High school suicide prevention programs.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
S M Valente
Publications and source records attributed to S M Valente.
Tics in children and adolescents.
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Adolescent↗
Management of suicidal patients with HIV disease.
Suicidal acts among people with HIV disease exceed those among the general population. Stress from the HIV diagnosis, treatment, and medications can lead to depression, which increases suicide risk. High quality care of depressed persons depends on sound scientific knowledge of evaluation of suicide. Incidence, epidemiology, risk factors, evaluation, and treatment of suicidal people are the core of this article. A patient's comment, "I'd be better off dead," deserves investigation as a cry for help and a clue to impending suicide.
Adult↗
Evaluating depression among patients with cancer.
The stress, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer cause substantial psychiatric morbidity that is treatable. Chemotherapy or other cancer treatments cause 40% to 60% of patients' emotional distress. Major depression develops in approximately 25% of patients with cancer, and less severe depressive symptoms develop in many patients, but fewer than half of the patients with symptoms are offered treatment. Alleviating major depression improves the quality of life for these patients with cancer. These patients, particularly during terminal illness, have an increased risk of suicide. Clinicians proficient in psychosocial assessment can detect subtle signs, monitor risk factors, reduce major depression with cognitive strategies, and prevent complications. Untreated major depression lowers life expectancy and treatment compliance and increases risk of suicide and cardiac disease. In this article, incidence of major depression among patients with cancer is discussed. Guidelines for diagnosis, correcting myths, and detecting major depression are suggested. Effective cognitive strategies for intervention are described; medical treatment is briefly reviewed. Detection and evaluation of suicide risk are discussed.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗
Oncology nurses' knowledge and misconceptions about suicide.
Nurses' knowledge of suicide has been underinvestigated. This article summarizes a survey of oncology nurses' knowledge and misconceptions about suicide. Nurses' knowledge of risk factors, suicide potential, and management of a suicidal patient were examined after nurses read a vignette about a suicidal patient with cancer. Analysis included descriptive statistics and content analysis. Approximately 20% of nurses underestimated the patient's suicide risk. Nurses correctly identified an average of three of eight risk factors, but 61% misidentified worries and fears as suicide risk factors or indicators of suicide risk. More than 60% of nurses correctly identified saying goodbye, giving away a treasured object, being a widower, and wishing to be dead as risk factors. Few knew that race/ethnicity (3.23%), male gender (23.66%), and age (31.18%) were risk factors. Undiagnosed mental disorders also increase suicide risk. Physicians and nurses often fail to ask oncology patients about depression, and depressed patients often report only physical symptoms and minimize their depression or suicidal ideas. Before committing suicide, 8 of 10 suicidal people had asked for better management of their physical symptoms, but their suicide risk was not detected. After recognizing any indicator of suicide risk, a nurse should assess risk factors, detect clues, and estimate individual lethality. Few (15.12%) nurses asked about a suicide plan as a nursing assessment, and 37% of the nurses used consultation. Less than one-third of nurses recommended providing safety, protecting the patient, or taking suicide precautions. Such evidence indicates the need for education to enhance knowledge and skill building to improve the interviewing and care of suicidal patients.
Adult↗
Self-care, psychological distress, and HIV disease.
Self-care behaviors may be positive (healthy) or negative (unhealthy). Many factors may influence whether individuals choose healthy or unhealthy self-care behaviors. This study examined the relationships of perceived impact of HIV status, distress, and subsequent changes in self-care activities among men and women who were at risk for or infected with HIV. Significant findings included a positive correlation between the number of symptoms experienced and both depression and change toward unhealthy self-care behaviors. The impact of event avoidance and depression were associated with changes to unhealthy self-care behaviors, although hopelessness was associated with fewer unhealthy changes.
Adult↗