Gregory C. Petty

A survey of Tennessee veterinarian and physician attitudes, knowledge, and practices regarding zoonoses prevention among animal owners with HIV infection or AIDS

OBJECTIVE To examine the attitudes, knowledge, and practices of Tennessee veterinarians and physicians engaged in clinical practice regarding the risk for and prevention of zoonoses in people with HIV infection or AIDS. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE Licensed Tennessee veterinarians and physicians engaged in clinical practice. PROCEDURES A survey was mailed in January 2010 to 454 licensed veterinarians and 1,737 licensed physicians. RESULTS 181 of 419 (43.20%) eligible veterinarians and 201 of 1,376 (14.61%) eligible physicians responded to the survey. A majority of both veterinarians (131/179 [73.18%]) and physicians (97/192 [50.52%]) indicated that veterinarians should always or almost always be involved in advising clients with HIV infection or AIDS. The majority of veterinarians (120/173 [69.36%]) indicated they always or almost always discussed with clients the potential risk to immune-compromised persons after diagnosing a zoonosis. A high proportion (88/94 [93.62%]) of physicians indicated they never or rarely initiated discussions about zoonoses with patients with HIV infection or AIDS. All physicians (94/94 [100%]) indicated they never or rarely contacted veterinarians for advice on zoonoses. Similarly, 174 of 180 (96.76%) veterinarians had never or rarely contacted physicians for advice on zoonoses risks. Only 25.97% of veterinarians and 33.33% of physicians were correctly able to identify zoonotic pathogens of greatest concern to people with HIV infection or AIDS. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE We identified several implications for veterinary medical and medical practice that may reduce zoonoses transmission risks for people with HIV infection or AIDS, including increased communication between veterinarians and physicians, increased communication between people with HIV infection or AIDS and health-care providers, increased availability of client educational materials, and increased participation in zoonoses continuing education opportunities by health-care providers.

The Factorial Validity of the Affective Work Competencies Inventory

This study sought to determine for a sample of industrial workers, supervisors, and vocational educators the factorial dimensions of the Affective Work Competencies Inventory (AWCI), and to estimate the reliability of scales which describe its factorial dimensions. The AWCI is a self-report Likert-type questionnaire designed to measure work attitudes, values, and habits desired by industry and educators. Responses of 1,485 industrial workers, supervisors, and vocational educators to the AWCI were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. The factors which emerged were analyzed in terms of their continuity, reliability, and meaningfulness as contributors to the instrument. The factor analysis procedure yielded five factors which accounted for most of the test variance while only using about half the number of items in the original instrument. Results suggested that the items describing the factors may be the basis of useful subscales for the instrument.

Conceptual Model of the Psychosocial Effects of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease

The objective of this research was to develop a theoretical model that describes the psychosocial effects of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD). The medical, nursing, health education, and psychological literature was reviewed to identify theories that might support the development of a psychosocial model of BeS and CBD. A proposed model was synthesized based upon elements from multiple academic disciplines. The conceptual model is based on three prominent psychological theories: 1) health, stress, and coping, 2) uncertainty and illness, and 3) psychosocial adjustment to illness. The model hypothesizes that workers who are diagnosed with BeS or CBD experience a great deal of uncertainty that has a detrimental effect on their health quality of life. The focal relationship in this model is between the independent variable uncertainty and the dependent variable health quality of life. It is further hypothesized that the relationship between these two variables is affected by an intermediate variable, the ability to make psychosocial adjustments to disease. Creating this model is a step toward filling a void in our understanding of the natural history of CBD. Once validated it will establish a foundation for future research, interventions and program evaluations and may lead to changes in the psychological, social, financial, and disease management support provided to this population.

Measuring the Psychosocial Effects of Beryllium Sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease in Current and Retired Workers

Current and former workers from the U.S. Department of Energy complex were surveyed to measure the psychosocial effects of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Questionnaires were administered to measure uncertainty in illness, psychosocial adjustment to illness, and health quality of life. Hypotheses were tested and relationships between variables determined. There were 126 participants; 52 with CBD and 74 with BeS. The health quality of life survey indicated participants with CBD had significantly different physical component summary scores than those with BeS. Mental component summary scores were similar. Psychosocial adjustment scores were also significantly different. Uncertainty scores were approximately equal. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the three variables. As uncertainty increased, health quality of life decreased unless the effects were mediated by psychosocial adjustments to the illness. It was concluded that BeS may have as much impact on mental health as CBD. If true, this adds an important new component to the spectrum of CBD that has implications for treatment and workers compensation.