Factors influencing Nigerian men's decision to undergo prostate specific antigen testing.

Background: Prostate cancer is a major cause of cancer death in Nigerian men. Attempts to reduce mortality from prostate cancer have focused mainly on early detection of the disease by the use of PSA testing. As a result of the increased incidence of prostate cancer in Nigeria despite the widespread availability of testing facilities, it became pertinent to understand the salient factors that prompt Nigerian men to go for prostate cancer testing. Objective: This study explores the factors that influence a group of Nigerian men’s decision to go for Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing. Methods: Following ethical approval, semi structured interviews were conducted with a group of 10 men who had PSA test following consultation with their doctor with signs and symptoms at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital from July to August, 2010. Interview transcripts were analysed by employing steps proposed by Collaizi (1978). Results: Five themes were identified: the symptoms experienced, the influence of friends and relatives, older age associated with increased awareness, accessibility to testing services and the knowledge of the PSA test. Conclusion: The study revealed that there continues to be a considerable lack of awareness and knowledge about prostate cancer and screening.

Home and group-based implementation of the "Growing Up Happily in the Family" program in at-risk psychosocial contexts

"Growing Up Happily in the Family" is a program to prevent child maltreatment targeted at parents of children aged 0-5 years old in at-risk psychosocial contexts. The program is delivered via either a group-based or a home-visit format. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of various implementation components in the home and group versions on changes in parental attitudes about child development and education. At-risk and non at-risk parents participated in the group-based (196 participants in 26 groups) and home-visit (95 participants) versions of the program delivered through local social services. We analyzed program adherence, adaptations, participant responsiveness, quality of delivery, and implementation barriers as predictors of changes in parental attitudes. The results showed that greater program adherence, better quality of delivery and participant responsiveness, and positive climate predicted changes in parental attitudes in both formats. Therefore, it is important to take into account the quality of the implementation process when testing the effectiveness of early group-based and home-visit interventions in at-risk families.

Systems 1 and 2 thinking processes and cognitive reflection testing in medical students

Background: Diagnostic decision-making is made through a combination of Systems 1 (intuition or pattern-recognition) and Systems 2 (analytic) thinking. The purpose of this study was to use the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) to evaluate and compare the level of Systems 1 and 2 thinking among medical students in pre-clinical and clinical programs. Methods: The CRT is a three-question test designed to measure the ability of respondents to activate metacognitive processes and switch to System 2 (analytic) thinking where System 1 (intuitive) thinking would lead them astray. Each CRT question has a correct analytical (System 2) answer and an incorrect intuitive (System 1) answer. A group of medical students in Years 2 & 3 (pre-clinical) and Years 4 (in clinical practice) of a 5-year medical degree were studied. Results: Ten percent (13/128) of students had the intuitive answers to the three questions (suggesting they generally relied on System 1 thinking) while almost half (44%) answered all three correctly (indicating full analytical, System 2 thinking). Only 3-13% had incorrect answers (i.e. that were neither the analytical nor the intuitive responses). Non-native English speaking students (n = 11) had a lower mean number of correct answers compared to native English speakers (n = 117: 1.0 s 2.12 respectfully: p < 0.01). As students progressed through questions 1 to 3, the percentage of correct System 2 answers increased and the percentage of intuitive answers decreased in both the pre-clinical and clinical students. Conclusions: Up to half of the medical students demonstrated full or partial reliance on System 1 (intuitive) thinking in response to these analytical questions. While their CRT performance has no claims to make as to their future expertise as clinicians, the test may be used in helping students to understand the importance of awareness and regulation of their thinking processes in clinical practice.

Reliability of Tethered Swimming Evaluation in Age Group Swimmers

The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability of tethered swimming in the evaluation of age group swimmers. The sample was composed of 8 male national level swimmers with at least 4 years of experience in competitive swimming. Each swimmer performed two 30 second maximal intensity tethered swimming tests, on separate days. Individual force-time curves were registered to assess maximum force, mean force and the mean impulse of force. Both consistency and reliability were very strong, with Cronbach’s Alpha values ranging from 0.970 to 0.995. All the applied metrics presented a very high agreement between tests, with the mean impulse of force presenting the highest. These results indicate that tethered swimming can be used to evaluate age group swimmers. Furthermore, better comprehension of the swimmers ability to effectively exert force in the water can be obtained using the impulse of force. Key words: swimming, training and testing, propulsive force, front crawl.

Effects of dry-land strength and conditioning programs in age group swimmers

Context: Even though dry-land S&C training is a common practice in swimming, there are countless uncertainties over it effects in performance of age group swimmers. Objective: To investigate the effects of dry-land S&C programs in swimming performance of age group swimmers. Participants: A total of 21 male competitive swimmers (12.7±0.7 years) were randomly assigned to the Control Group (n=7) and experimental GR1 and GR2 (n=7 for each group). Intervention: Control group performed a 10-week training period of swim training alone, GR1 followed a 6-week dry-land S&C program based on sets/repetitions plus a 4-week swim training program alone and GR2 followed a 6-week dry-land S&C program focused on explosiveness, plus a 4-week program of swim training alone. Results: For the dry-land tests a time effect was observed between week 0 and week 6 for vertical jump (p<0.01) in both experimental groups, and for the GR2 ball throwing (p<0.01), with moderate-strong effect sizes. The time*group analyses showed that for performance in 50 m, differences were significant, with the GR2 presenting higher improvements than their counterparts (F=4.156; ƿ=0.007; η2=0.316) at week 10. Conclusions: The results suggest that 6 weeks of a complementary dry-land S&C training may lead to improvements in dry-land strength. Furthermore, a 4-week adaptation period was mandatory to achieve beneficial transfer for aquatic performance. Additional benefits may occur if coaches plan the dry-land S&C training focusing on explosiveness.