A MAJOR ISSUE in care for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) is medication management. Because psychotropic medications remain the single most effective treatment for reducing the active symptoms of psychosis (Lehman and Steinwachs 1998 and Fenton et al 1997), many studies and interventions have focused on improving adherence rates (Azrin & Teichner, 1997; Cramer & Rosenheck, 1999). The decisions that clients make about medications have long been of interest to health care providers and investigators and medication adherence has been the focus of many research studies (Brawley and Culos-Reed 2000; Rand, C.S. and Sevick, M.A., 2000. Ethics in adherence ...
NATIONALLY, RACIAL AND ethnic minorities are projected to grow to nearly 40% of the population by the year 2030. And, although the overall health of U.S. citizens has improved over the last 2 decades, there continues to be striking disparities in the burden of illness experienced by minority individuals. Disparities in health status, illness severity, health care access, and service outcomes have been reported in a variety of conditions and settings [National Institute of Health 2000 and Institute of Medicine 2002]. The Commonwealth Fund 2001 Health Care Quality Survey [Collins et al 2002] identifies that a “substantial proportion of minorities ...
IN THE United States of America, Substance Abuse and Dependence Disorders are a major cause of both health and social problems. Abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs cause a tremendous burden on the country with a current annual cost of over $414 billion [Schneider Institute for Health Policy 2001]. As the nation’s number one health problem, it contributes to illness and death, and strains the health care system. Of the estimated two million deaths of Americans every year, one in four is attributed to alcohol, tobacco, and/or illicit drug use [Schneider Institute for Health Policy 2001]. Substance disorders are ...
IN THE United States of America, Substance Abuse and Dependence Disorders are a major cause of both health and social problems. Abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs cause a tremendous burden on the country with a current annual cost of over $414 billion. As the nation’s number one health problem, it contributes to illness and death, and strains the health care system. Of the estimated two million deaths of Americans every year, one in four is attributed to alcohol, tobacco, and/or illicit drug use. Substance disorders are known to be the primary cause of illness, disability, and mortality, which ...