Existing literature demonstrates a relationship between selected personality traits and coping, a relationship explored here in a sample of 61 male Israeli patients with burns. Successful coping was ...assessed by the 5-item Satisfaction With Life Scale and 2 single-item measures of adjustment to the specific injury. Results suggest that adjustment to the traumatic experience of a burn injury is strongly related to specific personality traits rather than to the physical features of the injury. As predicted, successful coping was found to be positively related to the personality dimensions of extroversion, optimism, self-mastery, and hope, and negatively related to neuroticism and social anxiety. The importance of a patient's ability to elicit social support as a means of coping was also considered. Psychologic intervention is suggested as a consequence of the results obtained.
All soldiers severely burned during the Lebanon War, 1982, were hospitalized in one of four facilities, in each of which different methods of burn care are practiced. These methods represent the ...various approaches to burn care in different centers in the world and in the literature. Resuscitation was adequate in all facilities. Oral hyperalimentation, although administered in different ways, is recognized as a main factor in preventing infections and enhancing healing in burn victims. The main aspect in which opinions differ is the care of the wound itself. However, it was clear after examining many of the patients from the different centers that tangential excision is superior to delayed excision, and certainly to conservative treatment. The difficulties in comparing different methods of treatment are discussed. Early and continuous psychological surveillance is necessary for the successful recovery and rehabilitation of burn patients; a special teamwork model was developed to promote this approach.
Trans-sexualism is a psychiatric disorder characterized by the conviction that one's gender identity does not conform to one's biological sex. The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental ...Disorders gives 5 diagnostic criteria for trans-sexualism which most health care professionals accept. Although many trans-sexuals derive some gratification from assuming roles appropriate to their desired gender, a substantial number are convinced that only sexual transformation can bring meaningful relief of their feelings of despair. Approximately 2/3 of trans-sexuals who undergo sex reassignment procedures are improved at follow-up. A relatively advanced age and secondary trans-sexualism (transvestites and effeminate homosexuals) are risk factors for poor prognosis in those requesting sex reassignment. In recent decades the demand for sex reassignment has increased, as have the number and variety of psychological, hormonal and surgical treatments proposed. The operative procedures currently employed for sex reassignment give reasonably good esthetic and functional results, and in 1986 the Israel Ministry of Health permitted its government hospitals to perform them. A 23-year-old male trans-sexual is reported who underwent successful surgery for sex change and now, 1 year later, is satisfied with the result.
This paper describes team work in a burn unit in Tel Hashomer Hospital, Israel, which is intended to answer the problems which arise during the period in hospital following burning injury. The model ...was constructed after observing the emotional reactions of patients, which disturbed not only their ability to cope efficiently, but also caused additional suffering to themselves, their families and the hospital staff. The main emphasis is on: (1) the recognition and treatment of both the physical and emotional requirements of the patient; (2) involvement of the family in the treatment; and (3) active cooperation between all those who have a professional interest in the patient's treatment, welfare and recovery. The coordinator and integrator of these elements is the clinical psychologist.
From the perspective of the Mental Health Branch team of Israel's Ministry of Health, the evolution of mental health care reform & delivery in Israel is discussed in the context of the Netanyahu ...Commission's report on the health care system. The relevant mental health care problems as presented by the commission include: the Ministry of Health's conflict of interest as both provider & overseer of health care; regional variability in the availability of health services; the lack of mental health care within the services offered by health maintenance organizations (HMOs); & the method of hospital budgeting based on occupancy. Solutions include: divesting the Ministry from hospitals, creating six large regions to spur competition, integrating mental health care as part of HMO responsibility, & requiring hospitals to preapprove patient admissions. It is concluded that implementing these proposals would lead to a more comprehensive availability of mental health services. 24 References. M. Greenberg
Objective The objective of the study was to provide information on overall medication use throughout pregnancy, with particular focus on the first trimester and specific prescription medications. ...Study Design The study design included the Slone Epidemiology Center Birth Defects Study, 1976-2008, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2003, which together interviewed more than 30,000 women about their antenatal medication use. Results Over the last 3 decades, first-trimester use of prescription medication increased by more than 60%, and the use of 4 or more medications more than tripled. By 2008, approximately 50% of women reported taking at least 1 medication. Use of some specific medications markedly decreased or increased. Prescription medication use increased with maternal age and education, was highest for non-Hispanic whites, and varied by state. Conclusion These data reflect the widespread and growing use of medications by pregnant women and reinforce the need to study their respective fetal risks and safety.
Investigated was the contribution of an adult's expressive behavior & type of verbal reinforcement to children's learning. An adult F interacted in a warm or cold manner with Mc third graders (N = ...120) while at the same time giving one of two reinforcers - "correct" or "nice" - for one of two responses in a simple 2-choice learning situation. The warm adult was more effective in inducing learning than the cold, & "correct" was a more potent reinforcer than "nice." 1 Figure. Modified HA
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