Evaluation of the SPARK Child Mentoring Program: A Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum for Elementary School Students.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs seek to enhance social and emotional competencies in children, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. By means of direct instruction regarding social and emotional competencies, SEL programs have the potential to strengthen resilience in children and thus their capacity to effectively cope with life's challenges. Strengthening resilience in children who are repeatedly exposed to adverse experiences, particularly those from economically disadvantaged minority backgrounds, is of particular importance and has implications for the prevention of a multitude of problems later in life.

Adverse neonatal outcomes associated with maternal severe mental health diagnoses and opioid use.

Objective: Determine odds ratios for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions for babies born to women associated with severe mental illness (SMI) and gestational opioid use.

Study Design: A retrospective pharmacoepidemiologic study using Medicaid data included 17,130 mothers with and 170,430 mothers without SMI, and their babies. Odds ratios for NAS and NICU admissions among babies born to mothers associated with SMI diagnoses and associated with varying degrees of gestational opioid use were determined using logistic regression.

Individual and Organizational Factors Associated With Hospital Readmission Rates: Evidence From a U.S. National Sample.

Hospital readmission rate is an important indicator for assessing quality of care in the acute and postacute settings. Identifying factors that increase risk for hospital readmissions can aid in the recognition of potential targets for quality improvement efforts. The main objective of this brief report was to examine the factors that predict increased risk of 30-day readmissions.

Risk of Early Rehospitalization for Non-Behavioral Health Conditions Among Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries with Severe Mental Illness or Substance Use Disorders.

The goal was to examine risk factors and expenditures for early rehospitalization (within 30 days of discharge) for non-behavioral health conditions among Medicaid-enrolled Floridians over 8 years. There were 1,689,797 hospitalization episodes with 19% (N = 314,742) resulting in early rehospitalization. Total gross charges for early rehospitalization were over 13 billion dollars.

Rehospitalization risk factors for psychiatric treatment among elderly Medicaid beneficiaries following hospitalization for a physical health condition.

Objectives: Hospitalizations for physical health problems can cause great mental health challenges. We examined risk factors and expenditures for early readmission for inpatient psychiatric treatment following a hospitalization for a non-psychiatric condition.

Method: We used eight years of Florida Medicaid enrollment and claims data for (FY 2003-2011) as well as data obtained from the Florida Center for Health Information and Policy Analysis, Inpatient Hospital Database, to identify episodes of hospitalization for all Medicaid-enrolled older adults.

Risk factors for early readmission to acute care for persons with schizophrenia taking antipsychotic medications.

OBJECTIVE The study examined risk factors for readmission to acute care among Florida Medicaid enrollees with schizophrenia treated with antipsychotics. METHODS Medicaid and service use data for 2004 to 2008 were used to identify adults with schizophrenia discharged from hospitals and crisis units who were taking antipsychotics. Data were extracted on demographic characteristics, service use before admission, psychopharmacologic treatment after discharge, and readmission to acute behavioral health care.

Predictors of emergency commitment for nursing home residents: the role of resident and facility characteristics.

Objectives: The ability of nursing homes to manage the mental health needs of their residents is crucial to providing high quality care. An important element is preventing exacerbations of psychiatric conditions that trigger discharge from the nursing home (NH) because of an emergency commitment (EC) for an involuntary psychiatric examination. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between resident and facility characteristics and the risk of EC for involuntary psychiatric examination among Medicaid-enrolled NH residents in Florida.

Factors related to criminal justice expenditure trajectories for adults with serious mental illness.

Background: Criminal careers have been extensively studied in general population sample, but less is known about such patterns among people with major mental illness, and where so, criminal justice expenditure has not been taken into account.

Aims: Our aim was to examine criminal justice system expenditure over time in one Florida county. Our main research question was whether treatment for mental disorders was related to a change in criminal offending and expenditure trajectory.

Risk of arrest in persons with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a Florida Medicaid program: the role of atypical antipsychotics, conventional neuroleptics, and routine outpatient behavioral health services.

Objective: To examine (1) arrest outcomes for adults with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who were treated with first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) or second-generation atypical antipsychotics (SGAs) and (2) the interaction between medication class and outpatient services in a Florida Medicaid program.

Method: In a secondary data analysis, Florida Medicaid data covering the period from July 1, 2002, to March 31, 2008, were used to identify persons diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder and to examine antipsychotic medication episodes lasting at least 60 days. There were 93,999 medication episodes in the population examined (N = 36,519).

Predictors of avoidable hospitalizations among assisted living residents.

Objectives: Hospitalizations for long term care residents, including those from assisted living facilities (ALFs), are very costly, often traumatic, and increase risk for iatrogenic disorders for those involved. Currently, hospital expenditures account for approximately one-third of total national health care spending. Hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive (ACS) conditions are considered potentially avoidable, as these are physical health conditions that can often be treated safely at a lower level of care or occur as a result of lack of timely, adequate treatment at a lower level of care.

Predictors of preventable nursing home hospitalizations: the role of mental disorders and dementia.

Objectives: Nursing home (NH) hospitalizations place an enormous economic burden on an already overtaxed American healthcare system. Hospitalizations for "ambulatory care-sensitive" (ACS) conditions are considered preventable, as these are physical health conditions that can potentially be treated safely in a NH. The authors examined risk factors, including mental disorders and dementia, for hospitalization of Medicaid-enrolled NH residents with ACS conditions during fiscal year 2003-2006.

Risperidone long-acting therapy prescribing patterns and their impact on early discontinuation of treatment in a large Medicaid population.

Objective: Medicaid claims were examined to determine whether utilization of risperidone long-acting therapy (LAT) was consistent with manufacturer's prescribing information recommendations and what factors were associated with early discontinuation.

Method: Florida Medicaid claims between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2007, were used. Recipient demographics and diagnoses, provision of oral antipsychotic supplementation during the first 21 days, number of injections received, medication possession ratio, and augmentation/polypharmacy after the first 21 days were assessed.

Short-term impact of preferred drug list changes on health care use and Medicaid costs: injectable risperidone.

Objective: This study assessed short-term effects of the removal of injectable risperidone long-acting therapy from the Florida Medicaid preferred drug list (PDL) in April 2006.

Methods: A difference-in-difference approach was used to contrast changes (60 days pre and post) in health care utilization and costs of Medicaid recipients who were receiving risperidone long-acting therapy when the policy was changed (N=247) and of a matched sample who received risperidone long-acting therapy in April 2005 (non-PDL, N=247).

Results: The policy change was associated with increased acute care events.

Antipsychotic polypharmacy in the treatment of children and adolescents in the fee-for-service component of a large state Medicaid program.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to quantify and describe antipsychotic polypharmacy use among patients aged 6 to 12 years (children) and 13 to 17 years (adolescents) and to identify the characteristics of polypharmacy recipients.

Methods: Data from patients enrolled in Florida's Medicaid fee-for-service program and receiving treatment with an antipsychotic were included. Antipsychotic polypharmacy was defined as the receipt of > or = 2 antipsychotic medications concurrently for >60 days, with no gaps >15 days in polypharmacy treatment.

Gender differences and risk of arrest among offenders with serious mental illness.

Despite the increasing number of men and women with serious mental illness (SMI) incarcerated in America's jails, little research exists on the role gender may play in arrest among persons with SMI. This study examined correlates of arrests among offenders with SMI, specifically the role of gender. County criminal justice records, as well as county and statewide social service archival databases, were used to identify jail inmates with SMI in a large urban county in Florida.

Characteristics and experiences of adults with a serious mental illness who were involved in the criminal justice system.

Objective: This study identified characteristics and experiences of arrestees and jail inmates with a serious mental illness that were associated with misdemeanor and felony arrests and additional days in jail.

Methods: County and statewide criminal justice records and health and social service archival data sets were used to identify inmates with serious mental illness who were in the Pinellas County, Florida, jail between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, and their health and social service contacts from July 1, 2002, to June 10, 2006. Criminal justice and mental health services were recorded longitudinally across 16 quarters, or 90-day periods.

The association of individual and facility characteristics with psychiatric hospitalization among nursing home residents.

Objective: To examine resident and facility characteristics associated with psychiatric hospitalizations (PH) for Medicaid enrolled nursing home (NH) residents.

Methods: Participants were all Medicaid enrolled NH residents (n = 32,604) from all Medicaid certified nursing homes in Florida (n = 584) with complete data. We used individual demographic and diagnostic characteristics, as well as facility characteristics, to explore risk of psychiatric hospitalization in this dataset.

Risk adjustment of Florida mental health outcomes data: concepts, methods, and results.

This article discusses outcome evaluation systems for mental health programs. It reviews and critically evaluates design and analysis methods for strengthening the validity of such uncontrolled comparisons. The article examines methods for statistically adjusting preexisting groups, now referred to as risk adjustment or case-mix adjustment, and offers guidelines for determining when this procedure is appropriate.

Metastases to the pancreas.

Disparity in prognosis and management between primary and secondary pancreatic tumours makes recognition of metastases to the pancreas on CT and MRI an important goal. Three different patterns of secondary pancreatic tumours may be seen: localized, multifocal, or diffuse enlargement. CT findings include hypodense lesions, which show rim enhancement following intravenous contrast medium.

Effects of superparamagnetic iron oxide on radio-frequency-induced temperature distribution: in vitro measurements in polyacrylamide phantoms and in vivo results in a rabbit liver model.

Purpose: To determine whether contrast medium containing superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) alters radio-frequency (RF)-related temperature distribution in acrylamide phantoms and in an in vivo model.

Materials And Methods: In nine acrylamide phantoms with increasing SPIO content, RF was applied with simultaneous measurement of temperature profile along the probe track. Additionally, magnetic resonance imaging-guided RF ablation was performed in the liver of six rabbits after the intravenous administration of SPIO (0.

MRI-guided radiofrequency thermal ablation of implanted VX2 liver tumors in a rabbit model: demonstration of feasibility at 0.2 T.

Successful radiofrequency (RF) thermal ablation was performed on VX2 tumors implanted in 23 rabbit livers under magnetic resonance (MR) guidance using a C-arm-shaped low-field 0.2 T system. RF application and immediate postprocedure MRI of all animals was performed [T2-weighted, turbo short tau inversion recovery (STIR), T1-weighted before and after gadopentetate dimeglumine administration).

MR monitoring of MR-guided radiofrequency thermal ablation of normal liver in an animal model.

The purpose of this study was to determine the suitability of MRI to accurately detect radiofrequency (RF) thermoablative lesions created under MR guidance. In vivo RF lesions were created in the livers of six New Zealand White rabbits using a 2-mm-diameter titanium alloy RF electrode with a 20-mm exposed tip and a 50-W RF generator. This was performed using a 0.

HIV risk factors for persons with serious mental illness.

HIV risk factors were assessed among 120 persons in treatment for serious mental illness. Although subjects had good general knowledge regarding HIV, many engaged in high risk behaviors. Condom use was infrequent among those who had multiple sexual partners, and sharing needles was common for those who used i.

Assisting clients of community mental health centers to secure SSI benefits: a controlled evaluation.

The entire caseloads of three Community Mental Health Centers were screened on variables normally assessed in the SSI application process. These data were then used to classify each individual as Possibly Eligible for SSI benefits, or as Probably Not Eligible. The Possibly Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to either the Experimental condition, in which subjects were helped to apply for SSI, or the Control condition, in which no intervention was provided.

Speed of scanning in primary memory in persons with dementia of the Alzheimer type.

The nature of the search of primary memory by persons with a presumptive diagnosis of mild Alzheimer's disease (DAT) was compared with that of normal elderly and young persons using the Sternberg (1966) paradigm. DAT subjects evidenced a substantial deficit in the speed of scanning in primary memory and a deficit in at least one other stage of processing. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the decline in memory performance evidenced by persons with DAT may be attributable to an increase in the time requirements of mnemonic processing.