Service provision and functional independence in depressed stroke patients and the effect of social work intervention on these.
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OBJECTIVE To compare the provision of health and social services between a social work intervention and non-intervention group. DESIGN Depressed stroke patients were randomly assigned to either an intervention or non-intervention group. Over a 4 month period both groups were visited three times by an independent assessor who rated them on service provision and functional independence. SETTING Patients' homes. PATIENTS 44 depressed stroke patients. INTERVENTION Both groups were given an information booklet and the intervention group were then visited regularly by a research social worker over a period of 4 months. The social worker adopted a pragmatic approach which included providing counselling and information on services and benefits. MAIN RESULTS The study groups did not differ in level of social independence (p greater than 0.05) or total number of financial benefits (p greater than 0.05), services (p greater than 0.05) or aids (p greater than 0.05) received either before or after intervention. When the results from the two groups were combined, home help and meals-on-wheels were the most frequently provided services (25% of patients). Walking aids (72% of patients) and bath aids (59% of patients) were the most frequently provided aids to daily living. CONCLUSION Social work assistance had little effect on service provision or level of functional independence. (+info)
Comprehensive department of psychological medicine: three-year review of inpatients referred for aftercare visits.
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All inpatients discharged in 1967 from a comprehensive department of psychological medicine who were referred for aftercare visiting by a mental welfare officer or psychiatric social worker were reviewed after a period of three years. Over this period half the patients had not been readmitted and only 6.3% of those below retirement age had been unemployed for 75% or more of the total time involved. Altogether 76% were assessed as socially integrated, though there had been a drift away from living at home.It is probable that case conferences made the process of referral for aftercare more discriminating and that the follow up conferences contributed substantially towards the care, supervision, and maintenance of these patients in the community. Measures of this kind are essential if a general hospital psychiatric service is intended to cope with the total problem involved. (+info)
Group practice approach to rural community mental health.
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Confronted with the inability to offer access to trained mental health personnel to their remote rural community, a private medical group practice in California recruited and integrated psychiatric social workers in their clinic. The rapid acceptance of these newer mental health professionals by community members of all economic levels and by group physicians confirms the success of this program, now in its fourth year, and rising community interest in mental health services. The group practice prototype affords a unique opportunity for innovation in community health care delivery in outlying areas with their traditional difficulties in attracting health care professionals. (+info)
Social workers and general practice.
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Weekly case conferences have been found valuable in the management of problem families in a general practice in a new town. These are attended by health visitors, mental welfare and child care officers, welfare officers, and psychiatric social workers, as well as by the family doctors. The conferences are a quick and easy way of exchanging important information and leading to rapid decisions. (+info)
Psychiatric emergencies in an urban borough.
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An analysis is presented of all emergency calls made in one year, "out of hours," to local authority mental health social workers as part of a comprehensive psychiatric service in an urban community. Of 212 calls received, more related to men than women, and in both sexes the peak age group was 40 to 49 years; 72% of referrals were in the psychosis or personality disorder diagnostic groups. A minority of cases referred had symptoms of only recent onset, and 70% of all calls related to patients previously known to the local services. (+info)
A psychiatric home care program: a report based on three years' experience (1962-1964).
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The activities covering a three-year period of a psychiatric home care treatment program attached to a psychiatric unit of a general hospital are described. A detailed account of its operation and the roles played by each member of the team is given. This service frequently provides a substitute for hospitalization in the management of both acute and chronic psychiatric states and thereby constitutes an important preventive measure in the field of public health. Even if the initial attitude of the patient is negative it is possible to gain the co-operation of the family who become a useful ally in the treatment. The co-operation of the patient is not as essential as has been thought. The traditional role of the psychiatrist is reversed by virtue of his attending the patient at home. The active participation of social agencies is an integral part of the treatment. (+info)
Medical and psychosocial aspects of the habilitation of thalidomide children.
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The habilitation of 34 thalidomide children, begun in 1963 at the Rehabilitation Institute of Montreal, involved the contribution of many medical and paramedical disciplines. These individual contributions are described.Habilitation of congenitally deformed children must be initiated at an early age. The early prescription of a prosthesis is desirable. Their care involves a broad range of services that must be continued over many years. Parents require support before they can accept the misfortune that has befallen them and their deformed child. Despite the necessity of frequent hospitalizations, children should be reared in a home setting. From their experience, the authors conclude that children born with malformations, and their parents, should be thoroughly evaluated and followed up for many years; and recommend that governments should finance programs for the complete habilitation of all children born with congenital malformations. National registries for the compulsory recording of birth deformities should also be established. (+info)