Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Nutrition Status Of Primary Care Patients With Depression And Anxiety, Adrienne K. Forsyth, Peter G. Williams, Frank P. Deane

Frank Deane

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutrition status of people referred to a nutrition and physical activity program for the management of mental health in a general practice.

An Indoor Localisation And Motion Monitoring System To Determine Behavioural Activity In Dementia Afflicted Patients In Aged Care, Matthew D'Souza, Montserrat Ros, Mohanraj Karunanithi

Dr Montserrat Ros

Dementia is highly prevalent among the older population. Most patients with dementia are admitted to an aged care facility due to wandering behaviour which tends to result in dangerous scenarios such as straying away from the facility and being seriously injured. Due to the decreasing availability of carers in aged care, there is a need to prioritise monitoring of patients that have a severe case of wondering. The challenge is to allow carers to monitor the status of such patients in terms of position localisation and motion behavioural status, in real-time. The long term behavioural analysis of such patients would …

Enhancing Patient Adherence: Outcomes Of Medication Alliance Training On Therapeutic Alliance, Insight, Adherence, And Psychopathology With Mental Health Patients, Mitchell Byrne, Frank Deane

Mitchell K Byrne

The results of interventions to enhance patient adherence to medication have been inconsistent. This research investigated the utility of an enhanced adherence training programme to ascertain its effectiveness and the possible mechanisms of that effect. Forty-six clinicians were trained in 'medication alliance', and data were collected from 51 patients matched to the clinician. Data on clinician changes in skills, knowledge, and attitudes, in relation to enhancing patient adherence and patient changes in adherence, insight, and psychopathology were collected at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. The quality of the therapeutic relationship between the clinician and the patient was also …

Mental Health Clinicians' Beliefs About Medicines, Attitudes, And Expectations Of Improved Medication Adherence In Patients, Mitchell Byrne, Peter Caputi, Frank Deane

Mitchell K Byrne

Nonadherence to antipsychotic medications remains a major factor in poor clinical outcomes. This study sought to identify clinician beliefs about patients who do not adhere to treatment, the clinicians' own beliefs about medicines, and the impact of beliefs on efforts to enhance patient adherence. In total, 292 clinicians responded to an anonymous questionnaire that included questions about their beliefs and their efforts to enhance adherence. Results indicated that clinicians' beliefs about their own adequacy to enhance adherence significantly predicted actual efforts to enhance adherence. Both pessimism about outcomes and empathy for the patient predicted outcome expectancy. It was concluded that …

Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Binding In The Posterior Cingulate Cortex In Schizophrenia Patients, Kelly Newell, Xu-Feng Huang, Katerina Zavitsanou

Xu-Feng Huang

No abstract provided.

Quality Of Systematic Therapeutic Homework Administration Procedures Facilitates Homework Completion In Patients With Severe And Persistent Mental Disorders, Peter Kelly, Frank Deane

Peter Kelly

Most clinicians who work with individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders requiring long term treatment indicate that they use therapeutic homework regularly in treatment. However, research indicates that only 15% of clinicians consistently use a systematic approach to homework administration that involves specifying details such as where, when, how long and how often the assignment should be completed. It has been theorised that systematic implementation of homework leads to improved homework performance. Systematic homework administration procedures were part of a study evaluating the effects of the Collaborative Recovery training program. Clinicians who completed the training implemented the methods they had learned …

Review And Critique Of The Quality Of Exercise Recommendations For Cancer Patients And Survivors, Nancy Humpel, Donald Iverson

Don C. Iverson

The benefit of exercise for cancer patients is starting to become recognized. The purposes of this paper were to review the literature to examine whether research findings are being converted into guidelines for patients and survivors and to examine the quality of evidence on which they were based. A computer search of major health databases was conducted for peer-reviewed literature and books on exercise and cancer, and an Internet search was conducted for cancer websites reporting any exercise guidelines/recommendations for cancer patients. Seven peer-reviewed articles, eight books and eight cancer websites were identified that suggested exercise guidelines for cancer patients …

Involving Providers And Patients In Cancer Control And Prevention Efforts. Barriers To Overcome, Donald Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Although progress has been made in providing cancer prevention and control services to the population, there remain sizeable segments of the population that are either uninvolved or underinvolved with national and state efforts. One method of reaching most of the population, including those segments currently not involved or underinvolved, is through primary care clinicians. Effective, albeit imperfect, strategies to increase the involvement of primary care clinicians in cancer prevention and control are available, and there is emerging evidence that these strategies are making a difference. Unfortunately, the progress made to date is at risk of being lost because of economic …

Patients With New Headache In Primary Care: A Report From Aspn, L Becker, Donald Iverson, F Reed, N Calonge, R Miller, W Freeman

Don C. Iverson

From a consecutive series of 3,847 headache patients, 1,331 patients who made first visits for new headache to 120 primary care physicians were studied for usual care over a 14-month period. Either tension or vascular headache was the initial diagnosis in 23.8 percent and 12.8 percent of patients, respectively. Nearly one half (47.8 percent) were classified as having headaches other than tension or vascular. A total of 15.3 percent of headaches were undiagnosed or were regarded as a mixture of traditional diagnostic designations. At first visit, most patients (76.6 percent) were managed without diagnostic tests. Drugs were prescribed for 73.6 …

The Older Patient, The Doctor And The Trainee: Patients' Attitudes And Implications For Models Of Care, Andrew Bonney, Sandra Jones, Donald Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Aims & rationale/Objectives Population ageing poses major challenges for health systems. Additionally, training future general practitioners in the management of older and chronically ill patients is potentially hampered by the reluctance of these patients to consult trainees for chronic care. This paper reports a cross-sectional study investigating the attitudes of older patients to trainees, to inform strategies to improve older patient-trainee interaction. Methods The survey instrument was distributed to 1900 patients aged 60 and over from 38 training practices from five Australian states using a stratified, randomised cluster sampling process. Generalised estimating equation models were used for analysis. Principal findings …

Patients' Attitudes To General Practice Registrars: A Review Of The Literature, Andrew Bonney, Lyn Phillipson, Samantha Reis, Sandra Jones, Donald Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Introduction With the population ageing, it is imperative for training practices to provide GP registrars with sound experience in managing the health problems of older persons, especially chronic conditions. However, it is reported that a significant proportion of these patients will be resistant to consulting registrars, with concerns regarding disruption of continuity of care being a significant factor. The challenge for training practices is to identify approaches to engage registrars in the management of older patients whilst maintaining patient satisfaction. This paper presents a review of the literature on patient attitudes to general practice registrars to better understand the nature …

Older Patients' Attitudes To General Practice Registrars: A Qualitative Study, Andrew Bonney, Lyn Phillipson, Sandra Jones, Donald Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Background Research suggests that older patients may be reluctant to engage general practice registrars (GPRs) in their care. The authors undertook a qualitative study of the attitudes of older patients to GPRs to investigate this issue. Method Thirty-eight patients aged 60 years and over from three training practices participated in semistructured telephone interviews, which explored patients responses to GPRs. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using a template analysis approach. Results Analysis of the interviews produced five major themes concerning patient attitudes to GPRs: desire for continuity, desire for access, openness, trust and a desire for meaningful communication. Discussion …

General Practice Registrars: Attitudes Of Older Patients, Andrew D. Bonney, Sandra C. Jones, Lyn Phillipson, Donald C. Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Previous research indicates that older patients may be less willing to consult general practice registrars (GPRs), reducing training opportunities in chronic/complex care. This survey explores older patients’ attitudes in order to inform models of interaction that would be acceptable to patients. METHODS Ten training general practices distributed questionnaires for self completion to 50 patients aged 60 years and over. Chi-square, Spearman’s rho and logistic regression were used for analysis. RESULTS The response rate was 47%. Ninetysix percent wanted ongoing contact with their general practitioner if they saw a GPR. Twenty-four percent were comfortable with GPR chronic/complex care, increasing to 73% …

Preparing For An Ageing Population: A Survey Of Older Patients' Attitudes To General Practice Registrars, Andrew D. Bonney, Sandra C. Jones, Lyn Phillipson, Donald C. Iverson

Don C. Iverson

The ageing population makes it imperative to provide appropriate training for general practice registrars (GPRs) in the community-based care of older patients. However, data suggest that older patients may be less willing to consult GPRs for chronic/complex care; adversely affecting training opportunities and potentially the satisfaction of older patients in training practices. This cross-sectional study was undertaken to investigate this concern in the Australian context and develop models of older patient-GPR interaction that are acceptable to patients.

Gender Differences In Cognitive Function Of Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia, Mei Han, Xu-Feng Huang, Da Chun Chen, Mei Hong Xiu, Li Hui, Haibo Liu, Thomas R. Kosten, Xiang Yang Zhang

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Schizophrenic patients have cognitive impairments, but gender differences in these cognitive deficits have had limited study. This study assessed cognitive functioning in 471 subjects including 122 male and 78 female schizophrenic patients and 141 male and 130 female healthy controls. We found that immediate memory, language, delayed memory and total RBANS scores were significantly decreased in schizophrenia compared with healthy controls for both genders. Male patients had significant lower immediate memory, delayed memory and total RBANS scores than female patients, and healthy controls showed a similar gender difference. The RBANS showed modest correlations with PANSS scores, duration of illness and …

Care Of Patients With A Diagnosis Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial, Nicholas Zwar, Oshana Hermiz, Elizabeth J. Comino, Sandy Middleton, Sanjyot Vagholkar, Wei Xuan, Stephen F. Wilson, Guy B. Marks

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Objective: To evaluate a partnership model of care for patients with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Design, setting and participants: Cluster randomised controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment of 44 general practices in south-western Sydney comprising 451 people with a diagnosis of COPD, conducted between 2006 and 2009. Intervention: Participants from intervention group practices were visited at their home by a registered nurse with specific training in COPD care who worked with the general practitioner, the patient and other health professionals to develop and implement an individualised care plan based on best-practice guidelines. Participants from control group …

The Impact Of Cannabis Use On Cognitive Functioning In Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis Of Existing Findings And New Data In A First-Episode Sample, Murat Yücel, Emre Bora, Daniel I. Lubman, Nadia Solowij, Warrick J. Brewer, Sue M. Cotton, Phillipe Conus, Michael J. Takagi, Alex Fornito, Stephen J. Wood, Patrick D. Mcgorry, Christos Pantelis

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cannabis use is highly prevalent among people with schizophrenia, and coupled with impaired cognition, is thought to heighten the risk of illness onset. However, while heavy cannabis use has been associated with cognitive deficits in long-term users, studies among patients with schizophrenia have been contradictory. This article consists of 2 studies. In Study I, a meta-analysis of 10 studies comprising 572 patients with established schizophrenia (with and without comorbid cannabis use) was conducted. Patients with a history of cannabis use were found to have superior neuropsychological functioning. This finding was largely driven by studies that included patients with a lifetime …

Nutrition Status Of Primary Care Patients With Depression And Anxiety, Adrienne K. Forsyth, Peter G. Williams, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutrition status of people referred to a nutrition and physical activity program for the management of mental health in a general practice.

An Indoor Localisation And Motion Monitoring System To Determine Behavioural Activity In Dementia Afflicted Patients In Aged Care, Matthew D'Souza, Montserrat Ros, Mohanraj Karunanithi

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Dementia is highly prevalent among the older population. Most patients with dementia are admitted to an aged care facility due to wandering behaviour which tends to result in dangerous scenarios such as straying away from the facility and being seriously injured. Due to the decreasing availability of carers in aged care, there is a need to prioritise monitoring of patients that have a severe case of wondering. The challenge is to allow carers to monitor the status of such patients in terms of position localisation and motion behavioural status, in real-time. The long term behavioural analysis of such patients would …

Physical Activity And Energy Expenditure In Haemodialysis Patients: An International Survey, Carla Maria Avesani, Stanislas Trolonge, Patrik Deleaval, Flavia Baria, Denise Mafra, Gerd Faxen-Irving, Phillipe Chauveau, Daniel Teta, Maria Ayako Kamimura, Maria Chan, Lilian Cuppari, Olof Heimburger, Denis Fouque

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background. The assessment of physical activity and energy expenditure is relevant to the care of maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate measurements of physical activity and energy expenditure in MHD patients from different centres and countries and explored the predictors of physical activity in these patients. Methods. In this cross-sectional multicentre study, 134MHD patients from four countries (France, Switzerland, Sweden and Brazil) were included. The physical activity was evaluated for 5.0 6 1.4 days (mean 6 SD) by a multisensory device (SenseWear Armband) and comprised the assessment of number of steps per day, activity-related …

Needs Assessment Of Emergency Department Social Workers In Southwestern Minnesota In Relation To Emergency Department Expansion, Gina Marie Njugunah

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Expansion of a hospital emergency department will affect the role of the emergency department social worker. This research project was conducted to assess the needs, concerns, and strengths of the social workers working in the emergency department of a regional medical center. The study included 13 participants who completed an on-line survey. Results showed that participants were concerned with the increase in patient volume as well as the possible increase in wait time for patients. Participants also expressed how concerns could be addressed. The most common solution was to track information about the cases, including wait times for patients, in …

Stroke Rehabilitation, Length-Of-Stay, And Re-Admission Rates: A Literature Review, Morgen Hagedorn

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Stroke is shown to be a significant U.S. health problem with a profound impact on the nation’s rising healthcare costs (Hall, Levant, & DeFrances, 2012). Longer patient length-of-stay [LOS] and higher re-admission rates have brought consequences to healthcare systems as institutional budgets are unable to reconcile the additional services and the influx of healthcare demands. Through a comprehensive literature review, the author illustrates the general knowledge available on the stroke experience, on stroke care and rehabilitation, and on patient LOS and re-admission rates. The literature review is based on general medical research with a focus on the stroke population. The …

Bridging Tactics: Parental Support Systems: A Proposal For A Psycho-Educational Parent Group, Emily F. Thompson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this Capstone project is to design and present a new intervention program for increasing supportive services to the parents of clients being served through the infant/early childhood mental health program at CSSM. The goal of this project is to provide CSSM with a culturally-­responsive, theoretically grounded, evidence-­based proposal for the development of a psycho-educational group that includes a clear rationale for why this intervention is needed and how it will help the agency achieve the outcomes of infant/early childhood mental health program.

Survey Of Emergency Department Patients' Perceived Barriers To Accessing Services And Community Resource Utilization, Kelsey Ann Wilke

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project is to describe the patients being served by Avera McKennan’s emergency department (ED) and to explore perceived barriers to accessing services and current community resource utilization in order to prevent further non-emergent visits.

Research Questions: 1) What are the demographic characteristics of emergency department patients that are referred to the emergency department social worker? 2) What are the perceived barriers that emergency department patient’s encounter when trying to access services and community resources?