[The effect of Enzaprost-F (PGF2) cervical tablets on the corpus luteum in the human body]

Authors removed dextro-ovary of a patient having 7-9th week of gestation for ovarian cyst during abortion. Preoperative cervical dilation was performed by Enzaprost-F cervical tablet containing 20 mg PGF2 agent. Before and 2, 4 and 6 hours after treatment, serum-progesterone and 17-beta-estradiol level was determined. Drug cervical dilation enabled instrumental termination of pregnancy within 4 hours. Histological finding of yellow body showed initial signs of colloid-cystic degeneration, which was followed by minimal decrease of values of serum-steroid concentrations. Authors presume that change in histological picture of yellow body was caused by effect of cervical tablet containing PGF2 agent.

Utilizing the nursing process in the development of a medication group on an inpatient psychiatric unit

The nursing process guided the development of a medication group for psychiatric clients on an inpatient psychiatric unit. The group was established to provide clients with the basic medication information that they are entitled to as consumers of health care. Procedures used to develop the group are discussed in this article. Evaluation procedures suggest that the medication group enhanced clients' knowledge, fostered their self-care, and provided the nursing staff with the opportunity to expand its health-teaching skills.

What difference does case management make?

The outcomes of 82 patients in a rehabilitation-oriented case management program six months and two years after they were discharged from an inpatient setting to join the program were compared with those of 82 matched control patients who had been discharged from the same inpatient settings before the case management program was established. At the two-year follow-up, the patients in the case management program were significantly more likely than the control patients to have better occupational functioning, to live in a residence requiring more independence than they did at the six-month follow-up, and to be less socially isolated; in contrast, at the six-month follow-up only their occupational functioning was better than the control group's. The two groups did not differ in number of hospitalizations at either follow-up. The authors believe the study supplies much-needed documentation of the effectiveness of rehabilitation-oriented case management.

Professional pre-service training for working with the long-term mentally ill

The knowledge base with respect to helping persons with long-term mental illness is expanding dramatically. Specific skills can be identified as critical for those who work with the long-term mentally ill. In contrast to in-service training, preservice (university-based) programs have been slow in offering relevant skills-based curricula. A model is proposed for describing current and future pre-service curricula. Curricula can be categorized as to whether it provides exposure, experience, or expertise in working with the long-term mentally ill. More than ever before the pre-service training programs seem ripe for the introduction of skill-based curricula relevant to helping persons who are psychiatrically disabled.

The chronically mentally ill case management--more than a response to a dysfunctional system

The service systems which assist the long-term mentally ill to function in the community have been routinely described as fragmented and uncoordinated. The development and implementation of case management has been seen as one response to this dysfunctional system. This article examines case management from the perspective that case management is a needed function no matter how coordinated and integrated the system. From this perspective, case management is driven by the clients' goals and not the systems' goals. Case management is viewed as a process by which the person with severe psychiatric disability is supported in negotiating for the various services that they want and need. Four unique activities are identified as performed by the case manager: Connecting with Clients, Planning for Services, Linking Clients with Services, and Advocating for Service Improvements. Case management must be seen as a uniquely human response to the client's specific service needs and overall goals. For persons with long-term psychiatric disabilities, case management brings to life the human dimension of the human service system.

A client outcome planning model for assessing psychiatric rehabilitation interventions

Skill training, drug therapy, and community support strategies are the three primary intervention techniques used by practitioners attempting to rehabilitate severely psychiatrically disabled clients. The present article describes a comprehensive client outcome planning model that encompasses both the intended and unintended effects of an intervention, and that extends beyond such traditional outcome measures as recidivism, clinical relapse, and employment. In addition, data collection strategies and instruments capable of measuring a broad range of possible outcomes are described. A comprehensive model has the advantage of encouraging researchers to consider, during the process of research design, the specific outcomes that will and will not be effected by an intervention. Furthermore, such a model discriminates between process and outcome variables, limits the scope of the implications derived from the research data, and encourages the researcher to assess both the positive and negative effects of the rehabilitation intervention.

A psychiatric rehabilitation treatment program: can i recognize one if i see one?

Over the last several decades there has been a tremendous growth in the number of community-based settings that indicate that they provide rehabilitation programming to persons with severe psychiatric disabilities. Questions can be raised, however, as to the extent to which these settings are actually providing programs that are rehabilitative in nature. Ten essential ingredients of rehabilitation programming are presented for use in discriminating between programs that are rehabilitation oriented and programs which are rehabilitation in name only. The articulation of these ten essential ingredients can serve as a guide for the continued development of community-based settings which attempt to provide comprehensive rehabilitation programming.