Do people with diabetes who need to talk want to talk?

Aim. To examine whether the people with diabetes who ask for psychological support are those who are experiencing clinically significant levels of psychological distress.
Method. In total 300 people with diabetes were asked to complete psychometrically validated questionnaires that assessed subjective need and objective psychological distress.
Results. High levels of psychological distress were reported: 25% of the sample reported depressive symptomatology, 41% reported clinically significant levels if anxiety and 51% reported a degree of binge eating behaviour. Participants also indicated a desire to talk to diabetes professionals about various problem areas in diabetes. Chi-square analysis demonstrated that those reporting psychological distress, especially depression, were most likely to indicate a desire to talk to somebody about living with diabetes.
Conclusions. Those who want to talk are those who need to talk. Future service development issues should acknowledge the needs and expressed wishes of service users.

Why people experiencing acute myocardial infarction delay seeking medical assistance

Background: Delay time from onset of symptoms of myocardial infarction to seeking medical assistance can have life- 31 threatening consequences. A number of factors have been associated with delay, but there is little evidence regarding the predictive 32 value of these indices. Aim: To explore potential predictors of patient delay from onset of symptoms to time medical assistance 33 was sought in a consecutive sample of patients admitted to CCU with acute myocardial infarction. Methods: The Cardiac Denial 34 of Impact Scale, Health Locus of Control Scale, Health Value Scale and Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness were 35 administered to 62 patients between 3 and 6 days after admission. Results: Attribution of symptoms to heart disease and health 36 locus of control had a significant predictive effect on patients seeking help within 60 min, while previous experience of heart 37 disease did not. Conclusion: Assisting individuals to recognise the potential for symptoms to have a cardiac origin is an important 38 objective. Interventions should take into account the variety of cognitive and behavioural factors involved in decision making.