This essay uses the controversial "Ashley Treatment" to argue that normative body rhetorics have become untethered from and more influential than traditional medical perspectives in determinations about surgical intervention. While disagreeing greatly over the ethics of the "Treatment," both its supporters and critics construct rhetorics of a…

This research note presents a preliminary study of the structure of consensus statements (CSs). The consensus statement is released by a medical association after calling a consensus development conference on a pertinent medical issue. Using a very small corpus, this note attempts to characterize consensus statements by identifying the sequence of…

Of all animal-rights issues, medical research is perhaps the thorniest. The human use of animals--for companionship, entertainment, food, clothing--always assumes a hierarchy, one that puts humans at the top or the center of either the evolutionary order, God's creation, or the food chain. Although most people can come to terms with the use of…

Contradictory data exist regarding optimal methods and instruments for intimate partner violence (IPV) screening in primary care settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal method and screening instrument for IPV among men and women in a primary-care resident clinic. We conducted a cross-sectional study at an urban, academic,…

Learning theories, which suggest that experienced faculty use collaborative teaching styles, are reflected in qualitative studies of learners in hospital settings. However, little research has used resident focus groups to explore characteristics of successful teachers in outpatient clinics. Therefore, focus group discussions with first through…

Dental caries, periodontal diseases, tooth loss and oral cancers have significant burden of disease effects, quality of life and cost implications for the Australian community. Oral health promotion is a key approach to addressing these conditions endorsed as part of the National Oral Health Plan. Understanding the evidence for effectiveness of…

Discusses drug use, past and present, by medical profession and by youth culture. Speech presented at American School Health Association, Philadelphia, 1969. (EK)

Reports on a recent study of Chesapeake Bay watermen, which indicates a possible association between long-term exposure of the eyes to ultraviolet B rays and risk of cataract development. Authorities recommend protective lenses for outdoor athletes, especially those involved in winter sports. (SM)

Clinicians routinely report fewer features in a case than they subsequently agree are present. The authors report studies that assess the effect of considering a more comprehensive description than physicians usually offer. These comprehensive descriptions were generated from photographs of dermatology and internal medicine and were complete and…

Objective: A high percentage of suicide victims have seen a primary care physician in the months before committing suicide. Thus, primary care physicians may play an important role in suicide prevention. Method: The authors mailed a survey to directors of training programs in family practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics, and 50.5% responded.…

In the course of screening a form of a medical licensing exam for items that function differentially (DIF) between men and women, the authors used the traditional Mantel-Haenszel (MH) statistic for initial screening and a Bayesian method for deeper analysis. For very easy items, the MH statistic unexpectedly often found DIF where there was none.…

Do people realize that chemistry plays a key role in helping solve some of the most serious problems facing the world today? Chemists want to find the building blocks of the chemical universe--the molecules that form materials, living cells and whole organisms. Many chemists are medical explorers looking for new ways to maintain and improve…

Computer advances now let researchers quickly search through DNA sequences to find gene variations that could lead to disease, simulate how flu might spread through one's school, and design three-dimensional animations of molecules that rival any video game. By teaming computers and biology, scientists can answer new and old questions that could…

Premature morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases account for a major proportion of expenditures for health care cost in the United States. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a disease management program on physiological and behavioral health indicators for Medicaid patients in Florida. A two-year prospective study of…

Historically, alcohol has been used for different purposes including as a part of religious observances, as a food, at times as a medicine and its well-known use as a beverage. Until relatively recently these purposes have not changed and have at times been at odds with one another, resulting in collisions among policies and practices in science,…