Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of the quality of nursing care. However, it raises numerous dilemmas: lack of consistent conceptualization and a theoretical framework, lack of reliable measurement approaches, and inconsistency of instruments. (SK)

Describes major medication-related problems of older adults and what can be done to reduce their incidence. Includes information on the proper use and administration of medications and how to simplify medication regimens. Includes an extensive list of high-risk and potentially inappropriate medications for older people. (JOW)

Patient education is an essential component of nurses' professional role. Research on effective patient teaching suggests the efficacy of a combined approach to behavior change: stages of change, motivational interviewing, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. (Contains 51 references.) (JOW)

Reviews how temporality has figured in rhetorical studies of genre through the notions of kairos and temporal exigence. Presents two models of time, "clock time" and "process time," as a means for representing temporal dimensions of rhetorical contexts and genre activity. Examines interplay between these temporal models and…

Objective: To evaluate the utility of a follow-up skeletal survey in suspected child physical abuse evaluations. Methods: In this prospective study, follow-up skeletal surveys were recommended for 74 children who, after an initial skeletal survey and evaluation by the Child Abuse Team, were suspected victims of physical abuse. The number and…

It has been shown that schizophrenics have certain difficulties in the processing of semantic context. These difficulties have usually been evaluated using lexical decision tasks with semantic priming. In this study, we chose to examine the idea of an abnormality in the early stages of semantic context processing in thought-disordered…

Objective: To examine (1) moderating effects of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment response and (2) responses of ODD symptoms to atomoxetine. Method: Children and adolescents (ages 8-18) with ADHD were treated for approximately 8 weeks with placebo or atomoxetine (fixed dosing: 0.5,…

Data were collected from 213 nurses and 61 social workers at major hospitals across Israel. Whereas nurses reported being more involved in the daily care of terminally ill patients, social workers reported being more involved in discussions with patients and family members. Nurses were more willing than social workers to use artificial feeding and…

Ethical dilemmas are inherent in every health care setting. A sample of hospice social workers with no direct access to a hospice ethics committee (N = 110) was surveyed regarding ethical issues in hospice care, how the issues were managed, and the extent to which social workers participated in resolution of ethical dilemmas. Common issues…

Rothman and Thomas' intervention research (IR) paradigm provides an alternative, developmental research method that is appropriate for practice research, especially at the early stages. It is more flexible than conventional experimental designs, capitalizes on the availability of small samples, accommodates the dynamism and variation in practice…

Objective: To describe child- and family-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CFF-CBT), a new developmentally sensitive psychosocial intervention for pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) that is intended for use along with medication. CFF-CBT integrates principles of family-focused therapy with those of CBT. The theoretical framework is based on (1)…

Differentiating between additive (quantitative) and interactive (qualitative) effects of comorbidity has important treatment implications. This study illustrates the heuristic superiority of a multifactorial approach over simple group comparisons in testing quantitative versus qualitative models of comorbidity. Analysis of variance was used to…

African Americans have a significantly lower response rate to treatment for chronic hepatitis C than non-Hispanic Whites, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers. Some African Americans--19 percent--did respond to the drug combination of peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin. But in non-Hispanic Whites with the…

Forty-eight patients undergoing inpatient detoxification for alcohol dependence were assigned to either brief advice (BA) to attend Alcoholics Anonymous or a motivational enhancement for 12-step involvement (ME-12) intervention that focused on increasing involvement in 12-step self-help groups. Attendance at 12-step groups did not differ…

This study applied a functional approach to the assessment of self-mutilative behavior (SMB) among adolescent psychiatric inpatients. On the basis of past conceptualizations of different forms of self-injurious behavior, the authors hypothesized that SMB is performed because of the automatically reinforcing (i.e., reinforced by oneself; e.g.,…