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Biomedical subjects

H B Turner

Publications and source records attributed to H B Turner.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Are Kentuckians using advance medical directives?

Findings of a statewide survey indicate that only 9% of Kentucky adults are completing Living Wills and an equal percent are designating Health Care Surrogates. Designed to protect patient's rights of self-determination in treatment decisions and protect physicians and other health care professionals from liability in complying with patient wishes, only 37% of the state's residents know about Kentucky's Living Will and 24% known about the Designation of Health Care Surrogate. In view of the results, it is recommended that educational efforts be undertaken, changes in legislation occur to ease advance medical directive access and use, and that, following customary medical practice, legislation be enacted to provide authorization of family members to serve as substitute health care decision makers for incapacitated patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of nurse and computer recording of ICP in head injured patients.

The importance of intracranial pressure monitoring in management and study of the head-injured patient is clearly recognized by the clinician responsible for intensive care. However, in many institutions studies requiring quantitative measures of ICP in head-injured patients are limited by lack of sophisticated computer monitoring equipment. In this study we tested the ability of the nurse to describe ICP course by manual record and compared these results with an on-line computerized ICP monitoring system. The nurse recorded a single "end-hour" value of ICP from the bedside monitor while the computer averaged 720 data samples of ICP during the hour. Our results obtained from five head-injured patients undergoing ICP monitoring showed 55% of the 347 data points had a difference in ICP of 0.01 to 3.0 mm Hg and 38% differed between 3.01 and 6 mm Hg. In comparison, 84% of nurse observations were within 6 mm Hg. Comparison of the temporal course of nurse and computer ICP values combined with the frequency distribution of error data indicates the nurse "end-hour" value is a reasonable estimate of the patient's mean ICP for the entire hour as measured by the computer. Nurses can now ask questions regarding various aspects of a patient's ICP course and compare data with other groups as long as the method of data collection is defined in the same manner.

Computers↗
PubMed1988

Social dimensions of mental illness among rural elderly populations.

Despite growing concern with rural elderly populations, little attention has focused on their mental health, ways it may correlate with physical health, or how rural mental health patterns compare to urban. Popular wisdom contends that elderly people in general, and rural elderly persons in particular, are at increased risk for mental illness. This article examines these questions. A review of available literature suggests that elderly people may be at only slightly greater risk of mental illness than the population at large, though there are some indications that rates of depression may be somewhat higher among the elderly population. Much of this same literature implies that objective environmental conditions play a significant role in the incidence of depression. Analysis of data gathered in a statewide random poll (N = 743) indicates that while physical health tends to be poorer among rural populations, when health is held constant there is actually an inverse relationship between age and depression. Therefore, rural elderly persons are no more likely to be depressed than their urban counterparts despite harsher living conditions. Both conceptual and policy implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

A therapeutic community for chronic mental patients.

When the number of state mental hospitals in California was sharply reduced, San Diego County organized a therapeutic community for the treatment of acting-out chronic mental patients. The program represents the constructive use of group pressure to instill adaptive behavior patterns and to imporve ego functioning.

Acting Out↗