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Biomedical subjects

P Ruiz

Publications and source records attributed to P Ruiz.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources

Social rehabilitation of addicts: a two-year evaluation.

This paper points out the relationship that exists between treatment approaches with drug addicts and sociodemographic characteristics of the communities affected. It has been shown that while poor and middle class communities show good results with methadone maintenance approaches, in the area of secondary drug abuse they show marked dissimilarities. Also, the reasons for discharge are markedly different. It is speculated that the different attitudes existing at the two clinics studied provide contrasting environments that are selectively detrimental to program dropouts.

Adult↗

Macrophage involvement in the protective effect of pyran copolymer against the Madison lung carcinoma (M109).

Pyran copolymer (NSC 46015) therapy markedly enhanced host resistance to a murine lung carcinoma (M109) implanted s.c. Multiple dose schedules were not significantly better than single doses at increasing lifespan. Although tumor necrosis was much more extensive in the lesions of pyran-treated mice, pyran copolymer was not directly toxic to M109 cells in vitro. A comparative histopathological study revealed an intense histiocytic reaction in the connective tissue surrounding the primary tumor in mice receiving pyran as compared to 0.9% NaCl solution-treated controls. Macrophages were often associated with necrobiotic tumor cells. Morphologically activated macrophages were recovered from pyran-treated animals which potently inhibited DNA synthesis of M109 tumor cells in vitro. This response peaked 6 days after drug treatment and was to a large extent specific for neoplastic cells. Our results from both in vivo and in vitro studies support the concept that pyran enhances host resistance to neoplasia by mobilization and activation of the reticuloendothelial elements of the host's defense.

Animals↗

The role of folk healers in community mental health services.

This paper deals with the relationship between sociocultural factors and psychopathology in Hispanic groups in a disadvantaged urban area. The data were drawn from a 6-year collaborative undertaking between the Lincoln Community Mental Health Center and two local spiritualistic centers in the Southeast Bronx, New York. Comparisons are offered between classical mental health personnel and indigenous folk healers with emphasis on terminology, means of communication, and diagnosis techniques, as well as the utilization of social behavior and moral values. Relevant inferences are drawn regarding the broader relationship between religion and psychiatry. The importance of understanding of utilization of local folk resources in the planning and implementation of mental health services in urban ghettos is documented.

Communication↗

Psychiatry and folk healing: a dichotomy?

A mental health center's experience with folk healers in a Hispanic urban ghetto revealed a culturally accepted belief system based on a body of empirical knowledge that helps its members to cope with distress. The authors suggest that including folk healers as team members in the delivery of mental health services is a valuable contribution to psychiatry.

Community Mental Health Services↗

A seven-year evaluation of a career-escalation training program for indigenous nonprofessionals.

A community mental health center in an urban ghetto offers a career-escalation program in which indigenous nonprofessional mental health workers can earn a master's degree in the behavioral sciences. The program allows them paid time off for classes and study and also pays for their tuition and course materials. An evaluation of the first seven years of the program showed that only 56 of the 91 staff members who were eligible for the program entered it, and 23 subsequently dropped out. Only three trainees earned a master's degree, although 24 were pursuing or had received an associate-in-arts degree. The author briefly discusses changes that could make the program more effective, but he believes a community mental health center is not the best setting for a career-escalation program.

Achievement↗

Career escalation training. Five-year follow-up.

A study has been reported on 5 years of experience in a community mental health center with a career escalation training program for indigenous workers in a ghetto community. More than one-half entered the program during the 5-year period and about one-third had either achieved a degree or were still active in the Program at the time of this study. Although it is too early to assess the full impact of the program on career advancement, the authors believe that at least a master's degree is required for true upward and lateral mobility. The most striking finding was the high retention rate in the mental health field of those workers who entered the program in contrast to those who didn't. A number of suggestions have been made to improve the effectiveness of a career escalation training program. It is too early to tell whether the long term benefits for individuals, the Center, and the mental health field at large justify the cost and the continuation of such educational release time programs.

Achievement↗