Context: Rapid diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke can lead to improved patient outcomes. Hospitals in rural and frontier counties, however, face unique challenges in providing diagnostic and treatment services for acute stroke. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the availability of key diagnostic technology and programs for acute…

This study compares two instruments frequently used to assess risk for violence, the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), in a large sample of civil psychiatric patients. Despite a strong bivariate relationship with community violence, the VRAG could not improve on the predictive validity…

Communication is a major problem in the management of patients. Miscommunication occurs frequently in populations with low reading skills, illiteracy does not completely account for the observed low rates of recall of communicated information. Transmission of the message also plays an important role. Successful strategies to improve communication…

It has been suggested that the right and left mesial temporal lobes are specialized for processing different types of information for long-term memory (LTM). Although findings have been consistent in regard to the dominant role of the left mesial temporal lobe (MTL) in verbal memory, the role of the right MTL in non-verbal memory remains…

Objective: Studies show that childhood sexual and physical abuse predict repeated suicide attempts and self-mutilation. Little is known about the importance of sexual and physical abuse when compared to other severe childhood adversities with respect to chronic suicidal behavior. Method: Seventy-four subjects, 65% of whom were women, consecutively…

The development of a model for treating acutely depressed patients on a frequent basis in an independent practice setting is described. Strategies to collaborate with managed care organizations, employee assistance programs, and local provider networks to recruit these patients are outlined. The patients treated in the intensive outpatient program…

In order to determine the prevalence and characteristics of childhood physical and sexual abuse in China, the authors conducted a survey in Shanghai. The Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule was administered to 423 inpatients and 304 outpatients at Shanghai Mental Health Center, and to a non-clinical sample of 618 workers at a clothing…

Although family therapy has become highly acceptable in the West, its applicability and acceptability for Chinese adolescents and young women with anorexia nervosa (AN) remains unknown. In this article, we report the results of a qualitative study using post-treatment in-depth interviews to understand the subjective perceptions of sufferers of AN…

Purpose: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is a serious public health problem and, although in the past research has focused mainly on the DSH patient, it is now recognised that parental involvement in the therapeutic process is beneficial. This study aimed to understand parents' concerns, expectations and experiences following an episode of deliberate…

Objective: This study describes medical students' perceptions of the field of psychiatry and identifies the impact of those perceptions on their career choices in order to explore the questions: Are we as a field doing all that we can to enhance the educational experience of all medical students, regardless of their career preferences? What are…

Objective: This study examines the issues influencing psychiatrists' decisions to provide care to the under-served geriatric population. Methods: Community-based psychiatrists who see geriatric patients participated in focus group discussions exploring factors that influence the characteristics of their current practices. Results: Personal themes,…

Caring for patients with progressive illness who need symptomatic and palliative care involves professionals as well as non-professionals. Within the variety of settings that may exist around a patient, education will be constantly needed. A limited systematic review was therefore conducted in order to highlight factors that influence informal…

For patients with HIV, depression is a common, distressing condition that can interfere with a critical self-care behavior--adherence to antiretroviral therapy. The present study describes a cognitive-behavioral treatment designed to integrate cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression with our previously tested approach to improving adherence to…

Aphasia implies the loss or impairment of language caused by brain damage. The key to understanding the nature of aphasic symptoms is the neuro-anatomical site of brain damage, and not the causative agent. However, because "Herpes simplex" virus (HSV) encephalitis infection usually affects the frontal and temporal lobes, subcortical…

The introduction of a clinical skills examination (CSE) to Step 2 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) has focused attention on the design and delivery of large-scale standardized tests of clinical skills and raised the question of the appropriateness of evaluation of these competencies across the span of a physician's career. This…