Increasing behaviors to promote health, such as exercise, among nursing homes for elderly residents is a widely acknowledged goal (Craig, 1982). Research suggests that behavioral technologies can be useful for increasing exercise in this population (Perkins, Rapp, Carlson, & Wallace, 1986). However, before implementing sometimes elaborate behavioral change programs, it is helpful to assess the staff's and residents' attitudes toward the proposed change. The present study followed a small-scale pilot project that increased stationary bike riding by 74 percent for 8 nursing home residents. Before attempting a large-scale intervention, however, the authors decided to evaluate the staff's and residents' attitudes toward the exercise.
MANY RECENT THINKERS IMAGINE THAT A NEW WAY OF LIFE, OR A NEW KIND OF THINKING, IS BEGINNING TO UNFOLD ON THE BASIS OF THE DISCOVERY THAT REASON IS AN OUTMODED CONCEPT AND THAT THE PROJECTS OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY ARE NOW DEFUNCT. POSTMODERNIST THINKERS, IN PARTICULAR, HAVE TRIED TO DESCRIBE THE WAY THINGS LOOK FROM A POST-PHILOSOPHICAL, POST RATIONAL POINT OF VIEW. THE EFFORT TO ESTABLISH A POST-PHILOSOPHICAL, POST-REATIONAL WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS INVOLVES AN UNWITTING EXERCISE OF THE RATIONAL POWER TO CONCEIVE OF A SITUATION IN TERMS OF THE RELATIVE DISPOSTION OF ITS ELEMENTS. THIS ARTICLE ARGUES THAT THE THEMES AND IDEAS OF POST-PHILOSOPHY CAN BE SHOWN TO HAVE ORIGNATED WITHIN THE TWO GRAND NARRATIVES OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY--THE EMANCIPATORY AND THE SPECULATIVE NARRATIVES.
BackgroundIn France, approximately 100,000 HIV‐infected patients are regularly followed up in hospitals. Due to the availability and efficacy of antiretrovirals, the number of hospitalised patients is decreasing in favour of outpatient management. In order to optimise the balance between patients' hospitalisation and hospital structures, collection of recent data on the profile of hospitalised patients is essential.ObjectivesDescribe the frequency, causes of hospitalisation and characteristics of hospitalised HIV‐infected patients.MethodsRetrospective study of a cohort of HIV‐infected patients hospitalised more than a day at the Bégin hospital (Saint‐Mandé) between January 1st and December 31, 2011.ResultsDuring this period, 170 hospitalisations were recorded, corresponding to 78 patients (61 M /17 F). Main causes of hospitalisation were: infections (52%), surgical treatments (10%), haemopathies/cancers (8%), cardiovascular diseases (8%), neurological illnesses (7%), hepatic and digestive tract pathologies (6%). Principal admission wards were: an HIV reference unit (67%), the emergency department (7%), cardiology (7%), surgery ward (7%), internal medicine (6%) and intensive care unit (3%). One out of five patients was admitted for an acquired immune deficiency syndrome‐related event (opportunistic infection or cancer). Two‐thirds of patients had one or several co‐morbidities. Only 61% (48/78) of patients had more than 200 CD4+lymphocytes/mm3 and 69% (54/78) an undetectable HIV viral load. The average length of stay was 6.5 days (range: 2–38). Four (5%) fatalities were reported and 85% of patients returned home.DiscussionHospitalisation of HIV‐infected patients remains significant and the causes are diversifying. Infections, in particular in patients screened at a late stage, cancers and management of comorbidities justify a coordinated referral to the different specialists.
