A study of the relationship between the Guilford-Zimmerman temperament traits and the clinical practice grade for physical therapy students.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

'Rules' for the boys, 'guidelines' for the girls: a qualitative study of the factors influencing gender differences in symptom reporting during childhood and adolescence

This study uses qualitative methods to explore how boys’ and girls’ symptom reporting may be influenced by their perceptions of societal gender- and age-related expectations, their conceptualisations of symptoms, and the social context of symptom experiences. Twenty-five focus groups were conducted with girls and boys aged 10, 13 and 15. These took place in one primary and one secondary school, both located in central Scotland, between June 2004 and January 2005. Focus groups were composed of pupils who were the same age and gender. To stimulate discussion and aid comparison across groups, focussing exercises were designed and put into practice. Symptom cards were used to investigate pupils’ conceptualisations of symptoms. Vignettes encouraged pupils to explore how same- and opposite-sex peers might react to a ‘physical’ and ‘malaise’ symptom in different social contexts. Histograms displaying gender differences in symptom reporting were used as a basis for exploring pupils’ explanations for these patterns. This study found that experiences of illness are integral to boys’ and girls’ presentations of themselves and their performances of gender and age. Their efforts to conform to gender- and age-related expectations have a significant influence on their reactions to illness, their conceptualisations and assessments of symptoms, and also their perceptions of the consequences of seeking help for illness in different social contexts. Societal expectations can be seen as representing strict ‘rules’ for boys, which substantially restrict their reactions to ‘physical’ and especially ‘malaise’ symptoms, whereas they can be viewed as more lenient ‘guidelines’ for girls which are more permissive of their help-seeking for either ‘physical’ or ‘malaise’ symptoms. The ‘rules’ and ‘guidelines’ for boys and girls are not as polarised as gender stereotypes would lead us to expect. This study suggests that seeking help for illness can pose a serious threat to boys’ constructions of themselves as ‘successfully masculine’, but is also has a negative impact upon girls’ presentations of themselves as strong and independent. Boys and girls also argued that the transition from childhood to adolescence is more stressful for girls. They portrayed the advert of puberty and menarche, as well as mounting academic pressures, as stressors likely to lead to girls’ increasing experiences of ‘physical’ symptoms and ‘psychological’ distress. In order to reduce help-seeking barriers and improve boys’ and girls’ perceptions of the consequences of reporting symptoms, there needs to be an erosion of the idea that illness signifies weakness or deficiencies of character. Campaigns to reduce the stigma of mental illness would benefit from incorporating boys’ and girls’ conceptualisations of ‘malaise’ symptoms and aiming to change misconceptions which act as barriers to help-seeking

Does gender matter? An analysis of men's and women's accounts of responding to symptoms of lung cancer

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Comparing the effectiveness of using generic and specific search terms in electronic databases to identify health outcomes for a systematic review: a prospective comparative study of literature search methods

<p>Objective: To compare the effectiveness of systematic review literature searches that use either generic or specific terms for health outcomes.</p> <p>Design Prospective comparative study of two electronic literature search strategies. The 'generic' search included general terms for health such as 'adolescent health', 'health status', 'morbidity', etc. The 'specific' search focused on terms for a range of specific illnesses, such as 'headache', 'epilepsy’, 'diabetes mellitus', etc.</p> <p>Data: sources The authors searched Medline, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and the Education Resources Information Center for studies published in English between 1992 and April 2010.</p> <p>Main: outcome measures Number and proportion of studies included in the systematic review that were identified from each search.</p> <p>Results: The two searches tended to identify different studies. Of 41 studies included in the final review, only three (7%) were identified by both search strategies, 21 (51%) were identified by the generic search only and 17 (41%) were identified by the specific search only. 5 of the 41 studies were also identified through manual searching methods. Studies identified by the two ELS differed in terms of reported health outcomes, while each ELS uniquely identified some of the review's higher quality studies.</p> <p>Conclusions: Electronic literature searches (ELS) are a vital stage in conducting systematic reviews and therefore have an important role in attempts to inform and improve policy and practice with the best available evidence. While the use of both generic and specific health terms is conventional for many reviewers and information scientists, there are also reviews that rely solely on either generic or specific terms. Based on the findings, reliance on only the generic or specific approach could increase the risk of systematic reviews missing important evidence and, consequently, misinforming decision makers. However, future research should test the generalisability of these findings.</p&gt

How men receive and utilise partner support when trying to change their diet and physical activity within a men’s weight management programme

We thank: the FFIT participants and their partners who took part in the research; The Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL) Trust, the football clubs and the coaches; and the Population Health Research Facility at MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Uncontrolled Hypertension in a Child with Phaeochromocytoma: Management Challenges In A Resource-Limited Setting

Background  Hypertension in childhood which is usually uncommon and secondary to renal or other diseases, poses significant challenges to the health system in resource-limited settings due to lack ofaccess to diagnostic and management facilities.Methods The case records of an affected 11 year old male and the review of literature were utilised to highlight the diagnostic and management challenges in this case.Results An 11 year old male was diagnosed with hypertension secondary to a pheochromocytoma following presentation with severe hypertension (220/180mmHg) associated with frontal headache, easyfatigueability and deterioration in vision. Urinalysis, microscopy and culture, Renal and thyroid function tests, lipid profile, full blood count and  abdominal ultrasound and Computerised Tomographic scanningwere normal. Electrocardiogram and echocardiography showed features of hypertensive heart disease. Urinary vanylylmandelic acid and homovanillic acid assays suggested phaeochromocytoma. No  anti-hypertensive combination controlled the blood pressure. He was referred to India where abdominal magnetic resonance imaging revealed a left sided retroperitoneal, adrenal, para- aortic tumour which, onresection, was confirmed as phaeochromocytoma. Post-operatively all clinical features resolved and he became well.Conclusion The challenges posed by delayed presentation, lack of access to adequate facilities and  skilled health manpower required for the management of challenging health situations in resource-limited settings have been highlighted. Running title Pheochromocytoma; Uncontrolled hypertension in Children; management challenges; resource-limited settings.Keywords Hypertension, Phaeochromocytoma, Childhood, Resource-limited settings

Reflections on Researching with Children Using "Family Group Interviews" as Part of a Qualitative Longitudinal Study

Family sociologists often conduct research which generates and compares parents’ and children’s perspectives as a way of ensuring children’s voices are heard and building an understanding of family practices and cultures. It is far less common, however, for children to be interviewed in the presence of parents or to interview families as a group. Primarily, this is a response to concerns that, given generational power relations, the presence of parents may serve to influence, police, or silence children’s voices. However, by making such methodological assumptions and, in turn, not generating group accounts with parents and children, we may be missing opportunities to add further methods to our toolkit and additional analytical dimensions to our explorations and understandings of families’ and children’s lives. In this article, we reflect on our experiences of conducting family group interviews as the second wave of a qualitative longitudinal study, involving parents and children who gave individual accounts at the first and third/final waves. We explore the factors involved in designing this method into a research project, the challenges of conducting family group interviews, and of analysing the data produced. In so doing, we contribute to the methodological debate on researching with children in the context of families

'Coz football is what we all have': masculinities, practice, performance and effervescence in a gender-sensitised weight-loss and healthy living programme for men

In this paper we use a social practice approach to explore men's experience of Football Fans in Training (FFIT), a group-based weight management programme for men that harnesses men's symbolic attachment to professional football clubs to engage them in lifestyle change. FFIT is delivered by community coaches in clubs’ stadia and is gender-sensitised in relation to context, content and style of delivery. Using a ‘toolkit’ of concepts from the work of Bourdieu, Goffman and Durkheim we analysed data from 13 focus group discussions with participants, and fieldwork notes from programme observations to investigate the appeal and success of FFIT, and how it worked to support change. Our analysis builds on our work on the importance of shared symbolic commitment to the football club and being with ‘men like me’ to understand how the interaction context facilitated ‘effervescent’ experiences. These experiences encouraged men to make changes to their diet and physical activity, talk about them, practice performing them and implement them in their lives. Thus a social practice approach illuminated the social processes through which lifestyle change was achieved, and we argue that it can deepen and enrich both intervention design and evaluation. © 2016 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL

Group-based healthy lifestyle workplace interventions for shift workers: a systematic review

Objective Shift work is a risk factor for many chronic diseases and has been associated with unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Workplaces have great potential for promoting and supporting behavior change. We conducted a systematic review of group-based lifestyle workplace interventions for shift workers to identify adaptations and intervention components that accommodate shift working; and assess their impact on weight, physical activity, sedentary behavior and healthy eating. Methods A systematic search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Knowledge, EBSCO and Ovid databases. Using pre-established criteria, independent pairs of researchers conducted the study selection, quality appraisal and data extraction. Results In total, 22 studies on group-based workplace interventions for shift workers were included. Many demonstrated organizational level adaptations, such as flexible delivery times and paying employees’ time for their involvement. Delivery locations near the workplace and management support were other key features. Common intervention components included competitive group activities, individualized goal setting, self-monitoring and feedback, staff involvement in intervention delivery, and incentives. There was moderate evidence for effectiveness on weight and physical activity outcomes, but insufficient evidence for healthy eating outcomes. No interventions focusing on sedentary behavior in shift workers were found. Conclusion Current evidence demonstrates that group-based workplace interventions can be effective for supporting shift workers to lose weight and increase physical activity, while further research is needed for changing healthy eating and sedentary behaviors. Our findings offer decision support on organizational level adaptations and intervention components that are important to make interventions that promote healthy lifestyles more accessible to shift workers

"It's not healthy and it's decidedly not masculine": a media analysis of UK newspaper representations of eating disorders in males

Objectives: Recent qualitative research found young men reporting that an expectation that eating disorders (EDs) mainly affect young women led them, and others, to only recognise their symptoms when their ED had become entrenched. This raises questions about how these stereotypes persist. We therefore explored how EDs in males were represented in articles published in UK newspapers over a 10-year period (7.12.2002-7.12.2012), specifically attending to whether newsprint media represent EDs in males as 'gender appropriate', 'gender anomalous' or 'gender neutral'.    Design: A qualitative thematic analysis of UK newspaper articles.  Methods: We searched two databases, Newsbank and LexisNexis, for newspaper articles including ED and male terms in the lead/first paragraph. Following de-duplication, 420 articles were scrutinised; 138 met inclusion criteria for detailed textual analysis and were imported into NVivo10.  Findings: The number of articles peaked in 2008 when a UK politician announced that he had experienced bulimia nervosa. Analysis of how the articles portrayed male ED-related characterisations and experiences revealed that they conveyed ambiguous messages about EDs in males. Despite apparently aiming to dispel stereotypes that only young women experience EDs and to address stigma surrounding EDs in males, many aspects of the articles, including repetition of phrases such as 'a young woman's illness', serve to reinforce messages that EDs are inherently 'female' and so 'anomalous' for men.  Conclusions: Newspaper articles represent men with EDs as atypical of men, as a result of having an ED (and any feminising or demasculinising characteristics associated with this), and as atypical of people with EDs, who are still usually portrayed as teenage girls. Such media representations frame a cultural paradigm in which there is an expectation that men may feel shame about or strive to conceal EDs, potentially contributing to men with EDs delaying help-seeking, gaining late access to treatments and reducing chances of successful outcomes