An analysis of online pregnancy message boards: Mother-to-mother advice on medication use

Problem and backgroundPsychotropic medication use is increasingly common among pregnant women. Many women solicit information from other mothers about the safety of these medications for use during pregnancy, yet little is known about the specific advice they receive.AimThe purpose of the current study was to examine the type of feedback women receive on a popular internet message board about psychotropic medication use during pregnancy.MethodsA modified Consensual Qualitative Research approach was used to analyze 1728 comments posted by Babycenter.com users about the safety of the use of six common psychotropic medications during pregnancy. Researchers analyzed the comments for overall themes and core ideas.FindingsResults found that comments were comprised of six themes: (1) Personal Anecdotes, (2) Suggesting Alternative Solutions, (3) Directives, (4) Judgement, (5) Social Support, (6) Skepticism & Mistrust, and (7) Risks vs. Benefits. While many comments conveyed emotional support, or encouraged women to seek professional advice, others contained inaccurate and/or contradictory information, or harsh criticism.ConclusionGiven that the decision about the use of medication during pregnancy has implications for the health of the mother and fetus, it is important for care providers to be aware of what feedback women may receive from this source. Providers should address questions and concerns that women have about safety of these medications and recognize how the social context of the internet impacts the emotional health of pregnant women faced with these decisions.     

Exploratory method for summarizing concomitant medication data – the mean cumulative function

Concomitant Medications are medications used by patients in a clinical trial, other than the investigational drug. These data are routinely collected in clinical trials. The data are usually collected in a longitudinal manner, for the duration of patients' participation in the trial. The routine summaries of this data are incidence‐type, describing whether or not a medication was ever administered during the study. The longitudinal aspect of the data is essentially ignored. The aim of this article is to suggest exploratory methods for graphically displaying the longitudinal features of the data using a well‐established estimator called the ‘mean cumulative function’. This estimator permits summary and a graphical display of the data, and preparation of some statistical tests to compare between groups. This estimator may also incorporate information on censoring of patient data. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Job strain and psychotropic drug use among white-collar workers

The main objective of this study was to measure the association between simultaneous exposure to high psychological demand and low decision latitude at work and the use of psychotropic drugs among white-collar workers. A second objective was to determine whether social support at work modified this association. A cross-sectional study was performed that included 2786 workers from the public sector in the Greater Quebec City area. A self-administered questionnaire was used in order to evaluate psychological demand, decision latitude and social support at work. Psychotropic drug use was measured over a period of 2 days. The prevalence of psychotropic drug use among the participants was found to be 3.9%, even though 20.5% were exposed to job strain. The association between job strain and psychotropic drug use, after adjustment for social support at work, age, gender, education, family income, employment status, occupation, stressful life events, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity, was statistically significant (odds ratio: 4.5, 95% CI 1.7?12.2). Social support did not appear to modify this association. The results of this study suggest that job strain might be a determinant of psychotropic drug use among white collar workers. Social support at work does not appear, however, to modify this association.     

Neglect and Abuse Associated with Undernutrition in Long-Term Care in North America: Causes and Solutions

ABSTRACT

Protein-calorie undernutrition in institutional long-term care is a significant cause of morbidity, mortality, increased health care costs, and poor quality of life. Failure to provide adequate nutrition constitutes neglect, and certain practices associated with feeding the dependent elder or adult with developmental disabilities can be abusive. The causes are multifactorial. They are related to conditions common to these persons; multiple medication use, difficulty in swallowing, gastrointestinal dysfunction, poor oral health and oral care, sensory changes with aging, and lack of education and training in the proper protocols required to provide adequate food and liquid to persons with cognitive and physical impairments. Solutions which are simple, cost-effective, easy to apply and cross national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries are described.     

Medication Effect Interpretation and the Social Grid of Management

Abstract

This article reports on two research projects and argues that current medication management research and practice does not represent the complexity of community-based psychotropic treatment. Ethnographic findings are used to demonstrate that a social grid of management exists to negotiate medication ‘effect’ interpretation. Anthropological and semi-structured interview data are used to illustrate patient subjective experience of atypical antipsychotic treatment. It is argued that ‘active’ and ‘passive’ management relationships are produced by the myriad ways individuals manage the gap between the desired and actual effects of medication. It is shown that psychological and cultural ‘side effects’ are as common as physical ‘side effects.'     

海洋药物妇科应用的文献整理

对历代医家应用海洋药物治疗妇科常见病、多发病、难治病的学术思想、临床经验、有效方药作了阐述 ,指出应用传统经验为依据寻求海洋药物新的生物活性物质是研究开发海洋新药的可行之路