Suchergebnisse

Medications in treatment and control of diabetes can be costly for pediatric patients and families. Therefore, individuals may seek complementary and alternative therapies, such as cinnamon, in addition to traditional treatments. The objective of this study was to determine acceptability of using cinnamon in treatment of diabetes in a pediatric population with diabetes. Seventy-six pediatric diabetes patients at a diabetes clinic participated in a one-time telephone interview using an 18-item, validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were utilized to determine cinnamon acceptability and preferences. The majority of the subjects were between 16-18 years (43%, n = 33), Caucasian (62%, n = 47), and female (67%, n = 51). More than three-fourths were overweight or at risk of being overweight (80%, n = 60). Seventy-six percent stated that they would be willing to try cinnamon for treatment of their diabetes, whereas 14.5% were undecided and 9.2% unwilling. Most (n = 56, 52.5%) were willing to take the cinnamon supplement 1-2 times per day. The greatest concerns expressed by subjects were side effects, interaction with current medications, and physician's willingness to approve and prescribe. This research suggests that in consultation with health professionals, diabetic youth are willing to try cinnamon supplementation in the treatment.

This paper discusses telephone interviewing as a qualitative research method and defines qualitative telephone interviews as participant-centered. In a research project which consisted of internet based recruitment, emails sent to set up interviews and an analysis of 39 qualitative interviews conducted over telephone, I contend that being interviewed over the phone may result in more honest data as people have become more accustomed to 'virtual' communication, serving to benefit to both the participant and researcher. By merging feminist research methodology with traditional forms of semi-structured interviewing, data collected over the phone can be used when dealing with traumatic or sensitive topics and can result in rich data. Thus, this paper contributes to an ever-evolving conversation regarding the utility of telephone interviewing.

AbstractAlcohol dependence symptoms and consumption measures were examined for stability and heritability. Data were collected from 12,045 individuals (5376 twin pairs, 1293 single twins) aged 19 to 90 years in telephone interviews conducted in three collection phases. Phases 1 and 2 were independent samples, but Phase 3 targeted families of smokers and drinkers from the Phase 1 and 2 samples. The stability of dependence symptoms and consumption was examined for 1158 individuals interviewed in both Phases 1 and 3 (mean interval = 11.0 years). For 1818 individuals interviewed in Phases 2 and 3 (mean interval = 5.5 years) the stability of consumption was examined. Heritability was examined for each collection phase and retest samples from the selected Phase 3 collection. The measures examined were a dependence score, based on DSM-IIIR and DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence, and a quantity × frequency measure. Measures were moderately stable, with test–retest correlations ranging from .58 to .61 for dependence and from .55 to .64 for consumption. However, the pattern of changes over time for dependence suggested that the measure may more strongly reflect recent than lifetime experience. Similar to previous findings, heritabilities ranged from .42 to .51 for dependence and from .31 to .51 for consumption. Consumption was significantly less heritable in the younger Phase 2 cohort (23–39 years) compared to the older Phase 1 cohort (28–90 years).

Because low-income population groups are more likely than higher income groups to live in nontelephone households, the use of telephone interviews to survey low-income groups may result in relatively low contact rates. Other sample members may refuse an interview. Such nonresponse typically has an unknown effect on sample estimates. This article attempts to gauge the relative effects on sample estimates from using a mail survey as a supplemental data collection strategy for increasing the response rate of sample members from a low-income population group who either could not be reached by telephone or who refused to participate in a telephone interview. The assessment is conducted by using variables from the sampling frame and an unbiased comparison sample. Although the use of the mail survey increased response rates by 56%, this resulting increase had only a marginal effect on sample estimates. Implications of these findings for social work researchers and practitioners are discussed in the larger context of estimating and adjusting for nonresponse bias in survey research, and recommendations are suggested for further research.