An innovative web-based peer support system for medical students in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND

Psychological morbidity is commonly found in medical students.

AIMS

The Mental Health Support Group (MSG), a student-initiated and student-run web-based peer support service aims to provide mental health information, e mail counseling and an online forum for medical students.

METHODS

The development process of MSG is described in the paper with presentation of preliminary evaluation results.

RESULTS

Preliminary evaluation shows promising results. Student members of MSG acquired valuable skills in counseling, communication, webpage design and maintenance of an online forum.

CONCLUSIONS

Future challenges include succession issues, strategies to keep up the momentum, enhancement of publicity and further diversification of service to meet the needs of our students.

'No one agrees except for those of us who have it': endometriosis patients as an epistemological community

This paper contributes to the literature on patients' claims-making work by analysing the epistemological strategies and standards used by members of an endometriosis patient community. It draws upon focus group research with members of a support group for endometriosis sufferers, and an open-ended survey of an e-mail list for women with the disease. Lynn Hankinson Nelson's (1993) concept of epistemological community is used to examine standards and practices for developing and evaluating knowledge used by women with endometriosis. Particular attention is paid to the use and centrality of the notion of experience within this community.

Pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising

OBJECTIVES

To assess pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes, and evaluation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA).

METHODS

A cross sectional, self-administered, 106-item survey instrument was used to assess first, second, and third professional year pharmacy students' knowledge about DTCA regulations, attitudes toward DTCA, and evaluation of DTC advertisements with different brief summary formats (professional labeling and patient labeling) and in different media sources (print and television).

RESULTS

One hundred twenty (51.3%) of the 234 students enrolled participated in the study. The mean percentage knowledge score was 48.7% +/- 12.5%. Based on the mean scores per item, pharmacy students had an overall negative attitude toward DTC advertisements. Students had an overall negative attitude toward television and print advertisements using the professional labeling format but an overall positive attitude toward the print advertisement using the patient labeling format.

CONCLUSIONS

Lectures discussing DTC advertising should be included in the pharmacy curriculum.

Talking about psychiatric medications: a parent-to-parent perspective (for children and youth) part I

This article presents a format for parent-to-parent and parent-to-professional guidance on psychiatric medications for children and youth. It reviews progress in Hawai'i's system of care for child mental health. Between 1999 and 2006, Hawai'i had nationally and internationally renowned experts in psychiatric medication conduct CME for Hawai'i's primary care and specialist care physicians. These conferences have included consumers and non-physician mental health colleagues. The importance of involvement of consumers in the process of rational decision-making for the individual child or youth is an emphasis in the system of care in Hawai'i. The approach featured in Susan Cooper's "Meditation on Medication" presentation in the 2005 symposium breakout for parents demonstrates the genuine collaboration with consumers that may be a partial remedy for the data that shows an overall poor adherence to prescribed interventions.

Healthcare marketing on the web: moving forward toward more interactive practices

It is hard to deny the notion that the Internet has been very efficient in distributing health information to millions of individuals and has become one of the best marketing tools in healthcare. We have been witnessing so many very creative and interactive practices in this field that we can safely assume that it is now the time for e-commerce in healthcare industry. While this is true for many participants, there are also some who are concerned about using some of these new online options in the field of healthcare. Most of these concerns are derived from the questionable accuracy of the "health" information on the net. Considering the fact that the subject matter of the field is "health" we can realize that these concerns are serious and deserve an in-depth look. This paper reviews some of the most current practices in the field and provides some examples of these online options. It is hoped that the review of these examples will result in similar inquiries in the future and as those questionable options are exposed more and more, they will eventually be eliminated and replaced with the better ones.

Evaluating the ability of visual images to inform college women about the link between smoking and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and to motivate quitting: critical dimensions

BACKGROUND

Because cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN, or dysplasia) is associated with behavioral factors, health education is an important part of the care of patients at risk for this disease. Smoking, which is strongly associated with CIN and cancers, is particularly important because smoking cessation, even after the onset of CIN, improves outcomes. This study is part of an effort to identify effective ways to convey information about the association between smoking and CIN to at-risk women.

METHODS

We created 8 images to systematically incorporate a range of artistic approaches to inform viewers about the relationship between smoking and CIN. College women smokers were recruited to participate. Participants rated the images on the extent to which they attracted attention and motivated smoking cessation.

RESULTS

Significant differences were identified in the response of this population to visual images differing in content and style. Informative images were more compelling than those that were emotive.

CONCLUSIONS

Further exploration is warranted to improve our understanding of how visual forms of health education can impact smoking cessation by those at risk for cervical cancer.