In order to examine the effectiveness of a token economy program, sheltered workshop attendance of chronic schizophrenics was investigated under the following conditions: response cost versus no response cost consequences for nonattendance; response cost and noncontingent token payment; and restricted versus unrestricted mobility during the no…

A research project sponsored by Wofford College was launched in the summer of 1974 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to develop a system of communication by which hospital personnel working in an emergency room could communicate with patients who speak a language other than English. The project followed a year-long research effort of previous work…

An intense preoccupation with death is evident in the Mexican culture's pre-Columbian art, myths, and religion. This preoccupation is still present in the urban Mexican American. A death in a Mexican family causes a set of emotions and events quite different from those seen in an Anglo family. The Mexican reaction to death is such that if the full…

The purpose of this study was to determine for a sample of Montana families if a positive relationship existed between the family's socioeconomic status and its medical initiation behavior, and then, controlling for socioeconomic status, to determine if a relationship existed between initiation of professional medical care and a number of…

A major concern of this article is to document the role of paraprofessionals in providing services for clients in the mental health and psychiatric fields. There are basically three types of paraprofessionals. The first type is the "old" hospital worker; he does not have a college degree, is not indigenous to the community in which he is working,…

This study tested for cultural bias in the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. Subjects were 72 black and white patients diagnosed as either brain damaged or psychiatric. Bender protocols were scored by Pascal-Suttell and Hain systems. No race effect appeared except for the Pascal-Suttell system for which blacks scored significantly better. (Author)

Simulation models exist that are adaptable to evaluation of process skills in pharmacy continuing education. They are the Patient Management Problem (PMP) that assesses application of technical knowledge, video simulations and role play that assess interactive skills, and the patient-oriented problem-solving system. (JMD)

A project to analyze and improve clinical teaching on four general pediatric wards of the Montreal Children's Hospital, the major pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, is reported. Problems that interfere with effective clinical teaching on the wards are documented. (LBH)

Similarities and differences between primary care and specialized care are reviewed, based on research in health care. Professional requirements for primary and specialized care are identified, and implications for the scope and type of learning situations needed by undergraduate medical students are suggested. (Author/LBH)

Considered were attitudes toward (1) the patient's inner resources to cope with a serious illness such as cancer, (2) the value of early diagnosis, and (3) the value of aggressive treatment, as well as the belief in immortality and preparation for and acceptance of death. Changes occurred throughout medical school, especially during the clinical…

The audit of medical care in primary care practices has proven to be a valuable tool for teaching the essentials of efficient health care delivery to medical students at the University of Vermont. Practice standards and methods are continually revised based on the audit of the providers of care and the curriculum is updated based on student…

In the behavioral science course for medical students at the University of Adelaide, students observe behavior in different treatment settings and then write an essay applying behavioral science concepts to what they have observed. Student reaction has been positive and the program is successful in providing students with an unbiased view of…

Results of the Patient Encounter Project are reported, which documented all clinical experiences of 36 medical students for seven months in the Rural Physician Associate Program and compared these experiences with those of a control group of 26 third-year students in the regular curriculum at the University of Minnesota.

Dental schools are facing budgetary constraints, decreasing clinic patient populations, and increasing competition. The Dental Practice Systems (DPS) Program of the University of Maryland, a partially self-supported student-faculty group practice, is described. (Author/MLW)

Female health care workers with exposure to AIDS patients were studied. Two of the 246 workers showed evidence of opportunistic infections. This analysis confirms the low risk of occupationally acquired HIV infection when hospital infection control practices are employed around AIDS patients. (Author/VM)