Patients' desire for peri-operative information: Jamaican attitudes

The desire for peri-operative information has been examined in patients from other countries. This study was undertaken to assess the peri-operative information needs in Jamaican patients and to compare them to those from other populations. A questionnaire examining the desire for information about impending anaesthesia was administered to 93 patients awaiting elective surgery at the University Hospital of the West Indies. Responses were assessed across age and gender, and were compared to results from five industrialized countries. Although Jamaican patients expressed a desire for information concerning anaesthesia and surgery, they did not regard it as their right to get information, and this was the most important factor in the Jamaican sample providing a significantly less positive response than patients from other nations (p < 0.01 versus each country). Information priority was given to practical aspects of anaesthesia and post-operative outcome - morbility, pain and the consumption of food and drink. Meeting the anesthetist was high on the list of desires. Female patients were 1.9 (Confidence Interval 1.4, 2.5) times more likely to express a positive desire for information. There were no age-related differences.(Au)

Does signed consent for a research study constitute informed consent amongst sexually disease (STD) clinic attendees in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad?

OBJECTIVES: To determine if signed consent for a research project constitutes informed consent in sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic attendees who understood the voluntary nature of confidentiality outlined in the consent form. DESIGN AND METHODS: A sexual behaviour research project was conducted by researchers from local institutions in association with investigators from a university in Alabama. This present study was a cross-sectional survey using a 34-item questionnaire administered to a consecutive sample of STD clinic attendees in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, who had been invited to participate in the sexual behaviour research project. RESULTS: Of the 102 participants, 48 (47.1 percent) persons had read the entire consent form in the sexual behaviour survey. Thirty-eight (37.3 percent) persons reported that they thought the health care they received would be worse if they declined to participate in that study. Subjects with less education were significantly more likely to believe their health care would be negatively affected if they refused to participate (p<0.001). Thirty-nine (38.2 percent) persons believed that they had to complete the sexual behaviour questionnaire in order to be treated at the clinic. Almost two-thirds of respondents thought that their answers to the sexual behaviour questionnaire could be traced back to them by persons other than the interviewers and researchers. CONCLUSIONS: The findings clearly indicate that amongst this population a signed consent form does not constitute informed consent. The process of obtaining truly informed consent for research conducted in this setting requires review.(Au)

AIDS: social ethical and legal aspects

A general article in which the author deals with some key issues, e.g., notification of communicable diseases, testing, "the right to know", the right to work and examines the legal, social and ethical issues involved

Ethical principles of biomedical research on human subjects: their application and limitations in Latin America and the Caribbean

Biomedical research on human subjects involves certain ethical principles, several of which are described in this article. It is also true, however, that application of these principles in real life poses problems, especially in the case of international research conducted under culturally diverse conditions. This presentation examines certain cultural and institutional circumstances prevailing in much of Latin America and the Caribbean that shows a predilection to pose problems of this kind. This is not done to encourage research without ethical principles, but rather to familiarize investigators with cultural differences, so that these differences can be considered when studies on human subjects are being conducted, thereby improving the prospects for beneficial research that respects ethical principles within different cultural contexts. (AU)

Mebendazole: treatment of trichuriasis and ascariasis in Bahamian children

Mebendazole (Vermox), a new broad-spectrum anthelminthic, was used in 107 Bahamian children with trichuriasis, 88 of whom had concomitant ascariasis, in a dose of 100mg twice daily for three days. After treatment, three consecutive daily formalin-ether determinations and stool egg counts by the Stoll method were performed. Egg reduction rates of 97.6 percent and 99.5 percent were obtained for Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris Lumbricoides, respectively. Respective cure rates were 68.2 percent and 98.8 percent. Drug tolerance was excellent and side effects were nil. Mebendazole was confirmed as a safe and easily administered broad-spectrum anthelminthic, particularly useful in trichuriasis (AU)