The impact of an empowerment intervention on people with schizophrenia: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to assess what empowerment intervention has on people with schizophrenia. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out between November 2015 and May 2016 involving 112 participants who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Patients, who were 18 years and above diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-V) schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder from the outpatient mental health clinics in Jordan, were randomly assigned to take part in an intervention that consisted of receiving 6 weeks' worth of information booklets, with face to face discussions, while receiving their usual medication or allocated treatment as usual. The participants were assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome was a change in the helplessness score. Secondary outcomes were psychiatric symptoms, recovery rate, empowerment and quality of life. RESULTS: This study showed that people with schizophrenia in the intervention group showed more improvement in the helplessness score immediately post-intervention ( F = 74.53, p < .001) and at 3-month follow-up ( F = 75.56, p < .001), they reported significant improvements in all secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that the empowering intervention was an effective intervention when integrated with treatment as usual.

Radiation therapy for people with cancer: what do written information materials tell them?

This study aimed to compare and contrast the contents of different types of written patient information about radiotherapy, namely (1) hospital radiotherapy departments vs. cancer control organisations and (2) generic vs. tumour-specific materials. A coding framework, informed by existing patients' information needs literature, was developed and applied to 54 radiotherapy information resources. The framework comprised 12 broad themes; cancer diagnosis, general information about radiotherapy, treatment planning, daily treatment, side effects, self-care management, external radiotherapy, internal radiotherapy, impact on daily activities, post-treatment, psychosocial health and other content, such as a glossary. Materials produced by cancer organisations contained significantly more information than hospital resources on diagnosis, general radiotherapy information, internal radiotherapy and psychosocial health. However, hospital materials provided more information about treatment planning, daily treatment and the impact on daily activities. Compared to generic materials, tumour-specific resources were superior in providing information about diagnosis, daily treatment, side effects, post-treatment and psychosocial health. Information about internal radiotherapy, prognosis and chronic side effects were poorly covered by most resources. Collectively, hospital and cancer organisation resources complement each other in meeting patients' information needs. Identifying ways to consolidate different information sources could help comprehensively address patients' medical and psychosocial information needs about radiotherapy.

[Evolution of chemistry laboratory and instruments looked from plates books from XVIIth to the end of the first half of XIXth century]. / L'évolution du laboratoire et des instruments de chimie vue au travers des ouvrages à planches, du XVIIe à la fin de la première moitié du XiXe siècle.

After a general presentation of the laboratory, the Lavoisier and Guyton de Morveau laboratories are described from Arthur Young's memoirs. After, more important furnaces, distillatory apparatus, vessels and pneumatic chemistry instruments are exposed, balances and the different mixtures to seal distillery vessels are rapidly presented.

[Exlibris of famous dermatologists]. / Exlibris berühmter Dermatologen.

The significance of bookplates as documents for history of medicine is illustrated by reference to bookplates of famous dermatologists: Conrad Heinrich Fuchs, William Erasmus Wilson, Moriz Kaposi, Filipp Josef Pick, Ludwig Waelsch, Edvard Ehlers.