Purpose: Effective pain management remains a serious problem in the nursing home setting. Barriers to achieving optimal pain practices include staff knowledge deficits, biases, and attitudes that influence assessment and management of the residents' pain. Design and Methods: Twelve nursing homes participated in this intervention study: six…

OxyContin, a prescription pain reliever, is a controlled-release form of oxycodone hydrochloride. The medication is supplied in 10-mg, 20-mg, 40-mg, and 80-mg tablets and provides delivery of oxycodone over a 12-hour period. It is indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain. Although all prescription narcotics have the potential for…

Two experimental conditions, a manualized cognitive-behavioral anger-control treatment incorporating empowerment strategies and a relapse-prevention treatment without the anger-control component, were compared to assess their impact on levels of trait anger and attributional styles of women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. Participants…

Children of alcoholics/addicts (COAs) are at a greater risk to develop alcohol and drug dependency, eating disorders, attention deficit disorders, stress-related illness, and suicidal behavior. Children become part of a conspiracy of silence by being told not to talk about the drug problem. The family members assume different roles which…

This document contains seven papers from the ninth World Conference of Therapeutic Communities (TCs) that deal with adolescent clients and TCs. Papers include: (1) Preliminary Consideration on "Adolescence and the TC" (David Deitch); (2) "Daytop's Full Service Adolescent Treatment Program" (Charles Devlin and Lois Morris); (3)…

This document presents an update of a fact book first published by the Public Health Service in 1969. It deals with the medical, social, and economic aspects of cigarette smoking and identifies cigarette smoking as the chief preventable cause of death in the United States. The first section, Smoking, Tobacco & Health, examines trends in cigarette…

In 1974, 1979, and 1986, the Bureau of Justice Statistics sponsored surveys of nationally representative samples of inmates of state correctional facilities. Results from the 1986 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities which included 13,711 inmates, indicated that inmates reported high levels of drug use prior to the commission of the…

The antecedents of drug addiction were studied in addicts and nonusers. Results suggest that the early life histories of individuals may be important predisposing factors, particularly if the life history includes and unhappy childhood, harsh physical punishment, or lack of parental concern. (ST)

Part of "Students and Drug Abuse, prepared by the Public Information Branch and Center for Studies of Narcotic and Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, in cooperation with the staff of Today's Education.

A sample of 448 self-admitted preservice barbiturate users was compared with a control sample of airmen with no known record of drug abuse. Within the sample of barbiturate users, several variables were examined to see if they were associated with degree of barbiturate use. The barbiturate sample differs significantly from the control sample in…

The nature of the historical changes in the presumed stereo-types of drug users in the United States, and the associated policy changes, are described in this report which takes a community health viewpoint of drug use while concurrently dealing with the individual. Eight case histories illustrate the community mental health approach in action.…

The author views middle class adolescent, drug cult drop-outs as lacking, for a variety of reasons, father figures with whom they could interact in a normal and healthy rebellion. On this basis, he devised exclusion therapy which establishes, for resistive clients, a kind of severity of initiation. The paper describes the process as follows: a…

The study investigated the life career of a sample of native Puerto Rican narcotic addicts who were treated at the Lexington, Kentucky Public Health Service Hospital. Specifically, it deals with the relationship between the addicts' involvement in a drug subculture and their subsequent drug use and abstinence. The hypothesis presented states that…

This is a study of drug abuse attitudes and knowledge in "Middle America". A random sample of teachers, parents, police, mental health clinic workers, ministers, and high school students (both drug users and non-users) were interviewed and tested to ascertain their attitudes and knowledge regarding drugs. The findings are that drug users, in…

Presented is the fourth component of a special day class program for drug dependent minors, Drug Information for Educators, Parents, and Students. The first section, intended for educators, includes a drug abuse chart, information on the drug subculture, information on patterns of drug abuse and misconceptions about drugs, and suggested activities…