0Hrvdwn_1015《经济学家》读译参考之十五:每天一条短信-手机对健康有益?!_

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一个人总要走陌生的路,看陌生的风景,听陌生的歌,然后在某个不经意的瞬间,你会发现,原本费尽心机想要忘记的事情真的就这么忘记了..



TEXT 15

A text a day...

Mar 24th 2006

From The Economist print edition

The medical uses of mobile phones show they can be good for your health



WHAT impact can mobile phones have on their users' health? Many people (A) the supposed ill effects caused by radiation from handsets and base stations1, despite the lack of credible evidence of any harm. But evidence for the beneficial effects of mobile phones on health is rather more abundant. Indeed, a systematic review (B) by Rifat Atun and his colleagues at Imperial College, London, rounds up[1] 150 examples of the use of text-messaging in the delivery of health care. These uses (C) three categories: efficiency gains; public-health gains; and direct benefits to patients by incorporating text-messaging into treatment regimes. The study, funded by Vodafone2, the world's largest mobile operator, was published this week.

1Using texting[2] to boost efficiency is not rocket science, but big savings can be achieved. Several trials carried out in England have found that the use of text-messaging reminders reduces the number of missed appointments with family doctors by 26-39%, for example, and the number of missed hospital appointments by 33-50%. If such schemes were rolled out[3] nationally, this would (D) annual savings of £256m-364m.



Text messages are also being used to remind patients about blood tests, clinics, scans and dental appointments. Similar schemes in America, Norway and Sweden have had equally satisfying resultsthough the use of text-message reminders in the Netherlands, where non-attendance rates are low, at 4%, had no effect other than to annoy patients.

Text messages can also be a good way to disseminate public-health information, particularly to groups who are hard to reach by other means, such as teenagers, or in developing countries where other means of communication are unavailable. Text messages have been used in India to inform people about the World Health Organisation's strategy to control tuberculosis, for example, and in Kenya, Nigeria and Mali to provide information about HIV and malaria. In Iraq, text messages were used to support a campaign to vaccinate nearly 5m children against polio.

Finally, there are the uses of text-messaging as part of a treatment regime. These involve sending reminders to patients to take their medicine at the right time, or to encourage compliance with exercise regimes or efforts to stop smoking. 2The evidence for the effectiveness of such schemes is generally anecdotal[4], however, notes Dr Rifat. More quantitative research is neededwhich is why his team also published three papers this week (E) the use of mobile phones in health care in more detail. One of these papers, written in conjunction with Victoria Franklin and Stephen Greene of the University of Dundee, in Scotland, reports the






results of a trial in which diabetic teenagers' treatment was (F) with text messaging.

Diabetes needs constant management, and requires patients to take an active role in their treatment by measuring blood-sugar levels and administering insulin injections. 3The most effective form of therapy is an intensive regime in which patients adjust the dose of insulin depending on what they eat. This is more onerous[5] for the patient, but (G) a greater dietary variety. Previous studies have shown that intensive treatment is effective only with close supervision by doctors. Dr Franklin and her colleagues devised a system called Sweet Talk, which sends patients personalised text messages reminding them of the treatment goals they have set themselves, and allowing them to send questions to doctors. The Sweet Talk system was tested over a period of 18 months with teenage patients receiving both conventional and intensive diabetes treatment. A control group received conventional treatment and no text messages.



The researchers found that the use of text-messaging significantly increased “self-efficacy”3 (the effectiveness of treatment, measured by questionnaire). More importantly, among patients receiving intensive therapy, the level of haemoglobin HbA1c4an indicator of blood-glucose and hence of glycaemic controlwas 14% lower than for those in the control group. Since even a 10% decline in HbA1c level is (H) a reduction in complications such as eye and kidney problems, this is an impressive result. It suggests that texting can cheaply and effectively support intensive therapy among teenagers, who often demonstrate poor compliance5.



Despite such promising results, Dr Rifat notes, many of the medical uses of text-messaging have not yet been __ (I) _ clinical trials, because they are so new. And even where the benefits are proven, the technology has not been systematically deployed on a large scale. But when it (J) improving outcomes and reducing costs, 4text messages would seem to be just what the doctor ordered. [QUIZ]

1. Fill in each blank with an appropriate form of each following phrasal verb. One verb can only and must be chosen once.

look at, subject to, allow for, carry out, associate with, worry aboutback up, come to, fall into, translate into A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

I. J.

2. Translate the underlined sentences into Chinese.




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