Guidelines and methodological standards for smoking cessation intervention research among pregnant women: improving the science and art.

While the evidence confirming the risks of smoking during pregnancy is unequivocal, smoking rates for U.S. women remain high.

The effectiveness of smoking cessation methods for smokers in public health maternity clinics: a randomized trial.

Little insight is available in the literature on how best to assist the pregnant smoker in public health maternity clinics to quit during pregnancy. A randomized pretest/posttest experiment was used to evaluate the effectiveness of two different self-help cessation methods. Three hundred and nine pregnant women from three public health maternity clinics were assigned randomly to one of three groups with one-third assigned to each: a control group; a group receiving the American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking Manual; and those receiving A Pregnant Woman's Self-Help Guide to Quit Smoking.

Personal health practices of urban adults in Alabama: Davis Avenue Community Study.

The need to establish baseline data on and monitor the personal health practices and beliefs of adults in a community served by health care facilities is well documented. The purpose of the survey was to determine health care practices, personal health behaviors, and health services use of the adults living in the Davis Avenue Community (DAC), a six-census tract area located in Mobile, AL. The DAC's population is approximately 95 percent black.

Health education and medicine: competition or cooperation?

Shifts in the expectations of the public, in the practice of medicine, and in the state of the art of health education call for an examination of the nature of the relationship between the health education and medical professions. Their relationship can be characterized in terms of competition or cooperation. This paper examines a number of issues related to these shifts and discusses the potential and pitfalls of this relationship.

Fracture healing in the rabbit fibula when subjected to various capacitively coupled electrical fields.

The effect of capacitively coupled electrical stimulation on the healing of midshaft transverse osteotomies of the rabbit fibula is assessed roentgenographically, mechanically, and histologically. The results show that a dose-response curve for capacitive coupling and fracture healing exists and that a 220 mV, 250 microA, 60 kHz applied electrical signal (0.33 V/cm internal electric field) is the most effective signal for fracture stimulation in this model.

Avian tuberculosis in pigs: Mycobacterium intracellulare infection in a breeding herd.

Lymphadenitis of pigs caused by Mycobacterium intracellulare is widely recognised in continental Europe but this is the first report of it in England. No disease was seen on the farm but condemnations of tissues and organs at the slaughterhouse were often than 100 a week and in one week were in excess of 200. The loss was greater to the slaughterhouse than to the farmer because of the constant disruption to the production line.

Avian tuberculosis in pigs: miliary lesions in bacon pigs.

An outbreak of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium avium type 2 is described which resulted in the total condemnation of 26 carcasses and partial condemnation of tissues and organs of a further 200 animals. Circumstantial evidence is presented that hens running in the farmyard were the source of the infection. Examinations of the carcasses and organs of the diseased pigs suggested that the accepted pathogenesis of the disease is incorrect and a new hypothesis is presented.

Employee self-help smoking cessation programs: a review of the literature.

The purpose of this article is to present a review of the literature on employee self-help smoking cessation programs. Included in this discussion are: (1) a rationale for self-help smoking cessation interventions; (2) a synopsis of their applicability to occupational settings; (3) a rational and description of the self-help smoking cessation interventions selected for a large group of employees; and (4) several methodological issues faced in conducting evaluations of smoking cessation programs.

An assessment of the Environmental Protection Agency's asbestos hazard evaluation algorithm.

We performed an exploratory evaluation of the Environmental Protection Agency's algorithm for assessment of risk of exposure to asbestos in buildings. Observers scored five sites using the algorithm. One group (N = 23) conducted their assessments relying only on written instructions, while another (N = 20) was trained in the use of the algorithm.

Gastric impaction in captive crocodiles (Crocodilus niloticus).

Five crocodiles kept in captivity for more than 4 years died within a period of 4 days. A post mortem examination of one showed that it had died from gastric impaction which had resulted from the feeding of guinea pigs. It was thought that the high ratio of hair to flesh in guinea pigs together with daily feeding cause the impaction.

Investigation into the spread of swine dysentery in 25 herds of East Anglia and assessment of its economic significance in five herds.

Of 25 outbreaks of swine dysentery investigated, 22 were considered to have resulted from the purchase of pigs from farms known to be infected, two from the introduction of Treponema hyodysenteriae on the boots of the stockman, and one from the accidental entry of infected pigs into a 'closed' herd. The hidden costs of swine dysentery in terms of an increased food conversion ratio may be more than four times the cost of medication. A method of halting the spread of disease is described.

Qualitative issues in developing educational diagnostic instruments and assessment procedures for diabetic patients.

With one exception, psychometric analyses of the quality of instrumentation and educational assessment procedures for diabetic patients have not been reported in the literature. Following an extensive internal review process, a pilot test of 56 diabetic patients found that the newly developed instrument had a high degree of internal consistency for the major indexes, 0.89 and 0.

Increasing utilization of a rural cervical cancer detection program.

The Alabama Department of Public Health established, in 1973, a Cancer Screening Program (CSP). Although 66,000 women have been screened, many rural females had never used the program. After a community health organization education effort was introduced into a target rural county, an examination of CSP new user data for two intervention quarters revealed 345 and 150 per cent increases, respectively, in the pattern of use.

A continuing medical education program in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases: design and outcome.

A continuing medical education course was developed to improve the care of patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema (COPD); 44 primary care physicians completed the course. The physicians were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, with 3 of the 4 experimental groups assisting in the selection of topics for the programs and/or receiving feedback on tests given during the course. The course's impact was assessed using written tests to measure knowledge and simulated patient visits to observe physician performance.

Improving patient-education assessment skills of hospital staff: a case study in diabetes.

While the importance of collecting patient education data of high quality is well established, few studies have examined the quality of patient educational assessment procedures. Utilizing a standardized instrument and assessment protocol, an observational trial of nine insulin-controlled adult diabetics was conducted using pairs of trained patient assessors. Although the overall mean percent agreement for the first trial was very good (90%), lack of agreement was noted for several important subcategories.

Streptococcal meningitis in pigs: results of a five-year survey.

Information about new outbreaks of streptococcal meningitis in pigs has been collected since the disease was first recognised in the United Kingdom in late 1973. The apparent spread of the disease across the country is illustrated. Factors affecting the age distribution of the disease and the dissemination of the infection are also discussed.

Pharmacologic and behavioral effects of EMD 28422: a novel purine which enhances (3H) diazepam binding to brain benzodiazepine receptors.

A novel purine, (N6-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-bicyclo 2.2.2.

Method and design issues in evaluation of community health education programs: a case study in breast and cervical cancer.

Systemic evaluation efforts are often neglected in community health education programs due to lack of financial or technical resources. The utility of including program evaluation at an early state in program development and implementation is demonstrated in this case study of a community-wide breast and cervical cancer education program. A number of methodological issues that the health education practitioner should consider in evaluations of community health programs are identified and discussed including: 1) selection of design; 2) establishing controls; 3) determination of sample size; 4) standardization of instruments; 5) selection bias; and 6) participant attrition.