Posts Tagged ‘barriers’
Barriers To Pain Treatment In Children With Sickle Cell Disease Revealed By New Study
A new study by researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, found a substantial variation in hydroxyurea utilization for pain and other sickle cell disease complications in children. Barriers to its use on the part of both providers and patients were also identified. The study led by Amanda M…
Investigating students’ attitudinal barriers towards the introduction of a Personal and Professional Development portfolio
Background:
Portfolios, widely used in undergraduate and postgraduate medicine, have variable purposes, formats and success. A recent systematic review summarised factors necessary for successful portfolio introduction but there are no studies investigating the views of students inexperienced in portfolio use towards portfolio learning. This study’s aim was to survey student views about a prospective Professional and Personal Development (PPD) portfolio.
Methods:
This was a qualitative, focus group study. All focus groups were taped and transcribed verbatim, and anonymised. The transcripts were analysed inductively, using framework analysis.
Results:
Four focus groups were carried out with 32 undergraduate medical students naive in portfolio use. Three themes relevant to portfolio introduction emerged. The first theme was the need for clear information and support for portfolio introduction, and anxieties about how this could be supported effectively. The second was that students had negative views about reflective learning and whether this could be taught and assessed, believing formal assessment could foster socially acceptable content. The third was that participants revealed little understanding of reflective learning and its potential benefits. Rather portfolios were seen as useful for concrete purposes (e.g., job applications) not intrinsic benefits.
Conclusions:
Undergraduate medical students without experience of portfolios are anxious about portfolio introduction. They require support in developing reflective learning skills. Care must be taken to ensure students do not see portfolios as merely yet another assessment hurdle.
Experiences, attitudes and barriers towards research amongst junior faculty of Pakistani medical universities
Background:
The developing world has had limited quality research and in Pakistan, research is still in its infancy. We conducted a study to assess the proportion of junior faculty involved in research to highlight their attitude towards research, and identify the factors associated with their research involvement.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted in four medical universities/teaching hospitals in Pakistan, representing private and public sectors. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 176 junior faculty members of studied universities/hospitals. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to attitudes and barriers in research among those currently involved in research with those who were not.
Results:
Overall, 41.5% of study subjects were currently involved in research. A highly significant factor associated with current research involvement was research training during the post-graduate period (p<0.001). Other factors associated with current involvement in research were male gender, working in the public sector and previous involvement in research. Overall, a large majority (85.2%) of doctors considered research helpful in their profession and had a positive attitude towards research; nevertheless this positive attitude was more frequently reported by doctors who were currently involved in research compared to those who were not (OR=4.69; 95% CI=1.54-14.26). Similarly, a large proportion (83.5%) of doctors considered research difficult to conduct; higher by doctors who were not presently involved in research (OR=2.74; 95% CI=1.20-6.22)
Conclusions:
Less than half of the study participants were currently involved in research. Research output may improve if identified barriers are rectified. Further studies are recommended in this area.
Everybody’s talking: using entertainment-education video to reduce barriers to discussion of cervical cancer screening among Thai women
Although Southeast Asian women are at exceedingly high risk for cervical cancer, low rates of the Pap testing necessary for early detection and successful treatment continue among this group. Previous research suggests that discussions about Pap testing with important people in a woman’s life, particularly her doctor, may increase the likelihood of screening; therefore increasing women’s discussions about cancer screenings is an important step toward behavior change. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a culturally sensitive, seven-minute video intervention in reducing barriers to discussions about Pap tests among Thai women. This unique video presented Thai actors, speaking in Thai, in a soap opera format. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire at baseline, immediately after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up. The comparison group received an educational pamphlet. Although the results indicated that both groups experienced reductions in barriers to communicating with others about Pap tests, the intervention group had significantly stronger outcomes than the comparison group for communicating about Pap tests in general as well as to doctors. These findings suggest that intermediate communication effects such as self-efficacy, collective efficacy and perhaps interpersonal communication may reduce barriers to discussion and positive decision making regarding Pap tests.
Investigating the barriers to teaching family physicians’ and specialists’ collaboration in the training environment: a qualitative study
Background:Collaboration between physicians in different specialties is often taken for granted. However, poor interactions between family physicians and specialists contribute significantly to the observed discontinuity between primary and specialty care. The objective of this study was to explore how collaboration between family physicians and specialists was conceptualised as a competency and experienced in residency training curricula of four faculties of medicine in Canada.Methods:This is a multiple-case study based on Abbott’s theory of professions. Programs targeted were family medicine, general psychiatry, radiology, and internal medicine. The content of the programs’ objectives was analyzed. Associate deans of postgraduate studies, program directors, educators, and residents were interviewed individually or in focus groups (47 residents and 45 faculty members).Results:The training objectives related to family physicians-specialists collaboration were phrased in very general terms and lacked specificity. Obstacles to effective collaboration were aggregated under themes of professional responsibility and questioned expertise. Both trainees and trainers reported increasing distances between specialty and general medicine in three key fields of the professional system: the workplace arena, the training setting, and the production of academic knowledge.Conclusions:The challenges of developing collaborating skills between generalists and specialist physicians are comparable in many ways to those encountered in inter-professional collaboration and should be given more consideration than they currently receive if we want to improve coordination between primary and specialty care.
Self Imposed Barriers Inhibit Pain Relief For Rheumatoid Arthritis
Surprisingly, there is little understanding about the pain experience in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) other than measurements of pain intensity. A team of Canadian researchers addressed this knowledge gap in a study of 60 RA patients to assess their pain experiences, determine satisfaction with pain control, and explore barriers that may inhibit optimal pain management.
Rx Drug Compare
Translator
By N2H