Outpatient department at Children's Hospital - Patients waiting for doctors

On verso: Graphic House, Inc. 149 East 40th St. New York, N.Y. Murray Hill 6-8826

The last suffrage frontier : enfranchising mental hospital residents : a report /

"June 1978."

Abuse and neglect of adults with disabilities : DHS Office of the Inspector General FY ... annual report.

Description based on: 2004/2005 ; title from cover.

Annual report /

Description based on: July 2001/June 2002; title from cover.

Annual report of the Office of the Inspector General to the Governor and the General Assembly.

Description based on: FY89 (April 1988-June 1989).

Annual report.

"Pursuant to Public Act 85-223, abuse and neglected long term facility residents reporting act, as amended, effective date: August 2, 1987."

Office of the Inspector General fiscal year ... annual report.

"Annual Report to the Governor and the General Assembly covering July 1996 through June 1997, the last year that OIG was within the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities" -- from cover.

The fiscal year ... annual report of the Office of the Inspector General to the Governor and the General Assembly, highlighting the accomplishments of the office during its first decade and past year /

Title from cover.

Suicidal ideation and attempts among psychiatric patients with major depressive disorder

This study is part of an ongoing collaborative research and development project, the Vantaa Depression Study (VDS), between the National Public Health Institute, Helsinki and the Department of Psychiatry of Helsinki University Hospital (HUCH), Peijas hospital, Vantaa. The VDS is a prospective, naturalistic cohort study of 269 secondary-level care psychiatric out- and inpatients with a new episode of DSM-IV major depressive disorder (MDD). 269 patients (Nmales=72, Nfemales=197) with a current DSM-IV MDD were interviewed with semistructured interviews to assess all other psychiatric diagnoses. At 6- and 18-month follow-up the interviews were repeated. Suicidal behaviour was investigated both at intake and follow-up by using a psychometric scale (Scale for Suicidal Ideation) and interviewer's questions as well as the patient's psychiatric records. Patients, who reported suicidal ideation while entering the study were followed up weekly, and their level of suicidal ideation, hopelessness, anxiety and depression was measured. In this study suicidal ideation was common among psychiatric patients with MDD. Almost 60% of the depressed patients reported suicidal ideation and 15% of patients attempted suicide at the baseline. Patients with suicidal ideation or attempts had a clearly higher level of overall psychopathology than non-suicidal patients. During the 18-month follow-up period 8% of patients attempted suicide. The risk of an attempt was markedly higher (RR=7.54) during an episode of major depression compared with a period of remission. Suicide attempt during the follow-up period was predicted by lack of partner, a history of previous suicide attempts and time spent in depression. Suicidal ideation resolved for most of the suicidal patients during the first 2 to 3 months. The duration of suicidal ideation was longer for patients with an initially higher level of psychopathology. Declines both in depression and hopelessness independently predicted the subsequent decline in suicidal ideation. They both could have a causal role in reversing the suicidal process. Thus effective treatment of depression is a credible measure in suicide prevention. Patients with suicidal behaviour often received more antidepressants and had more frequent appointments with mental health professionals than non-suicidal patients. Suicidal patients had also more favourable attitudes towards antidepressant treatment and comparable adherence to treatment than those not suicidal. This study does not support the conception that patient attitudes or adherence to treatments would be a factor differentiating suicidal patients from non-suicidal. Instead, problems with adherence or attitudes seem to be generic to all psychiatric care.

Through the lens of the hospital magazine - Downshire and Holywell psychiatric hospitals in the 1960s and 1970s

An exploration of the pages of two psychiatric hospital magazines, Speedwell from Holywell Hospital, Antrim, and The Sketch from Downshire Hospital, Downpatrick, reveals the activity filled lives of patients and staff during the 1960s and 1970s. This was a time of great change in mental health care. It was also a time of political turbulence in Northern Ireland. With large in-patient populations, both hospitals had a range of occupational and sporting activities available to patients and staff. The magazines formed part of the effort to promote the ethos of a therapeutic community. While hospital magazines may be viewed as one aspect of an institutional system that allowed people to cut themselves from the wider society, they also provided opportunities for budding writers to express their views on life in a hospital from the service user perspective. As such they offer some valuable insights into the lives of psychiatric patients.

Anger and depression predict hospital use among chronic heart failure patients

Costly hospital readmissions among chronic heart failure (CHF) patients are expected to increase dramatically with the ageing population. This study investigated the prognostic ability of depression, anger and anxiety, prospectively, and after adjusting for illness severity, on the number of readmissions to hospital and the total length of stay over one year. Participants comprised 175 inpatients with CHF. Depression, anger, anxiety, and illness severity were measured at baseline. One year later, the number of readmissions and length of stay for each patient were obtained from medical records. Depression and anger play a detrimental role in the health profile of CHF patients.

Interventions for preventing and managing aggressive patients admitted to an acute hospital setting: A systematic review

Background: Violence in health care has been widely reported and health care workers, particularly nurses in acute care settings, are ill-equipped to manage patients who exhibit aggressive traits. Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to establish best practice in the prevention and management of aggressive behaviours in patients admitted to acute hospital settings. Data Sources: An extensive search of the major databases was conducted from 1990 to 2007. The search included published and unpublished studies and papers in English. Review Methods: This review considered any quantitative research study design that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions in the prevention and management of patients who exhibit aggressive behaviours in an acute hospital setting. Each included study was quality assessed by two independent reviewers and data were extracted using the relevant tools developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Results: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The evidence identified from the studies includes: the benefit of education and training of acute care nurses in aggression management techniques; use of “as required” medications is effective in minimising harm to patients and staff; and that specific interventions such as physical restraint may play a role in managing aggressive behaviours from patients in the acute care setting. Conclusions: This review makes several recommendations for the prevention and management of aggressive behaviours in acute hospital patients. However, due to the lack of high-quality studies conducted in the acute care setting there is huge scope for future research in this area.