Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Liberty Without Capacity: Why States Should Ban Adolescent Driving, Vivian E. Hamilton

Vivian E. Hamilton

No abstract provided.

Biting The Hands That Feed “The Alligators”: A Case Study In Morbid Obesity Extremes, End-Of-Life Care, And Prohibitions On Harming And Accelerating The End Of Life, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

Obesity, recognized as a disease in the U.S. and at times as a terminal illness due to associated medical complications, is an American epidemic according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), American Heart Association (“AHA”), and other authorities. More than one third of Americans (39.8% of adults and 18.5% of children) are medically obese. This article focuses on cases of “extreme morbid obesity” (“EMO”)—situations in which death is imminent without aggressive medical interventions, and bariatric surgery is the only treatment option with a realistic possibility of success. Bariatric surgeries themselves are very high risk for EMO patients. …

Targets Of Therapeutic Intervention For Prevention Of Repeated Hospitalization: Need For Developing ‘Personalised Care Model’, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Targets of therapeutic intervention for prevention of repeated hospitalization: need for developing ‘personalised care model’

Amresh Srivastava1, Coralee Belmont 2, Miky Kaushal 3, Avinash DeSouza 4 Robbie Campbell 5 and Larry Stitt 6 1. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, The Western University, Associate Scientist, and Lawson Health research Institute. Consultant psychiatrist Adult Ambulatory and Psychosis Program. Parkwood Institute Wellington Road. London. ON, N6C 0A7 2. Psychiatric Social worker southwest forensic mental health. St. Thomas 3. Research Fellow, Regional mental health St. Thomas 4. Research Fellow, LTMG Medical College and mental Health Resource Foundation, Mumbai, India 5. Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry. The …

Positive Psychiatry, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Revolutionary advances in understanding mental disorders and in providing novel treatments have enhanced the expectations of patients and relatives. There is a growing demand on newer research in providing interventions that allow patients to live a normal life. Of late, concept of the illness itself has undergone significant change. It is now proposed that expected outcome from treatment of mental disorder is to achieve a state of ‚ ‘wellness.’ Positive psychiatry is a newer branch of psychological medicine that seeks to promote understanding of wellness and examines its application in intervention and prevention of mental disorders. The concept of positive …

Behavioural Charactertics Of Patients Vulnerable For Repeated Hospitalisation, Amresh Srivastava, Coralee Berlmont, Miky Kaushal, Avinash Desouza, Robbie Campbell, Larry Stitt

Amresh Srivastava

Background

Re-hospitalization which takes place in about 30 to 50% postdischarge patienst, leads to poor outcome, increased rate of mortality and consumes more than 2/3 of budgetary allocations. Inability to identify vulnerable candidates for repeated admissions limits our options for strategic treatment.

Methods

In this prospective study conducted at Regional Mental Health Care ( Presently Parkwood Institute) 101 patienst ( 51 feamles, mean age 43 years), were examined using standard psychometric tools on parameters of clinical, psychopathological, suicide behaviour and resiliency for their risk and preventive characerstics.

Results

We assessed 101 subjects (51 females) with mean age of 42 years. …

Should Suicide Behaviour Be An Outcome Parameter For Mental Disorder, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Suicide and mental illness are closely related to each other. A high number of people who commit suicide suffer from a mental illness, and a high number of mentally ill patients exhibit suicide behavior. Suicide behavior is a significant aspect of mental illness. It is consistently observed throughout the course of illness, seen in the prodromal stage, during acute phase of remission, in residual phase and whenever illness relapses. A number of times, mental disorder improves but suicide behavior persists. 10-15% patients attempt suicide in the initial phase of an illness. More than half of the patients get hospitalized due …

Abc Of Severe Mental Illnesses, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava MD,MRCPsych,FRCPC Associate Professore of Psychiatry Western University London.ON Severe Mental Illnesses: Training and Education - About 4% patients in the community suffer from severe mental illness and about 16% from ‘any mental disorder’ Maximum financial and human resource allocations for mental health is consumed in managing severe mental disorders, leaving very little for treatment of early phase of illness and for developing preventive program. All of us, psychiatrists, family physicians, other mental health professionals like, nurse, psychologists, socal workers, occupational therapists, counsellors, and members of advocacy groups and mental health organisations, face the challenge for managing patients who …

Creating Healthy Community In The Postindustrial City, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

Capitalizing On Distinctiveness: Creating Wv For A New Economy, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

This article explores use of images and ideas of place to promote particular social and economic agendas within the regional context of Appalachia. Despite prevailing imageries of backwardness and isolation that adhere to the region, as well as recent history of often-bleak economic conditions, communities such as Huntington, West Virginia, are ideal places to observe inventive forms of community-building, place-making, and place-marketing that borrow from emerging cultural and economic models and stand in sharp contrast to a once dominant paradigm that encouraged capital investment by relying simply on tax breaks and the provision of cheap land and labor to attract …

Role Of Multiple Births In Very Low Birth Weight And Infant Mortality, B. Magee

B. Dale Magee

OBJECTIVE: To determine the percentage of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants (g) and infant deaths attributable to multiple births in the general population and in women aged 35+. STUDY DESIGN: The year 2000 Massachusetts birth certificate database with linked births-deaths was examined. Etiologic fractions (EF) for VLBW and infant mortality attributable to multiples were calculated for the general population and the 35+ age group. The percentages of multiples occurring in the 35+ age group were calculated. Infant deaths due to congenital anomalies and "perinatal conditions" were calculated. RESULTS: There were 81,582 resident births in Massachusetts in 2000. Of them 4.3% were multiples. …

Balancing Work And Family: Effect Of Employment Characteristics On Breastfeeding, Chinelo Ogbuanu, Saundra Glover, Janice Probst, James Hussey, Jihong Liu

Jihong Liu

No abstract provided.

Cultural Competency In New Jersey: Evolution From Planning To Law, Debbie Salas-Lopez, Linda Holmes, Dawne Mouzon, Maria Soto-Greene

Debbie Salas-Lopez MD, MPH

No abstract provided.

How Will Public Health And Primary Care Come Together In Massachusetts?

Javier Crespo

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to place public health and prevention practice closer to the clinical care delivery system by mandating basic preventive services and creating a national prevention plan. The Massachusetts health care system has a number of elements that can help foster closer linking of public health practices in the primary care setting. This research set out to examine whether the current healthcare system in Massachusetts will enable public health and primary care integration as intimated upon by the Affordable Care Act. This study will assess the current connection between public health and primary care …

A New Brief Scale To Assess Suicidality: Scale For Impact Of Suicidality-Management, Assessment And Planning Of Care (Sis-Map- Brief Scanner), Amresh Srivastava, Megan Johnston, Miky Kaushal, Robbie Campbell, Charles Nelson

Amresh Srivastava

Purpose: In this study we examine merit of a short version (Brief Interview Screener (SIS-MAP-scn )of a previously developed and validated 108 item scale, known as ‘ Scale for Impact of Suicidality-Management, Assessment and Planning of Care ( SIS MAP), for rapid assessment in challenging clinical settings e.g. primary care and emergency room. Background: Generally suicide risk is assessed clinically and structured assessments optimize the direction for decision-making across various settings e.g. inpatient care, emergency rooms and crisis centers. We believe that measures with accurate and valid information should be based upon multifactorial risk-constituent domains, e.g. biological, social, psychological, environmental …

Eating Disorders Remain Undetected In Psychiatric Hospitalization: Study Of Electronic Chart Review Of 8000 Patients, Amresh Srivastava, Miky Kaushal, Megan Johnston, Robbie Campbell

Amresh Srivastava

No abstract provided.

Eating Disorders Remain Undetected In Psychiatric Hospitalization: Study Of Electronic Chart Review Of 8000 Patients, Amresh Srivastava, Miky Kaushal, Megan Johnston, Robbie Campbell

Amresh Srivastava

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Based Practice For Public Health Project: Final Report, E. Hatheway Simpson, Elaine R. Martin

E. Hatheway Simpson

There are numerous clinically based models for finding the “best evidence” for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. This process is called evidence-based medicine or EBM, which has been defined as "the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research”.¹ The need for improved access to high quality public health information has been echoed in various forums involving public health professionals, librarians, and information specialists since the mid 1990s. …

Improving Access To Credible And Relevant Information For Public Health Professionals: A Qualitative Study Of Information Needs In Communicable Disease Control, Nancy R. Lapelle, E. Hatheway Simpson, Roger S. Luckmann, Elaine Russo Martin

E. Hatheway Simpson

In order to understand the information needs and the current and ideal approaches to information access in one major area of public health, semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with 12 communicable disease control public health professionals in Massachusetts at their worksite. Examples of the types of information they commonly accessed and how it was accessed were solicited and/or observed where feasible. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Information needs ranged from breaking news (e.g. epidemiology of emerging disease outbreaks) and untested programmatic ideas (e.g. how to handle prevention and treatment of West Nile Virus and SARS) to the …

Evidence-Based Public Health: Findings From A Research Project And Resources For Practice, E. Hatheway Simpson

E. Hatheway Simpson

This presentation to the University of Massachusetts Medical School Preventive Medicine Residency Program presents an introduction to evidence-based public health (EBPH), and overview of the Lamar Soutter Library’s Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health (EBPPH) project and research findings, and selected examples of EBPH information resources available from the project’s website, http://library.umassmed.edu/ebpph.

Providing Evidence-Based Public Health Resources: The Librarian’S Role, E. Hatheway Simpson

E. Hatheway Simpson

This presentation introduces the concepts of evidence-based public health (EBPH) and provides examples of EBPH information resources available online from the Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health website, http://library.umassmed.edu/ebpph and the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce website, http://PHPartners.org. Health science librarians, as information specialists and knowledge managers, have the ability to search and find the best evidence to help public health practitioners make informed practice decisions. Presented at the North Atlantic Health Science Libraries Annual Meeting, Providence, RI, September 27, 2005.

Addressing Externalities From Swine Production To Reduce Public Health And Environmental Impacts., David Osterberg, David Wallinga

David Osterberg

Animal agriculture in the United States for the most part has industrialized, with negative consequences for air and water quality and antibiotic use. We consider health and environmental impacts of current US swine production and give an overview of current federal, state, and local strategies being used to address them.

Education And Training For Human Resource Development For Suicide Prevention' In Low And Middle Income Countries, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Developing countries have more than two-thirds share of suicide in the world with dismal numbers of trained professionals. WHO data shows that more than 90% suicide occurs in the mentally ill individuals. Lack of effective manpower continues to be one of the three main barriers for prevention of suicide world over, particularly in developing countries, followed only by stigma and non-availability of care. Therefore training and education, especially for people, like teachers and health workers, who are in direct contact with vulnerable groups, can help increase identification of individuals with related problems, offer support, and make a referral. Though the …

Suicide Prevention: Education And Training For Mental Health Professional, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

RISK ASSESSMENT OF SUICIDE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE AMRESH SHRIVASTAVA1.

Suicide is a public health problem presents as the most serious psychiatric emergency. Identification and assessment of suicidality is a skill that every physician needs to have, skills for identification and intervention Risk assessments are done in number of settings like: emergency rooms, psychiatric outpatient, primary care, general medical wards, post-operative and intensive care settings, crisis centers, day hospitals for crisis beds, telephone helplines, psychiatric outpatients, psychiatric acute services, community psychiatry settings, early intervention programs, sometimes in special settings like jails, prisons, schools, workplaces and legal justice systems. In every setting …

A Study Of Resilience Amongst People Who Lost Their Relatives In Natural Calamity: Uttarakhand In Northern India., Amresh Srivastava, Chetan Lokhande, Nilesh Mohite, Avinash Desouza, Nilesh Shah

Amresh Srivastava

Background

Natural disasters can be a devastating experience for anyone. Mental disorders are common amongst survivors of natural disasters. Resilience is a significant factor that helps these survivors overcome this traumatic episode. In this study, we attempt to examine whether the level of resilience differs with nature of loss, in this case a natural calamity.

However, it remains undetermined if the level of resilience has any relation with the nature of trauma.

Resilience is one attribute that helps an individual recovers from a disastrous event It is a dynamic process, enabling an individual to successfully adapt to severe adversities. It …

What Prevents Re-Hospitalization? The Patents Of Psychopathology: Patient-Centric Management Of Psychopathology, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

What prevents re-hospitalization? The patents or psychopathology: Patient-centric management of psychopathology

Authors: Amresh Shrivastava, Coralee Belmont, Miky Kaushal, Avinash DeSouza, and Robble Campbell

Background Re-hospitalization is one of the priority areas of research. About 30 – 50% patients are re-hospitalized within one year of discharge. Inability to identify vulnerable candidates for repeated admissions limits our options for strategic treatment. Hospitalization occurs despite best possible community care. It is likely that untreated clinical or psychopathological may be responsible for re-admission which have not been addressed. Early initiation of effective post discharge treatment, prior to discharge may offer good benefit however indicators …

Evaluation Of Physical Fitness And Weight Status Among Fisherwomen In Relation To Their Occupational Workload, Pallav Sengupta

Pallav Sengupta, PhD

Fisherwomen contribute significantly to the coastal economy of Eastern India; however, data about their physical fitness and weight status are scant.

OBJECTIVES:

The present cross-sectional study was designed to investigate cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status of fisherwomen, which may be influenced by their occupational workload, using morphometric and anthropometric measures.

METHODS:

The study was conducted among young fisherwomen (mean age 23.7 years) randomly selected from Araku, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and among young women who are not engaged in the fishing industry but are residents of Araku, who served as controls (mean age 21.3 years). Measurements of body composition included several …

A Small-Scale Cross-Sectional Study For The Assessment Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness In Relation To Body Composition And Morphometric Characters In Fishermen Of Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh, India, Pallav Sengupta

Pallav Sengupta, PhD

BACKGROUND:

The people residing in coastal areas of Visakhapatnam are mostly engaged in fishery, which is always been a physically demanding job, and numerous factors have direct or indirect impact on the health of fishermen; but, the data about their physical fitness or health status is quite scanty. Thus, the present study was conducted to assess their cardiorespiratory fitness pattern, as well as morphometric characters, which may be influenced by their occupation.

METHODS:

In this retrospective cohort study, 25 young fishermen (mean age of 22.8 ± 1.92 years) were randomly selected from Araku valley of Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh and …

Return On Investment In Prevention And Public Health: Overview And Opportunity, Cezar Brian C. Mamaril

Cezar Brian C Mamaril

No abstract provided.

Objectively Measured Physical Activity And Fat Mass In A Large Cohort Of Children, Andy R. Ness, Sam D. Leary, Calum Mattocks, Steven N. Blair, John J. Reilly, Jonathan Wells, Sue Ingle, Kate Tilling, George Davey Smith, Chris J. Riddoch

John Reilly

Background: Previous studies have been unable to characterise the association between physical activity and obesity, possibly because most relied on inaccurate measures of physical activity and obesity.

Methods and Findings: We carried out a cross sectional analysis on 5,500 12-year-old children enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Total physical activity and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured using the Actigraph accelerometer. Fat mass and obesity (defined as the top decile of fat mass) were measured using the Lunar Prodigy dual x-ray emission absorptiometry scanner. We found strong negative associations between MVPA and …

Male Reproductive Health And Yoga, Pallav Sengupta

Pallav Sengupta, PhD

Now-a-days reproductive health problems along with infertility in male is very often observed. Various Assisted Reproductive Technologies have been introduced to solve the problem, but common people cannot afford the cost of such procedures. Various ayurvedic and other alternative medicines, along with regular yoga practice are proven to be not only effective to enhance the reproductive health in men to produce a successful pregnancy, but also to regulate sexual desire in men who practice celibacy. Yoga is reported to reduce stress and anxiety, improve autonomic functions by triggering neurohormonal mechanisms by the suppression of sympathetic activity, and even, today, several …