Health-education materials often require reading levels higher than that of many patients. Nurses need awareness of the prevalence of low literacy and the ability to assess reading levels so they can develop appropriate patient-education materials. (SK)

Nurses need to understand what information is confidential and what constitutes breach of confidentiality. Ethical issues involved in informed consent and grounds for breaking confidentiality should be addressed in nursing-education curriculum. (SK)

Examined the usefulness of the K-correction procedure to adjust for a defensive response set on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) with 61 patients being evaluated for lung transplants. Results support the use of the K-correction procedure for this patient group. Implications for MMPI use are discussed. (SLD)

Compared three methods for evaluating clinical outcomes for individual patients: (1) raw change score analysis, (2) normative statistical analysis, and (3) ipsative statistical analysis. Results with two samples of 39 and 20 patients show the ipsative method to be most consistent with a priori hypotheses evaluated for repeated-measures data. (SLD)

Discusses how "mindbody" medicine has become the most prominent version of alternative medicine in the United States. Notes that it advocates an equality of patient and physicians in the deliberative process of treating illness and maintaining health; it also argues, on scientific grounds, that the body is a vast cellular democracy,…

The Self-Management Programme for People with Arthritis aims to teach patients to manage their condition, improve their understanding, and communicate effectively with health professionals. The focus is on developing self-efficacy and peer teaching. (SK)

Ten sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological characteristics considered predictors of difficulty with smoking cessation in patients with coronary artery disease are reviewed. The compounding effects of nicotine addiction are discussed. Consideration of these factors may result in individualized programs for smoking cessation. A brief overview…

Conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the administration of human albumin in critically ill patients. Findings raised serious concerns about the safety of an intervention that has been widely used in health care around the world. Findings illustrate the importance of systematic reviews in health care and other areas of…

Patients with third-fifth grade reading ability (n=16) and with higher ability (n=32) completed nursing care satisfaction questionnaires with either a Likert scale, yes/no/uncertain, or pictorial format. Yes/no/uncertain and Likert formats elicited the same information. All patients had difficulty with negatively worded items. (Contains 45…

Describes the prevalence of sexual abuse among adolescents (N=938) admitted to residential therapeutic communities for treatment of substance abuse and related disorders. Results indicate that approximately one-third of the sample reported histories of sexual abuse. Prevalence rates were significantly higher for girls than for boys. History of…

Explores the teaching practices of 11 senior diabetic specialists consulting in an outpatient hospital setting. Results are discussed in relation to time spent in consultation, balance of speaking time, questions, use of written materials and visual aids. Results indicate a patient education orientation during consultations. (Author/MKA)

Studied the specific impact of major depressive disorder (MDD) on the self-image of adolescent boys and girls seeking outpatient treatment. Compared 68 adolescents with MDD and 39 with no psychiatric illness. Self-image among MDD patients was in general poorer than in the comparison group. The effect of MDD was more negative for girls than boys,…

This descriptive study examined reports of behavioral problems among older patients hospitalized in acute care medical settings. Greater numbers of behavioral problems were reported by nursing staff on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire than were documented in medical charts over the same time period. Such underreporting may have…

Early identification of patients who need a social work evaluation is integral to effective discharge planning. This article describes the development and application of the Social Work Admission Assessment Tool (SWAAT), a six-item scale that identifies patients with complicated discharge needs who require a social work evaluation. It addresses…

Objective: To report on clinical features, comorbidity, and response to pharmacotherapy in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) naturalistically followed and treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs). Method: A consecutive series of 94 patients (65 males, 29 females, age 13.6 [+ or -] 2.8 years), referred in…