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Biomedical subjects

B H Tearnan

Publications and source records attributed to B H Tearnan.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Assessment of the terminally ill patient with pain: the example of cancer.

Efforts to understand pain associated with terminal illness have been guided traditionally by the biomedical model in which psychological and environmental factors are considered incidental and not causally significant influences of pain. More recent conceptualizations of pain, however, recognize that pain can be affected by a variety of factors including mood, beliefs about pain, past learning, as well as physical perturbations. This development has led to assessment strategies that are more comprehensive, multidimensional, and less singularly aligned with a biomedical model. The greatest amount of attention to pain among the terminally ill has focused on cancer patients. Thus, in this paper we will describe a comprehensive, multi-dimensional assessment of cancer pain. Information regarding cancer and cancer pain is first presented and then a strategy for comprehensively assessing cancer pain is outlined. Recent developments in the assessment of cancer pain are briefly reviewed.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

Unaided use of pain descriptors by patients with cancer pain.

A large sample of cancer patients in pain were instructed to describe their pain using their own words. Data were collected from patients representing several primary sites. A total of 129 distinct words were used by patients to describe their pain, with each patient using an average of 1.8 words. Ten words accounted for 67% of total word usage. Grouping words by response dimension revealed a predominant use of sensory descriptors, with the majority of these comprising the category "dullness." Patients divided by high and low self-reported worst pain differed significantly across several sensory categories and in the use of evaluative words. Comparisons made between patients grouped by primary site were significant only for the use of dullness adjectives. Patients with ovarian cancer used the greatest number of dullness words. No differences were found in word usage for patients with varying pain etiologies. The results point to the need to use word descriptor lists routinely in clinical and research settings. They also suggest that cancer patients' self-reported pain intensity can be inferred from word descriptors.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Modification of disease phobia using a multifaceted exposure program.

By the use of a multifaceted exposure program that lasted 16 weeks, a 27-year-old male was treated for debilitating and irrational fears of having a heart attack. The subject reported reductions in daily anxiety ratings and Valium intake at midtreatment and further reductions at the conclusion of treatment. These changes were maintained at 6- and 12-month followup assessments. The subject's reports were confirmed by his spouse. The results are discussed in terms of the behavioral characteristics and etiology of disease phobia.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

An exploratory study: the psychoeducational group treatment of drug-refractory unipolar depression.

The present study is a clinical evaluation or pilot study aimed at evaluating the practicality of implementing a psychoeducational group treatment for outpatients with unipolar depression who have not responded to antidepressant medication. The treatment was designed to teach skills related to improved mood, including: relaxation, increasing pleasant activities, cognitive strategies, and social skills. Of the 10 patients who participated, one dropped out, four were no longer depressed, two showed some improvement, and three were still depressed after treatment. Improvements were maintained at 1-month and 9-month follow-ups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Generalization of frontalis electromyographic feedback to adjacent muscle groups: a critical review.

The widespread utilization of frontalis electromyographic feedback as a general relaxation strategy far preceded empirical evidence demonstrating its efficacy for this purpose. This article reviews parametric studies testing the association between frontalis reduction and concomitant EMG decreases in nontargeted muscle groups. The current research supports the contention that biofeedback reinforces discriminative responding to a specific muscle group and not generalized relaxation to adjacent muscle groups. Methodological problems are noted, and implications for future research are addressed.

Adolescent↗