Empowering Psychiatric Inpatients to Vote: Perceptions of Voting and the Barriers Encountered.

Individuals with psychiatric illness believe that voting is important. However, these individuals have lower rates of voting when compared to the general population. A survey of psychiatrically hospitalized adult patients was conducted to assess perceptions of and barriers to voting in patients with psychiatric illness.

Promoting Health Equity Through Voter Support Activities for the Inpatient Psychiatric Population.

Individuals with mental illness often face barriers to voting. One of the primary barriers is not being registered to vote. This paper describes voter support activities (VSAs) provided to hospitalized adults on the acute inpatient psychiatric units at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.

Surrogate Alcohol or Nonbeverage Alcohol Consumption: The Surrogate Alcohol Questionnaire (SAQ).

Background: Diagnosis and treatment of alcohol use disorders and their sequelae are common clinical questions for the consultation-liaison psychiatrist. At an urban, academic medical center, the authors consulted on several patients whose consumption of alcohol included nonbeverage forms of alcohol, (described in the literature as surrogate alcohols, nonbeverage alcohols, e.g.

Changes in cerebral blood flow and anxiety associated with an 8-week mindfulness programme in women with breast cancer.

This study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) associated with the Mindfulness-based Art Therapy (MBAT) programme and correlate such changes to stress and anxiety in women with breast cancer. Eighteen breast cancer patients were randomized to the MBAT or education control group. The patients received the diagnosis of breast cancer between 6 months and 3 years prior to enrollment and were not in active treatment.

Measuring informed decision making about prostate cancer screening in primary care.

Purpose: To measure the extent of informed decision making (IDM) about prostate cancer screening in physician-patient encounters, describe the coding process, and assess the reliability of the IDM measure.

Methods: Audiorecoded encounters of 146 older adult men and their primary care physicians were obtained in a randomized controlled trial of mediated decision support related to prostate cancer screening. Each encounter was dual coded for the presence or absence of 9 elements that reflect several important dimensions of IDM, such as information sharing, patient empowerment, and engaging patients in preference clarification.

Physician staffing for the practice of psychosomatic medicine in general hospitals: a pilot study.

Background: The treatment of psychiatric illnesses, prevalent in the general hospital, requires broadly trained providers with expertise at the interface of psychiatry and medicine. Since each hospital operates under different economic constraints, it is difficult to establish an appropriate ratio of such providers to patients.

Objective: The authors sought to determine the current staffing patterns and ratios of Psychosomatic Medicine practitioners in general hospitals, to better align manpower with clinical service and educational requirements on consultation-liaison psychiatry services.

Mediated decision support in prostate cancer screening: a randomized controlled trial of decision counseling.

Objective: This randomized trial was conducted to assess the impact of a mediated decision support intervention on primary care patient prostate cancer screening knowledge, decisional conflict, informed decision making (IDM), and screening.

Methods: Before a routine office visit, 313 male patients eligible for prostate cancer screening completed a baseline telephone survey and received a mailed brochure on prostate cancer screening. At the visit, participants were randomized to either an enhanced intervention (EI) or a standard intervention (SI) group.

Women at a dangerous intersection: diagnosis and treatment of depression and related disorders in patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a relatively common diagnosis for American women and depressive symptoms occur in many women with breast cancer. Identification of women with breast cancer and concomitant depressive symptoms and mood disorders requires particular attention by heath care providers, and may be aided by the administration of a variety of diagnostic and/or screening tools. Insomnia is also a significant problem for women with breast cancer at various stages of diagnosis and treatment, including after remission.

Prostate cancer: issues in psychosomatic medicine.

Prostate cancer is now a chronic condition. Screening, diagnosis, and treatment pose specific psychosocial challenges for men diagnosed and surviving with prostate cancer. Depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment lead to emotional distress and difficulty coping.

Psychiatrists for medically complex patients: bringing value at the physical health and mental health/substance-use disorder interface.

Background: In their current configuration, traditional reactive consultation-liaison services see a small percentage of the general-hospital patients who could benefit from their care. These services are poorly reimbursed and bring limited value in terms of clinical improvement and reduction in health-service use.

Method: The authors examine models of cross-disciplinary, integrated health services that have been shown to promote health and lower cost in medically-complex patients, those with complicated admixtures of physical, mental, social, and health-system difficulties.

Hematologic problems in psychosomatic medicine.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with problems in cognition, mood, psychosis, and less commonly, anxiety. Folate deficiency primarily is associated with problems in mood. Patients who have sickle cell disease, a disease of chronic pain, experience difficulties with depression, anxiety, stigma, and are at risk for substance abuse and dependence.

Psycho-oncology: review and update.

The field of psycho-oncology is moving forward rapidly, especially for a relatively new field. Cancer patients and survivors are willing to discuss their needs and interests relating to diagnosis and treatment. There are guidelines and algorithms for determining levels of distress in cancer patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Pearls: in evaluating patient capacity to make medical decisions.

Evaluations of patients' capacity to make medical decisions are among the most common and most complex consultations that psychiatrists are asked to perform. We describe tips that we have found to be helpful while performing capacity evaluations. We also share tips that should help the clinician make up his or her mind regarding the patient following capacity evaluations.

A randomized, controlled trial of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) for women with cancer.

The purpose of this study was to gather data on the efficacy of a newly developed psychosocial group intervention for cancer patients, called mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT). One hundred and eleven women with a variety of cancer diagnoses were paired by age and randomized to either an eight-week MBAT intervention group or a wait-list control group. Ninety-three participants (84%) completed both the pre- and post-study measurements.

Preparing African-American men in community primary care practices to decide whether or not to have prostate cancer screening.

Background: This study was a randomized trial to test the impact of an informed decision-making intervention on prostate cancer screening use.

Methods: The study population included 242 African-American men from three primary care practices who were 40-69 years of age and had no history of prostate cancer. Participants completed a baseline survey questionnaire and were randomly assigned either to a Standard Intervention (SI) group (N=121) or an Enhanced Intervention (EI) group (N=121).

Psychosocial oncology: supportive care for the cancer patient.

Increasing attention is being paid to the emotional and psychosocial needs of cancer patients. As a result of huge advances in early detection and in treatment modalities, there now are millions of cancer survivors in the United States. There has been a realization that cancer survivors have distinct psychosocial needs.

Behaviors used by men to protect themselves against prostate cancer.

This paper reports on behaviors men use to protect themselves against prostate cancer. Data were collected via a telephone or mailed survey from 353 men enrolled in two studies of prostate cancer screening. Respondents reported behaviors they used to protect themselves against prostate cancer, and responses were coded as conventional care, self-care, or nothing.