Depression in ethnically diverse women: Implications for treatment in primary care settings.

What do health care practitioners need to know about providing adequate care for depressed minority women? This article examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms and clinical depression in ethnic minorities, the extent to which current health service utilization is congruent with needs, and the effectiveness of treatments provided to ethnic minorities in the primary care setting. The impact of ethnic minority women's sociocultural context on symptom expression and help-seeking behavior is also discussed. Finally, the clinical implications for accurate assessment and treatment of ethnic minority women by both medical and mental health practitioners working in the primary care sector are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a Re-Modified Work-Style Short Form Questionnaire for assessment of stress in medical practitioners working in Indian hospitals

Medical practitioners are unduly stressed, leading to ill health, loss of work efficiency, sometimes affecting decision-making capability. The present study was conducted with the aim to quantify the psychosocial factors that affect the medical practitioners working in Indian hospitals. This study constructed and validated Re-Modified Work-Style Short Form Questionnaire, an eight-item instrument based on work style of 108 medical practitioners comprising Indian physicians and surgeons. The re-modified tool had acceptable validity and internal consistency, which the modified one did not. Explorative factor analysis identified and labelled three factors: ‘Working through pain’, ‘Deadlines/pressure’ and ‘Self-imposed workload’. The findings of the study reveal that the mean total work style score exceeded the standardised limits ≥16, which suggests that the work style of medical practitioners working in Indian hospitals are at risk which may precipitate psychosocial stress. Factor weights was derived through Analytic Hierarchy Process to prioritise the relative importance of three potential work-style factors. The study may help to increase the preventive strategies to proactively reduce the effect of risk factors for the precipitation of stress, successfully leading to its attenuation.     

Software Process Improvement Problems in Twelve Software Companies: An Empirical Analysis

In this paper we discuss our study of the problems 12 software companies experienced in software development. In total we present qualitative data collected from 45 focus groups that involved over 200 software staff. We look at how different practitioner groups respond to software process improvement problems. We show our classification and analysis of this data using correspondence analysis. Correspondence analysis is a graphical data representation method new to software development research. The aim of the work we present is to develop a more holistic understanding of the problems practitioners are experiencing in their attempts to improve their software processes. Our main finding is that there is an association between a company's capability maturity and patterns of reported problems. Organizational problems are more associated with high maturity companies than with low maturity companies. Low maturity companies are closely linked to problems relating directly to projects such as documentation, timescales, tools and technology. Our findings also confirm differences in practitioner group problems. Senior managers cite problems with goals, culture and politics. Project managers are concerned with timescales, change management, budgets and estimates. Developers are experiencing problems with requirements, testing, documentation, communication, tools and technology. These associations are displayed graphically through correspondence analysis maps.     

Strategies for private practitioners coping with subpoenas or compelled testimony for client records or test data.

Psychologists have numerous ethical, professional, and legal obligations regarding the release of client records, test data, and other information in the legal context. The demands of the legal system sometimes conflict with psychologists' ethical obligations to maintain confidentiality of client records, to protect the integrity and security of test materials, and to avoid misuse of assessment techniques and data. This article identifies legal issues that may arise when private practitioners are faced with subpoenas or compelled court testimony for client records or test data and suggests strategies that might be considered in the event such a subpoena or demand is received. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor analysis of the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale—Form A.

Factor analysis of the attitudes of 133 rehabilitation and agency practitioners and trainees yielded four major factors: Coping-Succumbing, Emotional Need-Emotional Satisfaction, Sensitivity-Self-Consciousness, and Inferred Morality. The findings of this study are compared and contrasted with findings using similar instruments with different populations so as to explore psychometric issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practical and ethical assessment issues in rural, impoverished, and managed care settings.

The rising costs of new psychological tests, increased frequency of test revisions, and difficulty receiving authorization and reimbursement from managed care companies make it increasingly difficult for practitioners to provide the best standard of care to clients when conducting psychological and neuropsychological assessments. Practitioners, especially those in low-income and rural areas, may struggle with handling these practical realities while maintaining ethical standards in conducting psychological assessment. Suggestions for how to manage practical challenges faced by practitioners who provide psychological assessments, such as selecting tests when authorization or reimbursement by a third-party payer is restricted or denied, purchasing psychological tests on a budget, and providing assessments with a limited number of qualified staff are discussed. The authors also provide recommendations for the future prevention of these challenges through work with test developers, test publishing corporations, third-party payers, political action groups, and the psychology profession itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SYSTEMS EDUCATION AT THE FIELDING INSTITUTE

This is an exposition of the post-graduate program evolving at the Fielding Institute to train professionals in social praxis—ting system theory and methods into programs that effect social change. We illustrate herein how the practice of intervention in social systems calls upon systems praxis, and we argue that the practitioners must have, in addition to a background in the social sciences, a pragmatic access to theories of personal, social and institutional change. The foundation of an education for systems praxis requires intermingling theoretical ideas with skills that can affect the social system. We propose three essential elements for the education of system practitioners: (1) the process of decision-making. (2) processes of inquiry suitable to living systems at personal and at societal levels, and (3) system thinking. Finally, we describe how the whole process requires self-reflection and personal maturity to maintain authentic human engagement     

So what are master's-level psychology practitioners doing? Surveys of employers and recent graduates in North Carolina.

In response to questions regarding the marketability of master's-level psychology practitioners, 2 surveys were conducted: 1 of prospective employers of master's-level psychologists and 1 of recent graduates of the University of North Carolina system's master's in psychology programs with clinical emphases. Results indicate that graduates face a healthy job market in the public sector and have a good reputation for value in the marketplace. Graduates reported finding desirable work shortly after graduation, primarily in the public sector. Few described any difficulties with the state-mandated supervision requirement or managed-care reimbursement, perhaps because most public-sector settings provided for both. The data represent the collaborative effort of 1 state's university-system's psychology master's programs to assess employment experiences and marketplace trends. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of September 11 on psychologists.

A variety of recent research studies have investigated the psychological impact on victims of the devastating events of September 11, 2001. The present study adopted a different approach, instead focusing on the experience of caregivers through a brief survey of state psychological association members. Overall, practitioners described modest but significant changes in both their professional work and their personal lives. Not surprisingly, those respondents working closest to Ground Zero reported the greatest changes. The sample also reported more positive than negative feelings regarding their work in the post-9/11 environment. Although the survey return rate was only 15%, the findings shed light on several important professional issues related to disaster relief, including service utilization, preparedness, and vicarious traumatization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An "Unpsychologist" Says Bravo: Comment.

Comments on the article by S. J. Gross (see record 1979-26957-001) that indicates a specious association between licensing and the competence of practitioners. The current author finds pleasure in having his previously unsubstantiated opinions confirmed by objective analyses, even when the facts themselves are unpleasant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)