Evaluates an educational program for inner-city children designed to improve patients' knowledge and behaviors related to asthma, in order to improve their control of the disease and thereby reduce the number of emergency room visits. Discusses the failure of this program due to failures of implementation and program effectiveness. (JS)

Evaluated physicians' responses to Alabama state elder abuse reporting statutes in Alabama Protective Services Act of 1976. Survey responses from over 100 Alabama physicians suggest that they have reservations about their ability to diagnose abuse, operation of the law, and their willingness to report abuse. (Author/NB)

A study to test whether or not a computer network can be used to ease the isolation of housebound AIDS patients and help them get advice and make decisions about their health care is described. The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health. (MLW)

Clinical data from 140 primary caregivers seeking dementia evaluation for family member were analyzed to establish psychometric properties of a caregiver burden screen. Results indicate cutoff values were both sensitive and specific to negative caregiving outcomes. Findings suggest use of burden screen may assist clinicians when assessing adequacy…

As part of a neuropsychological assessment, 95 adult patients completed either standard or computerized versions of the Category Test. Subjects who completed the computerized version exhibited more errors than those who completed the standard version, suggesting that it may be more difficult. (SLD)

Three short forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), developed in 1991, were cross-validated on 207 male and 133 female adolescent psychiatric inpatients and outpatients. Results show psychometric properties for the short forms that are comparable to those of the WAIS-R standardization sample. (SLD)

Investigated whether women undergoing outpatient chemotherapy for breast cancer can develop classically conditioned emotional distress. Patients' responses to a distinctive stimulus were assessed in a location not associated with chemotherapy administration. Results supported hypothesis that pairing a distinctive stimulus with chemotherapy would…

Finds support for eight theoretically derived hypotheses concerning how highly misanthropic individuals respond differently to influence attempts, and concerning the positive relationship between misanthropy and the avoidance of health care. Shows that respondents high in misanthropy report higher actual incidence of stress-related diseases. (SR)

Children are especially vulnerable to solar injury and heat illness. Physicians can lower children's risk through education about short-term and long-term sequelae and through various prevention efforts. The paper discusses how to screen for risk factors and how to prevent and treat heat illness and solar injury. (SM)

It is argued that there is a benefit to applying techniques of exploratory data analysis (EDA) to program evaluation. The evaluation of a rehabilitation program for people with rheumatoid arthritis (20 subjects and 21 comparisons) through EDA supports the argument, indicating outcomes more precisely than conventional analysis of variance. (SLD)

Data from 104 participants in the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Self-Help Course showed that patients had significant increases in enabling skills and use of relaxation/exercise and decreases in depression. Amount of time spent in class was correlated with significant changes over time. (SK)

A survey of 120 postal worker participants in a back safety course and 89 controls found (1) there was increased knowledge among experimentals but no significant behavior change; and (2) experimentals were less likely to report reinforcement for healthy behaviors. The complexities of worker social support show that it cannot be relied upon to…

Introduces strategy for evaluating how drugs, administered in varying doses, affect dependent variables (physiological, psychological, and social functioning and quality of life) that fluctuate in level. Tests hypotheses with statistics computed from benefit/harm scores, measuring longitudinal associations between dose and dependent variable…

Investigated values of 36 patient-therapist dyads in psychotherapy. Found that patient assimilation of therapist values was positively correlated with therapist's outcome assessment, but not with other outcome measures. Patient-therapist dyads whose values were moderately similar showed most improvement, indicating that intermediate range of…

A study investigated the relationship between in-patient hospital costs, charges, and length of stay and use of MEDLINE searches. Results indicate that, among patients for whom searches were conducted early in the case, these variables were significantly less than those for whom searches were conducted later. (Author/MSE)