Parkinson’s disease prevalence rates were examined for the Province of Alberta by age, sex and census division. Using the claims administrative data from the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, a cohort of all registered individuals (2.4 million) was extracted and followed for the five year period, April 1, 1984 to March 31, 1989. No new members were added to the cohort and an attrition rate averaging 6% per year was observed. The overall crude prevalence rates of 248.9 and 239.8 per 100,000 population were noted for males and females respectively. Both sexes were found to have a statistically significant variation across Alberta’s 19 census divisions. For males, examination of standardized morbidity ratios found a low risk of Parkinson’s disease associated with five census divisions, of which two contained Alberta’s two largest cities. An excess risk was associated with four primarily rural census divisions. Females, on the other hand, had a low risk associated with one rural census division and excess risk in four census divisions. The uneven distribution within Alberta offers support for an environmental theory of etiology which may be associated with rural living.

Background: Teamwork and collaborative practice are acknowledged as key to strengthening primary health care. This study assessed Canadian family physicians/ general practitioners’ (FPs/GPs) interest and involvement in interdisciplinary collaborative practice. Methods: From nine focus groups conducted with 46 FPs/GPs in the Capital Health region (Edmonton, Alberta) concerning the quality and capacity of services in family practice, the discussions related to collaborative practice and practice teams were extracted and qualitatively analysed. Based on this analysis, one section of a mail survey assessed FPs/GPs levels of interest and current involvement with 11 other types of health professionals. Results: In focus groups, FPs/GPs identified seven categories of issues related to interdisciplinary collaborative practice: quality and capacity of care, quality of work life, affordability, availability/accessibility of other health professionals, team-building processes, responsibility/accountability, and system resources. Survey responses from 300 of 583 FPs/GPs in the region (51%) showed substantial interest in working with other health professionals, but strikingly less frequent current working relationships. Conclusions: The large gap between the interest and willingness of FPs/GPs to collaborate and their current involvement in teamwork must be addressed if collaborative practice is to increase in line with the goals of primary care reform in Canada.

Submucosal diathermy (SMD) of the inferior turbinates is widely used, although its effect histologically has not been well shown. We attempted to demonstrate the acute histological changes of SMD by performing it immediately prior to inferior turbinectomy. The results found help to explain the unpredictability of producing a clinical response.