Cost effectiveness of an air-inflated static overlay for pressure ulcer prevention: a randomized, controlled trial.

Unlabelled:  Numerous pressure-relieving surfaces of varying costs are available for the prevention of pressure ulcers. There is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions regarding the efficacy or merits of using more expensive technologies. The purpose of this unblinded, randomized, prospective study was to compare the clinical and the cost effectiveness of an inflated overlay with rented, pressure-relieving surfaces for the prevention of pressure ulcers.

Breast cancer screening practices for women aged 35 to 49 and 70 and older.

Objective: To describe physician practices with regard to opportunistic screening for breast cancer in women aged 35 to 49 years and 70 years of age and older, and to identify the determinants associated with the practice of prescribing screening mammography.

Design: Postal survey.

Setting: Quebec.

Evaluation of the impact of interdisciplinarity in cancer care.

Background: Teamwork is a key component of the health care renewal strategy emphasized in Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and in other countries to enhance the quality of oncology services. While this innovation would appear beneficial in theory, empirical evidences of its impact are limited. Current efforts in Quebec to encourage the development of local interdisciplinary teams in all hospitals offer a unique opportunity to assess the anticipated benefits.

[The impact of multiple vaccinations on vaccine schedule adherence and parental attitudes in Monteregie].

Objective: This study aimed to explore the impact of adding new vaccines on schedule adherence and parental opinion of multiple injections.

Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study by self-administered questionnaire mailed to a stratified random sample of each of two cohorts of children drawn from the Montérégie Birth Register: the 2002-2003 cohort (old vaccination schedule) and the 2004-2005 cohort (new schedule). Two surveys were done: Survey 1 (fall 2005-winter 2006) questioned parents whose address could be validated by Canada411.

Supermarket workers: their work and their health, particularly their self-reported musculoskeletal problems and compensable injuries.

A literature review revealed that cashiers are the most studied of all supermarket workers, while little is known about other types of employees. However, cashiers are far from being the only supermarket workers affected by musculoskeletal disorders. The musculoskeletal health of supermarket employees other than cashiers was therefore examined for one company.

Responsiveness of the physical work performance evaluation, a functional capacity evaluation, in patients with low back pain.

Background And Purpose: The Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE) is a functional capacity evaluation. This study investigated the responsiveness of the PWPE.

Methods: The internal and external responsiveness was tested.

[Test-retest reliability of the Work-related Physical Capacity Evaluation].

Background: Functional capacity evaluations are used to quantify and qualify the physical abilities of an individual in relation to the physical requirements of an occupation. One major observation associated with functional capacity evaluations is a lack of evidence on their psychometric properties.

Purpose: This article presents the results of a study on the test-retest reliability of a functional capacity evaluation tool: the Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE).

Biodegradation of polyethylene films with prooxidant additives.

Prooxidant additives represent a promising solution to the problem of the environment contamination with polyethylene film litter. Prooxidants accelerate photo- and thermo-oxidation and consequent polymer chain cleavage rendering the product apparently more susceptible to biodegradation. The question not fully resolved remains the biodegradation itself, its mechanism and especially the factors influencing the time-frame in which it can occur.

Are vaccination information leaflets useful for vaccinators and parents?

Three vaccination information leaflets (VIL) were evaluated in the province of Québec in 2002-2003 to examine their use by vaccinators (nurses and physicians), and their success in reaching parents of infants and toddlers. Data were collected from vaccinators and parents by postal survey. Reception of all of the VIL was higher among nurses (98%) than among physicians (39%).

Investigating the correlation between hospital of primary treatment and the survival of women with breast cancer.

Background: To understand the relation between hospital of initial treatment and the survival of women with breast cancer, the authors investigated the characteristics of the treatment center that were related most to outcome.

Methods: The authors selected women from 5 regions of Quebec, Canada, who were diagnosed with lymph node-negative breast cancer between 1988 and 1994. Data were collected by chart review, queries to physicians, and linkage with administrative data bases.

The interrater reliability of a functional capacity evaluation: the physical work performance evaluation.

The purpose was to evaluate the interrater reliability of the Dynamic Strength, Position Tolerance, and Mobility tasks of the Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE), a Functional Capacity Evaluation often used with workers disabled due to back pain. For each worker's evaluation, two raters were preselected among five trained raters. One of the raters administered the PWPE while the other functioned as a silent rater.

Elderly trauma patients with rib fractures are at greater risk of death and pneumonia.

Background: The purpose of this study was to show that elderly patients admitted with rib fractures after blunt trauma have increased mortality.

Methods: Demographic, injury severity, and outcome data on a cohort of consecutive adult trauma admissions with rib fractures to a tertiary care trauma center from April 1, 1993, to March 31, 2000, were extracted from our trauma registry.

Results: Among 4,325 blunt trauma admissions, there were 405 (9.

Discriminative and predictive validity assessment of the quebec task force classification.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study of workers with low back pain who had been absent from work for more than 4 weeks was conducted.

Objective: To assess the discriminative and predictive validity of the Quebec Task Force Classification for workers during the subacute phase of disability from back pain.

Summary Of Background Data: The Quebec Task Force Classification was designed for clinical decision making, prognosis establishment, quality of care evaluation, and scientific research in low back pain.