PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Keilitz

Publications and source records attributed to I Keilitz.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

The judicial role in life-sustaining medical treatment decisions.

Although there has been speculation regarding the pervasiveness and nature of judicial decisions regarding life-sustaining medical treatment (LSMT), no attempt has been made to empirically assess their prevalence or the issues they address. An exploratory study utilizing a mail survey of a nationwide random sample (N = 905) of state trial court judges was conducted to provide initial information regarding this decision-making process. Twenty-two percent of the responding judges had heard at least one LSMT case, and judicial review did not appear endemic to particular states. The number of judges hearing LSMT cases dropped from 1975 to 1981 but has increased since then. Three major issues predominate: patient competency, appointment of a surrogate decisionmaker, and resolution of the ultimate issue of forgoing LSMT. Relatively few cases either contested a prior directive's validity or involved imposing sanctions for instituting or forgoing LSMT. Although subject to different interpretations, the results suggest the courts are having a significant impact on certain aspects of the LSMT decision-making process. However, the infrequency with which any one judge is called upon to make an LSMT decision causes concern about the judiciary's ability to respond in a timely and appropriate manner. With their potential for a profound effect on the actions of health care providers, greater attention to this decision-making process is warranted.

Judicial Role↗
PubMed1988

NCSC guidelines for involuntary civil commitment: a workable framework for justice in practice.

A multidisciplinary task force convened by the National Center for State Courts has developed 50 guidelines that contain practical solutions to problems associated with involuntary civil commitment processes; most can be implemented within existing statutory frameworks. The guidelines call for greater cooperation and communication among the mental health, social service, public safety, and justice systems at each step in the commitment process and recommend that these systems form interdisciplinary community coordinating councils to seek expedient remedies to problems in the commitment process. Other guidelines outline the roles of law enforcement officers, lawyers, mental health professionals, and judges in maintaining the continuity of the commitment process and propose measures for improving screening of individuals as they enter the mental health system. Efforts to facilitate implementation of the guidelines are described.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1975

Training mentally retarded adolescents to brush their teeth.

The need for self-care by retarded individuals in behaviors such as brushing teeth led to the development and evaluation of a comprehensive toothbrushing program that included a task analysis and training procedure specific to each component of the task analysis. Eight mentally retarded adolescents, in two groups, individually received acquisition training that included scheduled opportunities for independent performances, verbal instruction, modelling, demonstration, and physical assistance. The first group of four subjects received token plus social reinforcement; the second received only social reinforcement. All eight subjects showed improved toothbrushing behaviors when compared to baseline. Six of the eight subjects correctly performed all toothbrushing steps in two of three consecutive sessions. The study emphasizes the need for systematic program development and evaluation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1973

Increasing mentally retarded adolescents' verbalizations about current events.

The effects of antecedent and consequent events on the verbal behavior of three institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents were examined. Verbal statements, related to current national and international events, were recorded after exposures to television news programs. The study examined the accuracy of verbalizations as a function of: (1) exposures to television news presentations in massed (i.e., viewing the entire news program before an opportunity to describe it) versus distributed from (i.e., viewing each news item separately with each followed by an opportunity to describe it), and (2) contingent tokens and social praise for correct verbal responses (i.e., statements corresponding to news items presented). Both the temporal distribution of news presentations and the reinforcement procedures improved the accuracy of verbal statements emitted by the subjects.

Journal Article↗