Referral

About: Referral is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 27614 publications have been published within this topic receiving 479918 citations.

The characteristics of dropouts from a child psychiatry clinic.

Abstract: The characteristics that distinguish nonattenders from attenders at a child psychiatry clinic prior to dropping out are presented. Nonattendance was primarily a function of referral source and the caretaker's symptomatology. Moreover, there was evidence of an interaction in the relationship of dropping out, referral source, and the caretaker's level of disturbance. There were no differences between the attenders and nonattenders on family sociodemographic characteristics or the child's symptomatology. The nonattenders' reasons for dropping out are delineated. The findings are discussed in terms of establishing procedures to counteract the factors influencing nonattendance, with a resultant increase in the effectiveness of an outpatient service, and the implications for research on clinical samples.

Evaluation of neonatal-intensive-care program.

Abstract: Within the past 15 years, regional neonatal-intensive-care programs have been introduced and have expanded rapidly. The efficacy of some of the individual interventions that constitute neonatal intensive care has been validated in randomized, controlled clinical trials. It is therefore generally assumed that neonatal-intensive-care programs that incorporate these maneuvers are effective in reducing death and disability. However, the overall effectiveness of these programs has not been tested experimentally. Moreover, much of the non-experimental evidence supporting their value is based on the experience of referral units and does not measure the impact on the populations they serve. A definitive economic evaluation of neonatal intensive care has not yet been reported, despite the high cost of such programs. We conclude that neonatal-intensive care programs require further evaluation with rigorous scientific methods.

The suicide prevention and depression awareness program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

Abstract: To address physician depression and suicide at one U.S. medical school, a faculty committee launched a Suicide Prevention and Depression Awareness Program in 2009 whose focus is medical students’, residents’, and faculty physicians’ mental health. The program consists of a two-pronged approach: (1) screening, assessment, and referral and (2) education. The screening process is anonymous, confidential, and Web based, using customized software created by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The educational component consists of a medical-schoolwide campaign including Grand Rounds on physician burnout, depression, and suicide as well as similar sessions geared toward trainees. The authors document the process of developing and implementing the program, including the program’s origins and goals, their critical decision-making processes, and successes and challenges of the program’s first year. Of the 2,860 medical students, housestaff, and faculty who received the e-mail invitation in the first year, 374 individuals (13%) completed screens, 101/374 (27%) met criteria for significant risk for depression or suicide, and 48/374 (13%) received referrals for mental health evaluation and treatment. The program provided 29 Grand Rounds and other presentations during the first year. This may be the first program that aims to increase awareness of depression and to destigmatize help-seeking in order to prevent suicide and whose target population includes the full panoply of medical school constituents: students, residents, and faculty physicians. The program was well received in its first year, and while demonstrating the prevention of suicides is difficult, the authors are encouraged by the program’s results thus far.