Evaluation of an RN-to-BSN distance education program via satellite for nurses in rural health care.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Fairbanks.
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OBJECTIVE: To report on a 1-year naturalistic follow-up study of 14 depressed adolescents who were treated for 3 months with interpersonal psychotherapy adapted for depressed adolescents (IPT-A). METHOD: The 14 depressed adolescents were contacted approximately 1 year after completion of 3 months of IPT-A to participate in an evaluation of depressive symptomatology, social functioning, and life events. Both self-report and clinician-rated measures were administered. RESULTS: Ten adolescents participated in the follow-up evaluation. Only one of them met criteria for an affective disorder. The majority of subjects reported few depressive symptoms and had maintained their improvements in social functioning since completion of treatment for depression. The life events survey suggested that the subjects had experienced a significant number of negative life events during their lifetime. There were no reported hospitalizations, pregnancies, or suicide attempts since completion of treatment, and all were attending school regularly. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limitations of a naturalistic follow-up and the small sample size, the results suggest that the adolescents maintained their state of recovery from depression until 1 year after completing treatment with IPT-A.
Health professionals who live and practice in rural areas have limited opportunities to further their education. In order to pursue advanced nursing degrees, nurses have to leave their communities. A collaborative distance education project involving the University of New Mexico College of Nursing, the Area Health Education Center, and Western New Mexico University has provided a partial solution to this problem. Six registered nurses living and practicing in a rural site are now receiving their Family Nurse Practitioner degrees via two-way audio/video teleconferencing equipment. Distance education can improve the numbers of primary care providers in rural areas; however, projects will require extensive planning and resources.
Twenty-five patients with a primary DSM-III-R diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were treated openly with the serotonin uptake inhibitor fluoxetine for up to 12 months. For most patients, treatment was initiated at 5 mg/day to minimize adverse effects previously reported with initiation at higher doses. Nineteen (76%) experienced moderate to marked improvement in panic attacks. Four (16%) were unable to tolerate fluoxetine due to adverse effects. Initiating treatment of panic disorder with low doses of fluoxetine may increase its acceptability and permit more patients to benefit from fluoxetine.
Age, ultrasound score, menopausal status, a clinical impression score and serum CA 125 level were assessed to see how they could best distinguish between patients with benign (n = 101) and malignant (n = 42) pelvic masses. Each criteria used alone provided statistically significant discrimination. The most useful individual criteria were a serum CA 125 level of 30 U/ml (sensitivity 81%, specificity 75%) and an ultrasound score of 2 (sensitivity 71%, specificity 83%). Three criteria could be combined in a risk of malignancy index (RMI) which is simply calculated using the product of the serum CA 125 level (U/ml), the ultrasound scan result (expressed as a score of 0, 1 or 3) and the menopausal status (1 if premenopausal and 3 if postmenopausal). This index was statistically virtually as effective a discriminant between cancer and benign lesions as more formal methods. Using an RMI cut-off level of 200, the sensitivity was 85% and the specificity was 97%. Patients with an RMI score of greater than 200 had, on average, 42 times the background risk of cancer and those with a lower value 0.15 times the background risk.
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Eight patients with depersonalization disorder or with depersonalization symptoms in association with obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders were treated with serotonin reuptake blockers. There was clinical overlap of depersonalization disorder with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the co-occurrence of obsessive-compulsive and panic features with depersonalization in these patients was associated with a favorable treatment outcome. The chronicity of illness and lack of prior response to a variety of treatments in these patients highlights the positive outcome with this treatment. In addition, issues are raised regarding the current hierarchical exclusion of depersonalization disorder in the presence of obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders.
Moral or religious scrupulosity is a disabling condition which is sometimes seen in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The authors described 10 patients with moral or religious scrupulosity who were treated with fluoxetine or clomipramine. Seven of the 10 patients completed open treatment of at least 8 weeks without requiring adjunctive medication; 5 of those 7 patients were rated as much improved. Among the 3 patients who required adjunctive medication, 1 was rated as much improved. Of the 4 nonresponders at 3 months, 2 responded after longer treatment trials. These results suggest that extreme moral or religious concerns and behaviors might be a form of OCD and that the scrupulosity can be effectively treated with serotonin reuptake blockers.
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The selective serotonin reuptake blocker fluoxetine was administered to 49 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder in a 12-week open clinical trial. A minimum adequate trial of at least 8 weeks of treatment was completed by 39 patients. Response rates were 62% (24/39) of adequately treated patients and 49% (24/49) of the whole sample. These uncontrolled findings suggest that fluoxetine is of significant benefit for a substantial proportion of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients. However, controlled trials comparing fluoxetine with placebo and other active agents are needed to confirm this, as are studies aimed to delineate fluoxetine's full dose range, optimal length of treatment and relapse rate following discontinuation.
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