The Cochrane Library has produced a series of podcasts providing audio
summaries of some of the systematic reviews that are available from one of its
regularly updated collection of evidence-based medicine databases, the Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews. Cochrane systematic reviews analyse what
evidence is available from published research studies for or against the use of
certain treatments and healthcare interventions and then provide recommendations
on what is the most effective or appropriate. This podcast enables listeners to
hear a short commentary about the evidence available for the use of music for
the reduction of anxiety and stress in coronary heart disease patients. The
Cochrane Library is made available by the Cochrane Collaboration, an
international not-for-profit and independent body, making up-to-date, accurate
information about the effects of healthcare freely available. FromIntute.ac.uk
BioPsychoSocial Medicine is an electronic journal published by Biomed
Central (BMC), the independent online publisher who is committed to
ensuring peer-reviewed biomedical research is available on a completely
Open Access basis, giving free access to the full-text of peer-reviewed
biological and medical research articles published in its various
online journals. Research articles, case reports and reviews covering
the latest research on biological, psychological, social, and
behavioural factors of health and illness and psychosomatic disorders
and diseases are available from 2007 onwards which are freely
accessible online permanently. Aimed at students and academics with an
interest in the bio-psycho-social approach to illness and health, the
behavioral sciences, social sciences, neuroscience, stress physiology
and epidemiology, psycho-neuro-endocrinology/ immunology, and
psycho-oncology, all of which are associated with mind-body
interactions. Published by the Japanese Society of Psychosomatic
Medicine, articles are listed in PubMed and are archived in
internationally recognised free access repositories such as PubMed
Central, the US National Library of Medicine's full-text repository of
life science literature, and also in repositories at the University of
Potsdam in Germany, at INIST in France and in e-Depot, the National
Library of the Netherlands digital archive of all electronic
publications. Information is provided on the journal editorial board,
instructions for authors, and the peer-review process.
From Intute.ac.uk http://www.bpsmedicine.com/
Effects of psychosocial interventions in cancer and heart disease : a review of systematic reviews
A report from the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the
University of York carried out to conduct a review of existing
systematic reviews, in order to (i) examine the types of psychosocial
interventions that have been used with people suffering from heart
disease or cancer, (ii) evaluate the effects of such interventions on
physical outcomes, psychological outcomes or health care usage, and
(iii) evaluate the methodological quality of the included systematic
reviews. This 178 page systematic review is CRD number 30 and was
published in December 2005.
From: Intute.ac.uk http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/CRD_Reports/crdreport30.pdf
Scholars are often pessimistic about adolescent dating, linking it to
increases in depression, interpersonal violence, conflict with parents,
school failure, associations with delinquents, substance use, and
offending. Yet, the various dimensions of dating may have opposing
consequences. The closeness offered by adolescent romantic love may
fill an important void found between the weakening of bonds with
parents and the onset of adult attachments, and it may discourage an
array of negative outcomes, including involvement in crime. Adolescent
sexual activity, in contrast, may increase offending, in part by
augmenting the strain created by relationships. When coupled with a
romantic relationship, however, sex is likely less stressful and
consequential for crime. In this article, we analyze patterns of
romance, sexual behavior, and adolescent crime with panel data from the
nationally representative Adolescent Health Survey. Findings support
our expectations regarding differential effects of romance and sex. We
conclude by discussing the implications of these results for
understanding adolescent delinquency, social attachments, and
development.
The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) is an
organisation which aims to advance the treatment of all aspects of
bipolar disorder (commonly referred to as manic depression) through
international collaboration in education and research, and to improve
the quality of life for those with bipolar disorder. The society is
open to mental health professionals, basic and clinical researchers,
psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, students, trainees and
interested lay groups and individuals. The website provides information
on the society, its history, mission, objectives, structure, membership
categories, trainee programmes, ISBD regional societies, meetings,
publications, FAQs, and links to sites of related interest. Some
sections of the site are only available to ISBD members.
http://www.isbd.org/portal/
The
Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM) is an organisation which provides
an interactive network for education and collaboration on common
research, and clinical and public policy concerns relating to
prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and health promotion.
The Society represents professionals working in the field of medicine,
psychology, and public health. The website provides information on the
organisation, its mission, goals, structure, meetings, membership
benefits, news items, press releases, special interest groups, and
links to sites of related interest. Further information is available on
education, training, and career development. The section on
Evidence-Based Behavioral Medicine (EBBM) provides information on the
SBM EBBM Committee, a definition of EBBM, citations for articles on
EBBM, conference activites, and links to other resources. Two public
policies, 'Diabetes : measures of quality care should include
patient-centred outcomes' and 'Childhood obesity : a policy statement
of the Society of Behavioral Medicine' are available online. Some
sections of the site can only be accessed by SBM members.
http://www.sbm.org/
The
Society for Stimulus Properties of Drugs (SSPD) is an international
non-profit organisation which encourages the development of teaching
and research relevant to understanding the stimulus properties of
psychoactive drugs used in psychiatry and neurology. The society uses
drug discrimination methods to study drugs used to treat mental
illnesses and the substances which produce drug dependency. The society
conducts research on the actions of drugs as discriminative stimuli,
contextual stimuli and unconditional stimuli. The website provides an
introduction to the SSPD, information on the stimulus properties of
drugs, membership requirements, past and forthcoming meetings, and
related publications. Web links to databases, societies, journals and
funding agencies relevant to the study of psychoactive drugs can be
accessed.
http://www.sspd.org.uk/about.html
Psychosocial interventions in cancer and heart disease An overview of one of a series of research projects undertaken by the
Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York.
Commissioned by the charity OneHealth, conducted by the Centre for
Reviews and Dissemination (CRD), the Centre for Health Economics
(University of York) and the Department of Health Sciences (University
of York) and published by the CRD in 2007, this is a systematic review
which looks at the effects of psychosocial interventions in cancer and
heart disease. The full text of this document is available together
with links to the abstracts and some full text of key references.
Intute.ac.uk http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/projects/psychosocial_interventions_cancer_heart.
Public health experts, doctors, policymakers and others are
increasingly interested in the relationship between health and
conflict. A number of those people recently collaborated to create the
"Conflict and Health" journal. The journal is part of the BioMedCentral
publishing group, and it is an open access, peer-reviewed publication,
which looks at "the intricate relationship between conflict and health,
and how health interventions in war zones may contribute to peace."
There is no better way to explore the journal than by looking at some
of the recently published articles on their homepage. Recent pieces
have included works on HIV and AIDS services in Myanmar and
post-traumatic stress disorder among Somali ex-combatants. Visitors can
also take a look at their publishing guidelines and sign up to receive
their RSS feed. [KMG]Scout Report
Medact is a globnal health charity based in London
which specialises in examining the health impact of conflict. This includes
coverage of psychological and physical effects upon civilian populations in war
zones worldwide. Its website provides information on its aims, methods and
recent activities. it includes free access to recent press releases and full
text reports. Topics covered by these include: the health of refugees, health
and development and campaigns against the use of weapons of mass destruction
(WMD) From Intute.ac.uk http://www.medact.org/
This review suggests differences between males and females in exposure
and vulnerability to obesogenic environments, the consequences of child
and adolescent obesity, and responses to interventions for the
condition. A clearer focus on gender differences is required among both
researchers and policy makers within this field.
This Australian blog, run by a
health psychologist, provides comment and critical analysis of health
psychology. An archive of articles is provided, along with links to journals,
other blogs, and health psychology websites. The site should be useful for
researchers, students and teachers. From Intute.ac.uk http://health-psychology.blogspot.com/
'Changing health behaviours : weight control' is one in a
series of evidence-based essays focussing on specific health-related issues and
topics, taken from the Bandolier Extra collection. Authored by Dr Kate Parmenter
and published in December 2001, this essay provides some practical, evidence
based information for those wishing to lose weight and for health professionals
who are giving advice. From Intute.ac.uk http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/Extraforbando/wlos.pdf
Health psychology blog
This Australian blog, run by a health psychologist, provides comment
and critical analysis of health psychology. An archive of articles is
provided, along with links to journals, other blogs, and health
psychology websites. The site should be useful for researchers,
students and teachers. Intute.ac.uk http://health-psychology.blogspot.com/
Unhealthy lifestyle contributes significantly to the burden of disease.
Scarce medical resources that could alternatively be spent on
interventions to prevent or cure sufferings for which no one is to
blame, are spent on prevention or treatment of (the risk of) disease
that could be avoided through individual lifestyle changes. This may
encourage policy makers and health care professionals to opt for a
criterion of individual responsibility for medical suffering when
setting priorities. The following article asks whether
responsibility-based reasoning should be accepted as relevant for fair
and legitimate healthcare rationing. The luck-egalitarian argument that
inequalities in health expectancies that derive from unchosen features
of people’s circumstances are unjust and should be compensated, while
inequalities that reflect personal choices of lifestyle may not, is
discussed. It seems that while a backward-looking interpretation of
individual responsibility cannot be relevant as a criterion of priority
setting, a forward-looking conception of responsibility may be
approved.
Depression produces the greatest decrement in health compared with the chronic diseases angina, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes. The comorbid state of depression incrementally worsens health compared with depression alone, with any of the chronic diseases alone, and with any combination of chronic diseases without depression. These results indicate the urgency of addressing depression as a public-health priority to reduce disease burden and disability, and to improve the overall health of populations.