Comfort and utility of school-based weight screening: the student perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Weight screening in schools has been proposed as one strategy to address childhood obesity. Students' response to such screening is unexplored, however. In this study we evaluated the perceived comfort, utility and impact of school-based weight screening from the perspective of middle school-aged students.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study of 852 ethnically diverse 5^th–8^thgrade students. Associations were investigated between measured height and weight screening data and responses to a self-administered questionnaire completed immediately following weight screening in physical education class. BMI categories were based on the revised 2000 CDC growth chart and definitions: 5^th–85^thBMI percentile = healthy weight, 85^th–95^thBMI percentile = at risk for overweight, and >95^thpercentile BMI = overweight.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, students' comfort level with weight screening varied depending on the student's own weight status. More overweight students (38.1%) reported being uncomfortable than healthy weight students (8.1%) (p < 0.001). In particular, overweight female students (54.8%) compared to healthy weight female students (21.6%) reported being uncomfortable (p < 0.01). About half (54.9%) of all students reported knowing their weight prior to screening, and 58.9% reported that it was useful to learn their height and weight. Compared to healthy weight students, overweight students were significantly more likely to report the intention to perform weight modification related activities such as visiting a doctor (Odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.3, 3.1), eating more fruits and vegetables (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.7, 4.1), and increasing physical activity (OR = 4.3, 95% CI = 2.7, 7.0).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, the majority of the middle school students did not report discomfort with school-based weight screening, did report that receiving height and weight information was useful, and generally report appropriate weight control intentions. These proportions varied across weight status categories, however, with students who were at risk for overweight or overweight reporting higher levels of discomfort. For schools that conduct weight screening, it is essential that they also provide comfortable and private settings as well as education or counseling regarding healthy weight control practices.</p

Differential predictors of acute post-surgical pain intensity after abdominal hysterectomy and major joint arthroplasty

Author's personal copyBACKGROUND Psychological factors have a significant role in post-surgical pain, and their study can inform pain management. PURPOSE The aims of this study are to identify psychological predictors of post-surgical pain following abdominal hysterectomy (AH) and major joint arthroplasty (MJA) and to investigate differential predictors by type of surgery. METHOD One hundred forty-two women undergoing AH and 110 patients undergoing MJA were assessed 24 h before (T1) and 48 h after (T2) surgery. RESULTS A predictive post-surgical pain model was found for AH and MJA yielding pre-surgical pain experience and pain catastrophizing as significant predictors and a significant interaction of pre-surgical optimism and surgery type. Separate regression models by surgery type showed that pre-surgical optimism was the best predictor of post-surgical pain after MJA, but not after AH. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight the relevance of psychological predictors for both surgeries and the value of targeting specific psychological factors by surgery type in order to effectively manage acute post-surgical pain.Supported by a project grant (PTDC/SAU-NEU/108557/2008) and by a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/36368/2007) from the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology, COMPETE, and FEDE

People’s understanding of verbal risk descriptors in patient information leaflets : a cross-sectional national survey of 18- to 65-year-olds in England

Introduction Evidence suggests the current verbal risk descriptors used to communicate side effect risk in patient information leaflets (PILs) are overestimated. Objectives The aim was to establish how people understand the verbal risk descriptors recommended for use in PILs by the European Commission (EC), and alternative verbal risk descriptors, in the context of mild and severe side effects. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was carried out by a market research company recruiting participants aged between 18 and 65 years living in England. Data were collected between 18 March and 1 April 2016. Participants were given a hypothetical scenario regarding the risk of mild or severe medication side effects and asked to estimate how many out of 10,000 people would be affected for each of the verbal risk descriptors being tested. Results A total of 1003 participants were included in the final sample. The risks conveyed by the EC recommended verbal risk descriptors were greatly overestimated by participants. Two distinct distributions were apparent for participant estimates of side effect risks: those for ‘high risk’ verbal descriptors (e.g. ‘common’, ‘likely’, ‘high chance’) and those for ‘low risk’ verbal descriptors (e.g. ‘uncommon’, ‘unlikely’, ‘low chance’). Within these two groups, the distributions were near to identical regardless of what adverb (e.g. very, high, fair) or adjective (e.g. common, likely, chance) was used. The EC recommended verbal risk descriptors were more likely to be understood in accordance with their intended meanings when describing severe side effects. Very few demographic or psychological factors were consistently associated with how well participants understood the EC recommended verbal risk descriptors. Discussion The current verbal risk descriptors used in PILs are ineffective at best and misleading at worst. Discontinuing the use of verbal risk descriptors would limit the likelihood of people overestimating the risk of side effects

The Australian national binge drinking campaign: campaign recognition among young people at a music festival who report risky drinking

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Australian Government launched a mass media campaign in 2009 to raise awareness of the harms and costs associated risky drinking among young Australians. The aim of this study was to assess if young people attending a music festival who report frequent risky single occasions of drinking (RSOD) recognise the key message of the campaign, "<it>Binge drinking can lead to injuries and regrets</it>", compared to young people who report less frequent RSOD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional behavioural survey of young people (aged 16-29 years) attending a music festival in Melbourne, Australia, was conducted in January 2009. We collected basic demographics, information on alcohol and other drug use and sexual health and behaviour during the previous 12 months, and measured recognition of the Australian National Binge Drinking Campaign key message. We calculated the odds of recognition of the key slogan of the Australian National Binge Drinking Campaign among participants who reported frequent RSOD (defined as reported weekly or more frequent RSOD during the previous 12 months) compared to participants who reported less frequent RSOD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, three-quarters (74.7%) of 1072 participants included in this analysis recognised the campaign message. In the adjusted analysis, those reporting frequent RSOD had significantly lower odds of recognising the campaign message compared to those not reporting frequent RSOD (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9), whilst females had significantly greater odds of recognising the campaign message compared to males (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.1).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Whilst a high proportion of the target group recognised the campaign, our analysis suggests that participants that reported frequent RSOD - and thus the most important group to target - had statistically significantly lower odds of recognising the campaign message.</p

Living with diabetes: rationale, study design and baseline characteristics for an Australian prospective cohort study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a major global public health threat. In Australia, as elsewhere, it is responsible for a sizeable portion of the overall burden of disease, and significant costs. The psychological and social impact of diabetes on individuals with the disease can be severe, and if not adequately addressed, can lead to the worsening of the overall disease picture. The Living With Diabetes Study aims to contribute to a holistic understanding of the psychological and social aspects of diabetes mellitus

Disability and satisfaction after Rotator Cuff decompression or repair: a sex and gender analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rotator-cuff pathology is the most common cause of pain and disability in the shoulder. Examining the combined effect of biological and societal factors on disability would potentially identify existing differences between men and women with rotator cuff pathology which would help to provide suggestions for better models of care. Purpose of this study was to determine the overall differences in disability between men and women and to examine the relationship between factors that represent sex (biological factors) and gender (non-biological factors) with disability and satisfaction with surgical outcome 6 months after rotator cuff surgery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with impingement syndrome and/or rotator cuff tear who underwent rotator cuff surgery completed the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index, the American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeons (ASES) assessment form, and the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) outcome measures prior to surgery and 6 months post-operatively. They also rated their satisfaction with surgery at their follow-up appointment.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>One hundred and seventy patients entered into the study (85 men and 85 women). One hundred and sixty patients (94%) completed the 6-month assessment. Women reported more disability both prior to and after surgery. Disability at 6 months was associated with pain-limited range of motion, participation limitation, age and strength. Satisfaction with surgery was associated with level of reported disability, expectations for improved pain, pain-limited range of motion and strength.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this study indicate that women with rotator cuff pathology suffer from higher levels of pre- and post-operative disability and sex and gender qualities contribute to these differences. Gender-sensitive approach will help to identify existing differences between men and women which will help to promote more effective and tailored care by health professionals.</p