Enhancing Validity in Co-occurring Disorders Treatment Research

Despite the high prevalence of co-occurring mental health and substance-use disorders, there has been a relative lack of treatment research with this population, and the existing research often has limited validity. This article explores some of the barriers to the conduct of research on promising interventions for substance-abuse treatment for people with co-occurring disorders, using the concepts of external and ecological validity to make recommendations for future investigation. The central recommendation is to move rapidly from efficacy studies to more credible and valid effectiveness studies, in order to facilitate the adoption of evidence-based interventions in routine practice settings

PERFORMANCE OF THE ALEPH TIME PROJECTION CHAMBER

The performance of the ALEPH Time Projection Chamber (TPC) has been studied using data taken during the LEP running periods in 1989 and 1990. After correction of residual distortions and optimisation of coordinate reconstruction algorithms, single coordinate resolutions of 173-mu-m in the azimuthal and 740-mu-m in the longitudinal direction are achieved. This results in a momentum resolution for the TPC of DELTA-p/p2 = 1.2 x 10(-3) (GeV/c)-1. In combination with the ALEPH Inner Tracking Chamber (ITC), a total momentum resolution of DELTA-p/p2 = 0.8 x 10(-3) (GeV/c)-1 is obtained. With respect to particle identification, the detector achieves a resolution of 4.4% for the measurement of the ionisation energy loss

Risco de suicídio em jovens com transtornos de ansiedade: estudo de base populacional Riesgo de suicidio en jóvenes con trastornos de ansiedad: estudio de base poblacional Suicide risk in young adults with anxiety disorders: population-based study

Este estudo teve por objetivo verificar a relação entre a presença de transtornos de ansiedade e risco de suicídio em jovens. Em delineamento transversal de base populacional, os jovens respondiam a um questionário sobre questões sociodemográficas, comportamentais e de saúde. Avaliou-se o bem-estar psicológico através da Escala de Faces de Andrews e consumo de substâncias foi efetuado pelo Teste de Triagem do Envolvimento com Álcool, Cigarro e Outras Substâncias, (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involviment Screening Test - ASSIST). A Mini Internacional Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 avaliou transtornos de ansiedade e o risco de suicídio. Dos 1.621 jovens entrevistados, 20,9% apresentaram algum transtorno de ansiedade e 8,6% risco de suicídio. A presença de algum transtorno de ansiedade esteve significativamente associada ao risco de suicídio (RP 6,10 IC95% 3,95 a 9,43). Dessa forma, salienta-se a importância de maior atenção ao risco de suicídio também em pacientes com transtornos de ansiedade.<br>Este estudio tubo por objetivo verificar la relación entre la presencia de trastornos de ansiedad y riesgo de suicidio en jóvenes. En delineamiento transversal de base poblacional, los jóvenes respondían a un cuestionario sobre cuestiones sociodemográficas, comportamentales y de salud. Se evaluó el bienestar psicológico por medio de la escala de fases de Andrews y consumo de sustancias efectuada por la prueba de detección del envolvimiento con alcohol, cigarrillo y otras sustancias, (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involviment Screening Test - ASSIST). La Mini Internacional Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 evaluó trastornos de ansiedad y el riesgo de suicidio. De los 1.621 jóvenes entrevistados, 20,9% presentaron algún trastorno de ansiedad y 8,6% riesgo de suicidio. La presencia de algún trastorno de ansiedad estuvo significativamente asociada al riesgo de suicidio (RP 6,10 IC95% 3,95 a 9,43). De esa forma, se resalta la importancia de mayor atención al riesgo de suicidio también en pacientes con trastornos de ansiedad.<br>This study aimed at investigating the relationship between the presence of anxiety disorders and suicide risk in young adults. In a cross-sectional population-based design young adults answered a questionnaire about sociodemographic, behavioral and health characteristics. The measure of psychological well-being was made by Faces Scale of Andrews while the substances use evaluation was performed according to the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 evaluated anxiety disorders and suicide risk. Among the 1.621 young adults interviewed, 20.9% had some anxiety disorders and 8.6% suicide risk. After multivariate analysis, the presence of any anxiety disorder was significantly associated with suicide risk (PR 6.10 95% CI 3.95 to 9.43). Thus, it is highlighted the importance of greater attention to suicide risk in those patients with anxiety disorders

Literacy and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVE: To review the relationship between literacy and health outcomes. DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS), Industrial and Labor Relations Review (ILLR), PsychInfo, and Ageline from 1980 to 2003. STUDY SELECTION: We included observational studies that reported original data, measured literacy with any valid instrument, and measured one or more health outcomes. Two abstractors reviewed each study for inclusion and resolved disagreements by discussion. DATA EXTRACTION: One reviewer abstracted data from each article into an evidence table; the second reviewer checked each entry. The whole study team reconciled disagreements about information in evidence tables. Both data extractors independently completed an 11-item quality scale for each article; scores were averaged to give a final measure of article quality. DATA SYNTHESIS: We reviewed 3,015 titles and abstracts and pulled 684 articles for full review; 73 articles met inclusion criteria and, of those, 44 addressed the questions of this report. Patients with low literacy had poorer health outcomes, including knowledge, intermediate disease markers, measures of morbidity, general health status, and use of health resources. Patients with low literacy were generally 1.5 to 3 times more likely to experience a given poor outcome. The average quality of the articles was fair to good. Most studies were cross-sectional in design; many failed to address adequately confounding and the use of multiple comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Low literacy is associated with several adverse health outcomes. Future research, using more rigorous methods, will better define these relationships and guide developers of new interventions