Autobiographical memory, eyewitness reports, and public policy.

In the first part of this article I summarize the source-monitoring perspective on the cognitive processes involved in differentiating between mental events from different sources (e.g., memories of what one witnessed during a crime versus memories of what one later heard a cowitness describe). In the middle section of the article I consider, from the perspective of the source-monitoring framework, four issues pertaining to remembering in forensic situations: 1) adults' memory reports, 2) children's memory reports, 3) "recovered memories" of childhood sexual abuse, and 4) eyewitnesses' suspect-identification decisions. I then comment briefly on research psychologists as expert witnesses before offering some concluding comments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment.

Reviews literature on the evaluation of consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment. The methods of assessing consumer satisfaction, methodological issues in studies assessing satisfaction, results of the studies, and the value of consumer evaluation are discussed. Consumer evaluation is found to be a useful though flawed method of assessing services. It is concluded that consumer evaluation should be included in a multimethod treatment evaluation. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of a CareMap and case management on patient satisfaction and staff satisfaction, collaboration, and autonomy

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of a CareMap and nursing case management on patient satisfaction and staff job satisfaction, collaboration, and autonomy. The patients who had a CareMap and a nurse case manager were more satisfied with their care. The multidisciplinary staff who worked on the experimental unit had increased job satisfaction and nurses who applied and were selected for case management positions had higher levels of collaboration and increased autonomy. Multidisciplinary team members who developed the CareMap also had higher levels of collaboration than other multidisciplinary staff on the experimental unit and their job satisfaction with quality of care increased under this new care delivery system.     

Intern call structure and patient satisfaction

Our institution has instituted "short-call" and "nightfloat" systems to reduce the number of admissions to the traditional "long-call" housestaff. However, the nightfloat system introduces increased discontinuity to patient care, and interns may spend less time with short-call patients because they are nor required to spend the night on-call. Discontinuity and less time spent with patients may result in decreased patient satisfaction. Over a 6-month period, data were collected on 145 consecutive patients admitted to a teaching Veterans Affairs Medical Center with the primary diagnoses of congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We found that patients admitted to either short-call or nightfloat interns were significantly less satisfied with their care than patients admitted to long-call housestaff, controlling for intern gender, patient age, and patient severity of illness (p = 0.02). Residency program directors need to realize that changes in the structure of teaching environment may have an impact on patient satisfaction.     

External dacryocystorhinostomy. Surgical success, patient satisfaction, and economic cost

BACKGROUND: External dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is the standard treatment for nasolacrimal duct obstruction, with success rates consistently above 90%. This study reviews the demographics, success, cost, efficiency, and patient satisfaction in external DCR. This information will be useful as comparison criteria for evaluating new surgical techniques. METHODS: Records of 169 external DCR procedures performed over an 8.7-year period were reviewed. All patients had preoperative symptoms of tearing and/or dacryocystitis with a component of nasolacrimal obstruction. Patient demographics, history, examination findings, surgical and anesthesia information, postoperative success, complications, and follow-up course were recorded. Patient satisfaction and long-term success were evaluated by telephone survey. RESULTS: External DCR often required middle turbinectomy (17%), exposure of ethmoid sinuses (17%), and removal of dacryoliths (14%). Most patients (90%) underwent silicone intubation, with the tubes removed at an average of 3.7 weeks after surgery. A patent system was established in 95% of procedures, whereas 92% remained asymptomatic. Postoperative complications included hemorrhage (3.9%) and scarring (2.6%). Of the surveyed patients, 87% denied continued or recurrent symptoms; 97% rated their incision "good" to "excellent" in appearance; and all patients stated they would recommend the procedure to others. CONCLUSION: External DCR is highly successful, requires limited follow-up, and is a cost-effective procedure. Complications are uncommon, and patient satisfaction is high. New lacrimal surgical techniques must be evaluated against the long-proven success of the external approach.     

Life satisfaction reports of gfted middle-school children.

Compared 61 gifted and 61 nongifted middle-school students' reports of their subjective well-being using a positive indicator of well-being, that is, life satisfaction. The results supported the separability of the life satisfaction domains with both groups of students. Subsequent comparisons of mean levels of satisfaction revealed no significant differences between the 2 groups on reports across both domain-specific (e.g., family, friends, school experiences) and global life-satisfaction indexes. However, the manner in which the specific domains related to global life-satisfaction reports differed as a function of group membership. Consistent with expectations, gifted students' evaluations of the quality of their school experiences accounted for greater portions of unique variance in the formulation of their overall or global life satisfaction reports than was the case for their nongifted counterparts. The findings are discussed in relation to future research and educational planning in the area of gifted students' subjective well-being, particularly with respect to consideration of the importance of school climate for this group of exceptional children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and public information.

The 1st peace group, inspired by Otto Klineberg and organized by Stanley Zuckerman in 1961, now called the "Social Scientists for Peace," had as its purpose the application of psychological knowledge to such urgent issues as war hysteria, cessations of nuclear tests, disarmament, and fall-out shelters. Activities of various groups of psychologists concerning such social endeavors are cited. 2 questions, "Should psychologists participate in demonstrations and similar activities?" and "Should psychologists be doing research rather than engaging in social action and public education?" are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer satisfaction and perceived quality: Complementary or divergent constructs?

Conflicting models exist in the literature of the process through which perceived quality and/or satisfaction affect behavioral intentions. Further, virtually no theoretical framework has been explicitly developed to help combine perceived quality models with satisfaction models. This article applies a theoretical framework to help build a model that attempts to explain the relationships among disconfirmation of expectations, perceived quality, satisfaction, perceived situational control, and behavioral intentions. The study compares the ability of two models to help explain the relationship among these variables. The results of the study suggest that the focal and contextual dimensions of disconfirmation of expectations affect perceived quality enroute to their influence on behavioral intentions. Additionally, the results indicate that perceived quality affects satisfaction and behavioral intentions are affected by satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimating the satisfaction of information users

Several factors influence the responses of users of information retrieval systems who are asked to evaluate the service provided by a system. To realistically estimate user satisfaction, different aspects of the search outcome should be explored. This paper analyzes the data obtained in a follow-up questionnaire sent to a sample of MEDLINE users who had requested searches at seven information centers within a two-month period. The questionnaire requested the user's appraisal of the value of the search and of the usefulness of the retrieved references. A comparison of different items of the questionnaire revealed some contradictions between an overall appraisal of the service and more specific responses on the outcome of the search. Caution is advised in inferring the satisfaction of information needs from the users' evaluation of an information retrieval system.     

Consumer satisfaction with telemedicine child psychiatry consultation in rural Kentucky

Forty-three rural Kentucky families who obtained child psychiatry consultation during the initial eight months of the University of Kentucky's telemedicine program completed questionnaires assessing their satisfaction with telemedicine. Respondents were 46 parents and nine children. All respondents reported that they were very satisfied with the consultation; all of the children and 98 percent of the parents reported that they were as satisfied with the telemedicine consultation as with an in-person visit. Few respondents reported nervousness about using the equipment. These results suggest that child psychiatry consultation via telemedicine provides high levels of satisfaction for both children and adults.     

The correspondence of patient satisfaction and nurse burnout

This study examined the relationships of nurse burnout, intention to quit, and meaningfulness of work as assessed on a staff survey with patient satisfaction with nursing care, physician care, information provided and coordination of care, and outcomes of the hospital stay assessed post-discharge. Sixteen inpatient units from two hospital sites formed the data base and included 605 patients and 711 nurses. Patients' perceptions of the quality of each of the four care dimensions corresponded to the relationships nurses had with their work. Patients on units where nurses found their work meaningful were more satisfied with all aspects of their hospital stay. Patients who stayed on units where nursing staff felt more exhausted or more frequently expressed the intention to quit were less satisfied with the various components of their care. Although nurse cynicism was reflected in lower patient satisfaction with interactions with nursing staff, the correlations between cynicism and other aspects of care fell below statistical significance. No significant correlations were found between nurse professional efficacy and any of the patient satisfaction components measured. The implications of the relationship between patient satisfaction and nurses' perception of their work is discussed.     

Consumer attitudes toward auto versus public transport alternatives.

Conducted 2 pilot studies of consumer attitudes toward auto vs. public transport modes in Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N = 550 and 471, respectively) using a quasi self-administered Likert-scaled questionnaire. Results indicate a consistently favorable preference for auto over a wide range of mode attributes but with marked differences in magnitude of preference between attributes. Significantly different patterns were found between inner-city and suburban preferences. Implications for changing mode-use patterns are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)