A Controlled Evaluation of Psychoeducation Workshops for Relatives of State Hospital Patients

Pre-discharge psychoeducation workshops for relatives of psychiatric inpatients, conducted with and without the patient present, were compared to hospital-tour and no-contact control groups. Despite highly positive evaluations of the workshops, there were no group differences in patient relapse or family involvement in treatment after discharge; nor did the groups differ on questionnaire measures of relatives' illness attributions or criticism/rejection of the patient taken immediately after the workshops. Process analyses indicated that relatives made fewer personal and topic-relevant comments over time in workshops with patients present, compared to those patients absent. Patients, however, maintained high (often disruptive) levels of participation.     

Children in Foster Care: Possible factors affecting permanency planning

This is a study of Children in Foster Care to determine possible factors affecting permanency planning. Several issues were determined to be of importance, cultural diversity, economics, and family support services. Areas needing additional study were determined to be the different treatment given to African-American and poor children, and the influence of economic and social problems on placement needs and planning.     

Demographic implications of aboriginal out-marriage

Unpublished 1991 Census data show that more than half of Aboriginal marriages involve a non-Aboriginal spouse and that 83 per cent of resultant children identify as Aboriginal. Out-marriage is therefore a major but so far overlooked influence on Aboriginal population growth and regional differences in out-marriage rates are a major cause of higher Aboriginal population growth in cities. High and rising rates of out-marriage have overtaken rising levels of Aboriginal self-identification in importance and imply that the Aboriginal population is destined to continue growing rapidly. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Employment, Education and Training.     

Role relationships: lesbian perspectives

This questionnaire study of 140 lesbians, 70 couples who have lived together for one or more years, explores equality and role relationships. We predicted that lesbians would achieve partnerships characterized by equality and freedom from traditional butch-femme role playing. Financial sharing and decision-making were found to be characterized by high degrees of equality. Household responsibilities tended to be performed individually, but no role-playing was evident. Sexual intimacy items indicated less perceived equality than other areas. And overall, some partners were viewed as unequal. The variables of age, income, education, occupation, assets, and years living together did not explain the inequality observed.     

Towards Balancing Power in Domestic Violence Relationships Rejoinder

Based on four years of extensive work on domestic violence issues with both survivors and perpetrators within their Family Safety Program, the authors argue that Wileman and Wileman's suggestion that women could learn skills to “effect positive change” in their relationships is both inappropriate and potentially dangerous. We further argue that to label such “skills” as “empowering” merely endorses a stance that is “more of the same” for the woman. That is, the woman may only learn more about taking responsibility for change, which is a position in which she is already well entrenched, often to her ultimate disadvantage.     

Estimability and linearity in normal regression

In the normal regresion model, a relation between the notion of estimability of a distribution and the existence of a linear function of the observations with some desired property is studied. Several definitions of estimability are shown to be equivalent.     

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home Case-Mix and Quality Demonstration: a descriptive overview

This paper presents the first comprehensive account of a major national demonstration designed to integrate skilled nursing facilities (SNF) prospective case-mix payment and quality of care. It describes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Nursing Home Case-Mix and Quality (NHCMQ) Demonstration-the template for Medicare's SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS) implemented July 1998. The NHCMQ Demonstration provided the basis for one of the most significant changes in SNF reimbursement and quality monitoring policies to date. Prospective reimbursement policies created positive incentive for providers to admit Medicare residents under more equitable payment rates. However, controversy regarding unanticipated perverse provider incentives remains. The quality management system designed under the NHCMQDemonstration is currently used in over 17,000 nursing homes. Furthermore, under the NHCMQ Demonstration, one standardized assessment tool-the MDS-was used to assess a resident's clinical condition, to monitor quality, and to calculate provider reimbursement. Experiences from the NHCMQ Demonstration and continued evaluation of the current national PPS, along with state systems, provide a rich information source regarding prospective, case-mix reimbursement, and provider incentives.     

The Family Safety Model: A Comprehensive Strategy For Working With Domestic Violence

There has been continuous debate about the viability, efficacy and appropriateness of providing services to perpetrators and couples where domestic violence is the presenting problem in therapy. This paper argues that within a comprehensive and integrated model of service provision that encompasses all family members, it can be appropriate and effective to incorporate these service options if screening, monitoring and service models are carefully selected and provided in a context of agency safety and support.