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Biomedical subjects

R Apsler

Publications and source records attributed to R Apsler.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Increases in booster seat use among children of low income families and variation with age.

OBJECTIVES: To increase booster seat use among low income parents. DESIGN/METHODS: A pre-test/post-test design conducted in nine daycare centers with post-test observations four to eight weeks after the intervention. INTERVENTION: Parents who participated in an educational training received free seats, educational programs were provided to all daycare staff and children, and signs in parking lots informed parents about child restraints. At seven centers, new policies recommended compliance with state restraint laws. Parents at four centers randomly chosen from the seven received financial incentives if observed using booster seats. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The percent of children aged 4-8 riding in booster seats. RESULTS: Pre-test observations of 185 4-8 year olds found 56% riding unrestrained and fewer than 3% riding in booster seats. After the intervention, observation of 146 children found the number riding in booster seats increased to 38% and the number observed without restraints decreased to 26%. Most booster seat use occurred with 4 and 5 year olds. No 7 or 8 year olds rode in booster seats. Changing center policies to recommend compliance with state restraint laws and an offer of financial incentives appeared to have no additional impact. CONCLUSIONS: Booster seat usage among low income families can be increased dramatically, though use decreases with age. Providing free seats accompanied by training may be sufficient without the need for additional intervention.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Former state hospital patients in private general hospital psychiatric emergency settings.

Increasing numbers of patients formerly hospitalized in state facilities are using private general hospital psychiatric emergency services. To define their clinical needs, the authors compared the characteristics of patients hospitalized in state institutions to those hospitalized privately and to those never hospitalized. They found that two discrete clinical groups exist: those from state and those from private systems. Clinicians reacted most negatively to former state patients. This was also reflected by differences in the dispositions of voluntary patients from the emergency room. Those not hospitalized or privately hospitalized were more likely than former state hospitalized patients to be sent to private facilities.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Differences among clinicians in the decision to admit.

Despite considerable efforts by researchers and clinicians to elucidate the nature of the decision to admit patients for psychiatric treatment, they disagree about the criteria for hospitalization and have made little progress understanding the decision-making process. This study further investigated factors influencing the decision to admit by incorporating two unusual (for this area) features: (1) use of a multivariate analysis and (2) examination of individual differences among clinicians. The results showed both strong similarities and differences in the criteria used by individual clinicians. For each caretaker, a relatively small list of criteria was developed. Taken together, these criteria correctly classified 90% of the patients (96% of nonhospitalized and 60% of hospitalized patients) in a large, urban, general-hospital emergency room.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1983

Cross-cultural comparison of British and American psychiatric emergencies.

The authors compare patient characteristics in a psychiatric emergency setting in the United States with a similar service in the United Kingdom. They found that despite many significant differences in nonclinical variables, the severity of clinical symptoms did not differentiate between the two groups. In both countries, it was not the degree of psychopathology but the lack of an available support network, an inability to engage the patient in the system, and a history of serious chronic maladjustment that led to the majority of "emergency" visits. The authors conclude that use of an emergency service sensitivity mirrors the gaps in health care delivery.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Are there sex biases in rape counseling?

To test the common assumption that only women should treat rape victims, the authors examined the effect of therapists' gender on their counseling of 41 rape victims. The men and women counselors did not differ significantly in their descriptions of their affective responses to the patients or in their treatment recommendations. The women therapists rated victims as having more functional impairment on the Global Assessment Scale, possibly suggesting that they were more sensitive to the victims' distress. The total group of therapists viewed the rape victims more positively than they viewed other female emergency room patients, probably reflecting "undesirable" characteristics of persons who use this setting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Geriatric emergencies: psychiatric or medical?

To determine how the elderly use the emergency room, the authors compared emergency patients 65 years old and older with younger patients in terms of demographics, clinical factors, patterns of emergency room use, and clinicians' responses. They found that, like younger patients, the elderly had scanty social supports but, unlike younger patients, came for care repeatedly with somatic complaints. Despite coexisting medical and psychiatric illnesses, these patients were generally managed by one service without consultation from the other. The authors, who found no differences in physicians' attitudes toward younger and older patients, emphasize the need for a holistic, psychobiologic approach to the care of the elderly emergency patient.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1979

Adults' drug use: relationship to perceived drug use of parents, friends while growing up, and present friends.

Results from a random household survey of the Boston Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area show a consistent and relatively strong association of adults' use of coffee, tobacco, alcohol, tranquilizers, and marijuana with their perceptions of present friends' use. Associations with parents' and past adolescent friends' use are much weaker. The results support efforts to explain illicit drug use with general theories of behavior acquisition and cast doubt on the utility of deviance theories.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Evaluation of crisis intervention services with anonymous clients.

A technique is introduced for using intake data to evaluate crisis intervention services in which client anonymity prevents the usual follow-up procedures. The technique is based on the assumptions (a) that the rate of reuse of the service indicates the effectiveness of the service, and (b) that counselors' estimates of their effectiveness provide some indication of the adequacy of their training. The study was conducted at a 24-hour metropolitan hotline. In addition to obtaining the usual intake information, counselors asked callers how often they had used the hotline previously and then rated their own effectiveness in aiding the callers. Analyses show the relative effectiveness of the hotline with various types of callers and problems and suggest areas where additional counselor training is desirable.

Crisis Intervention↗