Examines three behavioral strategies in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for formal treatment for physical and psychosocial sequelae of myocardial infarction (MI): exercise therapy, Type A modification, and nonspecific psychological therapies. Concludes CR improves the quality of life among post-MI patients, but does not prolong life or significantly…

Notes that the rapid rise in private practice of an economic model known as "contract medicine" (such as the HMO) has introduced powerful new organizational constraints on interaction between member physicians and their patients. Examines the negotiation of specialty referral in two practices participating in contract plans. (MM)

Replicated, in an Icelandic sample of alcoholics, research on the clinical and demographic characteristics of borderline patients. Used Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Gunderson's Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. A particular MMPI high point configuration characterized alcoholics…

Medical records of older outpatients treated at 15 university teaching hospitals were reviewed to evaluate how their medical problems were managed in university-based internal medicine practices. The finding suggests either that these patients were extremely atypical or that their geriatric problems were unrecognized. (Author/MLW)

The distribution of intermanual discrepancies on three motor tests (Grooved Pegboard, Finger Tapping and Dynamometer) were examined in normal and unilateral brain lesion samples. Considerable variability in the intermanual discrepancies was observed in all three samples. Therefore, the consistency of discrepancies across tasks was examined. The…

Reviews behavioral and psychological concepts currently applied to the assessment and treatment of chronic pain syndromes, including operant conditioning and psychophysiologic concepts such as the stress-pain hypothesis, the pain-muscle spasm-pain cycle, and the neuromuscular pain model. Discusses relaxation and biofeedback training and concepts…

Irritable bowel syndrome is benign, chronic, gastrointestinal disorder that affects much of the general population. Misunderstanding and lack of patient education often result in increased anxiety and physical distress. Counselors can be instrumental in recognizing the condition in afflicted clients and providing emotional support and stress…

Participants (N=54) of seven eight-week educational/support groups for relatives of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias evaluated the helpfulness of their group experience. The supportive aspects of the group and the information provided about medical and behavioral management of the patient were most highly rated. (Author/NRB)

Estimated age-adjusted Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised intelligence quotient (IQ) scores using linear regression techniques and continuous norming of two samples of psychiatric inpatients (total N=150) in Veteran's Administration hospital. Results support use of estimation procedure in clinical and research settings desiring brief but…

Compared Anxiety Management Training (AMT) and Relaxation as Self-Control (RSC) in reducing stress in 55 anxious medical outpatients. At posttreatment and follow-up assessments, both AMT and RSC groups reported significantly less anxiety, stress reactivity, general physiological arousal, depression, and anger than controls. (JAC)

The Medicare prospective payment system does not adequately account for severity of illness. Whether teaching hospitals treat a case mix of patients with more severe illness than do nonteaching hospitals was tested in a study using two severity measures, Horn's severity of illness index and Gonnnella's "disease staging." (Author/MLW)

Two models of moral responsibility in dentistry--the beneficence model (to know what is in the best interest of those served) and the autonomy model (the patient has values and beliefs underlying his/her perspective on his/her own best interests)--are outlined, and a framework for resolving conflict between the two is presented. (MSE)

Three articles discuss (1) an investigation of how nurses' attitudes, knowledge, and practice changed after a continuing education program on nursing management of adults with essential hypertension; (2) a study showing that even with enforced behavior changes, attitudes are slow to change; and (3) a workshop on principles of effective patient…

A program developed at the University of Arizona College of Medicine that used patient instructors to evaluate interviewing skills of medical students is described. Patient instructors are nonphysicians who are taught to function in the roles of patient, teacher, and evaluator. (Author/MLW)

Studied an intra-institutional relocation of a long-term care facility by documenting changes in the environment and in residents' and staff members' use of space and patterns of behavior. Behavioral changes were conceptualized as attempts to adapt to the larger design and altered layout of the new facility. (JAC)