BACKGROUND The objectives of this study were to determine whether cross-shift changes in peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were related to respirable dust exposure in South African coalminers. METHODS Fifty workers were randomly selected from a cohort of 684 miners from 3 bituminous coalmines in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Peak expiratory efforts were measured prior to the commencement of the sh...

One hundred and sixty two people working in various departments of cotton spinning and weaving mills measured and recorded their own peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) at two hourly intervals during Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the same work week, from waking in the morning throughout the day until going to bed and a last time the following morning after waking. The circadian rhythm in PEFR...

BACKGROUND Therapeutic patient education, particularly when including written instructions in self-management, improves outcomes in asthma. The education of patients in self-management requires specific knowledge and skills, which are not generally taught in under- or postgraduate training programmes. PURPOSE To investigate physicians' knowledge of the principles and implementation of self-ma...