ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the effectiveness of teledietetics in weight loss for 24 weeks and the cost-effectiveness of weight loss between face-to-face and teledietetics services. METHODS: The study was conducted at a community health center and a community dietetics clinic. The study was a quasiexperimental design. Fifty adults aged 20-50 with a BMI ≥23 participated in the study. The face-to-face (FD) group received 12 dietary counselling sessions and recorded their diet in a log book. The teledietetics (TD) group attended three group nutrition seminars and recorded their diet on a Web-based platform. Changes in variables were compared using an independent t-test. Direct and indirect costs were applied to compute cost-effectiveness ratios. RESULTS: At week 6, the FD group showed greater reductions in all variables than did the TD group. At week 12, the effects reversed. At week 24, the accumulated reductions in weight and fat in the TD group were significantly higher than those in the FD group (all at p < 0.0001). The observed direct costs for 1% weight loss and 1% fat loss were USD 28.24 and USD17.09, respectively. DISCUSSION: A dietetic service delivered as a teledietetics model is more cost-effective than the face-to-face dietetics model in weight reduction.
Subject(s)
Diet , Dietetics/methods , Overweight/therapy , Telemedicine/methods , Adult , Body Weight , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Counseling/methods , Dietetics/economics , Female , Hong Kong , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Telemedicine/economics , Weight Loss , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To verify the usefulness of the BiliCheck transcutaneous bilirubin meter as a screening device for neonatal jaundice in a Chinese population compared with the Minolta bilirubin meter. DESIGN: A prospective correlation study that compared transcutaneous bilirubin measurements with serum bilirubin levels. SETTING: Obstetric ward and a neonatal unit of a regional hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS: Neonates with gestation above 32 weeks with neonatal jaundice who were admitted between April 2001 and February 2002. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Transcutaneous measurements of serum bilirubin obtained from the forehead and the sternum with two instruments: BiliCheck and Minolta Airshields JM 102. RESULTS: A total of 77 term and six near-term babies (gestation, 32-37 weeks) were recruited. The mean age at the time of data collection was 3.96 days (range, 2-9 days). The correlations between serum bilirubin and transcutaneous bilirubin measurements of the two devices at the two sites were high, with a coefficient of 0.718 (95% confidence interval, 0.610-0.800; n=100) for forehead measurements, and 0.814 (95% confidence interval, 0.740-0.870; n=99) for sternum using the Minolta Airshields JM 102; and a coefficient of 0.757 (95% confidence interval, 0.657-0.827; n=98) for forehead measurements, and 0.794 (95% confidence interval, 0.700-0.862; n=92) for sternum using the BiliCheck. For BiliCheck, a cut-off point of 250 micromol/L at the forehead and 260 micromol/L at the sternum had a specificity of 61.9% and 70.0%, respectively with a sensitivity of 100% for the detection of serum bilirubin concentrations of 250 micromol/L or higher. This level is commonly used as the level for initiation of treatment such as phototherapy. CONCLUSION: BiliCheck is a useful screening tool for neonatal jaundice in the Chinese population and is comparable with the Minolta Airshields JM 102.
Subject(s)
Bilirubin/metabolism , Jaundice, Neonatal/prevention & control , Neonatal Screening/instrumentation , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Male , Prospective Studies , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study investigates the validity and reliability of the Chinese pain intensity verbal rating scale (C-PIVRS). METHODS: This is a correlational comparative study. Fifty Chinese adults were recruited by convenience. A pain source generator (precision pain source, PPS-3) was used to produce four levels of mechanical pain stimuli (350, 550, 750 and 950 g). The pain stimuli were applied to subjects' interphalangeal joints in random sequences to stimulate sensation of pain. The subjects then rated their pain intensity using both the C-PIVRS and the visual analog scale (VAS) for each stimulus. The pain scores obtained from the C-PIVRS were compared with the VAS for satisfactory level of reliability and validity. Test and re-test were applied to verify consistency between the two pain scales. RESULTS: The test/re-test correlation coefficients between the two pain scales were r = 0.92 (P < 0.001) and r = 0.91 (P < 0.001), respectively. This showed a good positive correlation. The intra-class correlation (ICC) ranged from 0.78 to 0.90, which indicated good reliability. In the factor analysis, a single factor emerged in each analysis. The first eigen values of each matrix were 3.42, 3.24, 3.17 and 3.29 for each level of pain stimulation. This indicated that both pain scales were assessing the same pain dimension. CONCLUSIONS: The two pain scales have a comparable level of reliability and validity for assessing pain intensity in Chinese adults.
