Thirty females, 55 to 70 years old, participated in an investigation comparing two methods of teaching the diabetic diet. Subjects were required to take the WRAT-R, a test which assessed their reading capabilities. Only those scoring at the seventh grade level or below qualified for this investigation. Following the test, subjects were assigned to one of two groups. Participants in Group 1 received one-on-one instructions of Healthy Food Choices, whereas participants in Group 2 received videotaped instructions of Healthy Food Choices. Healthy Food Choices is a more simplified meal planning tool designed for those that cannot understand the concepts of the Exchange Lists for Meal Planning. Participants were instructed by the researcher, either on videotape or one-on-one. A follow-up visit occurred in a mean of 10.3 days to assess comprehension of the instructions provided. Each participant was contacted again by telephone in a mean of 28.7 days from the follow-up visit to assess long-term retention of the instructions they were provided. The sample menu collected from the two contacts provided data on choice deletions and additions. These data were analyzed by t-tests. There were no statistically significant differences found between diabetic diet instructions done by videotape or one-on-one at either follow-up visit or telephone contact. In this sample, videotaped instructions of the diabetic diet were just as effective as one-on-one instructions. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between urinary incontinence and self-esteem and also social participation. A convenience sample of 25 women 60 years of age and older participated. Forty-eight percent of the women had urinary incontinence at the time of the study. No significant differences were found in the level of self-esteem between those women with urinary incontinence and those women without urinary incontinence. Two subjects with urinary incontinence reported refusing social participation due to urinary incontinence. However, no difference in the overall level of social participation was found when comparing those with to those without urinary incontinence. A nonsignificant correlation was found between self-esteem and the overall level of social participation. In addition, the relationship between self-esteem and the level of social participation for women with urinary incontinence was nonsignificant. Only two of the 12 subjects with urinary incontinence reported receiving treatment.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

[Truncated abstract] The cost of managing osteoporotic fractures places a significant financial burden on the health-care system. To reduce the fracture burden, early identification of fracture risk is essential to allow early intervention. The limitations associated with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), such as limited sensitivity and specificity, cost, ionising radiation and accessibility, have resulted in the emergence of other technologies for assessing bone fragility. An example is the portable and non-ionising quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technology. The discriminatory power of quantitative ultrasonometry in fracture risk identification, either independently or in combination with other established risk factors, currently remains contentious. It is recommended that fracture risk assessment should not only focus on bone status, but also on the risk of falls. Additionally, it has been noted that disability arising from osteoporotic fractures, even when these fractures are not identified clinically, can translate into psychosocial symptoms and a poorer perception of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The primary aim of the present study was to investigate if a composite model comprising: calcaneal QUS, falls risk and HRQoL assessments, can identify a group of elderly women at high risk of osteoporotic fracture from those at lower risk. One hundred and four community-dwelling women (mean age 71.3 ±5.8 years) were recruited for this study. These women underwent a series of tests that included: DXA bone mineral density (BMD) evaluation of the proximal femur and lumbar spine (L1 L4); calcaneal QUS measurement; spinal radiography; rasterstereographic back surface curvature (BSC) examination; and performance-based assessment of strength, mobility and balance. The women were classified into a `High Risk’group or a `Low Risk’ group using three separate classification criteria: i) low BMD, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended T-score of < -2.5, and⁄or a history of fragility fracture (Osteoporotic [OP] group versus Non-Osteoporotic [NOP] group); ii) presence of at least one radiographically identified prevalent vertebral fracture (Vertebral Fracture [VF] group versus Non-Vertebral Fracture [NVF] group); or iii) a history of either forearm or wrist fracture (Forearm/Wrist Fracture [WF] group versus Non-Forearm/Wrist Fracture [NWF] group)