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The Abstracts of the 2006 Joint Conference of the APS and NZPsS
from five clinics. The findings indicate that there are some mismatches between the self-reported practises of healthcare professionals and the views of patients. Healthcare professionals released personal health information freely to other health professionals and patients were generally accepting of this practice. Professionals would not release information to other family members without explicit patient consent, although patients were generally comfortable with some unauthorised information release. In contrast, patients were often reluctant to have their medical details released to government agencies whilst practitioners were frequently required to send information to these agencies. The findings highlight the need for keeping patients informed and consulted about the distribution of their personal medical information.
those with acute injury. The present study aimed to determine whether hypervigilance to pain-related stimuli predicted subsequent pain status at three months. Fifty-seven patients with an acute pain injury took part in the study. At baseline (second physiotherapy appointment) they completed measures of hypervigilance and a range of other demographic and clinical variables. Significant correlations were found between baseline vigilance to pain-related threat words and outcomes, namely: highest and average pain rating over the past 3 months, days in pain, time off work, the number of visits to health professionals. There was a significant difference in baseline hypervigilance to threat in those who met criteria for chronic pain and those who did not at three month follow-up. This study suggests that hypervigilance to pain-related threat is a pre-cursor to chronic pain. The potential therapeutic applications will be discussed.
Four cases of anxiety
Qualitative research methods: A critical perspective
HAQUE, M. (Australian National University) maaria.haque@anu.edu.au
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HAIG, B. (University of Canterbury)
hese cases are part of a study at the ANU investigating the role of age at onset on the clinical presentation and management of anxiety disorders in late-life. AM, aged 58, had suffered panic attacks for 20 years and become virtually housebound. He initially declined treatment but responded well to a manualised CBT program consisting of psychoeducation, relaxation, cognitive and behavioural techniques. GV, 58, cared for her highly anxious and possibly dementing mother, and presented with a ‘lifetime history of anxiety’. Strong family ties, cultural influences, and guilt suggested the best outcome was development of skills to cope with demands placed on her in her carer role. GJ was a 58-year-old woman with no symptoms until the previous year, and whose presenting problems at assessment were very different to those at the start of therapy. Initial resistance was followed by a breakthrough, when real-life events disconfirmed her negative automatic thoughts. Finally, a client aged 69 went through 10 of 12 sessions of therapy with seemingly no improvement but, following a 6-week break before resuming treatment, was ‘cured’. The complexities of working with anxious older adults within the context of a time-limited, manualised treatment program will be discussed.
brian.haig@canterbury.ac.nz
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he recent increased use of qualitative research methods in psychology has been accompanied by a growing methodological literature on the nature and place of qualitative research methods in the discipline. However, this literature tends to adopt questionable views of the nature of orthodox scientific inquiry, as well as qualitative and quantitative methods. This paper identifies some shortcomings in current qualitative research methodology that require a reconsideration of: the nature of science, the distinction between qualitative and quantitative inquiry, and, the proper demands of rigorous research. It is suggested that a post-positivist theory of scientific realism is the most appropriate metatheory for understanding qualitative and quantitative research methods. Sharing medical information: Contrasting perspectives of health professionals and patients HANDY, J., HUNTER, I., WHIDDETT, R., & ENGELBRECHT, J. (Massey University) j.a.handy@massey.ac.nz
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his study investigated health professionals’ and patients’ attitudes towards the distribution of information from patients’ personal medical records. In the first part of the study structured interviews were carried out with all health professionals working in two medium sized, urban, primary care clinics (N=17). The interviews investigated the self-reported practises of healthcare professionals. The interview findings were used to generate a questionnaire, which investigated adult primary care patients’ views on the distribution of their personal medical details to various people or organisations. Over 200 questionnaires were returned
Can anxious older adults respond to a manualised CBT program? Common themes in clinical presentation and the complexities of working with older adults in a clinical setting HAQUE, M., O’KEARNEY, RT. (Australian National University), & BIRD, M. (NSW Greater Southern Area Health ) maaria.haque@anu.edu.au
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ecent literature indicates that a wide range of psychological disorders are amenable to treatment
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