Biomedical subjects

M L Coulter

Publications and source records attributed to M L Coulter.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Early intervention services in selected Florida counties: the provider perspective.

Early intervention providers in five Florida counties were interviewed to obtain their perspective on the current service system in preparation for the implementation of programs under Public Law 99-457. Recommendations from the providers' perspective that have implications for policy development include (a) increase public awareness of disability, handicap, and at risk conditions as well as awareness of services; (b) increase funding for early intervention services with particular attention to the needs of families for support and other services; (c) drastically improve the transportation system; and (d) focus on helping parents and the public to learn how to negotiate the system as it exists.

Child Health Services↗

PubMed1991

Psychological aspects of parents of children with craniofacial anomalies.

Parents of 27 children with pure craniosynostosis seen at a craniofacial clinic were surveyed to measure variables associated with family psychological stress. Each parent was asked to complete the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress and to provide information on various family and demographic characteristics. The level of psychological stress was positively associated with the number of older children in the home, not having one's own car, and not having prior experience caring for a handicapped person. Having someone to help care for one's child was also positively associated with family stress level. The level of family stress was negatively associated with the respondent's current health and degree of satisfaction with the amount of time clinic staff spent with one's child. These findings suggest a means of identifying families at high risk for stress associated with having a child with a craniofacial disorder who may need supportive services.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Determinants of placement for sexually abused children.

While conducting a prospective study of 100 sexually abused children, we found a much higher rate of out-of-home placement than has been previously described for child maltreatment. This study was designed to determine which factors were most influential in predicting the placement experiences of this cohort. The children, ages 6-17 years, were recently substantiated victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse whose parents or guardians permitted study involvement. We examined child and family demographics, abuse characteristics, and family response as possible determinants of immediate and later placement. At the initial assessment, within a few weeks of the disclosure, 50% of the children had already been removed. A follow-up assessment of 83 children two years later revealed that 73% had been removed from the abusing home. In a multivariate regression model, only maternal support of the child emerged as a significant predictor of immediate placement and placement over time. The offender's status as a resident in the child's home was an important predictor of immediate placement but was not significant as a predictor of all placements at any time. As maternal support is an important predictor of the need for placement, workers are encouraged to seek ways of enhancing maternal support as a means of reducing placement.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Integrating social work and public health education: a clinical model.

In Florida, the need for clinically oriented social workers with expertise in planning and evaluating maternal and child health programs has led to the establishment of a joint master of social work and master of public health degree program. This program has a clinical social work concentration combined with a public health concentration in maternal and child health content, administration, and research design. The philosophy and development of the program, the course content and degree requirements, the field placement content, issues regarding student acceptance and advisement, faculty appointments, and program directions and goals are discussed. Descriptions of both the social work and public health programs that operate the joint-degree curriculum and the differing perspectives are outlined as well as skills that students obtained through their participation in the program.

Curriculum↗

PubMed1989

Maternal support following disclosure of incest.

The level of maternal support to incest victims following disclosure was found to be more closely related to perpetrator than to child characteristics. Lack of maternal support was significantly associated with foster placement and higher psychopathology scores in a clinical interview. Evidence is presented challenging the validity of maternal behavioral reports in assessments of incest victims.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Productivity and selected indicators of care in maternity and infant care and children and youth projects according to sponsorship.

Bureau Common Reporting Requirements (BCRR) data tapes for Fiscal Year 1980 were analyzed to determine whether the type of sponsoring agency influenced the productivity or indicators of care of Maternity and Infant Care and Children and Youth Projects. Sponsors were classified as either health department or non-health department, health department or major medical center, or public or private in three separate sets of analyses. Some of these analyses indicated that special projects that were either health department or public agency sponsored were more likely to have more non-medical patient encounters and more health education and social work staff for a given level of expenditures. Although publicly sponsored projects employed fewer physician equivalents than did the non-public projects, those physicians were more productive. Despite these differences in encounters, staffing, and utilization of physicians, there were no differences in available measures of the process of care between categories of projects in any of the analyses.

Child↗

PubMed1988

Impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children.

OBJECTIVE: Examining the psychologic risks of court and related interventions on child sexual abuse victims. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study with follow-up at 5 months. SETTING: Eleven county social service departments in central North Carolina. SUBJECTS: 100 sexually abused children, ages 6 to 17 years, were recruited from consecutive referrals by social service departments; 75 completed the study. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Using a structured psychiatric inventory, the Child Assessment Schedule, we found a high degree of distress at referral. The level of distress fell by 26% over the next 5 months (p less than 0.001). The 33 children not involved in criminal proceedings improved 30%, in comparison with a 17% improvement in the 22 children waiting for the proceedings (p = 0.042). The 12 children who had testified in juvenile court improved 42% on the Anxiety subscale, in comparison with a 17% improvement in all other subjects (p less than 0.01). With mathematical modeling that controlled for the factors of vaginal or anal penetration, the relationship to the perpetrator, an estimate of verbal IQ, duration of abuse, and whether counseling was received, it was estimated that children waiting for court proceedings at the follow-up examination were only one twelfth as likely to have improved by one standard deviation on the Depression subscale (p less than 0.05). A second model revealed that children who testified in juvenile court were 20.11 times more likely to improve by one standard deviation on the CAS Anxiety subscale (p less than 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Testimony in juvenile court may be beneficial for the child, whereas protracted criminal proceedings may have an adverse effect on the mental health of the victim.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

Preventive social work in perceived environmental disasters.

A modified social support network intervention model is presented that can prevent extreme or inappropriate public response to exposure to perceived environmental toxins and other perceived technological disasters. Social workers in public health and environmental health settings may find this model useful as a basis for preexposure community intervention.

Community Psychiatry↗

PubMed1986

Does televised drinking influence children's attitudes toward alcohol?

Fifth and sixth grade children randomly assigned to experimental and control groups saw videotaped television programs in which the drinking of alcoholic beverages by the principal characters appeared in the experimental condition but not the control condition. Parents' drinking and home television watching were similar for both groups. Immediately after viewing the television programs, the children completed alcohol attitude and subjective expected utility (SEU) questionnaires. There were no significant differences in attitudes or SEU scores with one exception. Among boys only, those who saw the film with drinking were significantly more likely to respond that the good things about alcohol are more important than the bad things. Further research into the potential effects on children of drinking on television serials is indicated.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1985

Conflicting needs and interests of researchers and service providers in child sexual abuse cases.

A child sexual abuse research project was designed which was dependent on referrals from local departments of social services. Significant differences in needs and goals existed between the referral sources and the research team. Modifications of project designs were necessary in the areas of subject recruitment, allocation of project resources, design and measurement, and analysis and reporting. These modifications resulted in a beneficial blend of service and research and produced a useful service in the setting of competent research.

Child↗