Evaluation of mood disorder patients in a primary care practice: measures of affective temperament, mental health risk factors, and functional health in a retrospective, descriptive study of 35 patients.

Objective: THE PURPOSE OF THIS RETROSPECTIVE, DESCRIPTIVE STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE PRIMARY CARE PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH A MOOD DISORDER ON THE BASIS OF THE FOLLOWING: (1) comorbid medical illnesses, (2) risk factors for mood disorders and longitudinal presence of symptoms, (3) presence of affective temperament, and (4) functional status and quality of life.

Method: Patients (N = 35) were a convenience sample diagnosed in the Mood Disorder Clinic (MDC), a family practice site-based mental health treatment consultation service. All study patients were assessed using a semistructured interview and diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR criteria.

Pilot study of INSIGHT therapy in African American women.

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if treatment with INSIGHT therapy, designed specifically for women, could reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms, hopelessness, and loneliness in African American women. Prevalence of mental illness differs in African Americans and Caucasians. The nonexperimental one-group pretest posttest design study examined the effectiveness of a 12-week INSIGHT group intervention.

INSIGHT potentially prevents and treats depressive and anxiety symptoms in black women caring for chronic hemodialysis recipients.

End stage renal disease (ESRD) unduly affects black families in the U.S., including black women who are the family caregivers of affected patients.

Assault history and follow-up contact of women survivors of recent sexual assault.

The purpose of this comparative descriptive study is to describe and examine differences in assault characteristics and the issues surrounding follow-up contact of women survivors of a recent sexual assault. This study identified assault characteristics: half of the assaults were by strangers; approximately one-third of the assaults occurred in the victim's home; 29% of the victims were abducted; weapons and physical force were used in over half of the cases; 63% were vaginal assaults; and 86% involved penile penetration. Three months after the assault and the initial examination, only 23% (n = 18) of the study participants could be contacted by telephone for follow-up.

Depression in the older adult: recognition and nursing intervention.

The importance of identifying and intervening in elders with depression cannot be underestimated. The baby boom population is reaching the chronological milestone of being considered older age, which means that the percentage of older adults with depression will result in increased numbers of depressed older adults in all settings needing nursing care. Nurses must be able to recognize symptoms of depression, whether subsyndromal depression or major depression, to be able to intervene effectively.

Identify bipolar spectrum disorders.

Patients with bipolar spectrum disorders commonly present with depressive symptoms to primary care clinicians. This article details bipolar spectrum disorder assessment, treatment, and treatment response. By intervening early in the course of depressive and hypomanic episodes, you can help decrease the morbidity and suffering associated with bipolar spectrum disorders.