Improving Health Care Utilization, Improving Chronic Disease Utilization, Health Status, and Adjustment in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cystic Fibrosis: A Preliminary Report

We conducted a randomized clinical trial of a 3-session written self-disclosure intervention for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Patients (n = 39) who were at least 15 years of age and diagnosed with CF participated in the intervention. Participants in the intervention arm were asked to write in the health care setting about an important emotionally distressing issue of personal significance for a 20-min period of time and two additional 20-min writing episodes at the patient's home, which were prompted by telephone calls. Patients in the control condition received standard care alone. Findings revealed that the intervention resulted in a reduction of the number of days patients spent in the hospital over a 3-month period. The intervention did not have an impact on physiological (Forced Expiratory Volume and Body Mass Index or subjective markers of health status. These findings extend those of Pennebaker's (cf., J. Smyth, 1998) demonstrating an effect of the written-self-disclosure intervention on health care utilization. These preliminary findings are promising and justify further investigation of the modified intervention in other chronic illness populations.     

Thirsting for God in the Classroom: A Meditation on Psalm 42:1–8

Abstract. This brief meditation on teaching was shared at a gathering of mid‐career theological school teachers for a retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. It draws upon the author's familiarity with the desert to provide a metaphoric exploration of the “desiccation and delight” that surprises us repeatedly in our classrooms and instructs us in humility and hope.     

Comparing two theories of health behavior: a prospective study of noncompletion of treatment following cervical cancer screening.

Some women receiving abnormal cervical screening tests do not complete recommended treatment. A prospective study (N = 660) investigated the value of conceptualizing attendance at colposcopy for treatment as either (a) an active problem-solving response to a health threat, motivated by attitudes toward an abnormal result, as implied by self-regulation theory (H. Leventhal, D. Meyer, & D. Nerenz, 1980); or (b) as a behavior motivated by attitudes toward clinic attendance, as implied by the theory of planned behavior (TPB; I. Ajzen, 1985). Responses to questionnaires containing variables specified by these models were used to predict women's subsequent attendance or nonattendance for treatment over the following 15 months. Although the TPB offered superior prediction of intentions and completion of treatment, discriminant function analyses showed that consideration of both models was important in distinguishing between those who attended all their appointments as scheduled, attended after being prompted, or ceased attending. Implications for measurement and theory in health protection are discussed.