Promoting positive body image among university students: A collaborative pilot study.

The purpose of the present study was to pilot a prevention program designed to promote positive body image among university students. Thirty-seven undergraduate students from three Canadian universities were recruited to participate in the study. They were selected from a pool of students enrolled in a peer health education program facilitated by the university-based health promotion staff. Borrowing from the tenets of the non-specific vulnerability stressor model and the disease-specific social cognitive theory, the intervention focused on media literacy, self-esteem enhancement strategies, stress management skills and ways to recognize healthy versus unhealthy relationships. Separate ANOVAs revealed that participants reported significant improvements in body satisfaction and reductions in the internalization of media stereotypes between the baseline and post-program period. The program received a favorable response from the participating students, who appreciated the face-to-face format of the intervention, and from the university staff who expressed interest in embedding the strategies into their routine peer mentoring training activities. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Is bilateral duplex scanning necessary in patients with symptoms of deep venous thrombosis?

BACKGROUND: Venous duplex ultrasound scanning (VDUS) has been shown to be an accurate non-invasive means to diagnose symptomatic deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The aim of our study was to determine whether bilateral VDUS is necessary in patients who present with symptoms of DVT. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the results of bilateral lower extremity VDUS performed on 1029 inpatients at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in the 24 months from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 1999. RESULTS: Of the 1029 patients, 705 (69%) presented with unilateral symptoms and 324 (31%) with bilateral symptoms. The overall incidence of DVT was 168 (16% of 1029 patients). In 705 patients with unilateral symptoms the diagnosis of DVT was confirmed in 120 (17.0%), of whom 20 (16.7%) had unsuspected bilateral DVT. There were 12 patients (1.7% of the 705 patients) who had DVT in the asymptomatic limb, without DVT identified in the symptomatic limb. Overall there were 32 (5% of 705) patients with unilateral symptoms who had unsuspected DVT in the asymptomatic limb. Of the 20 patients with bilateral DVT, only one patient had more extensive DVT in the asymptomatic limb than in the symptomatic limb, that was therefore likely to alter treatment. Bilateral symptoms of DVT were present in 324 (31.5%) patients, 48 (14.8%) of whom were found to have DVT. Nineteen (39.6%) of these DVTs were bilateral. CONCLUSION: Overall the diagnostic yield of VDUS was low in this study, with an incidence of 16% of DVT detected in symptomatic patients. Techniques that improve the diagnostic yield of VDUS in symptomatic patients are required. A significant proportion (23%) of the DVT detected in this study were bilateral, and a small but significant proportion (10%) of DVT found in patients presenting with unilateral symptoms were only in the asymptomatic contralateral limb. Our study supports bilateral VDUS in symptomatic inpatients, as the detection of DVT in asymptomatic limbs aids future patient management if symptoms develop in the asymptomatic limb.