Examined aspects of posthospital care decisions for elderly patients (N=314) being discharged. Found six dimensions of patients' perceptions of the decision making: certainty about outcomes, family support for decision making, restriction of choice, feeling of being rushed, control over the choice, and hypervigilance. (Author/ABL)

Developed and cross-validated an empirically derived classification system of chronic pain patients. Identified three unique subgroups of chronic pain patients, labeled dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed, and minimizers/adaptive copers. Cross-validated and confirmed the uniqueness and accuracy of the taxonomy in a second study. Offers…

Study indicated that, although well-integrated comprehensive community mental health system (CMHS) dramatically reduces utilization of long-stay inpatient beds compared to traditional health care systems, it does not banish appearance of "new chronic" patients from a catchment area. CMHS new chronic patients were younger, mostly male,…

Examined effectiveness of a comprehensive discharge planning protocol in a double-blind study with 80 acute care patients age 75 and older. According to functional status measures, placement at 2 and 4 weeks post-discharge was deemed appropriate for 87 percent of all patients. Length of hospital stay was reduced for treatment group patients.…

Examined effects of videotaped feedback on aspects of self-concept of patients in an aftercare psychotherapy group. All subjects (N=62) completed three administrations of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale; the 32 treatment patients also viewed videotaped interactions of their group therapy. The results suggest that videotaped feedback produces…

Surgery patients (N=24) were randomly assigned either to a stress inoculation intervention or to a standard hospital instructions control. The results demonstrated the utility of stress inoculation training in providing surgical patients with a self-regulation technique to reduce their experiences of anxiety and pain and to improve their…

Teaches nurses to name three characteristics of a normal stoma, describe treatment for three common stomal complications, describe treatment for two complications of peristomal skin, and identify at least two factors to consider before preparing an ostomy patient for a radiologic procedure. (CT)

Family physicians are trained to work with families in the provision of primary medical care, and many provide family counseling. These physicians face many of the same ethical conflicts with which family therapists are confronted. The primary physician-patient relationship modifies these conflicts and creates new and vexing problems. (Author)

Examined the relationship between locus of control and psychological disorder in chronic pain patients (N=59) through administration of Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Results suggested that both anxiety and a response set affect this population's rating of ability to control…

Former nursing home residents (N=197) were followed for 2 years after discharge. Four subgroups of patients were identified on the basis of different patterns of survival and use of health care resources: those who returned home, died in nursing homes, transferred to hospitals, or transferred to other nursing homes. (NRB)

Discriminated three groups of neuropsychiatric outpatients (N=138) using a measure of aggression formed by summing subscales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Results indicated that the group differences cannot be attributed to more general factors such as age, sex, education, IQ or degree of overall psychopathology. (LLL)

Studied 44 patients in marital or family therapy at an outpatient clinic and offered them the opportunity to list new complaints at subsequent assessment points in addition to the initial session. More than half the patients reported new problems, and when these arose, they were significantly correlated with outcomes. (BH)

Derived replicated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory clusters for both inpatient alcoholic men and women (N=300). Subsequent multivariate analyses employing several alcohol-use scales revealed significant differences among subtypes of alcoholic women but relatively poor differentiation among subtypes of men by these measures. (BH)

Describes the forces that influenced the geographic unitization of state hospitals in the 1960s and 1970s. Discusses the extent to which this change met its original goals and analyzes the factors that prevented it from fully doing so. (Author)

Assessed attitudes toward confidentiality and the conditions under which it would be breached in the psychologist-patient relationship. Psychologists, patients, and nonpatients completed questionnaires, which showed concern among subjects that confidentiality might be broken. In some cases, this fear prevented people from seeking treatment. (BH)