<p>A wealth of evidence for the effectiveness of progress testing in problem-based learning curricula has been collected in the Western academic world, but whether the progress testing can be equally effective in problem-based medical schools in resource-poor countries is a question that remains to be answered.

CONTEXT:

A key element of the doctor-patient relationship is to understand the patient's and doctor's perceptions of quality care.

OBJECTIVES:

To assess the perceptions of good and bad doctors among first-year medical students and local community members in a semi-urban, African settings.

METHODS:

Deskundigen hebben grote twijfels bij het kabinetsplan om mensen met een tijdelijke verblijfsvergunning anders te behandelen dan vluchtelingen met een permanente status.

Mag dat wel, gezien de internationale verdragen die Nederland heeft ondertekend? Lees verder

The authors report on a randomized, controlled clinical trial on the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), comparing manualized psychotherapy to wait-list control. This is the first study to evaluate Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy (BEP), which combines cognitive–behavioral and psychodynamic approaches within one treatment method. Forty-two police officers with the diagnosis of PTSD participated in the study; 22 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 20 to the wait-list control group.

Adequate survival behaviour is a crucial “gift of nature.” Humans have been fairly successful in reducing the threat to life. Nevertheless, crossing a street or driving a car requires increased alertness in order to survive. Natural disasters such as the recent tsunami and man-made disasters such as war, terrorist attacks, killing, robbing, sexual and physical abuse, and plane crashes show how vulnerable we are. After surviving such an event, people need basics—food, shelter, medical care, and consolation.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the few psychiatric conditions where a specific psychosocial stressor is explicitly tied to etiology. Although a majority of people experience a traumatic event in their life, most of them will not develop PTSD or other mental health problems such as depressive or anxiety disorders. Emotional and neurobiological responses to psychosocial stressors show striking individual variation.

Background Recent studies show that individual single-session psychological debriefing does not prevent and can even aggravate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Aims We studied the effect of emotional ventilation debriefing and educational debriefing v. no debriefing on symptoms of PTSD, anxiety and depression.

Given the devastation caused by disasters and mass violence, it is critical that intervention policy be based on the most updated research findings. However, to date, no evidence–based consensus has been reached supporting a clear set of recommendations for intervention during the immediate and the mid–term post mass trauma phases.

In recent years, politicians and other people in positions of authority have received increasingly
stringent security. Taking protective measures and being accompanied by protection officers
can influence the lives of the people being protected. Some form of psychosocial advice and/
or support may therefore be advisable.
The National Coordinator for Counterterrorism (NCTb) commissioned a project team headed
by Prof. B.P.R. Gersons from the AMC in Amsterdam to conduct a descriptive, systematic study

This article reviews the literature on mental health of volunteers after working in disasters. When mobilized they often are a community's major source for rescue and recovery. PsychINFO, PubMED, and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles published until October 2009. Of 448 articles screened, only 9 articles fulfilled our inclusion criteria. They examined the aftermath of earthquakes (4 articles), terrorist bombings (1), explosions (1), aviation disasters (1), tsunami (1), and a bus accident (1).