Thursday, August 14, 2003

Is Email Interaction Feasible for Intervention With Women and Children Exposed to Domestic Violence? A Literature Review
Article in Topics in Advanced Practice Nursing eJournal at Medscape - "Email interaction in assessing mothers' and children's emotional and cognitive responses to abuse is a valuable outcome to assess in research, particularly if the legal system was used to obtain protection orders. Women and children become involved with abuse when the abuse is directed at them or when they witness the abuse of another (parent or child). Email interactions have shown promise in decreasing psychiatric symptoms and providing social support to individuals with a variety of other healthcare problems. Email interaction should not fragment care or increase risk, but be a mode of access to care and enhance outcomes for these women and their children. In the era of telehealth and telecommunication, exploring and testing the feasibility of email interaction as an intervention in this population is a valid next step." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

U. of Iowa Researchers urge advances in meth abuse treatment
University of Iowa press release at EurekAlert - "People who use or abuse methamphetamine, or meth, do not necessarily need specialized treatment but do need more time in intensive outpatient or residential drug treatment than currently occurs. A multidisciplinary team of University of Iowa researchers made the recommendation in a review article that appeared in the April 2003 issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. The team also identified areas of research that could help improve treatment, including retention and new drug therapies."  
  

Study looks at loss, its role in depression
Boston Globe story - "In their search for the roots of depression, psychiatrists have long focused on the experience of loss -- the jarring loss of a loved one, the lost haven of a relationship, or the more primal feelings of loss that can be traced back to the mother's breast. But a new study of more than 7,000 adult twins calls into question assumptions about depression that date to Sigmund Freud. The events that send people into major depression, the authors found, are not merely losses, but humiliating ones that drive at a person's self-esteem -- most typically, being abandoned by a romantic partner. The classic experience of pure loss -- the death of a family member -- is only about half as likely to lead to depression, according to the study, published this week in Archives of General Psychiatry." An abstract of the study, "Life Event Dimensions of Loss, Humiliation, Entrapment, and Danger in the Prediction of Onsets of Major Depression and Generalized Anxiety" is available at the Archives of General Psychiatry, where the full text can also be ordered for a fee.