Ill Individuals (ill + individual)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Ambiguous loss from chronic physical illness: Clinical interventions with individuals, couples, and families

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 11 2002
Pauline Boss
The theory of ambiguous loss is applied to chronic illness in individuals, couples, and families. Lack of clarity about prognosis, daily physical condition, and fluctuating capabilities create relationship confusion, preoccupation with the illness, or avoidance of the ill individual. Immobilization, depression, and relationship collapse may occur in response to features of chronic illness over which there is no control. A case study illustrates helpful therapeutic interventions for couples and families with chronically ill members. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 58: 1351,1360, 2002. [source]


Immunisation with non-integral OMPs promotes pulmonary clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

FEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2-3 2003
Linda D. Thomas
Abstract Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that can cause fatal acute lung infections in critically ill individuals. Lung damage due to chronic infections in cystic fibrosis sufferers is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in this group. The bacterium produces various immunomodulatory products that enable it to survive in the lung. Innate and increasing resistance to antibiotic therapy shown by this organism heightens the need for development of a vaccine. This study reports the identification of six non-integral protein antigens; Pa 13, azurin, acyl carrier protein (ACP), amidase, aminopeptidase and KatE, purified from a mucoid strain of P. aeruginosa. N-terminal amino acid sequencing was used to identify these proteins and, based on their ascribed functions, determined that their normal cellular location was cytosolic. A rat model of acute pulmonary infection was used to investigate the ability of these protein antigens to enhance pulmonary clearance of a live P. aeruginosa challenge. Mucosal immunisation with four of the six antigens significantly enhanced bacterial clearance from both the lavage fluid and lung tissue. The greatest level of clearance was demonstrated for the antigens; KatE, aminopeptidase and amidase. Enhanced bacterial clearance was maintained when the antigens amidase and aminopeptidase were produced in recombinant form. When delivered parenterally, aminopeptidase demonstrated its continued efficacy as a vaccine candidate. This study has demonstrated that non-integral outer membrane proteins are antigenic and protective and warrant further investigation as potential components of a vaccine. [source]


Non-psychiatric hospitalization of people with mental illness: systematic review

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 8 2009
Cindy Diamond Zolnierek
Abstract Title.,Non-psychiatric hospitalization of people with mental illness: systematicreview. Aim., This paper is a report of a literature review of the evidence regarding outcomes experienced by severely mentally ill individuals hospitalized in general medical-surgical settings for non-psychiatric conditions. Background., Severely mentally ill individuals experience chronic medical illnesses at a rate greater than the general population. When hospitalized in non-psychiatric settings, they tend to be experienced as ,difficult' by nurses and to have longer lengths of stay. Data sources., The CINAHL and PUBMED databases were searched from 1 to 9 March 2008 to identify studies published between 1998 and 2008 investigating outcomes among people with mental illness hospitalized for non-psychiatric illness in general hospitals. Methods., Included studies were those published in English in peer reviewed journals and investigating patient outcomes. The studies were reviewed for relevance and inclusion criteria; the methodological quality of studies was not evaluated. Results., Twelve studies met inclusion criteria. All studies examining length of stay, costs of care or resource utilization showed increased measures for patients with psychiatric comorbidity. Interventions described included psychiatric liaison psychiatry and nursing, which failed to demonstrate improvement in outcomes. Conclusion., Nurses play a pivotal role in improving the inpatient care of this vulnerable population, but they struggle in their attempts to do so. Research to determine the best approaches to promote nurses' knowledge, positive attitudes and self-confidence in caring for patients with psychiatric comorbidity is needed. Investigation of the patient perspective on the inpatient experience might also provide insight for designing effective care processes. [source]


COPD-intuition or template: nurses' stories of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2004
Patricia Hill Bailey MHSc
Study rational., A number of nurse-researchers have examined the experience of dyspnoea reduction during non-acute phases of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, nurses working on in-patient hospital units are frequently required to care for individuals suffering from acute exacerbations of their disease (AECOPD). These critically ill individuals present at health care institutions incapacitated by severe shortness of breath/dyspnoea that is frequently refractory to treatment. To date, little is known about the nurses' understanding of the care they provide for individuals hospitalized because of these acute episodes of their chronic illness. Study objectives., The research project was undertaken, in part, to develop an understanding of nurses' experience of caregiving for individuals hospitalized for in-patient care during an AECOPD. Methodological design., This focused ethnographic narrative examined the caregiving stories of 10 nurse caregivers. The 10 nurse caregivers were interviewed while caring for a patient and their family during an experience of an AECOPD characterized by incapacitating breathlessness. Results., The nurse caregivers told a number of caregiving stories that illustrated a common care template that appears to be based on intuition or pattern recognition focusing on anxiety sometimes to the exclusion of dyspnoea. Conclusions., Analysis of these stories emphasized the need to facilitate nurses individualization of standard templates. More importantly, this analysis illustrated the critical need to develop strategies to facilitate the reshaping of inaccurate templates in the presence of new knowledge. [source]


Multiple family therapy: an overview

JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2002
Eia Asen
In recent years there has been increased interest in working with groups of families systemically. Multiple family therapy is applied in different settings and to a whole range of different presentations. These include work with multi-problem families; with schools, parents and pupils; with adult mentally ill individuals and their families; and with eating-disordered teenagers and their families. Principles and aims of multiple family therapy are presented, specific projects described and trends for future work outlined. [source]


The textual organization of placement into long-term care: issues for older adults with mental illness

NURSING INQUIRY, Issue 1 2010
Annette Lane
LANE A, McCOY L and EWASHEN C. Nursing Inquiry 2010: 17: 3,14 The textual organization of placement into long-term care: issues for older adults with mental illness Arranging placement of older adults from hospital mental health units into nursing homes or assisted living facilities can be difficult and protracted. The difficulty in placing these individuals is often attributed to stigma; that is, personnel in nursing homes are reluctant to accept mentally ill older adults because of the fear of mental illness and violence. Using an institutional ethnographic approach, we argue the importance of exploring how nursing home access is organized, especially the institutional process of placement. Our study, examining the process of placing older adults from mental health units into nursing homes or assisted living facilities within a western Canadian city, reveals how three specific textual points within the institutional process of placement do not work well for older adults with mental illness. These textual points include: constructing the older adult as a ,placeable' person, the first-level match and the second-level match. After exploring why the three specific points in the process do not work well for mentally ill individuals, we reconsider the explanation of stigma, and then suggest implications for change. [source]


Family stigma and care burden of schizophrenia patients: Comparison between Japan and Korea

ASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2009
Setsuko Hanzawa PhD
Abstract Introduction: In the present study, we compared the care burden and stigma experienced by families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan (Niigata) and Korea (Seoul and Daegu) to elucidate similarities and differences in the sociocultural factors that affect the care experience of families in East Asia. Methods: Factors such as care burden (evaluated using the eight-item short version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview [ZBI-8]), stigma, and social distance were evaluated in members of support groups for families of mentally ill individuals in Japan (n=47) and Korea (n=92) using an interview questionnaire. Interviewees reported their personal attitudes (personal stigma and social distance) and perceptions of the attitudes of others in the community (perceived stigma) with respect to a case vignette. These vignettes described a person with chronic schizophrenia. Results: The data analysis revealed the following: (i) feelings of care burden (according to ZBI-8), perceived stigma, and social distance were significantly stronger in Japan compared to Korea, and (ii) feelings of personal stigma were significantly stronger in Korea than in Japan. Discussion: The care burden and stigma experienced by families of patients with schizophrenia differed between Japan and Korea. The present findings suggest that to provide effective support for reducing family stigma and care burden, the necessity of such support must be emphasized in both countries. [source]


Personality: is it a viable endophenotype for genetic studies of bipolar affective disorder?

BIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 4 2006
Jonathan B Savitz
Progress in identifying the genetic basis of bipolar affective disorder has been disappointing, most probably because of the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of the condition. These setbacks have led to the adoption of alternative strategies such as the use of endophenotypes or intermediate traits to identify those individuals at genetic risk for developing the disorder. Gottesman and Gould [Am J Psychiatry (2003), 160:636], in a review of the endophenotypic concept, have suggested five criteria that should be characteristic of a trait in order for it to qualify as an endophenotype. These five criteria are used in order to assess the viability of using personality traits as endophenotypes for genetic analyses of bipolar disorder. A review of the literature suggests that certain personality traits or temperaments are associated with the illness in a state independent manner, that personality is at least partly heritable, and that various temperaments aggregate in the non-affected relatives of bipolar probands. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether specific personality traits co-segregate with affectively ill individuals. We conclude that personality profiling of probands and their relatives may facilitate molecular genetic work, but given the fact that personality is itself a complex trait, its use as an endophenotype has certain limitations. [source]