RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The completion of a thesis is a significant requirement for both a Master's and a doctorate degree in general practice/family medicine (GP/FM). A postgraduate thesis is a well-planned, time-intensive activity carried out over several years. The quality of the theses can be judged by the proportion of published papers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe Master's and doctoral theses in family medicine and their publications between 1982 and 2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GP/FM degree theses were reviewed at the Faculty of Medicine and central Suez Canal libraries. Several characteristics were extracted from each thesis relating to the main researcher, supervisors, themes, and study methods according to predefined criteria. Publications from the theses were described. RESULTS: Over 33 years, 208 theses were completed by 173 GP/FM researchers. The majority of the theses were for Master's degrees (84.1%). Regarding the study design, most of the degree theses were cross-sectional studies (76.9%). The adult population was targeted in 33.7% of research theses. Nonprobability sampling was used in 51%. Rural communities were the setting of research in 43.8%, and primary health center (PHC)-based studies in 59.1%. The "Patient" category exceeded the other categories (28.4%). Publication from theses started in the second decade of research production. Of the degree theses, 21.6% original articles were published. Only 13.3% of articles from theses were published in PubMed-indexed journals. The researcher was first author in 62.2% of published articles. CONCLUSION: The production of GP/FM theses and their publications are going to increase. Continuous assessment and planning for GP/FM studies are recommended.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Constipation has a significant impact on the quality of life (QOL). Lifestyle modification is widely accepted and recommended by experts as first-line therapy. AIM: This study aimed at using education on lifestyle modification to improve the QOL of the elderly in nursing homes suffering from functional constipation (FC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in nursing homes in Ismailia city, Egypt. It involved 23 elderly patients suffering from FC, who were randomly selected according to the sample equation. They fulfilled the inclusion criteria of being ≥60 years age and according to Rome II criteria. Participants completed personal characteristics and lifestyle questionnaire, the Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptom questionnaire (PAC-SYM) to assess the severity of symptoms, and the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAC-QOL) to assess pre- and post-intervention. The intervention was conducted in three sessions, of 30 min each, 2 weeks apart using group discussions to educate the sample about dietary pattern, fluid intake, regular physical activity, and the use of laxatives. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 20). RESULTS: The lifestyle modification education on constipation significantly reduced the severity of symptoms as measured by PAC-SYM, including its total score and subscores (P < 0.001). It also improved the QOL of elderly suffering from constipation as measured by PAC-QOL and reduced total scores of dissatisfaction (P = 0.001) with the exception of the psychosocial subscale. It also significantly increased the satisfaction subscale of PAC-SYM (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Education on lifestyle modification leads to an improvement in the severity of the symptoms of constipation and the QOL of the elderly in nursing homes.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Research in family medicine (FM) provides an important contribution to its discipline. Family medicine research can contribute to many areas of primary care, ranging from the early diagnosis to equitable health care. Publication productivity is important in academic settings as a marker for career advancement. OBJECTIVE: To describe the publications by family medicine researcher authors between 1992 and 2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All full text, original articles published by family medicine researcher; author with affiliation to the Suez Canal University were collected using the internet and hand search. The journals that published for family medicine researcher authors were identified. Author characteristics were described. The trend of publications was described. All articles were analyzed for their characteristics, including the themes and study designs according to predefined criteria. RESULTS: Along 22 years, 149 research articles were published by 48 family medicine authors in 39 medical journals. The largest category in publications was related to Family physician/Health service (FP-HS, n = 52 articles), followed by 'Patient' category (n = 42). All the studies were quantitative; the largest group was represented by cross-sectional studies (76.5%). CONCLUSIONS: The publication productivity by family medicine researchers are going to be increased. FP-HS and patient topics were mostly addressed in publications. Cross-sectional studies exceeded any other designs. There is need to put more emphasis on intervention studies. Continuous assessment and improvement of FM research production and publication is recommended.
