Browse Items (16 total)
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The Franco Factor : A French Canadian genetic disorder can cause killer cholesterol levels in even the healthiest person
Article on instances of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a genetic disorder related to high cholesterol, in some Lewiston, Maine families. Its high rate of occurence in people of Native American and French Canadian heritage, and its frequency among Franco Americans in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Online article includes video of those interviewed. -
The Role of Culture in the Medical Encounter
Short piece of health-related scholarship in cultural studies. Describes three instances in which medical professionals' lack of knowledge about their patients' cultural background had a negative impact on medical judgment and personal treatment. Published by Katahdin Area Health Education Center, University of Maine at Orono. Reprinted from "The Maine MOSAIC," Spring, 1989. -
Henriette, la capuche : The Portrait of a Frontier Midwife
Article on Henriette Blier Pelletier and her lifelong commitment to midwifery. A Québec-born transplant to the Madawaska Territory and the St. Luce Parish - later to be called Frenchville, Maine. Pelletier helped to deliver the children of rural women in their homes, with methods and skills learned through apprenticeship, around the turn of the century. Explanations of medical procedures, folk medicines, and other folk practices used by Pelletier and others in the region, as gleaned from oral history interviews with women in the St. John Valley. -
Determinants of Prostate Cancer Stage in Northern New England : USA Franco-American Contextual Effects
From Parsons and Askland: "Despite screening for prostate cancer, mortality in the United States remains substantial. In northern New England, we know little about either determinants of stage at diagnosis--an important predictor of survival--or health outcomes for Franco-Americans, the region's largest ethnic minority. The objective of this investigation was to identify predictors of late prostate cancer stage in a rural, predominantly white state with a large Franco-American population. " -
Cancer of the Colorectum in Maine, 1995-1998 : Determinants of Stage at Diagnosis in a Rural State
From Parsons and Askland: "Despite screening for colorectal cancer, mortality in the United States remains substantial. In northern New England, little is known about predictors of stage at diagnosis, an important determinant of survival and mortality....The objective of this study was to identify predictors of late stage at diagnosis for colorectal cancer in a rural state with a predominantly white population and a large Franco-American minority... Incident cases from 1995-1998 were obtained from the Maine Cancer Registry. Individual-level variables (age, sex, race, French ethnicity by surname, and payer) and contextual/town-level variables (socioeconomic status, population density, Franco ancestry proportion, distance to health care, and weather) were modeled with multiple logistic regression for late stage...." -
Tay-Sachs disease in persons of French-Canadian heritage in northern New England
From Palomaki et al: "This study sought to determine whether persons of French-Canadian heritage in northern New England are at high risk for the lethal infantile form of Tay-Sachs disease. In order to accomplish this, death records and laboratory diagnostic records were surveyed to ascertain Tay-Sachs deaths in a cohort of 372,000 live births between 1977-1986..." -
The French Canadian Tay-Sachs Disease Deletion Mutation : Identification of Probable Founders
From Brakeleer et al: "Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) is an inherited neurodegenerative ganglioside storage disorder caused by deficiency of the hexosaminidase A enzyme. A deletion allele (FCD) at the HEXA locus has attained high frequency in the French Canadian population. The distribution of affected probands shows a likely center of diffusion for this mutation located in the Bas-St.-Laurent and Gaspésie regions of the province of Quebec. We have reconstructed the genealogies of 15 obligate carriers of the FCD allele to an average depth of 12 generations identifying 60 ancestors and 80 European founders common to all of them..." -
"Jumping Frenchmen of Maine" : Myriachit
Article on a neurological disorder marked by violent and sometimes repetitive responses to startling movements or sounds, here found among French Canadian lumbermen in northern Maine. Based on an 1880 report of Dr. George M. Beard - the only author on such a phenomenon at the time - and his research in Maine's Moosehead Lake Region in the 19th century. How Beard's "jumping" condition compares with the similar conditions of "myriachit" and "latah," with references made to Gilles de la Tourette's research and the neurological syndrome named after him. Certain cases of the disorder's varying manifestations among those who possessed it, and the disorder's apparent disappearance. -
Mutational Analyses of Tay-Sachs Disease : Studies on Tay-Sachs Carriers of French Canadian Background Living in New England
Paper in biochemistry and molecular biology describing certain genetic mutations found in French Canadians and Franco Americans, exploring if or how they relate to the science of Tay-Sachs disease, a genetic disorder causing rapid mental and physical deterioration. From the authors: "Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) results from mutations in HEXA that cause Hex A deficiency. Heterozygote-screening programs have been applied in groups with an increased TSD incidence, such as Ashkenazi Jews and French Canadians in Quebec. These programs are complicated by benign mutations that cause apparent Hex A deficiency but not TSD. Benign mutations account for only approximately 2% of Jewish and approximately 36% of non-Jewish enzyme-defined carriers. A carrier frequency of 1/53 (n = 1,434) was found in an ongoing prospective analysis of persons of French Canadian background living in New England by using an enzyme-based assay. DNA from enzyme-defined carriers from this population was analyzed to determine the molecular basis of Hex A deficiency. Samples (36) were tested for common mutations, and samples that were negative for these were screened for uncommon or novel mutations by using SSCP analysis. Exons showing mobility shifts were sequenced, and most mutations were confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion. Known disease-causing mutations were found in nine samples (four had a 7.6-kb deletion found in 80% of French Canadian TSD alleles), and known benign mutations were found in four samples. Seven novel changes were identified, including G748A in four samples. The molecular basis of Hex A deficiency in this carrier population differs from that of French Canadian TSD patients. Screening centers should be aware of the presence of benign mutations among U.S. French Canadians or Franco-Americans." -
The Franco Factor : A French Canadian genetic disorder can cause killer cholesterol levels in even the healthiest person
Article on instances of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a genetic disorder related to high cholesterol, in some Lewiston, Maine families. Its high rate of occurence in people of Native American and French Canadian heritage, and its frequency among Franco Americans in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Online article includes video of those interviewed. -
The Role of Culture in the Medical Encounter
Short piece of health-related scholarship in cultural studies. Describes three instances in which medical professionals' lack of knowledge about their patients' cultural background had a negative impact on medical judgment and personal treatment. Published by Katahdin Area Health Education Center, University of Maine at Orono. Reprinted from "The Maine MOSAIC," Spring, 1989. -
The Franco-Americans of Northern Vermont : Cultural Factors for Consideration by Health and Social Services Providers
Paper on Franco American values and cultural patterns as visible in the people of Vermont. The importance of recognizing such patterns and morals for health and social service providers. Included in Occasional Paper Number Six, in a series produced by the Center for Research on Vermont, University of Vermont. Originally presented as, "The French-Canadians of Vermont: Cultural Implications for Health and Social Services Providers," at a meeting sponsored by the University of Vermont Department of Psychology, November, 1981. From Woolfson: "Though a number of Franco-Vermonters do not display visible trappings of their French-Canadian heritage, many still share, as do other ethnic groups, inherited cultural patterns and values. This paper examines some of these patterns and values with an eye to describing their importance for health and social services providers in particular. There has been considerable interest in the special social and cultural patterns of the French-Vermonters as an ethnic group, especially the roles that family members play in interviews and other health and social services contexts."Tags Barre VT, Bibliography, Burlington VT, Business and Economics, Death and Disaster, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Health and Wellness, Language and Linguistics, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- Science and Medicine, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Québec, St. Johnsbury VT, Vermont, Winooski VT -
De la difficulté de naître et de survivre dans une ville industrielle de la Nouvelle-Angleterre au XIXe siiècle : mortalité infantile, infanticide et avortement à Lowell, Massachusetts, 1870-1900
De Consortium Érudit: "Le présent texte est consacré à l'étude de la mortalité infantile ainsi qu'aux difficultés de survivre dans une ville industrielle de la Nouvelle-Angleterre durant la seconde moitié du XIXe siiècle. Nous tentons principalement de décrire la maniière dont les contemporains ont perçu, expliqué et tenté de résoudre le problième aigu que représentait la mortalité infantile pour les populations ouvriières. Nous relions briièvement à ce sujet, la question de l'avortement et de l'infanticide."
Tags Beverly MA, Boston MA, Brockton MA, Cambridge MA, Chelsea MA, Chicopee MA, Death and Disaster, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Everett MA, Fall River MA, Fitchburg MA, Gloucester MA, Haverhill MA, Holyoke MA, Illness, Labor History, Lawrence MA, Lowell MA, Lynn MA, Malden MA, Massachusetts, Medford MA, Mills and Mill Work, New Bedford MA, Newburyport MA, Newton MA, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Science and Medicine, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Nonfiction -- Sociology, North Adams MA, Northampton MA, Pittsfield MA, Quincy MA, Salem MA, Social History, Somerville MA, Springfield MA, Taunton MA, Waltham MA, Woburn MA, Worcester MA, Youth -
An Exploration into the Health and Illness Beliefs of a Franco-American Community : The Description of a Clinical Reality
From the author: "The purpose of this thesis was to explore and describe the health and illness beliefs of a Franco-American community in Northern Maine. A major assumption of this study was that culture impacts all aspects of life and therefore determines how we define health and illness. The ethnographic inquiry provided an exhaustive description of health and illness experiences of selected members within the community and, through contextual analysis, allowed inductive identification of patterns within the group. Major themes emerged in the areas of health beliefs (functional and subjective health definitions), health behaviors (approach and avoidance behaviors), illness beliefs (susceptibilities and vulnerabilities), illness behaviors (home-care and cues to action) and clinical reality. The subsequent ethnographic record provided a rich description of the health and illness beliefs of a Franco-American community and allowed a glimpse into the clinical reality shared by its members."Tags Alcohol and Drugs, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Death and Disaster, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Folklore, Food, French Island ME, German Americans, Health and Wellness, Indian Island ME, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Science and Medicine, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Old Town ME, Pownal ME, Religion -
Franco-American Bibliography for Health Care Providers
Bibliographic list of over 350 texts helpful to providers in a variety of healthcare fields for learning about Franco Americans. Historical, cultural, literary, legal, biological, and other resources listed together in an attempt to serve holistically the information needs of educators, medical professionals, and caretakers aimed at serving the Franco American populations of New England. -
Henriette, la capuche : The Portrait of a Frontier Midwife
Article on Henriette Blier Pelletier and her lifelong commitment to midwifery. A Québec-born transplant to the Madawaska Territory and the St. Luce Parish - later to be called Frenchville, Maine. Pelletier helped to deliver the children of rural women in their homes, with methods and skills learned through apprenticeship, around the turn of the century. Explanations of medical procedures, folk medicines, and other folk practices used by Pelletier and others in the region, as gleaned from oral history interviews with women in the St. John Valley.