Canadian dentists' view of the utility and accessibility of dental research.
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As part of a major reorganization of health and health care research in Canada, a study was performed to investigate the views of Canadian dentists on the utility and accessibility of the results of dental research. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Questionnaires and a postage-prepaid reply envelope were mailed with the December 2001 issue of the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association (JCDA) to all registered Canadian dentists. No second mailing occurred. Of 17,648 questionnaires distributed, 2,797 were returned representing a 15.8 percent response rate. In this sample, 64.3 percent found research findings easily available, 88.8 percent found research findings useful, and 95.8 percent had already changed one or more aspects of their clinical practice due to research findings. Significant differences in preferred means of learning the results of research and preferred formats for written reports of research findings were evident between generalist/clinicians and specialist/researchers. These results suggest that Canadian dentists are interested in the results of research and apply them to their practice, but that there are two main groups (generalist/clinicians and specialist/researchers) with different needs for learning the results of that research. (+info)
The report of a national conference on the wait list for kidney transplantation.
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In March, 2002, over 100 members of the transplant community assembled in Philadelphia for a meeting designed to address problems associated with the growing number of patients seeking kidney transplantation and added to the waiting list each year. The meeting included representatives of nine US organizations with interests in these issues. Participants divided into work groups addressing access to the waiting list, assigning priority on the list, list management, and identifying appropriate candidates for expanded criteria donor kidneys. Each work group outlined problems and potential remedies within each area. This report summarized the issues and recommendations regarding the waiting list for kidney transplantation addressed in the Philadelphia meeting. (+info)
The genotoxicity of tamoxifen: extent and consequences, Kona, Hawaii, January 23, 2003.
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The current recommended adjuvant therapy for oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer typically includes 20 mg/day tamoxifen (Nolvadex) for 5 years post-operatively. This regimen has been found to reduce the incidence of contralateral breast cancer in breast cancer survivors by 47%, and, when used prophylactically, to reduce new breast cancers in high risk women by 49%. However, epidemiological evidence links tamoxifen therapy to increases in endometrial cancer and thromboembolic events in breast cancer patients. In addition, in tamoxifen-exposed rats dose-related increases in hepatic tamoxifen-DNA adduct formation and liver tumour incidence occur through a classic genotoxic mechanism. In women, endometrial cancers may be the result of genotoxicity, hormonally induced signal transduction and/or other mechanisms. If genotoxicity is relevant to tamoxifen-induced endometrial cancer it may be possible to identify women at risk through detection of tamoxifen-DNA adducts. The aim of this one day conference was to examine the most recent evidence for the occurrence of tamoxifen-induced genotoxicity in women receiving tamoxifen therapy. There were significant experimental differences, as some participants presented evidence for a genotoxic mechanism, while others reported finding insufficient evidence to support a genotoxic mechanism. The discussion was wide ranging and the outcome underscored the need for further investigations, access to more human tissue samples, shared tamoxifen-DNA standards for methodological comparisons and inter-laboratory exchange of human tissue samples. (+info)
More insight into the fate of biomedical meeting abstracts: a systematic review.
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BACKGROUND: It has been estimated that about 45% of abstracts that are accepted for presentation at biomedical meetings will subsequently be published in full. The acceptance of abstracts at meetings and their fate after initial rejection are less well understood. We set out to estimate the proportion of abstracts submitted to meetings that are eventually published as full reports, and to explore factors that are associated with meeting acceptance and successful publication. METHODS: Studies analysing acceptance of abstracts at biomedical meetings or their subsequent full publication were searched in MEDLINE, OLDMEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, BIOSIS, Science Citation Index Expanded, and by hand searching of bibliographies and proceedings. We estimated rates of abstract acceptance and of subsequent full publication, and identified abstract and meeting characteristics associated with acceptance and publication, using logistic regression analysis, survival-type analysis, and meta-analysis. RESULTS: Analysed meetings were held between 1957 and 1999. Of 14945 abstracts that were submitted to 43 meetings, 46% were accepted. The rate of full publication was studied with 19123 abstracts that were presented at 234 meetings. Using survival-type analysis, we estimated that 27% were published after two, 41% after four, and 44% after six years. Of 2412 abstracts that were rejected at 24 meetings, 27% were published despite rejection. Factors associated with both abstract acceptance and subsequent publication were basic science and positive study outcome. Large meetings and those held outside the US were more likely to accept abstracts. Abstracts were more likely to be published subsequently if presented either orally, at small meetings, or at a US meeting. Abstract acceptance itself was strongly associated with full publication. CONCLUSIONS: About one third of abstracts submitted to biomedical meetings were published as full reports. Acceptance at meetings and publication were associated with specific characteristics of abstracts and meetings. (+info)
Creating healthy communities, healthy homes, healthy people: initiating a research agenda on the built environment and public health.
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Mounting evidence suggests physical and mental health problems relate to the built environment, including human-modified places such as homes, schools, workplaces, parks, industrial areas, farms, roads and highways. The public health relevance of the built environment requires examination. Preliminary research demonstrates the health benefits of sustainable communities. However, the impact of mediating and moderating factors within the built environment on health must be explored further. Given the complexity of the built environment, understanding its influence on human health requires a community-based, multilevel, interdisciplinary research approach. The authors offer recommendations, based upon a recent conference sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), for research and policy approaches, and suggest interagency research alliances for greater public health impact. (+info)
An audit of medicolegal conferencing.
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In the English civil justice system, experts involved in a case are now commonly required to confer before the hearing and identify the areas of agreement and disagreement. A prospective study of 50 consecutive medicolegal conferences of experts was undertaken, with a view to defining their benefits, weaknesses and the optimum conference format. A record was kept of the dates of first instruction, court deadlines, and date, time and duration of conferences, together with related calls and correspondence. The manner of preparation of the statement was noted, the level of agreement/disagreement, any compromise, any later modifications of the draft, and the author's fees. Subsequently the instructing solicitors were asked to comment on the suitability of the joint statement and its contribution to settlement. Medicolegal conferencing is time-consuming and expensive. It may be of limited value where there is little or no difference of opinion, either between experts in a single field or between experts in different fields. The instructing solicitors must ensure that the participants receive, in advance of the conference, copies of all relevant documents including medical reports and medical records. An agenda is helpful in ensuring that matters of importance are not overlooked. Conferences are more effective when held in person than when conducted by telephone. The joint statement is best dictated in the presence of all participants during or after the conference. To ensure the most efficient and economical use of consultant time a formal combined audit of conferencing should be undertaken by the medical and legal professions. (+info)
Drug utilization and clinical pharmacology. Report on British Pharmacological Society Symposium at Trinity College Dublin on Thursday, 9th July, 1992.
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The insatiable appetite for safer more effective, but increasingly more expensive, therapy in the face of increasing government reluctance to feed this demand has put the study of drug utilization and pharmacoeconomics centre stage. Clinical pharmacologists are uniquely positioned to determine the cost benefit and utility of modern therapy and give impartial advice on safe, effective and economic patient care. To mark the Quatercentenary Celebrations of Trinity College Dublin, eight speakers addressed this theme in a symposium held in conjunction with the British Pharmacological Society Meeting in July 1992. (+info)
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in cystic fibrosis--state of the art: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Consensus Conference.
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Because of the difficulties of recognizing allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in the context of cystic fibrosis (because of overlapping clinical, radiographic, microbiologic, and immunologic features), advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of allergic aspergillosis, new possibilities in therapy, and the need for agreed-upon definitions, an international consensus conference was convened. Areas addressed included fungal biology, immunopathogenesis, insights from animal models, diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, the use of new immunologic and genetic techniques in diagnosis, imaging modalities, pharmacology, and treatment approaches. Evidence from the existing literature was graded, and the consensus views were synthesized into this document and recirculated for affirmation. Virulence factors in Aspergillus that could aggravate these diseases, and particularly immunogenetic factors that could predispose persons to ABPA, were identified. New information has come from transgenic animals and recombinant fungal and host molecules. Diagnostic criteria that could provide a framework for monitoring were adopted, and helpful imaging features were identified. New possibilities in therapy produced plans for managing diverse clinical presentations. (+info)