Objective: In the USA, organ donor shortage is especially pronounced among minority ethnic populations such as Hispanics, who are 60% less likely to donate compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Recent evidence suggests that US Hispanics may consent to organ donation via a registry within a doctor's office. The objective of this study was to investigate…

Good doctor-patient communication may lead to better compliance, higher patient satisfaction, and finally, better health. Although the social variance in how physicians and patients communicate is clearly demonstrated, little is known about what patients with different educational attainments actually prefer in doctor-patient communication. In…

In the UK, the Mental Health Tribunal is a long-established safeguard for patients detained under the Mental Health Act. This gives such patients an effective appeal mechanism to ensure legal protection of their liberty. This act contains sections that allow for civil detention in the case of mental disorder. The right to apply to the tribunal…

Objective: To determine whether Hannover Medical School's Patient University, which was developed as the first university-based health education institution in Germany, offers a valuable means of conveying health-related knowledge, competencies and the ability to reflect on health information to its participants. Design: Participatory health…

Purpose: Artificial airway procedures such as intubation and Sare common in the treatment of traumatic injuries, and bolus modifications may be implemented to help manage swallowing disorders. This study assessed artificial airway status, bolus properties (volume and viscosity), and the occurrence of laryngeal penetration and/or aspiration in…

Using data from interviews with Health Technology Assessment (HTA) professionals in Canada, this paper shows their views of the appropriate role of, and evidence required for, HTA are associated with values and norms. Recognizing HTA as a moral economy helps to explain when and why HTA professionals' views of what HTA should and can do are…

The present study examined 12 abnormal psychology textbooks to determine whether Rosenhan's classic study, "Being sane in insane places," was covered, and if so, the nature of that coverage. Only 50% covered the study, with all describing the study as demonstrating the biasing power of psychiatric labels. Two key aspects of the study…

In their journey to becoming doctors, students engage with a range of teachers and trainers. Among these are simulated patients (SPs), who, through role-playing, assist students to develop their communication and physical examination skills, in contexts of formative and summative assessments. This paper explores the teaching and learning…

Empathy is considered a significant factor in the physician-patient relationship. The current study examined the impact of a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) model on empathy and patient-centered attitude in medical students. Archival data were examined from 186 medical students at a medical college in the mid-Atlantic region of the United…

In response to the rising need for Spanish-English interpreters in the United States, there has been an increase in translation and interpreting and Spanish for the health professions courses in Spanish language programs (Martínez 2015). However, before Spanish students are exposed to a clinic or hospital context, they may have limited experience…

Purpose: Rapid maximum performance repetition tasks have increasingly demonstrated their utility as clinimetric markers supporting diagnosis and monitoring of bulbar disease in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A recently developed protocol uses novel real-word repetitions instead of traditional nonword/syllable sequences in hopes of improving…

Background: Stratified medicine seeks to identify patients most likely to respond to treatment. Individual participant data (IPD) network meta-analysis (NMA) models have greater power than individual trials to identify treatment-covariate interactions (TCIs). Treatment-covariate interactions contain "within" and "across" trial…

One major characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is problems with social interaction and communication. The present study explored ASD-related alterations in perceiving emotions expressed via body movements. 16 participants with ASD and 16 healthy controls observed video scenes of human interactions conveyed by point-light displays. They…

The present study examined whether, when, and how motivational messaging can boost the response rate of postal surveys for physicians based on Higgin's regulatory focus theory, accounting for its cost-effectiveness. A three-arm, blinded, randomized controlled design was used. A total of 3,270 doctors were randomly selected from the registration…

Developing psychometrically sound instruments can be difficult, especially if little is known about the constructs of interest. When constructs of interest are unclear, a mixed methods approach can be useful. Qualitative inquiry can be used to explore a construct's meaning in a way that informs item writing and allows the strengths of one analysis…