The need for ecocentrism in biodiversity conservation.

Over the past 5 decades, scientists have been documenting negative anthropogenic environmental change, expressing increasing alarm, and urging dramatic socioecological transformation in response. A host of international meetings have been held, but the erosion of biological diversity continues to accelerate. Why, then, has no effective political action been taken? We contend that part of the answer may lie in the anthropocentric ethical premises and moral rhetoric typically deployed in the cause of conservation.

Factors associated with good self-rated health and quality of life in subjects with self-reported COPD.

Background: Recent guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) state that COPD is both preventable and treatable. To gain a more positive outlook on the disease it is interesting to investigate factors associated with good, self-rated health and quality of life in subjects with self-reported COPD in the population.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, postal survey questionnaires were sent to a stratified, random population in Sweden in 2004 and 2008.

How often is diagnosis of COPD confirmed with spirometry?

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Diagnosis is customarily confirmed with spirometry, but there are few studies on documented spirometry use in everyday clinical practice.

Methods: In a cross-sectional survey and study of the medical records of primary and secondary care COPD patients aged 18-75 in a Swedish region, patients with COPD were randomly selected from the registers of 56 primary care centres and 14 hospital outpatient clinics.

COPD patients perspectives at the time of diagnosis: a qualitative study.

Aims: To gain an understanding of patients perspectives and perceptions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the time of diagnosis.

Methods: A qualitative study using grounded theory. Ten patients in primary care in Sweden, newly diagnosed with COPD or with suspected COPD, were interviewed.