A telephone survey of parental attitudes and behaviours regarding teenage drinking

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Irish teenagers demonstrate high rates of drunkenness and there has been a progressive fall in age of first drinking in recent decades. International research indicates that parents exert substantial influence over their teenager's drinking. We sought to determine the attitudes and behaviours of Irish parents towards drinking by their adolescent children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a telephone survey of a representative sample of of 234 parents who had a teenager aged between 13 and 17 years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Six per cent reported that they would be unconcerned if their son or daughter was to binge drink once per month. On the issue of introducing children to alcohol in the home, 27% viewed this as a good idea while 63% disagreed with this practice. Eleven per cent of parents reported that they had given a drink to their teenager at home. Parents who drank regularly themselves, who were from higher socio-demographic groups and who lived in the east of Ireland demonstrated more permissive attitudes to teenage drinking.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found no evidence of widespread permissive attitudes and behaviours among Irish parents. Given that parental influences have been demonstrated to exert substantial impact on teenage drinking, it may be possible to harness the concerns of Irish parents more effectively to reverse the trends of escalating alcohol related harm in Ireland.</p

Development of an adjusted scan statistic for the efficient detection of road collision \u27hot spots\u27 along the road network in Ireland

THESIS 9583Road traffic collisions impose a major burden on society, thus there is a real incentive for inter-sectoral collaboration when decisions and policies are being formulated. This research is set in the context of the latest 5-year road safety strategy (2007 - 2011) which was developed to help reduce road fatalities and serious injuries in Ireland

An in vitro study evaluating the efficacy of a novel mount with torque control designed to tighten Osstell® transducers

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the efficacy of a novel mount with torque control for tightening of Osstell® transducers and to determine the reliability of recorded ISQ measurements from implants placed in various bone densities. Material and Methods Fifty‐six implants, comprising seven different implant types, were placed in eight polyurethane blocks representing D1, D2, D3, and D4 bone densities. Resonance frequency analysis (RFA) transducers were attached to each implant in four different ways: (a) hand tightening, (b) hand tightening with a SmartPeg Mount™, (c) hand tightening using the novel mount with torque control (SafeMount) and (d) tightening to 6 Ncm with a calibrated torque device. ISQ measurements were taken and a second operator repeated the measurements. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to assess the reliability of the measurements and linear mixed effects regression was employed to determine the effect explanatory variables had on ISQ values. Results There was a statistically significant difference in ISQ values obtained by hand tightening transducers compared to the calibrated torque device p  0.8) but very poor agreement in D4 (ICC < 0.24). Bone density accounted for 36% of the variation in ISQ values, the implant for 11% and the operator for 6%. Conclusions SafeMount, did not significantly improve the reliability of the RFA measurements when compared to the standard mount, but calibrated torque devices seem to have benefits when compared to tightening the transducers by hand. Results also indicate that the ISQ values should be interpreted with caution when measuring implant stability in poor quality bone regardless of the implant geometry

Psychosocial interventions for benzodiazepine harmful use, abuse or dependence.

Conclusion: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) plus taper is effective in the short term (three month time period) in reducing benzodiazepine (BZD) use. However, this is not maintained at six months and subsequently. The possibility of including a 'top-up' of CBT to sustain long term effects should be investigated. Currently there is insufficient evidence to support the use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) to reduce BZD use. There is some evidence to suggest that a tailored GP letter versus a general GP letter, standardised interview versus treatment as usual (TAU) and relaxation versus TAU could be effective for BZD reduction. There is currently insufficient evidence for other psychosocial approaches to reduce BZD use

Determinants of self-rated health in an Irish deprived suburban population – a cross sectional face-to-face household survey

Abstract Background Self-rated health (SRH) is amongst the most frequently assessed health perceptions in epidemiological research. While there is a growing understanding of the role of SRH, a paradigm model has yet to be widely accepted with recent studies concluding that further work is required in determining whether there are important predictors of SRH yet to be highlighted. The aim of this paper is to determine what health and non-health related factors were associated with SRH in a suburban deprived population in Dublin, Ireland. Methods A cross sectional face-to-face household survey was conducted. Sampling consisted of random cluster sampling in 13 electoral divisions, with a sampling frame of 420 houses. Demographic information relating to the primary carer was collected. Health status of the primary carer was measured through SRH. Household level data included the presence or absence of persons with a chronic disease, persons who smoked, persons with a disability and healthcare utilisation of general practitioner and hospital level services. A logistic regression model was utilised in the analysis whereby the odds of primary carers with poor SRH were compared to the odds of carers with good SRH taking health and non-health related factors into account. Results Of the 420 households invited to participate a total of 343 were interviewed (81.6 % response rate). Nearly half of the primary carers indicated their health as being ‘good’ (n = 158/342; 46.2 %). Adjusting for the effects of other factors, the odds of primary carers with second level education were increased for having poor SRH in comparison to the odds of those with third level education (OR 3.96, 95 % CI (1.44, 11.63)). The odds of primary carers who were renting from the Council were increased for having poor SRH compared to the odds for those who owned their own property (OR 3.09, 95 % CI (1.31, 7.62)). The odds of primary carers that were unemployed (OR 3.91, 95 % CI 1.56, 10.25)) or retired, ill or unable to work (OR 4.06, 95 % CI (1.49, 11.61)) were higher for having poor SRH than the odds of those in employment. If any resident of the household had a chronic illness then the odds of the primary carer were increased for having poor SRH compared to the odds for a primary carer in a household where no resident had a chronic illness (OR 4.78, 95 % CI (2.09, 11.64)). If any resident of the household used the local hospital, the odds of the primary carer were increased for having poor SRH compared to the odds for the primary carer in a household where no resident used the local hospital (OR 2.01, 95 % CI (1.00, 4.14)). Conclusions SRH is affected by both health and non-health related factors. SRH is an easy to administer question that can identify vulnerable people who are at risk of poor health

Prevalence of prescribing in pregnancy using the Irish primary care research network: a pilot study

Background: To establish the prevalence and patterns of prescribing to pregnant women in an Irish primary care setting. Methods: We reviewed electronic healthcare records routinely collected in primary care, of pregnant women attending nine Dublin-based General Practices affiliated to the Irish Primary Care Research Network (IPCRN) for antenatal care between January 2007 and October 2013 (n = 2,361 pregnancies). Results: Excluding folic acid, 46.8% (n = 1,104) of pregnant women were prescribed at least one medication. Amoxicillin (11.1%, n = 263) and co-amoxiclav (8.0%, n = 190) were the most commonly prescribed medication followed by topical clotrimazole (4.9%, n = 117), salbutamol inhalers (4.1%, n = 96) and paracetamol (4.0%, n = 95). General Medical Services (GMS) patients were more likely to receive a prescription than private patients (OR 2.81; 95%CI (2.28, 3.47)). We applied the US FDA pregnancy-risk categories as a proxy measure of prescribing appropriateness, with FDA Category D and X medications considered inappropriate. FDA Category D drugs were prescribed in 5.9% (n = 140) of pregnancies. FDA Category X drugs were prescribed in 4.9% (n = 116) of pregnancies but after exclusion of oral contraceptives, progestogens, infertility treatments Category X medications were prescribed in 0.6% (n = 13) of pregnancies. After the initial antenatal consultation the prescribing prevalence of FDA Category D medications reduced to 4.7% (n = 110) and Category X to 3.1% (n = 72). Conclusions: The overall prevalence of prescribing to pregnant women in our cohort is low compared to studies internationally, however similar levels of prescribing for FDA Category D and X were found. Following the initial antenatal consultation levels of prescribing of the FDA Category D and X medications reduced, however there is potential to further reduce their use in early pregnancy. The IPCRN database has provided valuable information on the current practice of antenatal prescribing within this pilot group of practices however it is limited by the absence of morbidity and pregnancy outcome data