Studied the validity of the Atopic Dermatitis Assessment Measure (D. Charman and others, 1999) with 171 pediatric patients in Australia using partial credit analyses to produce clinically relevant "word pictures" of grades of severity for atopic dermatitis. Discusses implications for measurement in medicine. (SLD)

Surveys 85 health care professionals on the learning difficulties of diabetic patients. Results show that educators find it easy to teach techniques: patients master procedures well and make few mistakes. In contrast, diabetic patients seem to have problems learning skills, such as insulin dose adjustment, that require complex problem-solving.…

Tests the feasibility of a one-year group education model for patients with type 2 diabetes in Sweden. Within study circles led by pharmacists, participants learned to self-monitor glucose, to interpret the results and to act upon them. Results show that study circles held at pharmacies are a feasible way of education persons with type 2 diabetes.…

A Medicaid retrospective therapeutic intervention was designed to notify physicians about their patients' long-term use of sedatives and suggest to them that they reevaluate the patient's need for sedative hypnotic medication. Physicians' responses and follow-up actions are reported. Practice implications and the need for physician education are…

Women having an induced abortion in an urban clinic were studied. First, second, and third time aborters (N=150) were interviewed. Variables including reasons for choosing abortion, life situations, contraceptive risk-taking, and ease of becoming pregnant were examined. Related studies and suggestions for postabortion counseling are discussed.…

A review of studies of word learning by normal adults and children, neuropsychological patients, and special development populations provides evidence that the phonological loop plays a crucial role in learning the novel phonological forms of new words, suggesting that the phonological loop stores unfamiliar sound patterns while more permanent…

Discusses the development and implementation of a surgery-patient education program in two Dutch hospitals. Evaluation of the new program shows that the specified information was provided to only a limited extent, partly because of problems with the implementation process and partly because some information was made available for patients to use…

Studied the effects of placement of a vocational rehabilitation counselor (VRC) in methadone maintenance clinics for 333 and 358 patients. Results suggest that placement of a VRC in clinic settings is a cost effective change to vocational and educational services. (SLD)

Patient education programs for persons undergoing cardiac surgery related to knowledge of cardiac rehabilitation principles were conducted with either traditional (n=49) or collaborative (n=47) educational interventions. The two methods produced similar levels of knowledge, but significant differences appeared depending on whether subjects had…

Disability-related conditions such as bladder problems or pressure sores need not keep people from activity. Although active individuals with disabilities require some specialized management, they mainly need medical care for sports-related cuts, sprains, and strains. Physicians can help remove medical barriers to participation for active…

The development and initial validation of a new Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (MMPI-2) scale designed to determine infrequent responding with psychopathological populations are described. Results with 1,179 subjects show that the Infrequency-Psychopathology Scale (F p ) may be useful in settings with high base rates of…

Increased attention to medical errors and patient safety highlights the importance of quality improvement in continuing medical education. Ways to enhance quality include informatics, clinical practice guidelines, learning from opinion leaders and patients, learning organizations, and just-in-time and point-of-care delivery of continuing…

Assesses the effect of prenatal education about newborn sickle cell screening on parents' compliance with the follow-up for infants with sickle cell trait. Results show that parents whose prenatal education included sickle cell hemoglobinopathy information retained significantly more of the information given during the post-natal education than…

Describes the development of the Watch, Discover, Think, and Act asthma self-management computer program for inner-city children with asthma. The intervention focuses on teaching two categories of behaviors: asthma specific behaviors such as taking preventive medication, and self-regulatory processes such as monitoring symptoms and solving asthma…

Studied the effects of program and patient characteristics on patient retention in residential, out-patient, and methadone maintenance drug treatment programs. Data for 26,047 patients in 87 programs show that threshold retention rates were generally low for all 3 program types, although program practice and service provision played important…