Decision criteria for predicting adherence for psychiatric emergency room patients with referral appointments

This paper describes and evaluates a method of predicting referral appointment-keeping behavior for psychiatric emergency room patients. Studies have shown that referral systems which provide appointments and reminders achieve higher appointment adherence. However, studies have not been conducted of those experiencing a good referral system to predict adherence behavior and indicate further areas for improvement.Discriminant analysis is applied to patient's psychiatric signs and symptoms for selecting variables that predict referral appointment keeping behavior. All patients seen during a 6 week period were selected from a 1,000 bed hospital's Psychiatric Emergency Room. The data were collected during the patient's visit to the psychiatric emergency room and prior to aftercare treatment. The subset of non-psychotic patients requiring outpatient psychiatric care was the focus of this analysis. The model indicates that patient's adherence with referral appointment can be predicted with 76% accuracy using the best three discriminating variables. This prediction per cent increases to 97% with all contributing variables. The non-adherers are identified with 66% and 100% accuracy, respectively. Distressingly, “Suicidal Behavior” and “Potentially Harming Others” relates to non-adherence. If the non-compliant emergency patient, especially those dangerous to themselves and others, can be identified in advance, the care systems can be changed to increase the number of patients following referral recommendations. This reduces both initial treatment cost and avoids cost resulting from more severe illnesses arising for lack of initial treatment.     

Subtyping versus subgrouping processes in stereotype representation.

Participants were instructed to organize information about group members either by distinguishing stereotype-consistent from stereotype-inconsistent individuals (subtyping instructions), by dividing the individuals into multiple groups on the basis of similarities and differences (subgrouping instructions), or with no explicit organizing instructions. Participants given the subtyping instructions showed greater perceived stereotypicality and homogeneity and perceived a greater difference in how typical the confirming versus disconfirming group members were, relative to subgroup participants. Study 2 demonstrated natural variation among participants in the perceived atypicality of the disconfirming relative to confirming individuals when learning about a gay activist group. Atypicality predicted perceptions of this group, even when prejudice and strength of stereotyping toward gays as a whole were statistically controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation psychology: Exploring issues.

Rehabilitation Psychology has several goals. One of its primary functions is to disseminate information that promotes the effective use of knowledge. While really new and current developments in rehabilitation interventions having psychological components may be known to the reader long before discussion of them appears in Rehabilitation Psychology, few "new findings" are dealt with to everyone's complete satisfaction. Many opinions exist about the efficacy of most innovative strategies; these conflicting views often are diverse, if not controversial. Therefore, it is helpful to provide professionals a forum in which they can discuss a problem and offer different viewpoints and perspectives that promote its resolution. I hope to make the journal such a forum within which these varying viewpoints can be heard. As Editor, I view Rehabilitation Psychology as being the single most significant organ through which the field can acquire additional clarity and identity. I view the role of Editor as being similar to that of a gatekeeper. The role entails major responsibility for ensuring that clinicians and academicians have an opportunity to present their findings and their opinions about critical issues facing the field. It is a role I hope to fulfill with competence and sensitivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the intermolecular potential in solid N2

An anisotropic intermolecular potential for solid N₂ is proposed in terms of a sum of multipole-like interactions. The potential is shown to lead to an - transition. Furthermore, the hexadecapolar terms in the hard-core potential reduce the libronic frequencies atT=0K to approximately those calculated with the electric quadrupole potential alone. It is suggested that the smallness of the hexadecapolar terms in the 6–12 atom—atom potential accounts for its inability to explain the properties of solid N₂ Research supported by the USAF-Aerospace Research Laboratory under contract no. F-3-3615-71-C-1820.     

Analysis of disclosure avoidance procedures

In the collection of data on environmental health, individuals are frequently reluctant to be entirely candid with surveyors because of concern over the confidentiality of responses. A standard procedure is to inoculate the response with random modification (or error) so that it becomes impossible to identify individual respondents but quite possible to generate unbiased statistical summaries of the entire sample. This paper is directed at generating methods for such random inoculation and abstracting from the inoculated results those conclusions concerning sample response and population estimates. A numerical example of a bivariate randomized procedure is given.     

TRANSIENT THERMAL STRESSES IN A CHEMICALLY HARDENING MATERIAL CAST WITHIN AN ELASTIC CYLINDRICAL MOLD

Abstract

A method is formulated for determining the transient thermal stresses that evolve during the molding process within a material hardening as the result of an exothermic chemical reaction. The formulation is applied to the restricted case in which the shear-to-bulk-modulus ratio for the fully hardened material is small, and where the material is cast in the form of an infinitely long solid cylinder in a thermally thin elastic mold. The heat-generation rate and temperature variation are derived from a first-order chemical reaction. The solidification of the material is described by a transformation from an initial liquidlike state to an elastic solid, with thermoelastic constitutive rate equations during the hardening process based upon a two-component mixture model whose composition is related to the degree of reaction. Graphs for transient stresses and residual stress distributions are shown in terms of dimensionless variables, with hardening rate related to thermochemical constants, and with the elastic properties of the poured material and mold as parameters. Illustrative examples are analyzed to show the existence of tensile stresses that may be associated with cracking during the molding process, and containment stresses in the mold arising from thermal expansion of the hardening material. Material properties are listed to form numerical estimates of the dimensionless variables.     

Formulation Compatibility of Myristyl Nicotinate with Drugs Used to Treat Dermatological Conditions Involving an Impaired Skin Barrier

A number of dermatology conditions including skin photodamage, atopic dermatitis, and rosacea involve skin barrier impairment and first line therapies for these conditions including retinoids and steroids further impair skin barrier function. We have evaluated the compatibility of myristyl nicotinate, an agent that enhances skin barrier function, with drugs used to treat conditions where skin barrier impairment is present including photodamage (retinoic acid), atopic dermatitis (hydrocortisone, triamcinolone acetonide), rosacea (metronidazole), and seborrheic dermatitis (ketoconazole). Myristyl nicotinate was found to be compatible with each of the drugs examined when formulated together and also was shown to be photocompatible with retinoic acid. Our results suggest that the combination of myristyl nicotinate with these drugs is a feasible therapeutic development strategy.     

Caregiver Resentment: Explaining Why Care Recipients Exhibit Problem Behavior.

Objective: To determine how attributions caregivers make about the source of problem behavior of frail, older care recipients may contribute to caregiver resentment of care recipients and obligations associated with providing care. Design: Cross-sectional interview data, screened according to primary cause of need for care. Participants: 103 caregiver-care recipient dyads in which care recipient was cognitively impaired (CI; n = 72) or physically disabled without cognitive impairment (n = 31). Outcome Measure: 17-item Caregiver Resentment Scale. Results: Caregivers of CI elders reported providing more care in response to CI-related care recipient disturbing behavior. However, beyond the source of impairment, disturbing (externally attributable) behavior typical of CI, and amount of care provided, resentment was predicted by controlling and manipulative (internally attributable) care recipient behavior. Conclusions: Caregivers are more resentful when care recipients are difficult in ways that they can attribute to the person rather than to the illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)