Publications by authors named "Goretti Almeida"
Background: Recently there has been increased concern about excessive restraint and seclusion on inpatient psychiatric units and the resulting injuries and deaths. Individual crisis management strategies may be one way to reduce restraint and seclusion, which may include active engagement of inpatients in behavioral coping plans.
Method: We developed a 5-question Coping Agreement Questionnaire (CAQ) asking inpatients for their preferences on how to prevent loss of control if they become agitated.
Objective: This paper describes the role of an agency Clinical Director in developing a project to assess and begin to address obesity-related health problems of patients treated in a community-based mental health clinic in New York City. After a five year review of outpatient deaths revealed a high rate of deaths from cardiovascular and diabetes-related issues, the Clinical Director assembled a group of clinicians, researchers, and administrative staff to design a pilot project to assess health and nutrition status of primarily Hispanic day treatment patients with severe and persistent mental illness.
Method: About 69 of the 105 patients at the clinic were assessed by chart review, interview about nutritional habits and medical care, and somatic measurements for blood pressure, weight, girth, body mass index (BMI), glucose and lipid levels.