International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: An Introduction for Rehabilitation Psychologists.

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) represents a new way for rehabilitation psychologists and other health care providers to classify health and functioning. The ICF classifies functioning and disability through the constructs of Body Functions and Structures and Activities and Participation and addresses contextual influences through Environmental and Personal Factors. The ICF and its companion classification, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, provide a complementary, broad, and meaningful picture of the health of an individual or of entire populations. Research and clinical implementation efforts suggest that the ICF is a useful and meaningful public health tool. The development of the ICF and its universe and scope of application are reviewed. Critical concepts are defined, the structure of the ICF is illustrated, and clinical-research utility are featured in light of the ethical considerations for responsible use by rehabilitation psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cost-effective delivery of rehabilitation psychology services: The responsible utilization of paraprofessionals.

The new and rapidly changing health care environment necessitates innovation on the part of rehabilitation psychology to achieve cost-effectiveness. This innovation could take the form of rehabilitation psychologists' responsibly using bachelor's-level technicians, or paraprofessionals, in the delivery of clinical services. This article proposes a pyramid model of rehabilitation psychology service delivery using paraprofessionals and psychology trainees. Specific clinical activities appropriate for paraprofessionals are outlined. Controversies regarding use of bachelor's-level paraprofessionals and the inflationary process of over-credentialing doctoral-level psychologists are discussed. It is proposed that psychology interns and residents be cross-trained in allied health skills so that psychology trainees can provide clinical support to other health care disciplines, thereby improving the cost-effectiveness of, and preserving, hospital-based psychology training programs. The article emphasizes the need for doctoral-level rehabilitation psychologists to adopt administrative roles in medical settings in order to implement innovative service models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Operationalizing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in Clinical Settings.

Functional status may be a better indicator of health care needs and outcomes than diagnosis. Appropriate use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in health service settings can provide a standardized way for clinicians to communicate complex clinical assessments to other professionals, administrators, and payers. The American Psychological Association is working with the World Health Organization to develop a Procedural Manual and Guide for a Standardized Application of the ICF for use by multidisciplinary health professionals. The Procedural Manual includes operational definitions of concepts, examples of each code, and assessment information relevant to each qualifier. The purpose of the Procedural Manual is to provide health professionals with the guidance necessary for reliable, valid, and clinically useful classification. This article discusses a range of issues and problems in the application of individual ICF codes in the context of health care and offers some potential solutions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Contemporary Literature Overview.

This article reviews the literature from the 3 years since the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health's (ICF's) endorsement, focusing on those articles that discuss (a) what the ICF means and how it can be used; (b) the general utility of the ICF for specific fields, such as nursing, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and audiology; (c) examples of applications for classification in particular disorders, such as chronic health conditions, neuromusculoskeletal conditions, cognitive disorders, mental disorders, sensory disorders, and primary and secondary conditions in children; (d) uses of the ICF to recode prior work across multiple surveys and across country coding schemes on disability-related national survey items; and (e) governmental uses of the ICF in the United States and selected countries abroad. Future directions needed to effectively implement the ICF across rehabilitation policy, research, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology in the community: Initial services in Britain.

216 clinical psychologists (33% response) in Great Britain and Northern Ireland responded to a questionnaire planned to identify the work they do in collaboration with general practitioners. Ss indicated strong interest in community psychology, a desire for training in this area, and a great need for further expansion. At present no financial provision exists for such work in the National Health Service, and there is little prospect of such provision except through area (or district) psychological services. It is suggested that these area or district psychological services could be the platform for a more revolutionary service in which psychology is applied to nonpsychiatric health problems and to behavior problems of the health services delivery system itself. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Barriers to the provision of mental health services to individuals with severe physical disability.

Surveyed 86 consumer advocates (67 with physical disabilities), 157 rehabilitation counselors, 94 rehabilitation administrators, 323 mental health administrators and professionals, and 145 severely disabled Ss concerning Ss' perceptions of the nature and extent of mental health services, barriers to mental health service provision for individuals with severe physical disabilities, and personal data. Overall, there was a general consistency among the sample groups in their perceptions of the extent to which each of 10 variables is a barrier to service delivery. The lack of accessible public transportation, especially in nonmetropolitan areas, and the accompanying limitation on costly mental health outreach services were viewed as serious problems. The limited knowledge and skills of many mental health professional regarding severe physical disability was perceived to be a moderate to substantial barrier to service provision. Findings indicate that individuals with severe physical disability are an underserved group. Recommendations regarding policy and program development and training of professionals are offered. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inpatient rehabilitation diabetes consult service: A rehabilitation psychology approach to assessment and intervention.

Problem: Diabetes clinical practice recommendations call for assessment and intervention on diabetes self-management during inpatient hospitalization. Although diabetes is prevalent in inpatient rehabilitation settings, diabetes self-management has not traditionally been a focus of inpatient rehabilitation psychology care. This is because diabetes is often a secondary diagnosis when an individual is admitted to rehabilitation for an acute event. Objectives: The authors provide a rationale for a role for rehabilitation psychologists in assessing and intervening on the psychosocial, behavioral, and functional self-management needs of individuals with diabetes within the rehabilitation setting. The development of a rehabilitation psychology Inpatient Rehabilitation Diabetes Consultation Service is described. Theoretical and empirical bases for compilation of the assessment and intervention materials are provided. Format and implementation of the service on a university-affiliated inpatient rehabilitation unit is described, with special consideration given to professional issues faced by rehabilitation psychologists and teams. Results: A flexible consultation model was implemented using a guided diabetes psychosocial assessment with brief educational handouts addressing selected key topics (i.e., hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, blood sugar monitoring, nutrition, physical activity, medication, and, A1C and average blood sugar). The consultation service was feasible and well-accepted by treated individuals and the rehabilitation team. Conclusions: Rehabilitation psychologists are uniquely positioned to address the functional, psychosocial, and behavioral needs of individuals with diabetes. With further research to assess clinical outcomes, this approach may further address practice recommendations for inpatient diabetes care. Moreover, such a diabetes consultation model may be useful on an outpatient rehabilitation basis as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the Special Section on the Future of Health Psychology.

Following 25 years of landmark progress, health psychology faces even greater change in the foreseeable future. Evolving patterns of health and illness and developments in medicine and related fields will shape the future of health psychology. The articles in this special section discuss these future issues in several areas: the biopsychosocial model, changes in demographics, prevention, clinical health psychology interventions, health care financing, and new technologies. In every case, the future holds a variety of important challenges and opportunities in research, practice, training, and policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction: Diversity Within Unity.

Provides an introduction to the Clinical Psychology section of the current issue of Professional Psychology. This issue, as a whole, focuses on the future of professional psychology. This section, in particular, reflects the diversity of practitioners as well as their clients, describes a few settings in which clinical psychology is practiced, presents some of the external and internal conflicts and problems that affect both the present and future of clinical psychology, and offers some possible solutions. The first three articles use specific settings to describe some of the problems encountered by psychologists who work with underserved populations. The last four articles in this section depart from specific settings and focus on issues that affect the goals of psychology, the provision of services, the role of psychologists in training settings, and the hospital practice of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defining our common ground to reach new horizons.

There are 4 broad propositions concerning behavioral science that rehabilitation psychology shares with other applied branches of psychology: (a) rehabilitation psychology research is science, (b) rehabilitation psychology research is part of a larger effort to understand human behavior, (c) practice grounded in rehabilitation psychology research is designed to alleviate human suffering and promote well-being, and (d) all scientific tools are acceptable in these quests. A model encompassing the major elements in rehabilitation research and practice is presented, and several gaps in the current knowledge base are delineated. Implications and remedies for these gaps, and for changes in professional alliances and role definitions, are discussed so that the field can pursue a consumer-based, empirically driven health care service delivery agenda for persons with chronic disease and disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Doctoral training issues in school and clinical child psychology.

Do clinical child and school psychologists feel that broadening their training to include aspects of other professional child psychology specialties would enable better service provision to their clients? Do they feel that children, adolescents, and families would be better served if the 2 specialties were merged? An exploratory questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 300 members of American Psychological Association (APA) Division 16 (School Psychology) and a random sample of 300 members from APA Division 12 (Clinical), Section 1 (Clinical Child). Implications from their responses for training of psychology health service providers to children and families are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roles for psychologists in emerging models of school-related health and mental health services.

Describes contributions of school, clinical, community, and health psychology to emerging school-based and school-linked health and mental health service delivery models. The author contends that these 4 areas integrate well to inform the development and targets of health service delivery approaches in and linked to the schools and to set the stage for defining the emerging and future roles of psychologists providing health and mental health care in these contexts. Emerging and future roles of psychologists as health care providers through schools include roles in development, implementation, and administration of these models, direct and indirect service provision, interfacing of health and educational outcomes, and applied research and evaluation activities. Implications for the education and training of current and future psychologists are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation Psychology, Medical Psychology, Health Psychology, and Behavioral Medicine.

In their recent article, "The Distinctiveness of Rehabilitation Psychology," Shontz and Wright (see record 1981-26520-001) attempt to differentiate rehabilitation psychology from other areas of applied and professional psychology in health settings. Although the authors' historical recounting of early research and theory in rehabilitation psychology is informative, too little emphasis is placed on the relationship between rehabilitation psychology and "mainstream" professional psychology, particularly with regard to its health-setting applications. There appear to be more similarities than differences. The authors' argument runs full circle, namely, that rehabilitation psychology is distinct because of its philosophy, but its philosophy and "principles are valuable to psychologists in many specialties" (p. 919). The notion of involving a patient in his/her care and treatment planning also is not unique to rehabilitation psychology. Shontz and Wright state that rehabilitation psychology is not medical psychology; however, instead of defining medical psychology, they go on to talk about medical care. Medical care is not medical psychology. Further confusion is added by the statement that medical psychology should be a component of rehabilitation psychology. The authors are using medical psychology, health psychology, and behavioral medicine as if they are synonymous, when they are not. Each discipline is made distinct here. Shontz and Wright do not address what the majority of psychologists in rehabilitation do, that is, provide services. In short, although the authors complain about the unfamiliarity of rehabilitation psychology relative to the profession as a whole, their article does little to promote rehabilitation psychology as an area of interest important to professional psychologists in health care and/or rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Award for distinguished professional contributions to independent or institutional practice in the private sector.

This award recognizes outstanding service delivery by a licensed psychologist who is primarily engaged in the practice of psychology in a private sector setting. The award is intended to recognize outstanding practitioners in psychology. Nominations will be considered for psychologists working in any area of clinical specialization, health services provision, or consulting. Services provided to any patient population or professional clientele in an independent or institutional practice setting will be considered. Contributions can be judged distinguished by virtue of peer recognition, advancement of the public's recognition of psychology as a profession, relevant professional association honors, or other meritorious accomplishments denoting excellence as a practitioner, including advancement of the profession. In previous years, this award was called the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Psychology as a Professional Practice. The name was changed in 2003 to better describe this award. The 2008 recipient of this award is Grady Dale Jr. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: In search of a double paradigm.

The goal of this special section was to publish articles that would speak to two audiences simultaneously—health psychologists with an interest in adult development and aging and geropsychologists with an interest in health psychology. The three articles that were included were each quite different in conceptualization and design. They included a targeted longitudinal study of samples of hypertensive and normotensive patients, a large national population survey, and a targeted pair of experiments. These articles add to a growing literature in health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidentiary pluralism as a strategy for research and evidence-based practice in rehabilitation psychology.

Objective: This article examines the utility of evidentiary pluralism, a research strategy that selects methods in service of content questions, in the context of rehabilitation psychology. Hierarchical views that favor randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) over other evidence are discussed, and RCTs are considered as they intersect with issues in the field. RCTs are vital for establishing treatment efficacy, but whether they are uniformly the best evidence to inform practice is critically evaluated. Conclusions: The authors argue that because treatment is only one of several variables that influence functioning, disability, and participation over time, an expanded set of conceptual and data analytic approaches should be selected in an informed way to support an expanded research agenda in which therapeutic and extratherapeutic influences on rehabilitation processes and outcomes is investigated. The benefits of evidentiary pluralism are considered, including those that help close the gap between the narrower clinical rehabilitation model and a public health disability model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section: Ecological momentary assessment in health psychology.

Health psychology, like most branches of behavioral science, relies heavily on self-report as a primary source of data. Because data obtained through self-report methods are typically unreliable, researchers have adopted a variety of methods, which have been labeled ecological momentary assessment, or the experience sampling method, for collecting moment-by-moment data in real-world settings. This article provides an introduction to a special section on ecological momentary assessment in health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of organizational behavior in occupational health psychology: A view as we approach the millennium.

This special section of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology provides ample illustration of the increasingly important role of organizational behavior research on work-related issues of health and well-being. More specifically, the 9 articles contained in this special section highlight the varied application and potentially widespread benefit of considering the main effects of employee physical health and psychological well-being. The authors conclude with a discussion of how emerging research issues in occupational health psychology can be used to build a stronger science of organizational behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methodological advances and issues in rehabilitation psychology: Moving forward on the cutting edge.

Scientific research plays an important role in advancing the knowledge base of rehabilitation psychology. Research contributes to theory building and provides the foundation for empirically supported rehabilitation psychology practices, and model-based diversity-sensitive evidence-based interventions help persons with disabilities to become fully integrated into the society. Objective: In this article, the guest editors present their rationale for developing this special issue on methodological advances in rehabilitation psychology. Conclusions: They suggest that rehabilitation psychology research needs to be theory driven using rigorous research designs, strategies, and techniques and describe their selection of articles designed to highlight some exciting new developments in rehabilitation psychology research and to stimulate thinking and facilitate discussion about incorporating these new techniques in theory-driven research programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)