Study sample No sample size appears to have been determined in the planning phase of the study to assure a certain power. Patients admitted to the authors' hospital for colorectal disease were assessed for study eligibility. Of the 588 patients assessed, 71 were excluded (14 refused to participate, 24 for infiltrating organ, 14 for cardiovascular problems, 8 for infection, 8 for respiratory pro...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to document participation in a large employer-sponsored disease management program. METHODS This retrospective study tracked participation and attrition rates for asthma, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and congestive heart failure programs over a 4-year period. RESULTS Across all four illnesses, only 25% of those identified had any participation....

This quotation is taken from a book presented to young East Germans at the socialist coming-of-age ritual Jugendweihe [youth consecration]. They are only a few sentences out of an entire chapter, which deals with the so called ‘socialist personality’ [sozialistische Persönlichkeit]. The ritual Jugendweihe, which was attended by over ninety per cent of the East German fourteen-year-olds (Urban a...

Background. A major concern in intervention studies is the generalizability of the findings due to refusal of intended participants to actually take part. In studies including ill older people the number of those declining to participate may be large and the concern is therefore relevant. Objectives. To compare patients characteristics, rates of acute readmission, and mortality after one and si...

Ethical Considerations Children should not be given medicines that have not been evaluated adequately for use in that age group. There is a responsibility, shared by applicants and the appropriate authorities, to ensure that children have timely access to safe and effective medicines that have accurate, scientifically justified prescribing information. Applicants are encouraged to investigate t...

OBJECTIVE Our aim in this study was to examine the competing interest policies and procedures of organisations who develop and maintain patient decision aids. DESIGN Descriptive and thematic analysis of data collected from a cross-sectional survey of patient decision aid developer's competing interest policies and disclosure forms. RESULTS We contacted 25 organisations likely to meet the in...

AIM To describe the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) sample with regard to screening, recruitment, compliance, sample retention and baseline characteristics. METHODS A multi-country community-based study combining a longitudinal follow-up from birth to 24 mo with a cross-sectional survey of children aged 18 to 71 mo. Study subpopulations had to have socio-economic conditions favo...

BACKGROUND Differential distributions of sociodemographic characteristics and cognitive impairment in responders and non-responders may result in a biased prevalence estimate of dementia based on responders only. METHODS Responders (n = 2191) to a cross-sectional, two-stage community study were compared with regard to sociodemographic characteristics and cognition with three subgroups of non-...

BACKGROUND Early detection of dementia aims to improve treatment outcomes. However, poor perception and understanding of dementia are significant barriers. We aim to investigate the public's perception of dementia and identify variables associated with the different profiles of public perception. METHODS A custom-designed questionnaire was used to assess laypersons' knowledge and perception o...

OBJECTIVE To assess the limitations of the existing physician directory in measuring electronic health record adoption rates among a cohort of Connecticut physicians. DESIGN A population-based mailing assessed the number of physicians practising in Connecticut. MEASUREMENTS Information about practice site, practises pertaining to storing of patient information, sources of revenue and prefer...