A telephone survey of a random sample of 594 perimenopausal women was done to study the prevalence of hot flashes, use of estrogen, age of menopause onset, and, among those subjects experiencing hot flashes, the frequency of occurrence and number of years of hot flashes. The prevalence of hot flashes was 88%. Surgical menopause women had a prevalence rate of 92% and had the highest estrogen utilization rate. The median age of onset for natural menopause women was 49 years. The frequency of occurrence and number of years of hot flash experience was variable across all groups.

No abstract

Hospitals have traditionally provided the setting for the treatment of children with cancer, including those in the terminal stage of their illness. However, when treatment that requires hospitalization has been discontinued and the child's cancer is still not under control, then the wisdom of continued hospitalization is questionable. If the care that is required by the patient could be provided as effectively by the parents and by nurses at home, then it would be reasonable to make a home care option available to the families who desired it. The possible advantages of such home care would be improved satisfaction of the child, better adjustment to the situation by the family, and reduced cost. It is more comforting to the child to be in familiar surroundings with the parents at hand during the terminal stages of his or her illness. Most of the specialized and expensive sive facilities provided by the hospital are no longer needed by the child. The preliminary findings from a research project dealing with home care of children with cancer are reported in this article. The feasibility and desirability of the home as an alternative to the hospital for children whose death from cancer was impending were examined. Administration of the home nursing service was at the time of the study separate from existing nursing services. Home care nurses were hired on an hourly basis and were recruited from hospitals and public health agencies. Two project staff nurses oriented the home care nurses to the special functions that they would serve, and also provided consultation and some of the actual home care.

While current menopause research has been conducted in a range of disciplines, the studies indicate that there are gaps and differences (TABLES 1 and 2) as well as interrelationships among these areas of concentration, with direct implications for both clinical application and future research (TABLE 3). Questions related to hormone replacement therapy, osteoporosis, and bone density contribute to variations in preventive programs and treatment. The influence of the menopause upon general health status has been barely probed. Underlying mechanisms of the menopausal hot flash remain unknown. Psychobiological studies reveal differences in outcomes of studies related to mood change, depression, and sexuality during the perimenopausal years. Sociocultural studies reveal differences in the PsychobiologicallSocial Science Focus 2. Culturallcross-cultural subjects 44 NOTE: Frequencies are approximate. Some studies fit more than one category.

Crucial questions for health professionals include what constitutes social support, the sources of social support, and the parameters of social support. The preliminary findings from a research project that focused on the care of children dying of cancer indicate that these questions have concerned primary care nurses and physicians. Data acquired in personal interviews administered to 27 physicians and 32 nurses who participated in the first year of the Home Care for the Child with Cancer project provided descriptions of individual sources of social support. The results reveal a range of supportive mechanisms and networks within varied institutional contexts. While there were some within-group similarities in the forms of social support used by nurses and those used by physicians, numerous individual differences were evident. This is an area for extensive further study.