Biomedical subjects

D Samsom

Publications and source records attributed to D Samsom.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

An evaluation of a community-based vocational rehabilitation program for adults with psychiatric disabilities.

The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of a project aimed at the vocational rehabilitation of individuals suffering from chronic psychiatric disabilities. Gastown Vocational Services (GVS) is a specialized vocational rehabilitation program, under the auspices of Greater Vancouver Mental Health Service Society. The project consisted of three distinct phases and utilized a gradual, step-by-step rehabilitative approach to achieve vocational success. The first phase of the GVS project included comprehensive vocational assessment and work-readiness skill training. Participants in this phase met in small groups for three hours, three times a week for a 12-week period. The second phase involved supported work-experience placements in the community. These placements were two to five months in duration. The final phase included assistance in seeking employment, job re-training, or educational programs. Assessment measures were taken before participants began the program, immediately after the 12-week job preparation program, and at six-month follow-up. Seventy-three individuals participated in the training program over a two-year period. Their progress was compared to 18 individuals comprising a Waiting List Control group. The results showed significant improvement in the Intervention group on measures of assertiveness, work behaviour, depression, income, and employment status. No changes were evident in the Waiting List Control group.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

An effective treatment for functional urinary incoordination.

Twenty women diagnosed with functional urinary incoordination were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: biofeedback or progressive muscle relaxation. Ten subjects who were placed on a waiting list prior to treatment allocation served as a comparison group. The biofeedback intervention focused specifically on retraining of pelvic floor musculature (PFM). Patients were assessed pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 2-month follow-up. Outcome measures included self-reported symptomatology, psychological functioning, psychophysiological assessment of the PFM, and urologist ratings of problem severity and treatment efficacy. Both treatment approaches proved effective in improving symptomatology and psychological state. Subjects on the waiting list demonstrated no change in urological difficulties. No differences were found between the two treatment groups on any of the outcome measures. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

A search for contrast effects with fear evoking stimuli.

The occurrence of fear contrast effects was investigated in a laboratory study of fearful people. A total of 65 university students were exposed on separate occasions to two fearful stimuli (spiders and snakes). The first exposure session was manipulated so that experimental groups differed in the amount of fear evoked by the stimulus (high fear, moderate fear and low fear). Exposure to the second animal was designed to produce a moderate level of fear in all subjects. During exposure to the animals, measures of subjective fear and heart rate were taken. Compared to a control group of subjects who experienced moderate fear on two occasions, a prior high fear experience led to a decrease in fear of the second stimulus, and a prior low fear experience led to an increase in fear of the second stimulus. The increase in fear in the latter group was evident in both subjective and physiological indices of fear, but in the high fear group the contrast was evident only in subjective fear.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

The effect of induced mood on fear reduction.

The effect of mood on fear reduction was investigated in a laboratory study of fearful people. A musical mood-induction technique was utilized to induce either a happy mood or a sad mood in 84 female university students fearful of spiders or snakes. Following the mood induction, subjects' fears were reduced by participant modelling. Measures of subjective fear and self-efficacy were taken before and after mood induction, after modelling, and four weeks later. Compared to the induced sad-mood condition, induced happiness was followed by a decrease in subjective fear and greater self-efficacy. No difference was found in the length of time taken to reduce fear for happy and sad subjects. Fear reduction during a sad mood was associated with greater return of fear than fear reduction during a happy mood.

Adult↗