Development and Validation of a Tool to Improve Physician Identification of Elder Abuse: The Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI)©

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to develop and validate a brief tool for physician use to improve suspicion about the presence or absence of elder abuse. A literature review on elder abuse, obstacles to its identification, limitations of detection tools, and characteristics of screeners employed by physicians were used to generate elder abuse detection questions for critique by 31 doctors, nurses, and social workers in focus groups. Six resulting questions became the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI) administered by 104 family doctors to 953 cognitively intact seniors in ambulatory-care settings. Findings were compared to a recognized, detailed elder abuse Social Work Evaluation (SWE) later administered to participants by social workers blinded to the results of the EASI. The EASI had an estimated sensitivity and specificity of 0.47 and 0.75, usually took less than 2 minutes to ask, and 97.2% of doctors felt it would have some or big practice impact. This research is a first phase in the development and validation of a user-friendly tool that might sensitize physicians to elder abuse and promote referrals of possible victims for in-depth assessment by specialized professionals.     

Australian Baby Boomers Face Retirement During the Global Financial Crisis

This paper examines the impact in Australia of the global financial crisis on the baby boom cohort approaching later life. Data from national focus groups of people aged 50 to 64 years (N?=?73), conducted in late 2008, found widespread but variable concern and uncertainty concerning work and retirement plans and experiences. A national survey (N?=?1,009) of those aged 50 to 64 years in mid-2009 reported lower levels of financial satisfaction compared with other life domains; many planned to postpone retirement. Findings are interpreted in the context of policies and markets that differed significantly from those in the United States, notwithstanding the global nature of the financial crisis.     

How will the British post office cope with technological change

This article considers the trends and the new technologies available to the Post Office which will have some bearing of the transfer of message carrying fromt the Post to Telecommunications. It also considers the practicalities of electronic mail and the future prospects for the traditional mail service. The objective is to provide some practical guidelines for the communications input to corporate planning.     

Social Learning in One‐Arm Bandit Problems

We study a two‐player one‐arm bandit problem in discrete time, in which the risky arm can have two possible types, high and low, the decision to stop experimenting is irreversible, and players observe each other's actions but not each other's payoffs. We prove that all equilibria are in cutoff strategies and provide several qualitative results on the sequence of cutoffs.     

Das „flexible Tandemsetting“ bei Gruppendynamik-Trainings

The new “Flexible Tandem Setting” combines both elements of the classic group dynamic design and tandem design and allows to gather valuable experiences in group building process in the context of organizational learning and to reflect them. This new setting and three practical case studies are described and the specific new learning fields in team learning and organizational learning for these settings are focused. In the end new operational areas of application and their benefits are sketched.     

Relationship Between Sarcopenia and Fracture Risks in Obese Postmenopausal Women

ABSTRACT

It is known that obesity is inversely correlated with fracture risk. It remains unclear if a low muscle mass (sarcopenia) modulates the relationship between obesity and bone mass density. Twenty-seven obese women were matched for total fat mass (± 0.5 kg) and age (± 4 yrs) and divided in 3 equal groups: class II sarcopenic, class I sarcopenic, and nonsarcopenic. Body composition (DXA) and dietary intake were measured. Our results suggest that obesity may offer some protection against osteoporosis, even in sarcopenic postmenopausal women. However, further studies are needed to examine the actual implication of these results on a clinical standpoint.     

Evaluating a Web-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Maladaptive Perfectionism in University Students

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed a Web-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for maladaptive perfectionism, investigating perfectionism, anxiety, depression, negative automatic thoughts, and perceived stress. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students defined as maladaptive perfectionists through a screening questionnaire at an urban university. The data were collected from July 2009 to August 2010. Methods: Forty-seven maladaptive perfectionists were randomly assigned to a 12-week CBT or a wait-list control group and assessed via questionnaires at pre- and postintervention. Statistical procedures included t tests, Pearson correlations, and analysis of covariance. Results: At the postintervention measure, the CBT group demonstrated significant decreases in anxiety sensitivity and negative automatic thoughts compared to the control group. Within the CBT group, changes in perfectionism scores were significantly correlated with positive changes in depression, anxiety, stress, and automatic thoughts. Conclusions: The treatment group improved on psychological outcomes, demonstrating the effectiveness of a Web-based CBT for perfectionism in a university setting.     

Coaching im Rahmen von Bedrohungsmanagement

Threat management is a young discipline in practice as well as theory. Coaching of executives shows a new, specific intervention form in this context. For this matter it requires a high professional knowledge which allows an expert’s consultation and a professional process consultation, to do justice to process-like threatening events or to the adequate contact. The present contribution reflects the complicated connections of male executives in particular with the focus on emotion regularisation and action optimisation.     

How to Inform: Comparing Written and Video Education Interventions to Increase Human Papillomavirus Knowledge and Vaccination Intentions in Young Adults

Abstract

Objective: To compare the efficacy of 2 human papillomavirus (HPV) educational interventions on increasing HPV knowledge and vaccination intentions in college students. Participants: Male (n = 60) and female (n = 140) undergraduates (M _age = 20.4, SD = 2.3) recruited from a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from October 2009 to March 2010. Methods: Using theory-based interventions, participants were randomly assigned to either a written HPV pamphlet, an HPV video, or a control. HPV knowledge and vaccination intentions were assessed pre and postintervention. Results: Low baseline knowledge and intentions were found across groups. Postintervention, participants in the written and video interventions had significantly higher knowledge and intentions than the control. No differences were found between written and video interventions on knowledge or intentions. Conclusion: This study, a first in comparing HPV educational formats, suggests that both written and video interventions are equally effective in educating about HPV and increasing young adults’ vaccination intentions.