Selection bias in an inpatient outcomes monitoring project.

Managed care organizations increasingly tout clinical outcomes assessment as the mechanism by which we will ensure quality and compare providers. The authors report on their experience with a multisite inpatient outcomes monitoring project by comparing patients who accepted (N = 51), refused (N = 36), or were not asked (N = 110) to participate in the project. The patients who were asked to participate had significantly longer inpatient stays compared with the unasked group (11.

A test of delayed recovery following stressful stimulation in four psychosomatic disorders.

Sternbach proposed a three component model to account for the emergence of psychosomatic symptoms. He hypothesized that if an individual exhibited (1) marked response stereotypy, and (2) inadequate homeostatic restraints, then (3) exposure to activating situations would result in psychosomatic episodes. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the second component of the Sternbach model, homeostatic inadequacy, as indicated by impaired rate of recovery from stressful stimulation.

Spatially rearranged vision and REM sleep: a lack of effect.

An observation first made in our laboratory was responsible for focusing our attention upon an apparent increase in REM sleep in relation to altered visual experiences during the day. This finding was consistent with certain information-processing theories of REM sleep function and seemed to offer experimental support for them. Therefore, we proceeded to conduct a series of closely related experiments, designed to investigate further the possible REM-augmenting effects of spatially rearranged vision.