International journal of psychiatry in medicine
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Int J Psychiatry Med · May 2017
A commitment to health equity: Reflections on why; One journey toward how.
Many health care practitioners and educators feel stymied as to how to address the pervasive and persistent problem of health care disparities between racial and ethnic groups. The closing plenary for the 37th Forum for Behavioral Science in Family Medicine held in September 2016 reminded participants of the urgent need to attend to health inequities and provided both a theoretical framework as well as some sample resources for where to begin.
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Int J Psychiatry Med · Mar 2017
Case ReportsPearls and pitfalls for prescribing opioids in a climate of increased provider scrutiny.
In August 2016, U. S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, issued a letter to healthcare providers requesting aid in addressing "an urgent health crisis facing America: the opioid epidemic." In this article, we address some of the more poignant challenges that surface in treating patients with opiate addiction. We provide an outline of recommendations from the leading medical organizations to educate primary care providers on how to navigate patients to decreased or discontinued medication loads.
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Int J Psychiatry Med · Jan 2015
Depression: An important factor associated with disability among patients with chronic low back pain.
The study aimed to compare the associations of pain indices, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms with disability among outpatients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). ⋯ Depression was the most powerful factor associated with disability of CLBP among depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Depression should be evaluated when investigating disability among patients with CLBP.
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Int J Psychiatry Med · Jan 2015
Designing and implementing a resiliency program for family medicine residents.
Family medicine residents are at risk for burnout due to extended work hours, lack of control over their work schedule, and challenging work situations and environments. Building resiliency can prevent burnout and may improve a resident's quality of life and health behavior. This report describes a program designed to build resiliency, the ability to bounce back from stress, in family medicine residents in a medium sized U. ⋯ These changes included increasing the availability of fresh fruits in the conference and call room, purchasing an elliptical exercise machine for the on call room, and offering a few minutes of mindfulness meditation daily to the inpatient residents. Results to date show excellent acceptance of the program by trainees, increased consumption of nutritious foods, more personal exercise, and self-reported decreased overreactions to stress. Resiliency programs can effectively serve to meet accreditation requirements while fostering residents' abilities to balance personal and professional demands.
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Int J Psychiatry Med · Jan 2015
Associations between comorbid anxiety, diabetes control, and overall medical burden in patients with serious mental illness and diabetes.
While previous work has demonstrated elevation of both comorbid anxiety disorders and diabetes mellitus type II in individuals with serious mental illness, little is known regarding the impact of comorbid anxiety on diabetes mellitus type II outcomes in serious mental illness populations. We analyzed baseline data from patients with serious mental illness and diabetes mellitus type II to examine relationships between comorbid anxiety, glucose control as measured by hemoglobin A1c score, and overall illness burden. ⋯ One in three people with serious mental illness and diabetes mellitus type II had anxiety. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with Hb1Ac levels while anxiety symptoms had no relation to hemoglobin A1c; this is consistent with previously published work. More studies are needed to better understand the relationship between depression, anxiety, and health management in people with serious mental illness and diabetes mellitus type II.