Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are developed by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Each TIP involves the development of topic-specific best-practice guidelines for the prevention and…

Chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) is common in the general population as well as in people who have a substance use disorder (SUD) (Exhibit 1-1). Chronic pain is not harmless; it has physiological, social, and psychological dimensions that can seriously harm health, functioning, and well-being. As a multidimensional condition with both objective and…

Concrete, objective information that describes the experience from the patient's point of view in unambiguous terms is effective in reducing negative emotional response during threatening health care procedures. A four-stage process that permits systematic development of comprehensive and accurate messages using concrete objective information is…

Describes a reading recognition test called Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) that is designed to identify low literacy levels in patients. Notes that information thus obtained is useful in directing patient-physician communications and in promoting patient understanding of commonly used oral and written medical information. (SR)

This manual describes a Relaxation-Information Presentation program based on the clinical observation that anxiety is a serious barrier to detoxification for many methadone clients, and on experimental evidence indicating that expectations may play a greater role in the discomfort experienced during detoxification than the actual methadone dose.…

A method of informally interviewing parents of children who have died or are seriously ill--before a small group of medical students in pediatric rotations--helps to sensitize students to parent attitudes, needs, and grief patterns, and gives a longitudinal perspective of the physician's role and the disease process. (MSE)

Guidelines for developing a pharmacy school curriculum based on the principle of pharmaceutical care and professional responsibility are offered, beginning with mission statements for profession, practice, and pharmaceutical education in general. The University of Toronto experience in designing such a curriculum is chronicled as an illustration…

The MERL system, a four-component decision-making approach which evaluates media from a communications theory perspective, is useful to the health educator in evaluating media in a systematic and efficient manner. (Author/CMV)

Essential knowledge, practice, and values for the education of baccalaureate-level nurses are specified in a report developed under the direction of a national panel of representatives from the nursing, health care, and higher education communities. The report, entitled "Essentials for College and University Education for Professional Nursing,"…

In the United States today Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is recognized by professionals as a distinct disorder, a neurobiological disability marked by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. About 2-10% of school-age children suffer from ADD, making it an issue of rising concern to families and school leaders. It is necessary that…

This monograph summarizes asthma management conclusions developed by five studies funded under a 5-year federal program titled "Interventions for the Control of Asthma among Black and Hispanic Children." The research goals were to develop model, replicable programs to reduce asthma morbidity; decrease inappropriate use of health care…