Patients must be able to understand oral and written instructions and health care materials. Patients with low literacy levels need educational programs and materials designed to teach them how to manage their health needs. (SK)

Describes the process of developing a data collection (coding) form to extract a minimum data set from nursing service records and a method of training lay coders to use the form. Explains how the Nursing Minimum Data Set can be used for research and program improvement. (JOW)

Examines collaborative model of "short-term, long-term care" (Brody, 1987) for older persons returning home after a hospital stay. Program provided short-term case management and nonmedical, supportive services to 265 elderly individuals immediately following discharge from acute-care hospitals. Found client satisfaction was high, costs…

A combination of computer, videodisk, and voice-recognition technology lets Georgetown University medical students ask questions of an electronic "patient" who appears on a television monitor and appears to respond. Students can order laboratory tests and study patient behavior inside and outside the hospital. Simulations use actors or…

Briefly described is a sample 10-week program combining a supportive environment for the exchange of ideas, a support group, and a learning opportunity for individuals with both diabetes and visual impairment. (DB)

Briefly described is a support network created by the National Federation of the Blind, which publishes an outreach publication, has formed specialized committees to serve members with specific ramifications of diabetes, and maintains a list of aids and devices to allow blind people with diabetes to manage their disease by themselves. (DB)

Compared quality of life of terminal cancer patients (n=182) in two palliative care units with that of those in general hospital. Patients in specialized palliative care units were found to differ from those dying in hospital, showing less indirectly expressed anger but more positive feelings. They also reported more anxiety about death but less…

Data from 2,226 patients were used to determine dimensions of satisfaction with medical care, the relationship between direct and indirect methods of assessing care, and the extent to which visit-specific and global satisfaction with care covary. Results support the multidimensionality of satisfaction ratings but show some covariation. (SLD)

The Colorado Personalized Education for Physicians program focuses on assessing interpersonal communication skills through such techniques as video- and chart-stimulated recall, Myers Briggs Type Inventory, and Learning Style Inventory. Participants improve their patient communication skills through preceptorships or miniresidencies. (SK)

Exercise can help decrease pain and improve function in people with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Physicians must provide individualized, realistic, enjoyable exercise programs that help affected joints, build fitness, and maximize patient compliance. Physicians must also provide appropriate follow-up care, adjusting the exercise program…

Presents interview with Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of international hospice care movement. Saunders describes her background and experiences that led her to form the hospice movement and discusses the need for pain control for terminally ill patients. Saunders also notes her opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. (NB)

Telemedicine, the ability to examine patients while physically removed from them by using high-tech virtual treatment, is used increasingly to diagnose and prescribe treatment for patients in nontraditional settings. In Los Angeles (California), Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and King-Drew Medical Center communicate in real time with…

A study of 652 physicians enrolled in the Maintenance of Competence program found that, for those with less than 10 years of experience, learning was often stimulated by audits of practice. Physicians with more than 30 years of experience most often initiated learning in response to patient interaction. (Author/JOW)

Explored factors influencing patient satisfaction with and utilization of information booklets. Patients (N=36) rated five booklets, and strongly preferred one with a grade-eight reading level. The relationship of preference and recall was investigated. No difference between those who seek or avoid information was found. Additional findings are…

Most children and parents use strategies that protect them from psychopathology in coping with cancer. Studies involving children with cancer, their parents, their perceptions, emotions, and coping strategies are reviewed. A psychosocial support model is proposed which may be helpful when support is needed with problems of adjustment. (Author/EMK)