Waiting time for cataract surgery and its influence on patient attitudes.

PURPOSE:

To characterize willingness to pay for private operations and preferred waiting time among patients awaiting cataract surgery in Hong Kong.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional survey. Subjects randomly selected from cataract surgical waiting lists in Hong Kong (n = 467) underwent a telephone interview based on a structured, validated questionnaire. Data were collected on private insurance coverage, preferred waiting time, amount willing to pay for surgery, and self-reported visual function and health status.

RESULTS:

Among 300 subjects completing the interview, 144 (48.2%) were 76 years of age or older, 177 (59%) were women, and mean time waiting for surgery was 17 +/- 15 months. Among 220 subjects (73.3%) willing to pay anything for surgery, the mean amount was US$552 +/- 443. With adjustment for age, education, and monthly household income, subjects willing to pay anything were less willing to wait 12 months for surgery (OR = 4.34; P = 0.002), more likely to know someone having had cataract surgery (OR = 2.20; P = 0.03), and more likely to use their own savings to pay for the surgery (OR = 2.21; P = 0.04). Subjects considering private cataract surgery, knowing people who have had cataract surgery, using nongovernment sources to pay for surgery, and having lower visual function were willing to pay more.

CONCLUSIONS:

Many patients wait significant periods for cataract surgery in Hong Kong, and are willing to pay substantial amounts for private operations. These results may have implications for other countries with cataract waiting lists.

Performance monitoring of energy efficient retrofits – 4 case study properties in Northern Ireland

Approximately half of the houses in Northern Ireland were built before any form of minimum thermal specification (U-value) or energy efficiency standard were available. At present, 44% of households are categorised as being in fuel poverty; spending more than 10% of the household income to heat the house to an acceptable level. This paper presents the results from long term performance monitoring of 4 case study houses that have undergone retrofits to improve energy efficiency in Northern Ireland. There is some uncertainty associated with some of the marketed retrofit measures in terms of their effectiveness in reducing energy usage and their potential to cause detrimental impacts on the internal environment of a house. Using wireless sensor technology internal conditions such as temperature and humidity were measured alongside gas and electricity usage for a year. External weather conditions were also monitored. The paper considers the effectiveness of the different retrofit measures implemented based on the long term data monitoring and short term building performance evaluation tests that were completed.

An evaluation of portion size estimation aids precision, ease of use and likelihood of future use

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to evaluate the precision, ease of use and likelihood of future use of portion size estimation aids (PSEA).

DESIGN: A range of PSEA were used to estimate the serving sizes of a range of commonly eaten foods and rated for ease of use and likelihood of future usage.

SETTING: For each food, participants selected their preferred PSEA from a range of options including: quantities and measures; reference objects; measuring; and indicators on food packets. These PSEA were used to serve out various foods (e.g. liquid, amorphous, and composite dishes). Ease of use and likelihood of future use were noted. The foods were weighed to determine the precision of each PSEA.

SUBJECTS: Males and females aged 18-64 years (n 120).

RESULTS: The quantities and measures were the most precise PSEA (lowest range of weights for estimated portion sizes). However, participants preferred household measures (e.g. 200 ml disposable cup) - deemed easy to use (median rating of 5), likely to use again in future (all scored either 4 or 5 on a scale from 1='not very likely' to 5='very likely to use again') and precise (narrow range of weights for estimated portion sizes). The majority indicated they would most likely use the PSEA preparing a meal (94 %), particularly dinner (86 %) in the home (89 %; all P<0·001) for amorphous grain foods.

CONCLUSIONS: Household measures may be precise, easy to use and acceptable aids for estimating the appropriate portion size of amorphous grain foods.

Women of Letters: Gender, Writing and the Life of the Mind in Early Modern England

Women of letters writes a new history of English women's intellectual worlds using their private letters as evidence of hidden networks of creative exchange. The book argues that many women of this period engaged with a life of the mind and demonstrates the dynamic role letter-writing played in the development of ideas. Until now, it has been assumed that women's intellectual opportunities were curtailed by their confinement in the home. This book illuminates the household as a vibrant site of intellectual thought and expression. Amidst the catalogue of day-to-day news in women's letters are sections dedicated to the discussion of books, plays and ideas. Through these personal epistles, Women of letters offers a fresh interpretation of intellectual life in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, one that champions the ephemeral and the fleeting in order to rediscover women's lives and minds.