Health care 2001: gambling with health care finally pays off

The relationship between the rate of parasitic infection and the level of knowledge of prevention was studied among 5479 persons allocated to 12 randomly selected groups. Stools were examined for parasitic infection by using Kato-Katz, iodine direct smear amd tube culturing methods. Children under 15 were examined for Enterobius infection by cellophane tape method. Individuals were considered infected when any parasite species was found in the stool and the infection rate was computed. The score on knowledge of prevention was measured by devising a questionnaire comprising 11 questions on parasitic disease transmission, clinical signs and prevention methods. Ten marks were given for each question correctly answered. The result of the investigation showed that the total infection rate was 52.2% and there was no significant difference between males and females (X2 = 1.94, P > 0.05). The infection rate increased with a decrease in the level of education and the highest was found in 5-year-old age group. There were altogether 7 species of parasites detected in all age groups. The infection rate of Ascaris lumbricoides was 31.3%; Trichuris trichiura, 34.1%; hookworm, 5.3%; Enterobius vermicularis, 20.3%(227+1 117); Fasciolopsis buski, 0.8%; Entamoeba coli, 0.8%; Giardia lamblia, 0.2%. The average score on knowledge was 41.9, being significantly higher in males than in females. Analysis for the age distribution showed that the highest score was found in 15-year-old age group. The data of infection rate of different parasites were converted by arcsine transformation and compared with the average score, showing that there were negative relations between the average score and the infection rate of Trichuris, hookwork, Entamoeba and the total incidence. The value of r was --0. 5534, --9.5557, --0.6091 and --0.604. respectively. The number of parasite species infecting individuals was also found to have negative relation to the score on knowledge of prevention.     

Re: Mental health treatment in Ontario

A 2.5-year-old girl with neurogenic Gaucher's disease was transplanted with donor bone marrow from her HLA-compatible 12-year-old brother whose marrow was harvested 30 min post-mortem, after he suffered a severe head and neck injury. The marrow was stored in liquid nitrogen for 30 days prior to infusion. The post-transplantation period was uneventful with good engraftment and no signs of graft-versus-host disease. Currently, 6 months post-allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT), analysis of both bone marrow and blood samples by PCR documented only cells of donor origin. This case demonstrates the feasibility of cadaveric marrow as a source of donor cells. To our knowledge, this patient is the only survivor of alloBMT from a cadaveric donor.     

Mental health teams in the community

This article describes how one community psychiatric nursing service established a forum to clarify the roles and professional boundaries for nurses working within a multidisciplinary team. The author describes the initiative within the context óf the wider issues surrounding mental health care in the community.     

Mental health in action

Twenty-nine patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with similarly manifest renal involvement were examined to elucidate the role of dyslipidemia in diabetic nephropathy progress. Clinico-laboratory parameters (urinary albumin excretion, blood serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low, very low, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol) and morphologic changes in renal tissue biopsy specimens were analyzed. An increment of the number of large lipid incorporations was observed in various cells of renal glomeruli and interstitium, as well as a high prevalence of low density lipoprotein deposition in glomerular basal membranes and canaliculi as the renal process augmented in severity. Since lipids accumulating in glomerular structures may stimulate mesangial cell proliferation and mesangial matrix hyperproduction, the authors believe that dyslipidemia in diabetes mellitus may be conducive to a more rapid progress of renal disease.     

Mental health in schools

The Comer School Development Program (SDP) has received considerable national attention over the last decade. The authors describe the origins, central tenets, and principles of the SDP. Although the Comer model is a systemic one, one of its primary foci is the developmental and mental health needs of children attending urban schools. The authors illustrate how teaching and consulting school faculty and parents about basic principles of development and psychopathology change the interaction between the child and adults who are important to the child. The authors contend that this step is an essential prerequisite for effective evaluation and treatment of children with possible psychiatric disturbances.     

Mental health care in the USSR.

The author received a scientist exchange grant from the National Institutes of Health and visited the USSR as a health-science representative in 1976. He reports that mental health services in the USSR are provided primarily by the medical profession through state mental hospitals and psychiatric sections in general hospitals and clinics. Drug therapy is the main treatment method, but psychotherapy is beginning to make some inroads. Family therapy settings are the newest additions to preventive mental health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental health services in health maintenance organizations: Implications for psychology.

Contends that roles for psychologists in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are affected by the nature of HMOs, economic considerations, standards set by federal legislation, claims for the cost-effectiveness of mental health services, and the federal administration's goal of removing mental health services from those required in law. Legislation is not precise concerning the nature or extent of mandated mental health services, and administrative interpretation of this legislation encourages considerable latitude in services provided. Studies do not support arguments for mental health services on the basis of their claimed cost-offset effects as strongly as one might wish. It is concluded that if psychologists are to establish areas of unique worth to HMOs, they may have to do so by adding contributions other than traditional clinical services to meet the need structure of HMOs. Possible ways of doing this are discussed, drawing on contributions that are developing in the field of behavioral health and relating these contributions to the prime purposes of HMOs. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Women, health and humanitarian aid in conflict

Children aged 3 and 5 1/2 years were asked to carry out a response duration task in two sessions under "minimal", "temporal" and "force" instructions. In session 1, they were told to press "long enough" for the temporal instructions and "hard enough" for the force instructions. In session 2, they were asked to press "longer" or "harder" than in the previous session. Results showed that the force instructions, but not the temporal instructions, improved the 3-year-olds' timing accuracy. Furthermore, when instructed to press harder, 3-year-olds pressed longer. In contrast, 5 1/2-year-olds were more accurate with the temporal than with the force instructions; and when asked to press harder, they did not press longer. These findings suggest that 3-year-olds rely on a certain amount of force to produce correct response durations. The marked dissociation between force and duration only emerges between the ages of 3 and 5 1/2.     

Mental health supplement to the Ontario Health Survey: methodology

OBJECTIVE: To describe the methodology of a province-wide, cross-sectional, epidemiologic study of psychiatric disorder among those aged 15 years and over living in household dwellings in Ontario. METHOD: Respondents for the survey were drawn from households (N = 13002) participating in a province-wide health survey. One person per household was selected, and 9953 (76.5%) participated. RESULTS: Participants and nonparticipants were similar to each other. An extensive array of data, including measures of psychiatric disorder classified using a revised version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), are available for all respondents. CONCLUSIONS: The Ontario Health Supplement is contained in a public-use data file at the Ontario Ministry of Health and is available to investigators for study. A strong survey design, careful measurement, and acceptable levels of response provide the rationale for our inviting researchers to access and use the Ontario Health Supplement data base.