This study of the status of medical care for Kansans with developmental disabilities consists of reports from physicians, service providers, and family members. Overall, these three groups indicated satisfaction with medical care across the four criteria of availability, accessibility, appropriateness, and affordability. The bases for these…

Context: Hospitals play a central role in small rural communities and are frequently one of the major contributors to the local economy. Surgical services often account for a substantial proportion of hospital revenues. The current shortage of general surgeons practicing in rural communities may further threaten the financial viability of rural…

The continuing increase in cancer rates among women in the United States is forcing more men to experience the impact of breast cancer on their relationships. Using 71 male partners of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, this study assessed how dyadic coping strategies affected men's adjustment to their partners' illness. While their partners…

Suicide was the second leading cause of death for 14-17 years olds in 2002. Prior studies indicate that suicidal behaviors are especially common among juvenile delinquents, yet this association has not been examined in a national sample. The 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System was used to examine associations between suicidal behaviors…

Although social work participation on interdisciplinary teams is long-standing, little research has been done to examine its effectiveness. This study used the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration to explore relationships between selected variables and teamwork in the hospice setting. The findings indicate that hospice social workers report a…

This study measured levels of self-reported social need in a sample of 684 veterans seen in four primary care clinics of a large Veterans Affairs health care system, using the Social Needs Checklist, and calculated levels of social work staffing to meet these needs. Data were obtained on the presence and severity of 15 areas of social needs,…

We model the dynamics associated with living-arrangement decisions of sick elderly individuals. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics? Parental Health Supplement, we construct the complete living-arrangement histories of elderly individuals in need of care. We use a simultaneous random-effects competing-risks model to analyze the impact of…

Collaborative decision making in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) involves negotiation among the parents and medical professionals involved with a premature baby. The authors introduce economist Herbert Simon's concept of "satisficing" as a model for collaborative decision making in the NICU. Satisficing (a hybrid of "satisfy" and…

The efficacy of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and psychotropic medications in children with autism is limited to the treatment of seizures or to specific behaviors such as irritability, impulsivity, hyperactivity, repetitive behaviors, or aggression. The reliability and value of the available data--to determine the efficacy of these medications in…

In no area of developmental pediatric practice is there more controversy regarding the choice of treatment than related to children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Complementary and alternative medical therapies (CAM) are often elected because they are perceived as treating the cause of symptoms rather than the symptoms themselves. CAM…

The optimal practice of medicine includes integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available clinical evidence from systematic research. This article reviews nine treatment modalities used for children who have cerebral palsy (CP), including hyperbaric oxygen, the Adeli Suit, patterning, electrical stimulation, conductive education,…

This article considers our current technologically sophisticated educational system as it attempts to meet the needs of a school population that is more diverse, needy, and exceptional than at any other point in history. The very nature of the term "at risk" is based on the perception that students may dropout due to their living…

The purpose of the current study was to determine the types of psychiatric disorders and the corresponding medications prescribed to children enrolled in elementary Emotional Behavioral Disability (EBD) programs. The project employed a questionnaire that was distributed to elementary level teachers (EBD) to: (a) determine the proportion of …

America's first hospitals for premature infants were built at the turn of the twentieth century at fairs, amusement parks, and expositions. These hospitals represented both a medical and a social frontier. They had a great impact on American medicine because they demonstrated the success of caring for premature infants using incubators. The…

Impaired quality of life is associated with increased mortality in patients with advanced lung disease. Using a randomized controlled trial with allocation concealment and blinded outcome assessment at 2 tertiary care teaching hospitals, the authors randomly assigned 328 patients with end-stage lung disease awaiting lung transplantation to 12…