The use of meta-analysis of patient education research as reported by Steven A. Mazzuca in a 1981 conference paper is critiqued. The way that Mazucca's meta-analysis conforms to the criteria for effective conduct of the six methodological tasks of integrative reviews as specified by Jackson (1980) is assessed. The extent to which meta-analysis…

Text, illustrations, and exercises are utilized in this set of learning modules to instruct the general public in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. The first module, by James W. Woods, presents a medical definition of high blood pressure, reviews its causes and effects, and discusses its treatment. A script to a slide version of this…

This participant manual is designed to provide an overview of federal laws and regulations pertaining to the confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records. The relationship of federal laws to state laws and regulations is also discussed. The materials, useful for persons involved in the fields of substance abuse treatment or…

Patient noncompliance with medical advice is of major concern to physicians. Although many do not consider compliance their responsibility, research studies indicate that physicians can control many of the variables influencing compliance. Physicians' verbal and nonverbal communication habits that convey directiveness, coldness, complexity, and…

A model developed by Transitional Services for New York, Inc., for collaboration between State and County government under private, not-for-profit auspices is described which attempts to assist the transition of former psychiatric patients into the community. The agency functions are described in terms of: (1) a tri-level housing network including…

The Vanderbilt Negative Indicators Scale (VNIS), an instrument designed to quantify characteristics of the patient, the therapist, and their interactions, was developed as part of an investigation of negative effects in psychotherapy by the Vanderbilt Psychotherapy Research Team. Revision of the original 25-item scale has proceeded in two major…

A structured technique for saying "good-bye," or terminating a relationship, an important aspect of the therapeutic relationship, is presented. It consists of three distinct phases that are all dynamically interrelated, and can also be structured into separation caused by death. The technique is described in terms of three specific areas…

Health professionals tend to view dying patients with two intertwined attitudes. On one hand the patient possesses an irreversible pathological condition and the doctor is obliged to help that patient embrace death with as much dignity as possible. On the other hand, the patient's imminent death is daily testimony to the limits of the doctor's…

The behaviorally-based weight control program conducted by Levitz and Jordan at the University of Pennsylvania and the Institute for Behavioral Education is tailored to patient needs and includes stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, and nutrition education. The success of patients in maintaining the clinically meaningful weight losses…

Group therapy and individual cognitive therapy were investigated with non-bipolar moderate-to-severely-depressed outpatients (N=44) assigned to group cognitive therapy, individual cognitive therapy only, or to individual cognitive therapy in combination with anti-depressant medication. Treatment efficacy was measured by self-report and a clinical…

In order to examine the effectiveness of a token economy program, sheltered workshop attendance of chronic schizophrenics was investigated under the following conditions: response cost versus no response cost consequences for nonattendance; response cost and noncontingent token payment; and restricted versus unrestricted mobility during the no…

A research project sponsored by Wofford College was launched in the summer of 1974 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to develop a system of communication by which hospital personnel working in an emergency room could communicate with patients who speak a language other than English. The project followed a year-long research effort of previous work…

An intense preoccupation with death is evident in the Mexican culture's pre-Columbian art, myths, and religion. This preoccupation is still present in the urban Mexican American. A death in a Mexican family causes a set of emotions and events quite different from those seen in an Anglo family. The Mexican reaction to death is such that if the full…

The purpose of this study was to determine for a sample of Montana families if a positive relationship existed between the family's socioeconomic status and its medical initiation behavior, and then, controlling for socioeconomic status, to determine if a relationship existed between initiation of professional medical care and a number of…

A major concern of this article is to document the role of paraprofessionals in providing services for clients in the mental health and psychiatric fields. There are basically three types of paraprofessionals. The first type is the "old" hospital worker; he does not have a college degree, is not indigenous to the community in which he is working,…