critical for individuals to ;maximize control over inner self' by ;being busy.

Seniors and portrayals of intra-generational and inter-generational inequality in the Globe and Mail journals.

In this article, we examine how seniors are portrayed in the Globe and Mail. Thirty articles published in 2004 were selected and thematically analysed. Seniors were discussed in six different contexts, including family, work/retirement, community networks, scientific studies of population, social and health care policy, and social attitudes to aging.

Perceptions and attitudes of Canadian dentists toward digital and electronic technologies.

Objectives: To determine dentists" perceptions of the usefulness of digital technologies in improving dental practice and resolving practice issues; to determine dentists" willingness to use digital and electronic technologies; to determine perceived obstacles to the use of digital and electronic technologies in dental offices; and to determine dentists" attitudes toward Internet privacy issues.

Methods: An anonymous, self-administered survey of Canadian dentists was conducted by mail. A potential mailing list of 14,052 active Canadian dentists was compiled from the 2003 records of provincial regulatory bodies.

Computer and Internet usage by Canadian dentists.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of computers in Canadian dental offices and to assess their use; to evaluate Internet access and use in Canadian dental offices; and to compare use of computers and the Internet by Canadian dentists, by the general public and by other dental groups.

Methods: An anonymous, self-administered survey of Canadian dentists was conducted by mail. A potential mailing list of 14,052 active Canadian dentists was compiled from the 2003 records of provincial regulatory bodies.

Canadian orthodontist Internet user profile.

An anonymous, self-administered, mail-out survey of Canadian Orthodontists was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of orthodontic Internet use. The response rate was 45.6% (304 of 667).

Reports of preventable medical errors from the Alberta Patient Safety Survey 2004.

The Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) is charged with reporting to Albertans on the quality, safety and performance of the healthcare system. In 2004, the HQCA conducted a telephone survey (response rate: 55%) of 1,500 adult Albertans to assess their perceptions of and personal experiences with preventable medical errors (PMEs). A total of 559 (37.

Perceptions and attitudes of Canadian orthodontists regarding digital and electronic technology.

Introduction: To plan for future acceptance and implementation of computer-related technology, it is necessary to understand orthodontists' current perceptions and attitudes toward emerging technologies.

Methods: An anonymous, self-administered, mail-out survey of Canadian orthodontists was conducted. The response rate was 45.

Redefining parental identity: caregiving and schizophrenia.

When parents try to assume responsibility for an ill adult-child with schizophrenia, the law, mental health practitioners, and often the ill person reject their right to do so. Consequently, these parents regard themselves as disenfranchised, i.e.

Twentieth-century social and health-care influences on location of death in Canada.

Providing the right care, in the right place, to dying persons is hampered by a lack of understanding of where death and dying normally take place and ignorance about what influences location of death. This paper reports the findings of a multidisciplinary historical investigation of 20th-century influences on location of death in Canada. It builds on a study that found a hospitalization-of-death trend in Canada over much of the 20th century but a reduction in hospital deaths beginning in 1994.