Provides physicians with the signs, symptoms, and management of heel/sole pain in recreational runners (usually due to plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, and calcaneal stress fractures). Remedies involve palliative treatment of symptoms, correction of underlying biomechanical problems, and flexibility exercises. (SM)

Examined agreements between physicians and patients on major goals and topics discussed during outpatient medical visit. Found concordance to be significantly greater for younger patients and their physicians than for older patients and their physicians on major goals and major medical topics discussed during primary care interview. (Author/NB)

Reports on the experiences of 22 service providers with 181 mentally ill reservation American Indians who would have required civil commitment to obtain appropriate psychiatric care. Compares the commitment procedures developed by five tribal governments, and discusses social and legal issues. Contains five references. (SV)

Describes a systematic evaluation of symptom patterns among 86 depressed patients from three American Indian tribal cultures. Concludes that patients from all tribal groups exhibit a core depressive syndrome existing in three distinct, culturally influenced constellations. Contains 21 references and five data tables. (SV)

The recent shift in pharmacy practice from product to information orientation, patients' desires to know more about medications, computerized access to records, and increased third-party payments may result in serious ethical dilemmas for pharmacists. Pharmacy schools must provide background in the responsibilities of health care professionals to…

Two experiments examined the discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors of first 48 and then 20 clinical neuropsychologists in estimating premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ) of patients. Judges overstated correlations between IQ and its most important predictors, and they had difficulty behaving consistently with correlations they believed to…

Notes that art therapy with pediatric cancer patients addresses emotional and developmental needs of normal population under extreme stress. Reviews literature on the problems likely to be encountered by pediatric cancer patient and presents case examples to illustrate the emergence of these issues and their management in art therapy. (Author/NB)

A sample of chronic postconcussive patients with and without overt malingering signs was compared with objectively brain-injured patients (total sample=106) on common episodic memory and malingered amnesia measures. Findings validate commonly cited malingering measures and new methods of classifying malingering in real-world clinical samples. (SLD)

Based on nearly three years of participant-observation research in hospice settings, factors that interfere with the hospice philosophy of providing patient autonomy include efforts at symptom control, patient residence, patient disease state, and staff limit setting. Discusses examples, implications, and staff attempts at solutions. (JPS)

Discusses the prevalence of cancer-related pain and identifies the barriers that undermine effective pain relief. Develops a model for social work intervention in terms of communication, assessment, problem solving, and psychological support for the patient. Emphasizes skills such as communication, assessment, problem solving, and psychological…

The concordance and factor structures of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression were evaluated with 259 outpatients being treated for depression. The two scales were significantly correlated and assessed similar rates of improvement at multiple assessment points, but emphasized different dimensions of…

The Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) is a dimensional descriptive system for personality and its disorders. The development of the scales, based on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), is described. Results with 3 clinical samples (total 1,680), a college sample of 2,928, and a normative sample of 2,567 support the…

Scale discriminability was examined in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) with 151 college students and 60 depressed outpatients. The superior scale discriminability of the CES-D offers one explanation for its poorer specificity in college samples. (SLD)

Interviewed 50 hospitalized suicide attempters and 57 professional caregivers they identified as having been consulted prior to attempts. Approximately one-half of patients directly disclosed suicidal symptoms or intentions, especially to mental health professionals. Few caregivers noted suicidal thinking or probed suicidal symptoms. Data suggest…

Male veterans (n=47) who were inpatient alcoholics participated in a study on job-finding skills. Compared to control subjects (n=24), subjects (n=23) who completed a job-finding skills workshop demonstrated better job interview skills and a higher employment rate at three-month followup, when 66 percent of experimental group were employed…