UNLABELLED The purpose to do this research was to find out the habits of contact lens wearers towards lens care in this country, and to evaluate the compliance of contact lens wearers. METHODS All respondents underwent an interview regarding questionnaire which was carried out at the Klang Valley and Sabah, Malaysia by trained bilingual optometrists. The questionnaire was obtained from a stud...

This article reports findings from a study that investigated treatment outcomes among crack/cocaine users over a 18-month period. From a cohort of 229 subjects, three groups emerged: (1) those who had reported ongoing, stable abstinence from crack/cocaine; (2) those who had consistently used during the period; and (3) those who reported cycling between abstinence and use during the follow-up pe...

BACKGROUND Deliberate self harm (DSH) is an increasingly common problem. Although much attention is focused on suicide prevention by psychiatric services, the role of the general practitioner (GP) in the prevention of suicidal behaviour and in the aftercare of DSH patients is also important. AIM To examine the nature and timing of GP contacts with DSH patients before and after an episode of D...

BACKGROUND In Japan, all citizens are covered by the national insurance system in which universal free access to healthcare services is promised to everybody. There are no general physicians or gatekeepers in the Japanese healthcare system. METHODS We studied the pattern of referral of inpatients from secondary care hospitals to a tertiary care university hospital and the reverse referral und...

BACKGROUND Although body piercing and tattooing seem to be gaining popularity among a diversity of social and age groups, studies of these practices in general adolescent populations are scarce. This study establishes the prevalence of body modification (tattooing and body piercing) among high school students in grades 7-11 (aged 12 to 18). METHODS Data come from a 2002 in-school survey condu...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Previous stroke performance measures consider aspects of postacute treatment, but there are only few specific quality indicators or standards for poststroke rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to develop a set of indicators for measuring the quality of postacute stroke rehabilitation in inpatient and outpatient facilities using a standardized evidence-based appr...

We conducted a prospective follow-up study of consecutive opiate dependent patients admitted to a residential addiction treatment service for detoxification. We measured the rate of relapse following discharge, and sought to identify factors that were associated with early relapse (i.e., a return to daily opiate use). Follow-up interviews were conducted with 109 patients, of whom, 99 (91%) repo...

Training designed to improve circumcision knowledge, attitude and practice was delivered over 5 days to 34 traditional surgeons and 49 traditional nurses in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Training included the following topics: initiation rites; statutory regulation of traditional male circumcision and initiation into Manhood (TCIM); structure and function of the male sex organs; procedure of ...