ABSTRACT
An accurate determination of maternal prepregnancy weight (PPW) is critical because it is used to calculate weight gain during pregnancy and is one of the best correlates of infant birthweight. The PPW recorded in the prenatal record is usually obtained as part of the patient's history. This study compares PPWs reported by a group of 76 adolescent women (stated weight) with actual weights taken and recorded in medical and school health records by health professionals prior to conception. Simple correlations and a linear regression were used for data analysis. A highly significant correlation (0.98) was found between the stated and actual PPW. Overweight girls tended to underestimate their PPW. These findings suggest that the PPW estimates by adolescents with an identifiable source of medical care are accurate enough to be used to estimate weight gain during pregnancy.
Subject(s)
Body Weight , Pregnancy in Adolescence , Psychology, Adolescent , Adolescent , Adult , Black or African American , Female , Humans , Maternal Health Services , Medical Records , Middle Aged , Pregnancy , Prenatal Care , Probability , Regression AnalysisABSTRACT
Broken appointments have been a major problem at the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center since it opened in 1968. In an earlier 6-month study of broken appointments at the center the authors found 48% of pediatric appointments and 43% of medicine appointments to be broken. Daily broken appointment rates were correlated between the two departments and were associated with day and time scheduled and with certain weather conditions. Specifically, highest broken appointment rates were noted for Mondays, for afternoon and evening hours, and for days with precipitation.
Subject(s)
Appointments and Schedules , Community Health Centers/statistics & numerical data , Weather , New York , Patient Compliance , Regression Analysis , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Nine centers collaborated to determine the rate of urinary tract infection in infants with unexplained fever, to determine whether the rate is higher in febrile infants than in asymptomatic infants, and whether the yield justifies urine cultures in febrile infants. Urine cultures were done in 501 infants 0 to 2 years of age. The rate of confirmed urinary tract infections in the 193 febrile infants was 4.1%. All infections were in girls, with a rate of 7.4%. The rate of confirmed urinary tract infections in the 312 asymptomatic infants was 0.3%; again, all infections were in girls, with a rate of 0.7%. The rate in febrile girls was significantly higher than the rate in asymptomatic girls (P less than 0.01). The data support the advisability of culturing the urine of infant girls with unexplained fever.
Subject(s)
Fever of Unknown Origin/epidemiology , Urinary Tract Infections/epidemiology , Acute Disease , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Sex Factors , Urinary Tract Infections/microbiology , Urine/microbiologyABSTRACT
Broken appointments are a major problem in many health facilities. Many studies have shown that broken appointments can be significantly reduced by mailing out appointment reminder cards. One of the first such studies was done at the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center in 1972 and showed that use of such reminders resulted in kept-appointment rates of 64% compared with 48% for control studies. Subsequently, routine use of such reminders was instituted. In March 1980, a follow-up study was conducted at the same health center to determine whether mailed reminders were still effective in reducing broken appointments. A 20% systematic random sample of 766 scheduled March appointments had their reminder cards held; the remaining 80% were mailed reminders as usual. Results showed no significant differences in "keep rates" between the two groups: 64% in those with reminders compared with 62% for those without. These findings suggest that effectiveness of mailed appointment reminders on reducing broken appointments may decrease with time.
