Vitamins, herbs, and supplements: tools of empowerment

1. Consumers who elect to use natural products are electing to do more than simply use a product. Their choice is an act of self-empowerment. 2. Education is necessary because these products most often are not being obtained in a professional, consultative setting but rather in chain discount department stores and supermarkets. 3. If consumers choose to address their health concerns using a natural-based treatment plan, consultation with a health care practitioner who shares this shift in perspective and who follows the literature is important. 4. A paradigm shift could be on the health care horizon, which when complete would make herbs and other natural products part of mainstream health care practice.     

Obsessive-Compulsive Features in Pathological Lottery and Scratch-Ticket Gamblers

The results of this study support the notion that pathological gamblers drawn from the community would score higher on all three scores from the YBOCS than light gamblers. Consistent with hypotheses, pathological gamblers (lottery and scratch ticket) reported more obsessions, compulsions, and avoidance behavior than the light gamblers, and also reported having more urges to engage in injurious behaviors to themselves and others. These findings provide evidence that pathological gambling falls in a spectrum or family of disorders which have obsessive-compulsive disorder at its core. These findings support McElroy, Hudson, Philips, et al.'s (1993) suggestions of similarities between OCD and Impulse Control Disorders, and extend Blaszczynski (1999) findings of overlap between pathological gamblers and OCD in a treatment population. Heavy gamblers also reported significantly more hoarding symptoms and compulsive buying than light gamblers. More research in this area may show further evidence of a spectrum of disorders with obsessive compulsive disorder at its core, and show further links between impulse control disorders (such as pathological gambling) and OCD.     

Clinical trials integrity: a CRO perspective

When contract research organizations (CROs) were first formed, pharmaceutical companies outsourced to them only certain aspects of the conduct of their clinical trials. At first CROs were highly specialized entities, providing, for example, either biostatistical advice, clinical research associates who monitored investigational sites for regulatory compliance, or regulatory support. Gradually, full service CROs emerged, offering a full range of services for clinical trials, including the selection of investigators and investigational sites, assistance with patient recruitment, safety surveillance and reporting, site audits, and data management and biostatistics. This evolving relationship between CROs and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries has resulted in CROs assuming more and more of the regulatory and ethical risks and responsibilities inherent in the conduct of clinical trials. In this full service role, CROs, unlike sponsors, are not interested in the outcome of study, but like sponsors, are subject to heavy regulation by the federal government, must follow applicable state laws, must respect international guidelines, and are obliged to follow their own operating procedures. Moreover, they are judged by the industry on the basis of the scope and quality of services provided, including the degree of adherence to the research protocol, regulatory requirements, and timelines; the quality of the professional working relationships with investigators and institutions, both academic and community-based; and the validity of the data. Further, CROs are subject to comprehensive audits by sponsoring companies, FDA, and other regulatory authorities. For all these reasons, CROs are being tasked with strict vigilance of all stages of the clinical trial process to ensure that the laws, regulations, and industry standards designed for the protection of human subjects and data integrity are maintained.     

Empirically supported ethical research practice: the costs and benefits of research from the participants' view

Researchers and institutional review boards are routinely called upon to evaluate the cost-benefit status of proposed research protocols that involve human participants. Often these assessments are based on subjective judgments in the absence of empirical data. This reliance on subjective judgments is of particular concern for studies involving clinical samples where unfounded assumptions may adversely affect research progress or clinical outcomes. The Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire (RRPQ) was designed to address this shortcoming and to help promote ethical decision making about research practice. The present study describes development of the RRPQ and presents a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses investigating its structure. Based on these findings, a revised version of the instrument and suggestions for future research are presented. This approach provides a foundation for scientifically informed protection of human subjects.     

The influence of religious and ethnic differences on marital intimacy: intermarriage versus intramarriage

The influence of religious and ethnic differences on marital intimacy was examined by administering the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships and a demographic/attitudinal questionnaire to 25 Jewish couples (intramarried) and 25 couples with one Jewish partner (intermarried). All couples were childless and in the first 5 years of their first marriage. Results indicated that the groups did not differ regarding couple level of intimacy, similarity of intimate experience, or mutual understanding. However, in-depth interviews revealed differences in the pathways by which these two groups arrived at a similar level of intimacy. Intramarried couples appear to experience greater personal similarity and mutual understanding rooted in their ethnic bond, which aids the development of intimacy. Intermarried couples appear to find that the very process of negotiating ethnic differences leads to greater mutual understanding and intimacy. These findings indicate that clinicians and religious leaders should not assume that intermarriage constrains levels of intimacy. Nor should it be assumed that intramarriage assures high intimacy.     

Facilitating a multidisciplinary parent support & education group guided by Allen's developmental health nursing model

Parents are generally the primary source of support and nurturing for children experiencing an eating disorder; yet, they often feel blamed for the illness. Guided by the developmental health model, the group focused on parents' competence and helped them share solutions; reframed situations related to development in adolescence and mid-life; and shifted the emphasis to process to help parents understand behaviors. Parents became partners in helping their children recover by sharing solutions and creating learning opportunities from adversity.