Biomedical subjects
R Blunden
Publications and source records attributed to R Blunden.
The effect of routine steam autoclaving on orthodontic pliers.
Five commonly used types of orthodontic plier of similar design, but different manufacture were evaluated for wear and corrosion following a 6-month regime of routine use in a hospital department together with steam autoclaving in a centralized unit. Three different types of manufacture (metal finish) were evaluated: (1) a stainless steel plier; (2) a chrome plated plier; and (3) a cheaper chrome plated plier. Four identical kits for changing archwires were assembled for each of the three manufacture types. A sixth 'plier', always of chrome plated manufacture (group 2) was added to every kit and acted as an additional control. In all, 72 pliers were evaluated by three observers immediately before and after the trial. Visual analogue and rank scales were used to assess corrosion, damage, the efficiency of the plier, etc. Generally, all of the pliers stood up well to a combination of routine clinical use and steam autoclaving; however, the stainless steel pliers appeared to perform the best. It is likely that the most important factor, when setting up this type of sterilizing method for orthodontic instruments, is to establish a careful and meticulous routine for cleaning, lubricating, and steam autoclaving pliers.
The relationship of staff:client ratios, interactions, and residential placement.
The behavior of staff and persons with severe handicaps was surveyed in nine settings, including four traditional institutions, three large community-based units, and two groups of small homes. Data were collected that established the relationship among staff:client interactions, client responding, and the size of staff:client groups. The latter showed that the institutions were characterized by larger client and staff groups than the large community units. Large client and staff groups were virtually absent in the small homes. Two general conclusions could be drawn about the relationship between staff:client ratios and client behavior: (a) when one or two staff were together, improvements in the level of the staff interactions and client adaptive functioning occurred as the client group decreased in size and the staff size remained constant; (b) improvement in staff performance and client behavior arising from the addition of staff to a client group of a given size was marginal or nonexistent. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for the design of residential environments.
To what behaviors do attending adults respond? A replication.
In a replication of a study by Warren and Mondy (1971), we observed the responses of staff in four institutional setting, three large community units, and five small community houses to the behavior of a total of 90 severely and profoundly mentally retarded adults. In the institutions and large community units, staff members showed problems in their responding similar to those reported by Warren and Mondy, in particular a lack of responding to appropriate behavior. Staff in the small community houses showed a greater level of encouragement of appropriate behavior and a discrimination in attending to appropriate as opposed to other behavior of 3:1. Whether this finding was due to the difference in size of the residential settings, their organization, or staff characteristics and training was discussed.
Introducing a general prompting and recording system: its effect on client and staff behavior in an institutional ward.
This study describes the evaluation of a "low-key" approach to training staff in procedures designed to increase the degree of independence of mentally handicapped people. Training leaflets describing a method of giving graded prompts to residents were distributed to staff on a hospital ward. Subsequently, checklists were introduced on which staff recorded the amount of assistance they gave residents in a variety of self-help skills. Time-sampling observations provided data on residents' engagement in such skills and their degree of independence. The amount of staff prompting was not affected by the interventions. The introduction of each intervention increased the frequency with which staff allowed residents to do tasks independently, but the effect did not persist. The amount of residents' independent activity increased prior to the introduction of the leaflets, remained stable after their introduction, and increased further when checklists were introduced. These results are discussed in terms of the training materials used and the role of supervisors in staff training.
Psychiatry/mental handicap. Forum 2. Portage in Britain: tailored to suit.
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A home training service for pre-school developmentally handicapped children.
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Letter: fact and fiction in the care of the mentally handicapped.
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A method of rating behaviour characteristics for use in large scale surveys of mental handicap.
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Care of the mentally handicapped.
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