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Biomedical subjects

E Atcherson

Publications and source records attributed to E Atcherson.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

Spouse-assistants' adjustment to home hemodialysis.

Spouse-assistants of patients undergoing maintenance home hemodialysis have been noted to suffer a variety of psychological problems if either the assistant or the patient is given sole responsibility for the conduct of home treatment. The current report is based on a prospective study of patients and spouses in the Iowa City Veterans Administration Hospital Home Hemodialysis Program, in which both partners are thoroughly trained in dialysis techniques (and the patient is expected to assume responsibility for his or her own home care). Data are presented from follow-up interviews with 32 patients and 29 spouses who had been in home treatment for a minimum of 6 months after the completion of home training. The data suggest that depression, anxiety, and marital problems are encountered less frequently in this group of spouse-assistants than in those described in earlier reports from programs with different training philosophies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

Peer support for renal patients: the Patient Visitor Program.

Since it was instituted in 1977, the Patient Visitor Program has continued to provide peer support among renal patients. Although up-to-date statistics are not available on the current involvement of the volunteers who were given the initial training, some have remained physically active and continue to be available in their home area. The number of visits made by each volunteer per year has depended on the needs of new renal patients in each area--for example, on whether the area was urban or rural. The Patient Visitor Program is available to all newly diagnosed renal patients in Iowa. The majority of these patients take advantage of the opportunity to meet with a volunteer. Although the program was particularly designed to serve new renal patients, the volunteers have reported that meetings with new patients have been positive experiences for them, too. The Patient Visitor Program has proved to be a low-cost method of augmenting the personalized services available to newly diagnosed renal patients scattered throughout Iowa. Such a program could be designed for patients with other chronic illnesses as well.

Humans↗
PubMed1980

A short-term follow-up of patients with depressive disorder on entry into home dialysis training.

Fifteen (18%) of 83 patients entering home hemodialysis training were found to suffer major depressive disorder diagnosed by rigorous clinical criteria. The diagnosis of depressive disorder was associated with a diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease. It was not, however, associated with past or family history of affective illness. Neither intellectual impairment nor chemical uremia were more pronounced in the patients with depressive disorder than in the patients without depressive disorder. Depressive symptoms almost invariably remitted during home dialysis training and had no apparent influence on outcome on the basis of a short-term (3-month) follow-up.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Characteristics of patients with depressive disorder on entry into home hemodialysis.

During a prospective study of 58 patients entering home hemodialysis training, systematic interviews revealed that thirteen (22 per cent) of the patients were suffering depressive disorder. Depressed patients were more likely than nondepressed patients to have experienced a decline in job performance during the previous year, applied for disability income, and reduced leisure activities after the beginning of training. Further, the only two patients complaining of "quite a lot" of anxiety during dialyses were both found to be suffering depressive disorder. Polycystic kidney disease and depressive disorder were significantly positively associated in this patient sample. Possible implications of that association are discussed.

Adjustment Disorders↗