User and carer involvement in child and adolescent mental health services: a Norwegian staff perspective.

It has been suggested that user involvement in heath care leads to improved services. The aim of the study was to explore attitudes towards user involvement of staff employed in Norwegian Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Most of the investigated mental health service staff expressed the opinion that users should be involved in the planning of their own treatment and generally have a positive attitude towards user involvement. Skepticism was related to some aspects of involvement and does not contradict their generally positive attitude towards user involvement.

Children and mothers in war: an outcome study of a psychosocial intervention program.

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects on children (age: M = 5.5 years) in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina of a psychosocial intervention program consisting of weekly group meetings for mothers for 5 months. An additional aim was to investigate the children's psychosocial functioning and the mental health of their mothers. Internally displaced mother-child dyads were randomly assigned to an intervention group receiving psychosocial support and basic medical care (n = 42) or to a control group receiving medical care only (n = 45). Participants took part in interviews and tests to provide information about war exposure, mental health, psychosocial functioning, intellectual abilities, and physical health. Results showed that although all participants were exposed to severe trauma, their manifestations of distress varied considerably. The intervention program had a positive effect on mothers' mental health, children's weight gain, and several measures of children's psychosocial functioning and mental health, whereas there was no difference between the two groups on other measures. The findings have implications for policy.

Traumatic experiences and psychological reactions among women in Bosnia during the war.

Internally displaced women (N = 77) in Bosnia were interviewed before and after participating in group psychotherapy during the war in 1994 and 1995 to gain background information and assess stress exposure and stress reactions. Nearly all the women had experienced loss of family members, many acts of violence and mental health impairment. The participants had high scores on a symptom scale, in terms of intrusive, avoidance and arousal symptoms and somewhat lower on depression/powerlessness items. After participating in short-term group therapy they reported significant reduction in symptoms. The women who had experienced most traumatic events and had most symptoms, reported greatest reduction in symptomatology. Some of the implications of the findings are discussed and it is concluded that group therapy may be helpful in war conditions, even though traditional preconditions for psychotherapy are not present.

Periodontal and pulpal healing of monkey incisors preserved in tissue culture before replantation.

The effect of delayed replantation and tissue culture as a prevention against root resorption was examined in green Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Extracted incisors were kept in tissue culture medium (Eagle's medium) for 5--14 days before replantation. The extra-alveolar dry period before tissue culture ranged from to 0 to 60 min. Incisors not subjected to tissue culture served as controls. The animals were sacrificed 8 weeks after replantation. The following histologic parameters were registered for each tooth: surface resorption, inflammatory resorption, replacement resorption (ankylosis), downgrowth of pocket epithelium, and periapical inflammatory changes. The evaluation of the pulp included the extent, recorded in mm, of pulp survival. Histometric evaluation showed that teeth immediately placed in tissue culture medium for 5--14 days showed improved periodontal healing, exhibiting significantly less inflammatory resorption than control teeth immediately replanted. Also the extent of pulp survival was significantly increased in teeth replanted after tissue culture. Teeth bench-dried for 60 min and thereafter placed in tissue culture medium also showed a significant reduction in the amount of inflammatory resorption and increased amount of pulp survival compared with control teeth replanted after the 60-min dry extra-alveolar period. Replacement resorption (ankylosis) was found in all teeth in both groups.

Cultivation of periodontal ligament fibroblasts on extracted monkey incisor. A histologic study of three culturing methods.

Forty-two permanent incisors were extracted from green vervet monkeys and cultivated in Eagle's medium at 37 degrees C using the following culture methods: 1. teeth placed at the bottom of the culture flask; 2. teeth placed in an upright position in the culture flask and supported by an open glass cylinder; 3. teeth placed in an upright position in the culture flask and supported by a semisolid tissue culture medium. The teeth were cultured from 1 to 21 days and then examined histologically and periodontal changes registered histometrically. After 2 days, most of the periodontal membrane showed signs of extensive cell necrosis. After 3 days the first signs of proliferation of cells were seen either as clusters around existing vessels or as a surface layer on the periodontal membrane. After 7 days an almost complete over of connective tissue cells had formed on the root surface. This layer had formed on periodontal ligament with cell necrosis as well as on areas with preserved vitality of the periodontal cells. Areas on the root surface without periodontal ligaments were also covered with a cell layer. No significant change took place within the periodontal membrane with extended culture periods (2 and 3 weeks). Better results were achieved using liquid medium as compared with semisolid medium.