OBJECTIVE to identify and analyze the evidence available regarding evaluation of burden and quality of life of mothers who are caregivers for children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. METHOD an integrative review, undertaken in the electronic sources MEDLINE; Academic Search Premier; CINAHL; LILACS; SciELO and PubMed, between 2010 and 2014. RESULTS among the 22 documents selected, th...

Although the majority of US adults has Internet access and gathers health information online, the Internet does not replace clinicians. People rate health professionals as their top source for technical questions such as diagnosis and treatment, but nonprofessionals (eg, friends and family) are rated higher for emotional support and quick remedies. For their most recent health issue, 21% of adu...

Heart failure is a complex disorder that affects patients and their carers in many ways. Recommendations for improving the quality of care for people with heart failure are set out in the government's National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (Department of Health (DH) 2000a) and in the guideline commissioned by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE 2003a), which desc...

Unlike other jurisdictions in the United States where the basis of the law can be traced more exclusively to the common law of England, the legal system in Louisiana also has origins in the laws of France and Spain. In this article, the authors describe the laws and procedures that developed early in Louisiana's history for the involuntary care and civil commitment of the mentally ill, focusing...

The long-awaited Mental Health Law of China was passed on 26 October 2012 and took effect on 1 May 2013. Being the first national legislation on mental health, it establishes a basic legal framework to regulate mental health practice and recognizes the fundamental rights of persons with mental disorders. This article focuses on the system of involuntary detention and treatment of the mentally i...

This article begins and ends with a call for more empirical research to understand the connection between societal views of mental illness and the legal system. The author asserts that changing social perceptions of mental illness certainly affect legal outcomes and commitment levels, but the degree remains unknown. This article explores the above two topics through the framework of the Circuit...

In recent years, many courts (and especially the federal courts) have become the focus for the pursuit of goals of major institutional reform in cases brought by advocates for prisoners, mental patients, students, and others.2 These advocates turned to the courts because the legislative and executive branches were unwilling to devote larger shares of scarce resources to improving conditions at ...

Support of patient self-management is a key component of effective chronic illness care and improved patient outcomes. Self-management support goes beyond traditional knowledge-based patient education to include processes that develop patient problem-solving skills, improve self-efficacy, and support application of knowledge in real-life situations that matter to patients. This approach also en...

While the mentally ill are considered to be vulnerable as a group, those who are mentally ill and reside in rural communities are at a greater disadvantage due to limited access to health care, a scarcity of resources, and traditional cultural belief systems. Social support has been found to have a direct effect on the well-being of families and individuals. Specific strategies are presented wh...