A logistic model of the seasonal migration decision for elderly households in Arizona and Minnesota.

While most previous studies of elderly migration have investigated permanent migration using Census data, this paper employs household (micro) data from statewide surveys conducted in Arizona and Minnesota to analyze seasonal migration as an economic decision. Estimation of logistic regression models for each state indicate income and age are important determinants, whereas these variables have not proven significant in previous studies based on aggregate data. The results lead to the conclusion that seasonal migration may be an integral part of a life cycle of elderly migration.

Case management in a wound care program.

Patients who need wound care can present a complex challenge in the current managed care environment. Managing health care benefits and financial and socioeconomic factors that impact wound healing are as crucial to wound healing as providing aggressive wound care. Case management is used to describe the strategies involved in coordinating patient care to achieve optimal clinical and financial outcomes and ensure quality and continuity of care. In this article, the author illustrates how case management plays an integral part in a wound care program. The article features tips on how to effectively use limited financial resources that burden many patients who need wound care, includes ways to approach physicians when current wound care is not effective, and focuses on early discharge planning and a multidisciplinary team approach to ensure optimal clinical and financial outcomes. To help sharpen skills, included at the end of the article is a Case Study Challenge and tools to use in practice: Case Management Plans for Wound Patients.

Evaluating the demographic impact of societal events through intervention analysis: the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

Using intervention analysis--a time-series technique gaining increasing use for analyzing the impacts of policy decisions/historic events--this paper reexamines the hypothesis offered by Rindfuss et al., that one consequence of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 was a temporary decline in childbearing by white southerners. With data from the 11 former Confederate states, alternative Box-Jenkins/intervention models were estimated to identify/quantify such a decline, but no statistical evidence of a temporary shift in southern white fertility could be found.

Take the money and sun: elderly migration as a consequence of gains in unaffordable housing markets.

We tested the hypothesis that elderly migration, both seasonal and permanent, to Sunbelt states such as Arizona is the result, in part, of economic gains made in unaffordable housing markets. The results of a multiple regression analysis of interstate migration flows to Arizona support the hypothesis. Moreover, the stronger relationship for seasonal migration suggests that elderly households are unwilling to realize housing gains in unaffordable markets but, nevertheless, "spend" the gains on seasonal migration. Such behavior is rational if housing is viewed as an investment and expectations of future returns are greater in unaffordable markets. Given that the study was based on housing gains of the 1970s, the results suggest that more recent elderly migration may be even more influenced by such gains, inasmuch as regional differences in housing affordability have become more pronounced.

Positive states of mind and athletic injury risk.

Horowitz, Adler, and Kegeles recently developed the Positive States of Mind (PSOM) scale to assess the ability to achieve desirable states of mind. According to a stress and injury model, a theoretical foundation exists for the PSOM being used to predict vulnerability to athletic injuries. In the first study, 277 collegiate athletes from 10 sports completed the PSOM. The scale showed good internal consistency; Cronbach's alpha was .77 for the six items. Principle components factor analysis revealed two distinct factors. No sex or ethnic differences occurred for the total PSOM scale or the two factors. In the second study, injury data were gathered throughout the season on 82 athletes who completed the PSOM. Pearson-product correlations revealed the factor, Focused on Task, significantly correlated with injury. Athletes able to attain higher positive states of mind were less at risk for injury. The studies indicate the acceptability of using the PSOM with an athletic population and its usefulness as a potential predictor of injury risk. Future research using the PSOM scale in more general injury and accident investigations is suggested.

Ameloblastoma associated with basal cell nevus (Gorlin) syndrome: CT findings.

Multiple jaw cysts are a characteristic manifestation of basal cell nevus (Gorlin) syndrome. In contrast to the frequent odontogenic keratocysts, ameloblastoma only rarely occurs in the jaw. Computed tomography is essential to delineate the extent of these radioresistant lesions, which must undergo marginal resection. We present such a case, not only to stress the importance of CT evaluation but also to briefly review the unusual association of ameloblastoma with Gorlin syndrome.