Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate the prevalence of medically unexplained symptoms in patients who most frequently attend outpatient services.

DESIGN:

Retrospective cohort study over three years with review of case notes.

SETTING:

Secondary care services in the South Thames (West) NHS region.

PARTICIPANTS:

Outpatient attenders with new appointments in 1993.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Number of outpatient appointments, and number of consultation episodes for medically unexplained conditions.

RESULTS:

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Recent research has called into question the "dose-effect" model of understanding response to trauma and has turned attention to the contribution of personality and environmental factors. This research seeks to model the interrelation of relational capacity (a component of personality), perceptions of social support, and posttraumatic distress.

METHOD:

Abstract

Abstract