Mark Lefton

Health care and treatment for the chronically ill: Toward a conceptual framework

Abstract Due to the aging of the population there is an increased prevalence of chronic disease which requires a special style of treatment. The intention of this article is to develop a model of care for the treatment of the chronically ill. The basic ingredients of this model are: (1) that the needs of chronically ill persons go well beyond medical considerations: (2) that in order to administer quality care, a wide variety of therapies must function in the context of a dynamic and flexible team; (3) that the referent for therapeutic decisions and interdisciplinary problems be the patient and his/her needs; and (4) that the team be aided and abetted by the larger organizational context in which it functions, i.e. the hospital.

Beneath acceptance: Dimensions of family affect towards former mental patients☆

Abstract This paper is an exploration into the affective dimensions of the familial reactions to former mental patients, articulated through a survey research format. A form of the Incomplete Sentence Blank Test (ISB) is presented as an instrument to reach beyond the unidimensional restrictions of standard measures, which tend to ask respondents about abstract, hypothetical mental patients, rather than the actual, specific former patients. Data are analyzed and implications and deficiencies of the ISB for mental health research are explained.

METHODOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF CHANGE IN WARD ADMINISTRATION ON STAFF AND PATIENTS.

Summary It was asserted that few adequate studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of the introduction of any new treatment program. The study of a ward in actual transition from traditional practices to the therapeutic community presented an opportunity to formulate methodological and practical considerations for research on this topic. The findings suggested that: a) situational factors may strongly influence staff perception of the adequacy of patient care and the performance of their duties; b) situational factors do not appear to influence either the ability of staff to evaluate patient behavior or the health of the patients; and c) the introduction of a treatment program may include situational factors which entail negative consequences for staff functioning. The conclusions reached were: a) in such studies wards or hospitals should constitute the study unit rather than individual staff members, b) assumptions about controls should be reduced by actually introducing them, c) the ratings of non-professional staff members involved with patients can be used to evaluate patient health, which should include post-treatment performance as well as ward behavior, and d) administrative as well as clinical variables should be studied.

On research and intergroup relations

The use of scientific method is offered as the most productive way of promoting better practice in intergroup‐relations education. The author is associate professor of sociology at Western Reserve University.