Biomedical subjects

Gordon Hannah

Publications and source records attributed to Gordon Hannah.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Employment and mental health service utilization in Washington State.

This study examined employment among individuals utilizing publicly funded mental health services in Washington State during a 2-year period through the analysis of archival administrative data. The mean income found in this study was higher than that reported in the supported employment literature. This difference likely reflects the inclusion of individuals with less severe mental illness and ongoing employment who are typically excluded from studies of supported employment. Individuals in this study were employed in all industrial sectors in a distribution similar to the general population, although somewhat over-represented in service industries. Employment rates varied from 15% to 21% over a 3-year period and did not appear to increase after treatment. Employment rates tended to decline after the receipt of public support. Among individuals who lost employment, service utilization was found to increase prior to the loss of employment. Policy implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Maintaining product-process balance in community antipoverty initiatives.

Antipoverty initiatives strive to improve distressed communities by producing outputs, such as housing, new businesses, and enhanced social services, and by building the capacity of communities to address their own problems. Although crucial for addressing the social and cultural factors contributing to community problems and for the sustainability of initiatives, capacity building is frequently set aside once implementation of initiatives begins. This article explores the funding realities, implementation demands, and power dynamics between stakeholders that result in output production being favored over capacity building. Examples from past and ongoing initiatives illustrate points and drive recommendations to help future initiatives maintain a balance between producing outputs and building capacity.

Community Networks↗

PubMed2005

Developing a community science research agenda for building community capacity for effective preventive interventions.

Research has shown that prevention programming can improve community health when implemented well. There are examples of successful prevention in local communities, however many continue to face significant challenges, demonstrating a gap between science and practice. Common strategies within the United States to address this gap are available (e.g., trainings), but lack outcomes. Building community capacity to implement high quality prevention can help communities achieve positive health outcomes, thereby narrowing the gap. While there is ample research on the efficacy of evidence-based programs, there is little on how to improve community capacity to improve prevention quality. In order to narrow the gap, a new model of research-one based in Community Science-is suggested that improves the latest theoretical understanding of community capacity and evaluates technologies designed to enhance it. In this article, we describe this model and suggest a research agenda that can lead to improved outcomes at the local level.

Community Mental Health Services↗

PubMed2003

Associative memory in chronic schizophrenia: a computational model.

We developed a computer model to simulate associative memory recall of patients with chronic schizophrenia. Model inputs consisted of words derived from normative data that differed in terms of connectivity and network size, with the former quantitatively represented by parametric weights and the latter by the specific number of word associates that formed a particular network. Previous behavioral studies of normal subjects indicated better recall for words of high connectivity-small network (HCSN), followed by low connectivity-small network (LCSN), high connectivity-large network (HCLN), and low connectivity-large network (LCLN). This pattern of recall differed from that observed in behavioral studies of schizophrenic patients, which showed better recall for high connectivity words, regardless of network size. Holding constant network size while manipulating connection weights effectively simulated this schizophrenic pattern of recall. That is, manipulation of parametric weights coupled with a slight increase in noise significantly and reliably elicited the response pattern of abnormal connectivity demonstrated in the prior behavioral study of patients with chronic schizophrenia. An increase in noise was a necessary, but insufficient step in modeling the response pattern of abnormal connectivity. These findings provide support for the use of computational models to investigate dynamics of associative word recall in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

Chronic Disease↗