Individuals may develop symptoms in response to inhaled odors, chemicals, and irritants. This may affect their quality of life. Little is known about the prevalence and severity of symptoms that result from exposure to odors, chemicals and irritants. This study demonstrates the development of a new respiratory questionnaire to detect the prevalence and severity of symptoms experienced upon exposure to chemicals, odors, and irritants, and relates these symptoms to quality of life. This questionnaire was submitted to 96 volunteers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health who responded to items regarding symptoms developed in response to exposure to automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke, strong smells, cologne, perfumes or scented candles, or fresh paint vapors or fumes. Health-related quality of life was assessed using a subscale included with the questionnaire. The number and severity of symptoms developed in response to exposure to odors, chemicals, and irritants showed a strong negative correlation with health-related quality of life, consistent with intuitive estimates of the direction of this relationship. Also, it was shown that in normal populations, males and females develop statistically similar prevalence and severity of symptoms in response to exposure to odors, chemicals, and irritants.

People living with heart failure (PLHF) should be screened for symptoms at every healthcare visit since they are 3 times more likely to experience ventricular arrhythmias. This quality improvement project (QIP) compared 3 self-administered HF symptoms questionnaires to determine the best screening tool for a tertiary hospital arrhythmia devices clinic. The instruments included the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), and the Self-Reported Heart Failure Symptoms (SHEFS) questionnaire. For a 30-day period, 76 people were eligible to participate in the QIP, with 55 participants included in the final analysis (72.5% participation). The questionnaires were compared and assessed with the gold standard laboratory test for HF (NT-proBNP) for sensitivity and specificity. For HF, the SHEFS was the most sensitive (83%) compared to the NT-proBNP, but the MLHFQ was most specific (89%). When compared to the MLHFQ as the standard, SHEFS was 71% sensitive, and 73% specific for HF. Similarly, when compared to the KCCQ, the SHEFS was both, 75% specific and sensitive in identifying HF. However, the rate of correlation to a positive or negative NT-proBNP test results was the highest for the SHEFS (87%). All 3 questionnaires were statistically significant in predicting admission to hospital for HF in the past 6 months (p = 0.02 to 0.03). Finally, given the shortest length and simplicity of use, the SHEFS was selected by the stakeholders to be the standard screening tool for the clinic. This project contributes to positive social change by providing the first reported comparison in the literature to implement questionnaires in a clinic to assess symptoms for PLHF attending an arrhythmia devices clinic.

Subjects for this study were 40 women (N= 40) with subclinical bulimia nervosa who were randomly assigned to either a Cognitive Behavioral Treatment group (CBT) or to a waiting list control group. Treatment was provided for 8 weeks in an individual, self-administered format, using an audio-taped treatment package for Body Image Dissatisfaction (BID). Cognitive behavioral treatment focused on changing negative thoughts and feelings about one's body. No specific treatment focused on changing eating symptomatology or concomitant symptoms, although these were assessed. The waiting list control condition received assessment, followed by 8 weeks of no treatment. Treatment outcome measures were three self-report scales that assessed BID and two measures that assessed eating symptomatology and concomitant symptoms. At posttest, treated subjects showed improvement on two of three measures of BID, with a trend towards improvement on the third measure, when compared to waiting list control subjects. Treated subjects also showed a trend towards improved eating symptomatology and concomitant symptoms such as depression and anxiety, relative to waiting list control subjects. The results indicated that CBT is effective for decreasing BID in women with subclinical bulimia nervosa when administered in a self-directed manner.

Submitted by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2015-03-30T18:37:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Soares, Diego de Brito.pdf: 6646288 bytes, checksum: 834f0b8ee72d63e3954fc4de806b9004 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima (tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2015-04-06T18:25:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Soares, Diego de Brito.pdf: 6646288 bytes, checksum: 834f0b8ee72d63e3954fc4de806b9004 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-06T18:25:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Soares, Diego de Brito.pdf: 6646288 bytes, checksum: 834f0b8ee72d63e3954fc4de806b9004 (MD5) / A pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a competitividade do modelo de operadora de Autogestão de Saúde, sem fins lucrativos, administrada por departamento de recursos humanos, frente às demais opções de operadoras comerciais existentes no Brasil, sob o ponto de vista dos recursos internos disponíveis pela organização. Para este fim, teve como estratégia metodológica o Estudo de Caso do benefício AMS, auto-administrado pela Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras). Como referencial teórico foi utilizado um modelo adaptado do original desenvolvido por Ferraz, Kupfer e Haguenauer (1995), no qual a capacidade competitiva de uma organização no longo prazo é resultado de um ciclo dinâmico entre Estratégia, Capacitação e Desempenho. A análise foi feita através do cruzamento de múltiplas fontes de dados, obtidos por documentos e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados indicam que a Autogestão administrada por departamento de recursos humanos apresenta diversos aspectos natos que dificultam seu posicionamento competitivo no longo prazo. The research aims at analyzing the competitiveness of organizations with selfadministered health plans by human resources departments, as compared to other commercial health plan operators available in Brazil, from the point of view of the internal resources of the organization. To this end, a Case Study was developed focusing the self-administered health plan by an energy company: the Petróleo Brasileiro SA (PETROBRAS). The theoretical model used was adapted from the original one developed by Ferraz , Kupfer and Haguenauer (1995), in which, the competitiveness of an organization, over the long term, is the result of a dynamic cycle of Strategy, Competences and Performance. The analysis was made by crosschecking multiple data sources obtained from documents and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the organization with self-administered health plan by human resources department presents several aspects that hinder its competitiveness position in the long term.

The Self-Administered Interview© (SAI©) is an eyewitness interviewing tool designed to help protect eyewitness memory and elicit a comprehensive initial statement (Gabbert, Hope, & Fisher, 2009). Early research shows promising results in general adult samples. Whether the SAI© is an effective tool for older adult witnesses has not yet been fully addressed. Older adults will become increasingly important as a witness population in the future, yet perform worse compared to young adults. Some attempts have been made to aid older adult witnesses, but an easy-to-apply and effective method is yet to be introduced. This dissertation presents an overview of current knowledge on eyewitnesses and provides a theoretical basis for the empirical chapters. It further presents results of a systematic review and several meta-analyses on the effectiveness of the SAI© as a means to enhance eyewitness testimony. The meta-analyses cover 38 experimental comparisons from 22 empirical studies representing 1712 interviewees. Results indicate a strong benefit of the SAI both immediately after the witnessed crime (d = 1.20) and in a delayed recall (d = 0.92 compared to no initial recall) after one to three weeks. The third large chapter of this dissertation presents the results of an experiment that investigated the effectiveness of the SAI© for older witnesses’ testimony, suggestibility and lineup performance. 144 participants, half of which were 60 years or older and half aged 18-30 years, took part in two sessions. In the first session, they were shown a film of a staged crime and either filled in the SAI©, gave a written free recall or no initial recall. In the second session after one week they were then asked to give a free recall of what they remembered, answer questions including suggestive questions, and also to identify the perpetrator from the film from a 6-person simultaneous photo lineup. Results confirm the classic SAI© effect for young adults, show a small beneficial effect for older adults and also indicate a beneficial effect for lineup performance for the first time.

Purpose: The relation between the causal attributions of individuals with panic disorder (PD) and their health outcomes remains relatively unexplored. Therefore we examined 1) the relationship between participants’ etiological beliefs about PD and baseline demographic and clinical characteristics and 2) whether participants’ etiological beliefs about PD predicted compliance, clinical response, and side effect profiles with the treatments they were assigned. Method: The study included 251 participants. A series of multiple linear regressions were used to evaluate the relationship between participants’ causal attributions, measured by the Etiological Model Questionnaire, and their baseline characteristics. To determine whether these beliefs predicted treatment outcome, logistic and linear regressions were conducted. Results: Our results revealed that participants with a family history of psychiatric illnesses were more likely to endorse biological etiological beliefs whereas those with a younger age, comorbid psychiatric disorders, and a history of suicide attempts were more likely to attribute their illness to psychological causes. Participants experiencing impairment in family life endorsed both psychological and environmental causal beliefs, while those reporting higher fear of body sensations and agoraphobic cognitions were more likely to attribute their illness to biological and psychological causes. With regards to treatment outcome, results indicated that participants who endorsed psychological and environmental etiological beliefs experienced more severe symptoms 12 weeks following treatment; irrespective of the type of treatment they received. Implications: The consideration of individuals’ causal attributions might help health-care professionals better assist clients by communicating a more balanced perspective of the causes of PD and deliver interventions that are in line with clients’ individual beliefs.

Little is known of the elderly's ability to use a food frequency questionnaire to describe their dietary intake. This study examines the elderly's ability to reliably describe their diets and how age, education, cognitive status, and gender may affect their ability to complete and return a food frequency questionnaire. The reproducibility of the questionnaire was tested by a repeated administration among 85 participants 65 years of age and older from the Preston, Idaho, area. Correlation coefficients between nutrient scores from the first and second administration ranged from 0.48-0.79 (total population), 0.44-0.88 (males), and 0.39-0.86 (females). Median values for the correlation coefficients were 0.60, 0.66, and 0.58 for total population, men, and women, respectively. Response rate and response quality were determined by distributing 4600 questionnaires to the residents of Cache County, Utah, who were 65 years or older. The overall response rate was 82.1%, 83.2% for men, and 81.3% for women. Little difference was found between the age, education level, and cognitive status of respondents compared to nonrespondents. Response quality was defined by the number of missing values per questionnaire. Age had a positive relationship with missing values. The linear regression model had a p-value significant at the p2=0.035), males (r2=0.020), and females (r2=0.044). The years of education had a negative relationship with the number of missing values. The p-value was significant at the p2=0.010), males (r2=0.004), and females (r2=0.018). The relationship between cognitive status and missing values was inconsistent. The p-values were significant at the p

When conducting initial forensic interviews, facilitating later retrieval in an efficient and timely manner is often important. A tool called The Self-Administered Interview (SAI) has been shown to facilitate later retrieval when completed initially. Even if less time-consuming than other interviewing protocols, it still takes considerable time to complete. This study compared the capability to facilitate later retrieval and temporal aspects of SAI and its separate parts to investigate the relative worth of each part. The two separate parts were a written, free recall and the rest of SAI without the free recall. Forty-five participants completed either of the parts after watching a fictious crime. Six days later a memory test was administered. This study used the same research design as two previous studies which allowed for integrated analysis using data from the three studies. SAI facilitated later retrieval by significantly increasing number of correct answers and decreasing number of incorrect answers. SAI without a free recall significantly decreased number of incorrect answers. SAI took approximately twice as long to complete as a written, free recall. SAI without free recall had comparable results as a free recall but took almost the same time to complete as SAI. An overall pattern for all initial actions was that an increase in complexity and comprehensive design, increased performance but also took longer to complete. If performance is priority and time is not a factor, SAI is recommended. If lowering time of completion is priority a free recall is the quickest action.

Background and Objectives Self - report data is known to be unrel iable and susceptible to factors such as social desirability bias. Methods used for collecting self - report data has thus far been unsuccessful in ameliorating known obstacles to honest self - disclosure. Considering the current HIV/AIDS pandemic and relate d health crises, it is imperative that self - report data is an accurate depiction of reality, since it informs research requirements and designs as well as intervention designs and the evaluation of the efficacy of the interventions. Aim To evaluate and co mpare the efficacy of the Informal Confidential Voting Interview (ICVI) to the FTFI (Face - to - Face Interview) and the SAQ (Self - Administered Questionnaire) in enhancing self - disclosure and minimizing social desirability bias on sensitive topics of sexual ex perience and sexual activity. Study Design A sample of 110 undergraduate and post - graduate students at various tertiary education institutions in Pietermaritzburg were randomly allocated to the ICVI, the SAQ or the FTFI. The ICVI combined a face - to - face interview with a voting box method devised to enhance response anonymity. The FTFI and the SAQ were administered according to a standardized procedure to maximize confidentiality and self - disclosure. Results The self - disclosure scores were significant ly higher for the ICVI in comparison to the FTFI and the SAQ, with a p = 0.005. Post - hoc tests revealed that the ICVI performed significantly better in self - disclosure scores than the FTFI with p = 0.022 and the SAQ with p = 0.015. There was no significa nt difference in self - disclosure scores between the SAQ and the FTFI. Using the Marlowe - Crowne scale of social desirability bias, a significant difference in social desirability bias scores were achieved with p = 0.043. However, the post - hoc analysis ind icated no affirmative significant mean difference in social desirability score among any of the methods. Males displayed greater self - disclosure than females with p = 0.013, but for both sexes the ICVI group achieved the highest mean self - disclosure score s than the FTFI - and the SAQ group. Conclusion The results of this study concluded that the employment of ICVI fundamentally resulted in better quality data than the SAQ and the FTFI on topics of sensitivity and controversial behaviours. The findings ar e suggestive of the successful implementation of the ICVI method across potentially diverse research contexts that rely on self - report data, as the method is adaptable to the target population and its characteristics. Further research is warranted to buil d on its current design and facilitate the implementation of the ICVI across the wide disciplines of self - report data. / Thesis (M.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, [2009]

A case-control study was performed to evaluate the Swedish population-based symphysis fundus (SF) reference curves. The study included 242 small for gestational age (SGA) neonates (169 term and 73 preterm infants) as cases and 296 non-SGA infants as controls. Two Swedish SF curves were evaluated. In term pregnancies they showed a sensitivity of 32 % and 51 % and a specificity of 90 % and 83 %, respectively, at a cut-off level of < - 2 SD from the mean according to the SF reference curve. The sensitivity for SGA was higher in preterm pregnancies (49 % and 58 %, respectively) and the first alarm below – 2 SD was noted before 32 weeks in 37 % and 43 % of the preterm pregnancies, respectively. (Study I) A study of self-administered SF measurements was designed to achieve more regular and frequent SF measurements. Thirty-three women with singleton, ultrasound dated pregnancies performed SF measurements on average 14 weeks from gestational week 20 to 25 until delivery. Self-administered SF measurements were higher and had higher variance than midwives’ measurements. Four consecutive SF measurements on each occasion can compensate for higher variance. Reliable self-administered SF measurements can be obtained. (Study II) Self-administered SF measurements from 191 women were used to construct absolute and relative SF growth references. The influence of fetal sex, maternal obesity and parity was assessed in regression models. The lnSF growth was statistically influenced by maternal obesity, and a borderline significance was recorded for fetal sex and parity. Statistical analysis and graphical displays show no evidence that the relative lnSF growth should be dependent on these variables. (Study III) To improve detection of infants with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) rather than SGA a new statistical model (the SR method) was used. The SR method was evaluated with SF measurements from 1122 pregnant women. The sensitivity for neonatal morbidity and SGA was low, between 6 and 36 % for SGA (< -2SD). Neonates classified as SGA (< -2SD and < 10th percentile) had increased morbidity compared with the total study group. Neonates suspected to be SGA before delivery by the population-based SF measurement method had lower morbidity than those not suspected. The SR method was found not to improve detection of fetuses with increased morbidity or SGA neonates in this study. Better screening methods to detect IUGR and SGA prior to delivery are needed. (Study IV)