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Update - September 1999, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Christianity and Contraception: Seventh-day Adventist Ethical Guidelines
-- Can Christian Bioethics be Based on Reason Alone?

Various Presentation Styles For Informing Parents About Pediatric Dental Procedures, Tracy Dean Walker

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Purpose: The treatment of pediatric dental patients can only be as effective as the degree to which the parent consents to treatment. This study was designed to A) determine the most effective method of communicating a dental procedure to the parent of a pediatric patient and B) determine the impact that various presentation methods would have on a parent's willingness to give informed consent.

Methods: A Pulpotomy procedure was explained to each parent by one of the following methods; 1) written, 2) written and model, 3) verbal or 4) verbal and model.

Results: A statistically significant relationship was shown between …

The Effect Of Mandibular First Molar Tip Back On Mandibular Incisor Long-Term Stability, Barton L. Soper

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine if mandibular first molar distal tip back during orthodontic treatment will result in improved long-term alignment of mandibular incisors. Our pre and posttreatment sample consisted of 57 Class I and Class II patients (40 female and 17 male). Incisor irregularity was recorded at T2 and T4 (average of 12.9 years postretention at T4). Molar tipback was evaluated T1 to T2 and T2 to T4. The sample was divided into 3 groups - molars tipped distally 1 degree or more during treatment, molars essentially not tipped, and molars tipped mesially 1 degree or …

The Validation Of An Existing Sleep Apnea Questionnaire And Its Application To Clinical Orthodontics, Jeffery C. Biggs

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to validate a sleep apnea questionnaire from the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center, and then to utilize the questionnaire in order to identify potential sleep apnea patients from a pre-orthodontic patient sample. Study patients were selected from the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center and the Loma Linda University Orthodontics Clinic, both in Loma Linda, California, USA.

Methods: The study sample represented all of the patients initially examined from 1996 through 1998 who were age 8-15 years old at the time of the initial exam. Validation of the questionnaire was based on responses …

Patient Participation In Physical Therapy Goal-Setting, Susan M. Baker

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background and Purpose. An important part of treatment planning in physical therapy is effective goal-setting. The Guide to Physical Therapist Practice recommends that therapists identify the patient’s goals and objectives during the initial evaluation as a way to maximize treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether therapists seek patient participation in goal-setting and, if so, with what methods. We also examined therapists’ attitudes toward participation and patient satisfaction with the evaluation encounter.

Subjects and Methods. Twenty-two physical therapists audiotaped the initial evaluation of 73 elder patients. The audiotaped evaluations were then scored using the Participation …

The Association Of Fluid Intake With Total Natural-Cause Mortality, Coronary Heart Disease And Fatal Stroke, Jacqueline Chung Lun Chan

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Hypohydration may be more widespread than realized since it does not always arouse a sense of thirst. When thirst is felt, it is often ignored, or satisfied before euhydration is achieved. There is growing evidence indicating that hypohydration contributes to acute and chronic illnesses, and to rheological factors associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Therefore the relationship of fluid intake with risk of total natural-cause mortality, CHD and stroke death was examined using data on 34,192 white, non-Hispanic participants in the Adventist Health Study.

Among the 27,342 reporting no CHD, stroke or diabetes at baseline, during six years …

Body Weight And Mortality Among Adults Who Never Smoked, Pramil N. Singh

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Most prospective studies identify an increased mortality risk for adults of high body mass index (> 27 kg/m²) that is commonly attributed to the effects of excess body fat, and also identify an increased mortality risk for adults of low body mass index (< 21 kg/m²), an association that, if causal among healthy adults, is without adequate pathophysiologic support.

In this dissertation, I have conducted three studies that continue the investigation of adiposity in relation to mortality among never-smoking adults of the California Seventh-day Adventist population. Among never-smoking adults of the Adventist Mortality Study (1960-1985), the relation between …