Biomedical subjects

Grace Chang

Publications and source records attributed to Grace Chang.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Social support and prenatal alcohol use.

BACKGROUND: Lack of social support during pregnancy may be associated with the prenatal use of alcohol. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the degree, predictors, and consequences of social support in a cohort of 200 pregnant women who scored 2 or more on the T-ACE, a 4-item screening questionnaire for prenatal drinking. METHODS: The pregnant women completed the Maternal Social Support Index (MSSI). Their partners completed the same measure, which was modified to reflect their status as the biological fathers. RESULTS: Despite having similar overall MSSI scores, there was only slight to fair agreement on the level of support received by the pregnant women for most daily tasks when their responses were compared with their partners. Predictors of increased maternal social support included the woman's being married and having more education and a more prestigious job than her partner. Social support was not predictive of either subsequent prenatal alcohol use or newborn birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of social support, previous, prepregnancy, and early pregnancy drinking were the most predictive factors for subsequent prenatal alcohol consumption in this sample, underscoring the importance of screening pregnant women for drinking.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Symptoms of pain and depression in related marrow donors: changes after transplant.

Related or unrelated histocompatible marrow donors make it possible to offer hematopoietic stem cell transplants, the second most frequent solid organ transplant performed in the United States. About 20%-30% of donors are related to the recipient. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about related donors. The purpose of this prospective study is to describe changes in pain and depressive symptoms in 23 related marrow donors before and after marrow donation. Approximately 6 months after marrow donation, related marrow donors whose recipients died had significantly higher Beck Depression Inventory scores than did donors whose related recipients were living.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of 1-year survival assessed at the time of bone marrow transplantation.

The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to identify pretransplant and transplant predictors of 1-year survival after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Psychosocial and behavioral variables such as alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking were systematically assessed at the time of HSCT with structured diagnostic instruments. A total of 114 patients participated, with an overall 1-year survival rate of 66%. Lifetime alcohol and other substance use, cigarette smoking, depression, and quality of life prior to transplant were not found to affect 1-year survival. However, other clinical variables prior to transplant and once transplant occurred were found to predict survival.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychosocial function after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

The authors report on a prospective cohort study of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The purpose was to evaluate the progression of quality of life and mood, as well as patterns of alcohol consumption, a behavior with potential adverse health consequences. Of the 84 subjects who completed serial measures and other interviews at admission for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and 6-month follow-up, 75 provided data 12 months later The main findings of this study were that quality of life improves, measures of depressive symptoms decline, and patients drink less alcohol overall. Time was the most important variable accounting for these changes.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Case study: a medicaid health maintenance organization quality initiative for behavioral health.

The purpose of this case study is to assess a Medicaid health maintenance organization quality initiative designed to screen new members for behavioral health treatment needs on enrollment. New members were screened by the health maintenance organization, which then informed the for-profit managed care organization responsible for the management of the mental health and substance abuse benefit of its findings. Other than the screening, there were no contractual expectations. The managed care organization was given only the names of individuals who "screened positive," but was not required to act on the screening results. Twenty percent of newly enrolled Medicaid health maintenance organization members were screened, and 2.5% were identified to have behavioral health and substance abuse treatment needs. As Medicaid managed care is responsible for the health care of low-income beneficiaries who are inherently vulnerable, it is important to make every effort to evaluate the impact of a quality project meant to improve their treatment.

Adult↗