Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “COUNSELING”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Problem-solving counseling for caregivers of the cognitively impaired: effective for whom?

BACKGROUND: Individualized problem-solving counseling for caregivers of cognitively impaired relatives is thought to help caregivers cope with the stress and burden of caregiving. Few studies have shown the effectiveness of counseling for these caregivers. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of individualized problem-solving counseling by nurses for caregivers and the expenditures of health care utilization. METHOD: Caregivers (n = 77) of the cognitively impaired living at home were randomized to receive nurse counseling or not. Psychosocial adjustment to their relative's illness, psychological distress, burden, coping skills, and expenditures were measured after 6 months and 1 year. RESULTS: Although on average, all caregivers receiving nurse counseling indicated no improvement in psychosocial adjustment to their relative's illness, psychological distress, or caregiver burden, they found counseling very helpful and it was effective for a subgroup of caregivers. Those with poor logical analysis coping skills at baseline had decreased psychological distress (F(1,53) = 9.7, p = .003) and improved psychosocial adjustment (F(1,53) = 4.7, p = .035) after 1 year. Caregivers in control and counseling groups whose relatives entered a nursing home improved their psychosocial adjustment 23% on average whereas those continuing to live in the community decreased by 8%. Almost half as many relatives entered nursing homes in the counseling group (n = 9 vs. n = 5) but these compared to control group relatives had greater annualized per person expenditures for health and social services (Cdn$23,437 vs. Cdn$15,151). CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers found nurse counseling most helpful. Those indicating infrequent use of logical analysis coping skills showed benefits.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Content and processes of postpartum counseling after a distressing birth experience: a review.

BACKGROUND: A distressing birth experience can produce debilitating symptoms of psychological trauma; however, little is known about the content and processes of counseling interventions to relieve trauma symptoms. This review identifies and examines common content and processes of postpartum counseling interventions to address trauma symptoms following childbirth. METHOD: A search of major databases (Cinahl 1982-2003; Cochrane 2003; Embase; Proquest; Psychlit; Pubmed/Medline 1966-2003; Sociofile) was conducted, using combinations of the key words of "childbirth,""postpartum,""posttraumatic stress disorder,""anxiety,""trauma,""stress,""debriefing," and "counselling" or "counseling." Identified content and processes were clustered through a thematic analysis. RESULTS: Nineteen publications were retrieved. Counseling strategies provided women with opportunities to talk about their birth experience, express feelings about what happened, have questions answered, address gaps in knowledge or understanding of events, connect the event with emotions and behavior, talk about future pregnancies, and explore existential issues. CONCLUSIONS: Descriptions of postpartum counseling and debriefing are generalized and nonspecific; they provide minimal direction for postpartum counseling models, lack necessary detail for replication, may require psychotherapeutic training and therefore be unsuitable for use by caregivers, and are often based on opinion with little empirical evaluation. Few studies have tested specific counseling interventions on a range of maternal outcomes. Further research is needed to develop counseling models for use by health professionals with women who report a distressing birth experience.

Counseling↗
PubMed2005

A randomized trial comparing alternative approaches to prenatal diagnosis counseling in advanced maternal age patients.

Prenatal diagnosis (PND) is offered routinely as part of pregnancy care to a large number of women at increased risk of fetal anomalies. Despite an extraordinary growth in the use of PND and significant resource allocation, few studies have examined outcomes of PND counseling, and virtually no research has evaluated the relative efficacy of various approaches to genetic counseling. This study was a randomized trial that compared which counseling methods - individual, group, and use of a decision aid - are effective in PND counseling for women of advanced maternal age (>/=35 years) and their partners. Three hundred and fifty-two women and 225 partners completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing changes in knowledge, decisional conflict, state anxiety, satisfaction, use of PND, and pregnancy outcomes. All participants showed a significant increase in knowledge and a decrease in decisional conflict post intervention. Those in the group intervention showed a significantly greater increase in knowledge than those in the individual counseling intervention. While high levels of satisfaction were reported by all, those in individual counseling were significantly more satisfied than those receiving group counseling or the decision aid. This study has shown unique benefits with each type of intervention such that women and their partners preferred individual genetic counseling, while they learned best in group-counseling sessions, and experienced the least decisional conflict regarding genetic testing with a decision aid.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

A controlled study of fluoxetine and cognitive-behavioural counselling in the treatment of postnatal depression.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of fluoxetine and cognitive-behavioural counselling in depressive illness in postnatal women: to compare fluoxetine and placebo, six sessions and one session of counselling, and combinations of drugs and counselling. DESIGN: Randomised, controlled treatment trial, double blind in relation to drug treatment, with four treatment cells: fluoxetine or placebo plus one or six sessions of counselling. SUBJECTS: 87 women satisfying criteria for depressive illness 6-8 weeks after childbirth, 61 (70%) of whom completed 12 weeks of treatment. SETTING: Community based study in south Manchester. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychiatric morbidity after 1, 4, and 12 weeks, measured as mean scores and 95% confidence limits on the revised clinical interview schedule, the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale and the Hamilton depression scale. RESULTS: Highly significant improvement was seen in all four treatment groups. The improvement in subjects receiving fluoxetine was significantly greater than in those receiving placebo. The improvement after six sessions of counselling was significantly greater than after a single session. Interaction between counselling and fluoxetine was not statistically significant. These differences were evident after one week, and improvement in all groups was complete after four weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Both fluoxetine and cognitive-behavioural counselling given as a course of therapy are effective treatments for non-psychotic depression in postnatal women. After an initial session of counselling, additional benefit results from either fluoxetine or further counselling but there seems to be no advantage in receiving both. The choice of treatment may therefore be made by the women themselves.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Randomized comparison of group versus individual genetic education and counseling for familial breast and/or ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: An efficient approach to education and counseling before BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing is necessary for effective utilization of testing in the community. Education and counseling, when delivered individually, are limited by a shortage of trained health care providers as well as by financial and time constraints. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pretest education and counseling for breast cancer genetics in a group setting is equivalent to that provided on an individual basis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-two patients at high risk for harboring a BRCA mutation were randomly assigned to group or individual education and counseling sessions. Group education was followed by brief individual counseling. Knowledge and Impact of Events Scales (IES) were administered at baseline and after education and counseling and at 1 week and 3, 6, and 12 months. Satisfaction with education and counseling was measured at completion of the session. Preferred method of education and counseling was solicited at 3 months. RESULTS: There was no difference in knowledge or IES scores between groups. When stratified by genetic test results, knowledge scores showed no difference. Regardless of group, post-test IES scores in patients with positive results were higher than patients with negative or uninformative results but returned to baseline by 12 months. Participants were equally satisfied with either method they were assigned. Significantly more time was spent per patient in individual sessions (1.25 hours) than in group education (0.74 hours). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that group education and counseling may confer similar benefits compared with traditional individual sessions. Additional investigation of this approach in larger numbers of patients is warranted.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patient counseling provided in community pharmacies: effects of state regulation, pharmacist age, and busyness.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the nature and extent of patient counseling in community pharmacies and determine whether current counseling practices are influenced by pharmacist and pharmacy characteristics and variations in state regulation of patient counseling. DESIGN: Observational, cross-sectional study. SETTING: 306 community pharmacies in eight states. PARTICIPANTS: Trained shoppers (acting as patients). INTERVENTIONS: Three new prescriptions were presented in each pharmacy, and regression techniques were used to analyze the effects of pharmacist age, pharmacy type, and busyness; whether written information was provided; and "intensity" of a state's patient counseling regulation as measured by its scope, stringency, and duration. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Whether any or all of these events occurred: pharmacist talked with shopper, oral drug information was given, oral risk information was given, and/or questions were asked to assess shopper understanding; number of informational items mentioned (range 0-7) was also recorded. RESULTS: About 63% of the shoppers were given oral drug information (mean = 2.3 items). Shoppers with a younger responsible pharmacist were more likely than other shoppers to receive risk information, a higher number of informational items, and assessment of understanding. While pharmacy type was unrelated to counseling, busyness reduced the odds of any pharmacist talk, oral information-giving, and assessment of understanding. Counseling practices varied significantly according to the intensity of a state's counseling regulation, with frequency of any information provision climbing from 40% to 94% as states' counseling regulations increased in intensity. More intensive regulations also increased the likelihood of any pharmacist talk, any provision of risk information, any assessment of shopper understanding, and amount of oral information given. CONCLUSION: Counseling varied significantly according to intensity of state regulation, pharmacy busyness, and age of responsible pharmacist. These results present important challenges to state boards of pharmacy, pharmacy associations, managers, and individual practitioners who are in a position to improve this important element of patient care.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Barriers to counseling patients with obesity: a study of Texas community pharmacists.

OBJECTIVE: To assess barriers to the counseling of obese patients and identify pharmacists' characteristics associated with these barriers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey. SETTING: Texas. PARTICIPANTS: 139 community pharmacists. INTERVENTION: Self-administered questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Respondents' perceived barriers to pharmacists' counseling of obese patients. RESULTS: The top three barriers to counseling included lack of time (76.8%), lack of patient demand or expectations (55.8%), and lack of reimbursement/compensation (49.3%). Pharmacists indicated that they rarely to sometimes counseled obese patients and were somewhat comfortable with counseling about obesity management. They perceived obesity management strategies to be somewhat effective in weight loss, but were neutral regarding their confidence in achieving positive outcomes with counseling. Pharmacists who were more experienced were more likely to indicate that obesity is controllable without medications. Those who considered obesity controllable without medications were significantly more likely to view the various obesity management strategies as less effective, compared with those who did not share this belief. Pharmacists who viewed lack of privacy as a barrier were significantly less confident in achieving positive outcomes as a result of counseling. Creating awareness among patients about pharmacists' ability to counsel was perceived as most important in overcoming barriers. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists identified several barriers to counseling of obese patients. Pharmacists' demographics and beliefs about obesity were significantly associated with their perceived barriers.

Community Pharmacy Services↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sun protection counseling by pediatricians.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a pilot study in Florida to assess the extent to which caretakers reported sun protection counseling by their physicians. We also sought to determine whether caretakers who reported receiving counseling had more favorable sun protection knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. STUDY DESIGN: We sampled 100 caretakers who were attending a university pediatric clinic in Florida and obtained 77 responses. We estimated the proportion of respondents who reported receiving sun protection counseling and examined sociodemographic predictors of counseling. RESULTS: Thirty percent of caretakers reported having been counseled by their physician. Sunscreen and avoiding peak sun exposure were the most common items discussed. Among those counseled, 42.9% stated that their child's sun protection habits increased as a result of the counseling. Counseled caretakers had greater sun protection knowledge, were more likely to report regular use of sun protection for their child (68.2% vs 40.9%, P < 0.05), and were more likely to report teaching their children about sun protection (90.9% vs 63.3%, P =.02). CONCLUSIONS: Physician sun protection counseling, while infrequently reported, was associated with more favorable sun protection knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviors of caretakers and their children.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postpartum counseling perceptions and practices: what's new?

BACKGROUND: The in-hospital postpartum period is a critical opportunity for health care providers to enhance maternal understanding of newborn care, yet few studies have determined whether health care providers' educational priorities match those of new mothers. OBJECTIVE: To document how well pediatricians' perceptions of educational priorities for counseling about care of the newborn match those of new mothers during the postpartum hospitalization, and to determine whether pediatricians' actual counseling practices reflected maternal priorities. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of perceived educational needs with direct observation of pediatrician counseling practices. SETTING: A suburban Washington, DC, community hospital. PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION: All pediatricians on staff and a convenience sample of postpartum mothers were asked to rate the importance of newborn counseling issues using lists generated from focus groups and interviews. Pediatricians were observed while counseling mothers, and their postpartum counseling practices were scored using a template derived from the rating procedure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparison of pediatricians' and mothers' perceptions of educational priorities and the description of pediatricians' actual counseling practice. RESULTS: Mothers listed 9 issues as "very important" and expected the pediatrician to address health problems, especially jaundice, feeding, testing, pain medications for circumcision, behavior, and when to call the pediatrician for concerns or to schedule well-child care. Pediatricians and mothers agreed on 6 out of 11 very important issues. Pediatricians were observed to discuss an average of 8 issues per session, especially those they rated as very important, but they frequently failed to mention safety, sleep position, when to call for advice, testing, infant behavior, or circumcision issues. CONCLUSION: Mothers desire to learn a significant amount of information regarding the care of their newborn before hospital discharge. Although pediatricians discussed more issues than in a previously reported study of postpartum counseling, they still fell short of maternal expectations. Pediatricians must ensure that other sources of information, such as nurses, media, and reinforcement at postpartum well-child visits, supplement the information they provide in their in-hospital counseling sessions.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Tobacco counseling at well-child and tobacco-influenced illness visits: opportunities for improvement.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency of clinician-reported delivery of counseling for avoidance of child environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and tobacco use at periodic well-child visits and at illness visits for asthma and otitis media (OM). METHODS: Combined data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the outpatient portion of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1997 to 1999 were analyzed. The frequency of pediatric visits (<or=18 years) that included clinician-reported counseling for tobacco use/exposure prevention was assessed. Diagnosis-specific visits were determined by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for asthma (493-), OM (381-, 382-), and well-child visits. Bivariate and regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Of 33 823 ambulatory care visits by children, 1.5% were reported to include delivery of tobacco counseling. Only 4.1% of well-child visits, 4.4% of illness visits for asthma, and 0.3% of illness visits for OM included tobacco counseling. With the use of logistic regression models, adolescent patient visits (13-18 years) were more likely to include delivery of tobacco counseling than younger child visits [OR = 15.8, 95% CI (7.5-33.5)]. Visits by children with Medicaid and those seen by a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant were also more likely to include tobacco counseling (odds ratio: 1.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.002-2.50; and odds ratio: 3.0; 95% confidence interval: 1.5-6.0, respectively). There were no significant differences in counseling delivery by race, ethnicity, or clinician specialty. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of tobacco counseling at well-child visits and at illness visits for diagnoses directly affected by tobacco use and ETS are extremely low. Significant opportunities exist to improve counseling rates for child ETS exposure and adolescent tobacco use in primary care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

International comparison of care for very low birth weight infants: parents' perceptions of counseling and decision-making.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize parent perceptions and satisfaction with physician counseling and delivery-room resuscitation of very low birth weight infants in countries with neonatal intensive care capacity. STUDY DESIGN: Convenience sample of 327 parents of 379 inborn very low birth weight infants (<1501 g) who had received resuscitation and neonatal intensive care in 9 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in 6 Pacific Rim countries and in 2 California hospitals. The sample comprised mostly parents whose infants survived, because in some centers interviews of parents of nonsurviving infants were culturally inappropriate. Of 359 survivors for whom outcome data were asked of parents, 29% were reported to have long-term sequelae. Half-hour structured interviews were performed, using trained interpreters as necessary, at an interval of 13.7 months after the infant's birth. We compared responses to interview questions that detailed counseling patterns, factors taken into consideration in decisions, and acceptance of parental decision-making. RESULTS: Parents' recall of perinatal counseling differed among centers. The majority of parents assessed physician counseling on morbidity and mortality as adequate in most, but not all, centers. They less commonly perceived discussions of other issues as adequate to their needs. The majority (>65%) of parents in all centers felt that they understood their infant's prognosis after physician counseling. The proportion of parents who expected long-term sequelae in their infant varied from 15% (in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) to 64% (in Singapore). The majority (>70%) of parents in all centers, however, perceived their infant's outcome to be better than they expected from physician counseling. A majority of parents across all centers feared that their infant would die in the NICU, and approximately one third continued to fear that their infant might die at home after nursery discharge. The parents' regard for physicians' and, to a lesser extent, partners' opinions was important in decision-making. Less than one quarter of parents perceived that physicians had made actual life-support decisions on their own except in Melbourne, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan (where 74% and 45% of parents, respectively, reported sole physician decision-making). Parents would have preferred to play a more active, but not autonomous, role in decisions made for their infants. Counseling may heighten parents' anxiety during and after their infant's hospitalization, but that does not diminish their recalled satisfaction with counseling and the decision-making process. CONCLUSIONS: Counseling differs by center among these centers in Australasia and California. Given that parents desire to play an active role in decision-making for their premature infant, physicians should strive to provide parents the medical information critical for informed decision-making. Given that parents do not seek sole decision-making capacity, physicians should foster parental involvement in life-support decisions to the extent appropriate for local cultural norms.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Adequacy and pitfalls of G6PD deficiency counseling in Hong Kong.

Glucose-6-Phosphate-Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is common in Hong Kong with an incidence of 4.5% in male and 0.36% in female (Lo et al. 1996).The Neonatal Screening Unit of Clinical Genetic Service started its territory-wide neonatal screening program for G6PD deficiency and congenital hypothyroidism in 1984 (Lam et al, 1986). Because of insufficient manpower and resource, we have been giving health counseling on the phone to parents of G6PD deficient babies and then refer them to nearby maternal and child health centres for monitoring of jaundice. The disease, mode of inheritance, recurrence risk and the precaution against certain medicines (Chan 1996) and chemicals are explained. The purpose (Lam, 1994) is to reassure the parents that their G6PD deficient babies can be as normal as everyone and that they can have normal life. Nevertheless, it has not been established whether telephone counseling has any effect on the affected family in the form of psychological trauma (Marteau, 1989; Fyro, 1987; Li et al, 1996) or significant influence on the decision on future reproduction. This study tried to evaluate the service from the parents' point of view by 1) gathering information on parents' awareness and perception of G6PD deficiency, 2) determination of parents' attitude towards the telephone counseling, and 3) finding out the effect of G6PD deficiency on parents' decision on future reproduction. Over 300 parents were contacted by telephone, and were asked to respond to questions on a questionnaire . The telephone interview focused on parents' understanding of G6PD deficiency, their attitude towards this disease and the possible effect on future reproduction decision. Results showed that over 90% of cases that we had counseled attended the maternal and child health centres. Most of them accepted the presence of G6PD deficiency in their family which did not affect their decision on future pregnancy. Telephone counseling failed to establish a helping relationship with the parent as face to face counseling was more personal. The findings revealed that though telephone counseling had its shortcoming it served the target group effectively. Telephone counseling is still the method of choice for the G6PD deficiency counseling in this locality.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Individual and contextual factors related to family practice residents' assessment and counseling for tobacco cessation.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use is the chief avoidable cause of death in the United States. Physicians, however, are not routinely assessing this risk and providing counseling for risk reduction. This study examines tobacco cessation counseling practices among family practice residents and explores the determinants of residents' smoking-counseling behaviors and counseling duration. METHODS: One hundred ten family practice residents (response rate = 93.2%) from four Texas residency training programs completed a survey designed to assess tobacco cessation counseling practices. RESULTS: A high proportion of residents reported that they usually or always assessed tobacco use (59.3%) and advised their patients to quit smoking (80.9%), with a lower proportion reporting specific counseling behaviors (7.3% - 21.9%), referrals (1.8%), or follow-up visits (1.8%). Year of residency, perceived effectiveness, and the interaction between perceived effectiveness and residency year were significantly associated with number of counseling behaviors, and year of residency and perceived effectiveness were significantly associated with counseling duration. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty physicians should assist residents to implement the Public Health Service-sponsored clinical practice guideline for tobacco control. There is a need to increase behavioral skills and perceived effectiveness for assessing and counseling smokers among first-year residents.

Counseling↗
PubMed2001

Counselling for alcohol problems in primary care in Forth Valley--an innovative approach?

OBJECTIVE: To explore the implications of establishing a voluntary sector provided alcohol counselling service within a Primary Care setting in Forth Valley Health Board area, and to evaluate the potential of such a project. DESIGN: Analysis of routinely held information and postal questionnaire survey. SETTING: North and South Local Health Care Co-operatives, Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust in conjunction with Central Scotland Council on Alcohol (CSCA). SUBJECTS: Users of counselling service and local general practitioners. RESULTS: General practitioners referred a total of 349 people with 284 attending for counselling. Survey of a sample of 80 service users achieved a 45% response rate. Of those who responded a majority (89%) said that the health centre location was an important factor in their ability to use and therefore benefit from the service. Accessibility, quality and confidentiality of the counselling service were important factors determining ability to attend and benefit from counselling. The survey of local general practitioners achieved a 69% response. The majority (96%) of general practitioners reported the service to be either extremely valuable or very helpful. General Practitioners listed 3 major benefits as confidentiality, accessibility and cost effectiveness. A significant minority of general practitioners (24%) reported that they were unaware that the service existed. Compared with other routine CSCA counselling services people's reported alcohol consumption was some 18% higher in those referred to the primary care based counselling service. At review, four weeks later, the average reported alcohol consumption had decreased considerably. People using the counselling service reported that the service helped them reduce their alcohol consumption, improve their general health and their personal relationships. CONCLUSION: This project has demonstrated that a voluntary sector agency can work closely and successfully with primary care services in establishing counselling services for those with alcohol problems. Early evaluation would point towards success in terms of reducing reported levels of drinking and improved health. Local general practitioners indicated their support for continued development of this type of service provision.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

[Counseling--an independent treatment field between old misunderstandings and new positions].

The german term "Beratung" (Counselling) with it's widespread meaning has led to misunderstandings between different professions. Therefore Counselling is defined to be an autonomous area within therapeutic, social, and psychosocial work. The still common perspective which views counselling as a "small" therapy approach derived from therapeutic theory and practice is objected. Besides the international counselling-debates counselling has it's own tradition, theories, concepts, and practices in german discuss too. A difference between counselling and therapy is developed: While therapy is linked to discourses on healing, counselling is linked to discourses on help and support. The ways of providing support and help are changing within a changing society. Besides a still therapeutic oriented view on counselling, and an information oriented perspective a network perspective on counselling-theory, and concepts is proposed to be a frame for coming debates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The onset and duration of benefit from counselling by minimally trained counsellors on anxiety and depression in women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the onset and duration of benefit of counselling by minimally trained community counsellors on level of anxiety and/or depression in women of their own community. METHOD: A randomized controlled trial for assessing the effectiveness of 4 and 8 weeks of counselling by minimally trained community women in reducing the levels of anxiety and depression was carried out in a lower middle class, semi-urban community in Karachi, Pakistan. In the baseline survey, 366 anxious and/or depressed women were identified and randomized to intervention and control arms. The intervention arm was re-screened for anxiety and depression after 4 and 8 weeks of counselling and again 8 weeks after the last counselling session. As the results showed a significant benefit in the intervention arm, for ethical reasons the controls were also counselled; and were screened in the same way. This study is a sub-analysis from the RCT specifically looking at the onset and the duration of benefit. RESULTS: A significant reduction in the mean scores of both the groups was found after 4 weeks of counselling which further improved at 8 weeks. The gradient of improvement was steeper at 4 weeks. At 8 weeks post counselling some loss of effect was detected but the levels still remained below the initial mean score. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that literate women from semi urban communities can be trained as counsellors and their counselling can lead to a significant benefit in just 4 counselling sessions of 1 hour each, and could last at least till 8 weeks after the last session. Keeping in view the current high prevalence, the available facilities for treatment and the stigma attached to psychiatric treatment in our communities; this modality of intervention at the PHC level could be an alternative strategy for the management of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Assessment and upgrading of Alexandria University nursing students' knowledge and attitudes about genetic counseling.

The aim of this study was to study the effect of a teaching unit on upgrading university-nursing students' knowledge and attitudes about genetic counseling. The study used pre- test, posttest with no control group design. All nursing students (100) who accepted to participate in the study and enrolled in the Maternity and Gynecological-nursing course, during the second semester of the third academic year 1999-2000, at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, were involved in the study. A self-administered questionnaire sheet was used to assess nursing students' knowledge about genetic counseling, while a 3-point Likert-like scale was used to assess their attitudes towards it. The content of six-hours' teaching unit -about genetic counseling was taught to students by the researchers based on their needs. The study revealed a general lack of knowledge among nursing students regarding basic information about genetic counseling, where poor total score of knowledge was obtained by all of them in the pre-test. In addition, the pre-test revealed that negative attitude was found in about half of the nursing students. The teaching unit had an obvious effect on the nursing students' knowledge and attitudes regarding genetic counseling, as the total score of their knowledge and attitudes had improved after implementation of the teaching unit. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between nursing students' knowledge and attitudes towards genetic counseling before and after implementation of the teaching unit. Therefore, a negative attitude was found with poor total score of knowledge in the pre-test and positive attitude was found with good total score of knowledge in the post-test. So, there is a need to improve knowledge and change attitude of nursing students about genetic counseling. As well as genetic counseling should be included in the university-nursing curriculum and should be reviewed periodically to accommodate the relevant fast change in the science and technology of genetics. Moreover, nursing students must be informed about the different community resources, which offer the genetic counseling services.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Counseling in industries: its current practices and its future].

Counseling in industries, along with mental health in industries is becoming a major concern among industrial nations in recent years. However, large scale studies on this subject has been few and limited in scope, due partly to the fact that no governmental regulation or accreditation for counseling in industries or for counselors exist. Nevertheless, some enterprises have initiated counseling services. To investigate the actualities of counseling in industries, the authors send questionnaires to 1385 enterprises with an employment of over 500. 52.8% of the questionnaires were collected. Among them 25.8% replied that they already had counseling services. The questionnaire asked counselors at these enterprises about the system of counseling, counselors' duties, counselors' techniques, counselors' training, counselors' educational background and about clients. Since the practice of counseling is determined, to an extent, by the background of the counselors, the authors separated counselors into four groups: medical counselors who graduated from medical schools; psychological counselors who graduated from colleges or graduate schools with a major in psychology; nurse counselors who graduated from schools of nursing; and lay counselors who did not meet the criteria for the above three groups. The results showed that the four groups tend to respond differently to the questionnaire. Based on these results, the authors discussed four different types of counseling in industries. It is hoped that this study, along with future studies, will pave the way for the establishment of coherent systems of counseling in industries, as well as for the accreditation of several types of counselors.

Counseling↗