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Biomedical subjects

M W Linn

Publications and source records attributed to M W Linn.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Symptoms of depression and recent life events in the community elderly.

Studied 188 elderly living in the community in terms of the relationship of recent life events to symptoms of depression. Three discriminators of depression were found among 12 events that occurred in the past year. Ss with greater depressive symptomatology had been involved in more arguments, experienced more deaths of relatives and friends, and among the white elderly, reported more accidents among relatives and friends. This group also reported experiencing a higher magnitude of stress. The relevance of these findings for clinical diagnosis and treatment planning is explored.

Aged↗
PubMed1980

New patients versus revolving door patients.

The therapeutic expectation regarding the outcome of drug abusers entering a program for the first time as opposed to patients who have made previous rehabilitation attempts is controversial. Do new patients respond more positively to a therapeutic community than patients with previous treatment experience and is there an interaction between previous treatment/no treatment and heroin/non-heroin drug use? Data were collected from 89 male drug abusers as they entered treatment and also at discharge. Patients entering treatment for the first time were found to be more socially adjusted, but no differences were found between the two groups on attitudes, mood, or symptoms. Non-heroin patients with previous treatment scored significantly lower on the cheerfulness factor of the mood scale. At discharge, no differences were found between previously treated patients and new patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Self-assessed health, impairment and disability in anglo, black and cuban elderly.

Self-assessed health and physician-rated impairment were compared for 174 Anglo, black, and Cuban elderly medical outpatients. Level of disability was also recorded by the interviewer. A minimal correlation was found between patient and physician-rated health. Self-assessed health and level of functioning were associated significantly in each of the 3 cultures. The way patients perceived their health and functioned differed by culture, but impairment ratings of the physician did not discriminate among cultures. It seems likely that nonmedical factors may explain cultural differences in perception of health as well as how these perceptions influence ability to perform everyday activities of living. The patients' estimates of health appear to be an important factor in their overall health status, which physicians could use to augment their assessments of impairment. Since self-assessed health relates to level of functioning and to the way the elderly react to an illness, it can be seen as a useful component in evaluating health and predicting patient behavior.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1980

Estimating survival for patients with late-stage cancer.

The accuracy of physicians in estimating survival is known to be poor. This paper describes a statistical method for determining length of survival which was developed as a potential adjunct to clinical prognosis for patients with late-stage cancer. Age at diagnosis, staging, histology, and treatment were collected from the tumor registry on a sample of patients. Weights were derived from regression analyses for each of the variables in predicting months of survival. The method of applying these weights prospectively for individual patients is described.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1980

Dietary patterns and cancer of the digestive tract in older patients.

This study involved 97 male veterans (age range, 45-65) in four approximately equal groups, classified as follows: 1) colon or rectal cancer, 2) upper digestive-tract cancers, 3) other cancers, and 4) additional controls (no cancer). Dietary histories of these cancer and noncancer inpatients were recorded to see whether or not consumption of particular substances could be predictive of cancer. The interactions of substances in combination such as sugar x fat, and alcohol x smoking, proved to be important predictors of cancer of the upper digestive tract. The degree of coffee consumption was a predictor of nondigestive-tract cancer. However, colorectal cancer patients could not be distinguished from non-cancer patients by the dietary variables examined.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Differential response of the need to be held.

Although the need to be held has been related to depression, anxiety, and sexual behaviour, it remains unclear how the factors of race and marital status relate to the wish for body contact. This study determined whether there were discrete dimensions of the Body Contact Scale and whether black/white and married/unmarried women differed on these factors during their first trimester of pregnancy. Eighty-five pregnant women completed the Body Contact Scale and answered an attitude and symptom complaint questionnaire. Data analysis consisted of factor analysis and multivariate analysis of the factor scores as well as attitude and symptom variables to determine any differences between the four groups. Three factors resulted and were named, satisfaction, deprivation, and strategy factors. White women were far more likely to score high on the satisfaction factor than black women. A number of interactions were found for the need to be held total score with race and marital status on perinatal attitudes and symptoms, showing that the body contact variable may be an important aspect of psychosomatic functioning.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

A comparison of dropouts and disciplinary discharges from a therapeutic community.

Differences between regular dropouts and disciplinary discharges from drug treatment programs have frequently been overlooked in studies on attrition. Data on symptom, mood, attitudes, and social dysfunction were collected from 104 males under treatment for drug abuse at a VA Hospital A 2 x 2 analysis of variance tested for differences between regular dropouts/disciplinary discharges and heroin/nonheroin subjects. Results showed that the heroin dropouts had the most negative attitude toward the Hard Drug User, and the heroin disciplinary discharges tended to be the most dysfunctional.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Qualities of institutional care that affect outcome.

Much has been written about institutions and care of the elderly. This paper begins with a description of the elderly population and its use of institutional care. A brief history of two types of institutions which provide long-term care to the elderly-mental hospitals and nursing homes-is covered next, along with some of the problems these institutions face in terms of their patients becoming institutionalized and what has happened as a result of pressures to deinstitutionalize the mental hospital population. Ways of assessing quality of care are highlighted in regard to current needs and methods of dealing with these needs. Some of the studies which emphasize outcomes in relation to institutional structure and process are then reviewed. Finally, some conclusions are drawn which summarize major needs and deficiencies in this area of study.

Aged↗
PubMed1979

Day treatment and psychotropic drugs in the aftercare of schizophrenic patients. A Veterans Administration cooperative study.

Schizophrenic patients referred for day treatment at the time of discharge from ten hospitals were randomly assigned to receive day treatment plus drugs or to receive drugs alone. They were tested before assignment and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months on social functioning, symptoms, and attitudes. Community tenure and costs were also measured. The ten day centers were described on process variables every six months for the four years of the study. Some centers were found to be effective in treating chronic schizophrenic patients and others were not. All centers improved the patients' social functioning. Six of the centers were found to significantly delay relapse, reduce sumptoms, and change some attitudes. Costs for patients in these centers were not significantly different from the group receiving only drugs. More professional staff hours, group therapy, and a high patient turnover treatment philosophy were associated with poor-result centers. More occupational therapy and a sustained nonthreatening environment were more characteristic of successful outcome centers.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Minority women's attitudes about aging.

Many factors combine to make middle age a critical period with respect to views about aging. To examine the effects of culture, background, and familial characteristics on attitudes toward old age, 304 middle-aged women from Black, Cuban, American Indian, Chicano, and white cultures were studied. A stepwise multiple regression analysis examined the contribution of each variable in the prediction of attitudes toward old age. Attitude toward death, attitude toward family, and church affiliation were found to be important predictors of attitude toward old age. Thus, clinicians dealing with middle-aged women having negative attitudes or fears about aging and old age in general may need to examine family dynamics as well as views about death and dying for possible problems. Where religion is already an integral part of a client's life, perhaps clinicians could use this orientation for added support.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Living arrangements and well being in elderly women.

Psychosocial and health data were obtained from 50 black and 47 white females age 65 and over. The women were divided according to whether they lived alone, with spouse only, or with persons other than (or in addition to) the spouse. Those living alone were found to have lower life satisfaction, lower self-esteem, and higher social dysfunction than those living with spouse or others. No differences were found with respect to depression, somatization, diet, or activity level. There was a significant interaction effect between race and living arrangement with respect to anxiety, with blacks being less anxious than whites when living with others, and more anxious when living alone or with only a spouse.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1979

Perception of age in the elderly.

One hundred-fifty persons age 65 and over who identified themselves as feeling younger, or as old or older than their age, were studied in terms of seven dependent variables describing psychological functioning. Younger age perceptions were associated with better psychological functioning in Blacks and whites as well as in males and females. This was true even when social class, disability, and impairment were controlled. The variable which discriminated best between perceived age groups was locus of control, with more internality being associated with younger age perceptions.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1979

The importance of the doctor to the dying patient.

The physician plays a central role in the emotional as well as the physical care of the dying patient. The concerns of the terminally ill cancer patient include (1) emotional response to the physical limitations of illness, (2) communication with significant others, (3) self-concept, and (4) resolution regarding impending death. Although a busy physician would not be able to spend much time talking with the patient about these concerns, the physician could communicate to the patient in just a few minutes an empathic understanding of the emotional crises the patient faces. Sometimes only a word or touch of the hand can covey the physician's support and understanding which are so meaningful for a terminally ill patient.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1979

Cultural and sex differences in dietary patterns of the urban elderly.

A group of 182 elderly subjects (91 females, 91 males; 94 blacks, 88 whites) were interviewed with respect to background data, dietary habits, and health variables. Analysis of variance showed race and sex differences with respect to meal patterns and quality of diet. In addition, correlational analyses revealed associations between quality of diet and social class, education, health status, and the smoking of cigarettes. Associations were strongest for the black subjects.

Aged↗
PubMed1979

Cultural factors and attrition in drug abuse treatment.

The present study examined how race related to attrition in drug abuse treatment. 165 male voluntary admissions to an inpatient Substance Abuse Unit were tested at admission on functioning, motivation, attitudes, symptoms, and mood-using reliable and valid scales. One week later they completed a 12-factor scale measuring perception of the treatment milieu. Data were analyzed in a 2 x 2 factorial design of analysis of variance. There were 106 White subjects and 59 Blacks. The dropout rate for Blacks and Whites was 63%. Two factors measured at intake, motivation and social functioning, showed statistically significant interactions between race and attrition. Four ward perception factors showed a differential effect related to race and attrition. The White dropout and completer did not differ in how they perceived the ward. Blacks, however, who perceived the environment as being more insightful, spontaneous, autonomous, and practical remained. Although Blacks and Whites differed on many variables, only six showed race-related differences in attrition. Having higher motivation and poorer adjustment influenced Whites to stay. Factors in the environment, however, influenced Blacks. What might be considered a more "therapeutic" milieu was effective in helping Blacks remain in treatment. Knowledge of these cultural differences could help in designing treatment programs.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1979

Suicide attempts among drug abusers.

The relationship between substance abuse and suicide is indicated by the high rate of attempted suicide among alcoholics and drug abusers as well as the increased likelihood of repeated attempts in these populations. This study reports on the psychological characteristics of male drug suicide attempters who are in treatment for their addiction problem. Data collected from 166 veterans included background information, symptoms, mood, social functioning, and attitude measures. Of the drug abuse patients, 26 percent reported having made a suicide attempt. These subjects were found to be significantly more depressed, angry, insecure, and anxious than the nonsuicide-attempt drug abusers. Treatment staff need to be sensitized to the possibility of repeated suicide attempts among substance abuse patients.

Adult↗