Showing papers by "Paul Norman published in 1991"
TL;DR: Discriminant analysis revealed attenders to be more likely to report cutting back on everyday activities when ill and to believe in the seriousness of high blood pressure and weight problems and non-attenders were found to beMore worried about the screening appointment.
Abstract: The present study firstly considers the effectiveness of two invite methods. Three hundred and twenty-five patients aged between 30 and 50 were invited to attend a general health check either by letter or opportunistically during a routine consultation After six months the two invite methods had similar attendance rates, although the opportunistic method produced fewer patients at screening and was biased in favour of females. The study also examined the health beliefs of attenders (n = 98) and non-attenders (n = 33) who had been sent questionnaires based on the health belief model prior to the commencement of the screening programme. Discriminant analysis revealed attenders to be more likely to report cutting back on everyday activities when ill and to believe in the seriousness of high blood pressure and weight problems. Non-attenders were found to be more worried about the screening appointment. These findings have important implications for those who plan screening services.
22 citations
TL;DR: This article attempted to predict attendance at general health screening from a consideration of health locus of control beliefs, health value and belief in the efficacy of screening using social learning theory, and found that the HLOC × Health Value interactions were unable to discriminate between attenders and non-attenders.
Abstract: Previous work which has employed social learning theory to predict the performance of preventive health behaviours (PHBs) has tended to focus on the role of health locus of control (HLOC) beliefs and health value The role of behaviour-specific efficacy beliefs has been largely overlooked The present study attempted therefore to predict attendance at general health screening from a consideration of HLOC beliefs, health value and belief in the efficacy of screening Results showed the HLOC × Health Value interactions to be unable to discriminate between attenders and non-attenders However, with the inclusion of belief in the efficacy of screening it was possible to predict attendance behaviour Even so, the amount of variance explained was small, thus calling into question the utility of social learning theory in the prediction of PHBs
17 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: It is argued that to achieve target levels of screening, practices will need to combine opportunistic methods with more formal methods of invitation, and it is suggested that opportunistic screening methods are unlikely to achieve desired screening rates within acceptable time limits.
Abstract: Given the continuing emphasis on preventive medicine in general practice, there is considerable interest in the relative effectiveness of different ways of inviting patients to attend for screening. Recently, opportunistic methods have been advocated as being particularly useful but these methods often fail to reach a high proportion of the target population. Many patients do not consult and when they do they are not always invited to attend for screening. In this study a computer simulation model has been used to examine the effects of these variables in more detail. The notes of a random sample of 190 patients (97 women, 93 men) aged 30-50 years, registered with one general practitioner, were used to provide data for the model. The simulation model showed that increasing the number of screening appointments available each week has only a small effect on screening rates and that a ceiling is reached when 25 appointments per 1000 patients are available. In contrast, increasing the proportion of eligible consulting patients who are invited has a substantial effect such that it could take nearly 12 years to screen 90% of a target population if only one out of every four patients were invited compared with under four years if three out of every four patients were invited. The results suggest therefore that opportunistic screening methods are unlikely to achieve desired screening rates within acceptable time limits. It is argued that to achieve target levels of screening, practices will need to combine opportunistic methods with more formal methods of invitation.
16 citations
TL;DR: Patients' perceptions of both the way in which they were invited and the screening appointment itself were found to be very positive and their satisfaction ratings high.
Abstract: This paper describes the reactions of 159 patients to the way in which they were invited to participate in a health screening programme and their views on the screening appointment itself. It was found that those invited by letter, rather than opportunistically during a routine consultation, thought their appointment time harder to keep. A group of patients identified as relatively infrequent consulters were less likely to believe that the invite showed the practice to be interested in their health. However, overall the patients' perceptions of both the way in which they were invited and the screening appointment itself were found to be very positive and their satisfaction ratings high.
6 citations
TL;DR: The study supported the hypothesised link between the overall level of surgery work demands and the subjective experience of workload, but failed to confirm any consistent additional effects of the type of work involved.
6 citations
Journal Article•
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the alpha, beta and gamma change in health promotion initiatives was discussed. But the authors focused on the alpha and beta change and not the gamma change, and the alpha change was not considered.
Abstract: (1991). “When an ounce is worth a pound”: alpha, beta and gamma change in health promotion initiatives. Journal of the Institute of Health Education: Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 27-31.
1 citations