Researchers are increasingly using observational or nonrandomized data to estimate causal treatment effects. Essential to the production of high-quality evidence is the ability to reduce or minimize the confounding that frequently occurs in observational studies. When using the potential outcome framework to define causal treatment effects, one…

Onset of psychosis may be associated with abnormal adolescent neurodevelopment. Here we examined the neurocognitive profile of first-episode, adolescent onset psychosis (AOP) as compared to typically developing adolescents, and asked whether neurocognitive performance varied differentially as a function of age in the cases compared with controls.…

The usual care for suicidal patients who are seen in the emergency department (ED) and other emergency settings is to assess level of risk and refer to the appropriate level of care. Brief psychosocial interventions such as those administered to promote lower alcohol intake or to reduce domestic violence in the ED are not typically employed for…

Children with a history of a prolonged febrile seizure show signs of acute hippocampal injury on magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, animal studies have shown that adult rats who suffered febrile seizures during development reveal memory impairments. Together, these lines of evidence suggest that memory impairments related to hippocampal…

The pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) Autism Society Japan Rating Scale (PARS), an interview-based instrument for evaluating PDDs, has been developed in Japan with the aim of providing a method that (1) can be used to evaluate PDD symptoms and related support needs and (2) is simpler and easier than the currently used "gold…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore better use of pharmacists in rural communities as a partial solution to scarcity of physicians and other health care providers. It discusses expected reduction in public subsidies for rural health care and the changing market for pharmacists. The paper emphasizes the use of pharmacists as a backdrop…

In order to foster effective transitions to adulthood, it is necessary for youths with chronic healthcare conditions to have access to training and support. When the condition is one that is rare and potentially stigmatizing such as incontinence, these opportunities can be difficult to find locally. Camps and special weekends have been used to…

This article is taken from a larger longitudinal study that used caregiver interviews, caregiver surveys, and caregiver statistical information of one community. The interviews were conducted with six spousal caregivers to examine the narratives produced by spouses actively caring for their partners with dementia. The spousal caregivers were…

Despite the heterogeneity of posttreatment outcomes, the likelihood of relapse is often dependent on several factors, including participation in continuing care services such as self-help groups. However, few studies have examined the use of self-help groups among adolescent outpatients. Therefore, in this study, investigators examined self-help…

This paper explores recovery-promoting care as experienced by persons with concomitant severe mental illness and substance misuse. Sixteen in-depth interviews, based on an interview guide concerning their experiences of health, life situation and care, were held with eight participants in an outpatient treatment programme. The analysis aimed to…

Missed, delayed, or wrong diagnoses can have a severe impact on patients, providers, and the entire health care system. One mechanism implicated in such diagnostic errors is the deterioration of cognitive diagnostic skills that are used rarely or not at all over a prolonged period of time. Existing evidence regarding maintenance of effective…

Objective: To determine factors contributing to successful diabetes self-management in Appalachia, as evidenced by daily blood glucose monitoring. Methods: A telephone survey (N = 3841) was conducted to assess health status and health care access. The current investigation is limited to the subset of this sample who report having diabetes (N =…

Sensorimotor representations in the brain encode the sensory and motor aspects of one's own bodily activity. It is highly debated whether sensorimotor representations are the core basis for the representation of action-related knowledge and, in particular, action words, such as verbs. In this review, we will address this question by bringing to…

We physicians get so focused, so specialized, we become organ doctors not people doctors. We deal with the disease the patient has rather than the patient who happens to have a disease. This is true for any illness and I suspect for the majority of specialists--though I believe family doctors and pediatricians are more aware of the social…

Handover of patient care is a time of particular risk and it is important that accurate and relevant information is clearly communicated. The hospital discharge letter is an important part of handover. However, the quality of hospital discharge letters is variable and letters frequently omit important information. The Cork Letter-Writing…