Good Social Integration Research Articles

VEdeTTE, a Longitudinal Study on Effectiveness of Treatments for Heroin Addiction in Italy: Study Protocol and Characteristics of Study Population

The aim of this study was to provide a methodological overview of the study design of the national evaluation large-scale study VEdeTTE and a description of the VEdeTTE study population and to compare enrollments with refusals and the study population with the overall clients at the National Health System (NHS) treatment centers. VEdeTTE is a longitudinal study of heroin addicts recruited in 115 NHS treatment centers in Italy, 1998–2001; 11,903 people were enrolled, 3876 refused to participate; data were analysed on 10,454. Information from refusals was compared to enrollments. The characteristics of the cohort were compared to those of all patients treated in 1999 in Italy. Refusals had a lower educational level and less regular occupational status than those enrolled. Fourteen percent of enrolled patients were women; heroin users in the VEdeTTE study were older than patients attending all NHS treatment centers in Italy; incident cases were less represented. The majority of participants had more than 8 years of education, 33.5% were regularly employed, and only 2% did not have a fixed address. Injectors were 72.3%; 40.6% had a previous overdose, and 14.3% had been imprisoned for life; 15.7% shared injection equipment during the previous 6 months. The proportion of participants reporting heroin use approximately halved from the beginning of the current treatment to the time of the interview. The VEdeTTE study is the biggest cohort of heroin addicts attending treatment centers in Europe. The Italian heroin-addicted population under treatment seems to have low level of education but good social integration. Compared with men, women show a higher severity. Participants show a beneficial effect of treatment.

Long-term outcome in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

To describe the long-term outcome of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). All patients with JIA referred to a pediatric rheumatology center between 1978 and 1988 were identified and invited to undergo an assessment. Patients with JIA from a population-based cohort from East Berlin were included. The outcome assessment considered changes in body function and structure (e.g., mortality, joint abnormalities, disease activity), activities at the individual level (Health Assessment Questionnaire), and participation in society (e.g., mobility, educational and vocational background). Of 260 eligible patients, 215 (83%) were evaluated. Subtypes of JIA at disease onset included oligoarthritis (40%), polyarthritis (14%), systemic arthritis (14%), psoriatic arthritis (1%), enthesitis-related arthritis (15%), and other arthritis (16%). Followup was conducted after a median of 16.5 years. No deaths occurred in this cohort. At followup, approximately half of the patients had active disease and/or changes in body structures to a variable extent. Approximately one-third of patients rated themselves as being functionally limited. Patients demonstrated good social integration: few mobility problems were reported, and the educational achievements of patients were higher and their rate of unemployment was lower compared with the age-matched population. No significant differences in outcome were found between the population-based and the referral-based cohorts. Even though approximately half of the JIA patients had more or less distinctive changes in body function and/or structure after a disease duration of >15 years, fewer than 10% were severely disabled or handicapped. Because JIA often persists into adulthood, long-term followup and care are necessary.

Synthèse de la prise en charge des fentes labiales et palatinespar onze équipes francophones en 2001

Infuenced by Eurocleft project, the authors proposed a synthesis of the protocol of treatment for cleft palate and/or cleft lip patient by 11 french and belgian teams. If the goal are similar (restored anatomy with good appearance, good speech, normal hearing, facial growth and dental arch correct, good social integration) the methods to obtain this outcome are different in each cleft unit. Consensual points and dissensions were described in the discussion.

Living organ donation vs. cadaveric donation - study of liver transplanted children and their families

There is only scarce information on the quality of life of child recipients of liver transplants and their families. Particularly children with a living related graft and their families never have been compared to children who received a cadaveric graft and their families. We investigated the following issues in our study: How do parents and children from participating families rate their strain, their quality of life and their relationships within their family? Do families with a living - related donor differ from those with a cadaveric donor? What do living donors and their partners think about the donation retrospectively? The study was conducted with 106 participants from 50 families (42 mothers, 40 fathers, and 24 children older than 6 years). In 20 of these families, a living transplantation had been performed. Participants were interviewed and asked to fill out several questionnaires. School-aged children with a liver transplant show good social integration among their peers and in school. The child's disease, however, has a great impact on the family. Family members show a reduction in social contact, and an increase in marital crises, and problematic relations amongst siblings. Families in which a cadaveric graft was performed, are less satisfied with life, and show more symptoms of exhaustion. Every family studied possessed or acquired - a high degree of internal or external coping resources. Living - related donors tried hard to obtain an understanding of the medical context. The partner, rather than the donor himself, feels anxious before the donation. The limited time available for the decision to donate is not perceived by the donors to be critical. Ten percent of living donors feel "a little" that their health is affected. The decision to donate is supported "strongly" or "very strongly" by the partners in 80 % of the cases. A possible strain on the child through the expectation of gratitude by the donor is stated by 20 %. All of the donors agree that if they were to be asked today, they would donate again, only one of the partners raised objections. In summary, as a retrospective pilot study, this study primarily generates hypotheses rather than testing them and helps to develop research tools for the field. Results suggest that a psychological support be made available both prior to and following the operation, not only for the children but also for their families, with particular attention to the partners of the living donors and the siblings of the affected children.

Greffe chondrocostale et distraction mandibulaire simultanée. Une nouvelle approche dans le traitement de l'ankylose temporomandibulaire chez l'adulte. À propos d'un cas clinique

The authors present a thirty two years old woman complaining of a temporomandibular joint ankylosis. History revealed a mandibular trauma sustained during the early infancy. The patient presented a typical bird face deformity with a maximal mouth opening of zero milimeter. Facing the squelettal deformation, the authors decide to combine a simultaneous costochondral graft with bilateral horizontal branch distraction. Good functionnal and aesthetic results allow the patient to return to a good social integration with no sign of recurence at the medium term follow-up.

Psychosocial and health factors associated with school children's perceived benefits of the health dialogue in Denmark

The study is the Danish contribution to the WHO collaborative study, Health Behaviour in Schoolchildren. A nationwide random sample of pupils, 11, 13 and 15 years old ( N=4046), answered a standardised questionnaire in 1994 about perceived health, health behaviour, social factors and contact with the school nurse. In the bivariate analysis, significant predictors of a very good health dialogue were: a high degree of satisfaction with life, satisfaction with school, good social integration, high academic achievement, not being isolated from classmates, not feeling pressured due to school work, confidence, suitable body-image, a very good self-rated health, no weekly symptoms, high levels of physical activity and healthy diet. The final model of a multivariate analysis revealed five predictors of a very good health dialogue: students' choice of the content of the health dialogue, satisfaction with school, wellbeing at school, very good self-rated health and high academic achievement.

The impact of anomia as a factor in a demand resource model of health

The particular aim of the present study was to explore the interrelations between the construct of anomia, conceptualized as internal health demand or resource, and self-reported ill-health in the framework of a demand resource model. The four main constructs of this model were considered as recursive causal levels: (1) socio-economic data, (2) external resources/demands, (3) internal resources/demands, and (4) ill-health. Study statistics comprised graphical models to reveal the relations between variables using the statistical program DIGRAM designed for discrete graphical models. This method of data analysis permits a focus on the link between anomia and the other three levels. The function of anomia as an intermediate data level which might prove to be an intervening variable can be evaluated. A total of 440 subjects of a random community sample were included in the final analysis. In the framework of a demand resource model, it was possible to confirm that the construct of anomia plays a key role in health outcome. Graphical models showed that a low degree of anomia is related to high psychological quality of life and few psychosomatic symptoms on the one hand, and to good social integration and emotional support, a low amount of daily hassles and high educational level on the other hand. As an overall conclusion, it can be stated that the evaluation by the graphical modeling procedure permits a good fit of theory with methods.

Comparison of a Mainstream and Self-Contained Special Education Program

This study sampled 145 elementary school handicapped children (EMR, TMR, MBI, and ED) in order to compare a mainstreamed and self-contained special education program in a large urban school district. The selection of 19 pairs of children — matched closely in terms of exceptionality, behavior and descriptive profiles, intelligence, CA, gender, and ethnicity — provided good experimental control for the study, and selection of a larger sample provided partial replication for findings from the matched pairs sample. Results showed that mainstream education was a viable alternative for the majority of sampled children, and teacher ratings of student performance revealed no differences between the two programs. While mainstreaming is not appropriate for all handicapped children, the study demonstrated that the potential extent of mainstreaming for many handicapped children is considerable. The special education curricular experience of the mainstreamed students was found to be more advanced, and it was suggested that the possible effect of mainstreaming on the teaching and expectations of special education teachers be investigated. Teachers reported good adjustment and social integration of mainstreamed students in the regular program, which differed from previously reported research.

Abord psychothérapique des mères célibataires dans le cadre des hotels maternels

Multidisciplinary research on a number of unmarried mothers who, since the delivery, chose to live with their child in homes called ‘Hotels Maternels’, where great attention is given to a good psychological environment and best care to the baby. The clinical observation (medical, psychological tests etc.) has been devoted to the somatic and psychoaffective development of the offspring from birth to school age; the investigation on the mother concerns her personality, emotional state and psychiatric pathology. Special consideration is given to mother-child relationship. The aim is to appreciate the chances of a good social integration for the mother and the baby as well as the effect of good care for both. The first results of the research show no gross maternal psychiatric pathology, but clearly indicate that a lonely motherhood represents a transitional state with ambivalence and feelings of incompleteness very much like those experienced by a married woman living existential or personal difficulties.