3,021 research outputs found
Online prostate cancer screening decision aid for at-risk men: A randomized trial
Objective: This study examines the efficacy of an online decision aid (DA) for men with a family history of prostate cancer.
Methods: Unaffected Australian men (40 - 79 years) with at least one affected relative completed the first online questionnaire, were randomized to read either the tailored DA (intervention) or nontailored information about prostate cancer screening (control), then completed a questionnaire postreading and 12 months later. The primary outcome was decisional conflict regarding prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing. The impact of the DA on longitudinal outcomes was analyzed by using random intercept mixed effects models. Logistic and linear regressions were used to analyze the impact of the DA on screening behavior and decision regret. Stage of decision-making was tested as a moderator for decisional conflict and decision regret. The frequency of online material access was recorded.
Results: the DA had no effect on decisional conflict, knowledge, inclination toward PSA testing, accuracy of perceived risk, or screening behavior. However, among men considering PSA testing, those who read the DA had lower decision regret compared with men who read the control materials, β=.34 , p \u3c.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [.22, .53]. Conclusions: This is the first study to our knowledge to evaluate the uptake and efficacy of an online screening DA among men with a family history of prostate cancer. Men who were undecided about screening at baseline benefitted from the DA, experiencing less regret 12 months later. In relation to decisional conflict, the control materials may have operated as a less complex and equally informative DA
Decoherence Functional and Probability Interpretation
We confirm that the diagonal elements of the Gell-Mann and Hartle's
decoherence decoherence functional are equal to the relative frequencies of the
results of many identical experiments, when a set of alternative histories
decoheres. We consider both cases of the pure and mixed initial states.Comment: 9 pages, UCSBTH-92-40 and MMC-M-
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Laboratory capture, isolation and analysis of microparticles in aerogel: Preparation for the return of Stardust
We present observations from the laboratory capture of particles in aerogel. The paper focuses on a possible extraction technique and the bulk mineral characterization of the captured material using non-destructive analytical techniques
Economic evaluations of psychosocial interventions in cancer: A systematic review
Objective: Although the effectiveness of many psychosocial interventions for people with cancer has been established, one barrier to implementation in routine clinical care is a lack of data on cost-effectiveness. We conducted a systematic review to assess the cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for improving psychological adjustment among people with cancer. Methods: Systematic review of the literature, study appraisal, and narrative synthesis. Results: Eight studies involving 1,668 patients were identified. Four of these reported outcomes in a cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) framework. Six studies reported psychosocial interventions to be cost-effective for improving health-related quality of life, mood, pain, distress, or fear of cancer progression, compared to usual care. Of the six psychosocial interventions identified as cost-effective, three were cognitive behavioural therapy based interventions, one was a nurse-delivered telephone follow-up plus educational group program, one was a group-based exercise and psychosocial intervention, and one was a series of 10 face-to-face or telephone-based individual support sessions delivered by a nurse. The quality of studies according to the CHEC-list criteria was good overall; however, some studies were limited by their choice of outcome measure and omission of important categories of costs. Conclusions: Several psychosocial interventions, particularly those based on cognitive behavioural therapy, have been demonstrated to represent good value for money in cancer care. Future research should include a clear definition of the economic question, inclusion of all relevant costs, and consideration of utility-based quality of life measures for QALY estimation. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42014006370
Gravitational Baryogenesis
We show that a gravitational interaction between the derivative of the Ricci
scalar curvature and the baryon-number current dynamically breaks CPT in an
expanding universe and, combined with baryon-number-violating interactions, can
drive the universe towards an equilibrium baryon asymmetry that is
observationally acceptable.Comment: Revtex4, 4 pages, two figure
Economic evaluations of psychosocial interventions in cancer: A systematic review
Objective: Although the effectiveness of many psychosocial interventions for people with cancer has been established, one barrier to implementation in routine clinical care is a lack of data on cost-effectiveness. We conducted a systematic review to assess the cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for improving psychological adjustment among people with cancer. Methods: Systematic review of the literature, study appraisal, and narrative synthesis. Results: Eight studies involving 1,668 patients were identified. Four of these reported outcomes in a cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) framework. Six studies reported psychosocial interventions to be cost-effective for improving health-related quality of life, mood, pain, distress, or fear of cancer progression, compared to usual care. Of the six psychosocial interventions identified as cost-effective, three were cognitive behavioural therapy based interventions, one was a nurse-delivered telephone follow-up plus educational group program, one was a group-based exercise and psychosocial intervention, and one was a series of 10 face-to-face or telephone-based individual support sessions delivered by a nurse. The quality of studies according to the CHEC-list criteria was good overall; however, some studies were limited by their choice of outcome measure and omission of important categories of costs. Conclusions: Several psychosocial interventions, particularly those based on cognitive behavioural therapy, have been demonstrated to represent good value for money in cancer care. Future research should include a clear definition of the economic question, inclusion of all relevant costs, and consideration of utility-based quality of life measures for QALY estimation. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42014006370
Cost-Effectiveness of Skin Surveillance Through a Specialized Clinic for Patients at High Risk of Melanoma
Purpose
Clinical guidelines recommend that people at high risk of melanoma receive regular surveillance to
improve survival through early detection. A specialized High Risk Clinic in Sydney, Australia was
found to be effective for this purpose; however, wider implementation of this clinical service requires evidence of cost-effectiveness and data addressing potential overtreatment of suspicious
skin lesions.
Patients and Methods
A decision-analytic model was built to compare the costs and benefits of specialized surveillance
compared with standard care over a 10-year period, from a health system perspective. A high-risk
standard care cohort was obtained using linked population data, comprising the Sax Institute’s 45
and Up cohort study, linked to Medicare Benefits Schedule claims data, the cancer registry, and
hospital admissions data. Benefits were measured in quality-adjusted life-years gained. Sensitivity
analyses were undertaken for all model parameters.
Results
Specialized surveillance through the High Risk Clinic was both less expensive and more effective
than standard care. The mean saving was A5,564 to $8,092) per patient, and the
mean quality-adjusted life-year gain was 0.31 (95% CI, 0.27 to 0.35). The main drivers of the differences were detection of melanoma at an earlier stage resulting in less extensive treatment and
a lower annual mean excision rate for suspicious lesions in specialized surveillance (0.81; 95% CI,
0.72 to 0.91) compared with standard care (2.55; 95% CI, 2.34 to 2.76). The results were robust
when tested in sensitivity analyses.
Conclusion
Specialized surveillance was a cost-effective strategy for the management of individuals at high risk
of melanoma. There were also fewer invasive procedures in specialized surveillance compared with
standard care in the community
Improving subjective perception of personal cancer risk: systematic review and meta-analysis of educational interventions for people with cancer or at high risk of cancer
BACKGROUND: Newly diagnosed patients with cancer require education about the disease, the available treatments and potential consequences of treatment. Greater understanding of cancer risk has been found to be associated with greater health-related quality of life, improved psychological adjustment and greater health-related behaviours. The aim of this sytematic review was to assess the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving subjective cancer risk perception and to appraise the quality of the studies. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective observational studies. Eligible studies were identified via Medline, PsycINFO, AMED, CINAHL and Embase databases. After screening titles and abstracts, two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of 206 full-text articles. RESULTS: Forty papers were included in the review; the majority of studies were conducted among breast cancer patients (n = 29) and evaluated the effect of genetic counselling on personal perceived risk (n = 25). Pooled results from RCTs (n = 12) showed that, both in the short and long term, educational interventions did not significantly influence risk perception level (standardised mean difference 0.05, 95% CI -0.24-0.34; p = 0.74) or accuracy (odds ratio = 1.96, 95% CI: 0.61-6.25; p = 0.26). Only one RCT reported a short-term difference in risk ratings (p = 0.01). Of prospective observational studies (n = 28), many did demonstrate changes in the level of perceived risk and improved risk accuracy and risk ratings in both the short and long term. However, only one (of three) observational studies reported a short-term difference in risk ratings (p < = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Further development and investigation of educational interventions using good quality, RCTs are warranted
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Endothelial Dysfunction and the Risk of Hypertension: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Hypertension is associated with impaired endothelial function in cross-sectional studies. However, few longitudinal data exist on whether endothelial dysfunction precedes the development of hypertension. We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between endothelial-dependent brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and hypertension prevalence and incidence in 3500 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, an ethnically diverse, community-based cohort study. At baseline, the prevalence ratios (95% CI) of hypertension from the highest to the lowest quartile of FMD were 1.00 (referent), 1.26 (1.12 to 1.40), 1.35 (1.21 to 1.52), and 1.68 (1.50 to 1.87; linear trend P<0.001). This association remained (P=0.017) after adjustment for demographics (age, sex, and ethnicity), Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis site, and other risk factors. Of the 1869 participants without hypertension at baseline, 584 (31.3%) developed hypertension over a median follow-up of 4.8 years. The unadjusted relative risks (95% CI) of incident hypertension from the highest to the lowest quartile of FMD were 1.00 (referent), 1.38 (1.14 to 1.67), 1.44 (1.19 to 1.74), and 1.64 (1.36 to 1.97; linear trend P<0.001). However, after adjustment for demographics and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis site, the relationship between FMD and incident hypertension was attenuated and not statistically significant: 1.00 (referent), 1.26 (1.04 to 1.52), 1.19 (0.98 to 1.44), and 1.18 (0.97 to 1.44). The longitudinal results also did not appreciably change after adjustment for additional risk factors and baseline blood pressure levels. In this sample, reduced FMD was not an independent predictor of hypertension incidence, suggesting that impaired endothelial function does not play a major role in the development of hypertension
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