3-D bone models to improve treatment initiation among patients with osteoporosis: A randomised controlled pilot trial

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of 3-D printed bone models as a tool to facilitate initiation of bisphosphonate treatment among individuals who were newly diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Design: Fifty eight participants with estimated fracture risk above that at which guidelines recommend pharmacological intervention were randomised to receive either a standard physician interview or an interview augmented by the presentation of 3-D bone models.

Main outcome measures: Participants’ beliefs about osteoporosis and bisphosphonate treatment, initiation of bisphosphonate therapy assessed at two months using self-report and pharmacy dispensing data.

Results: Individuals in the 3-D bone model intervention condition were more emotionally affected by osteoporosis immediately after the interview (p = .04) and reported a greater understanding of osteoporosis at follow-up (p = .04), than the control group. While a greater proportion of the intervention group initiated an oral bisphosphonate regimen (alendronate) (52%) in comparison with the control group (21%), the overall initiation of medication for osteoporosis, including infusion (zoledronate), did not differ significantly (intervention group 62%, control group 45%, p = .19).

Conclusion: The presentation of 3-D bone models during a medical consultation can modify cognitive and emotional representations relevant to treatment initiation among people with osteoporosis and might facilitate commencement of bisphosphonate treatment.     

The Effects of Introducing Peer Support to Young People with a Chronic Illness

Peer support groups have been an increasingly popular way of limiting the adverse effects of life with a chronic illness for adolescents although few groups have been rigorously evaluated. This paper reports the findings of a realistic evaluation of a hospital based peer support program Chronic Illness Peer Support (ChIPS), in Sydney, Australia. We collected qualitative interview and focus group data from four participant groups; new ChIPS members, their parents, older members who had been in ChIPS for two or more years, and ChIPS co-ordinators past and present. Results of qualitative data have been aggregated and organised into three categories; program attendance: getting in and staying in; program outcomes for young people: personal growth and development; and social connection. Questionnaires were also administered to fourteen new ChIPS members but no significant changes in distress or self-esteem were recorded between the beginning and the end of the short study period. The ChIPS Introductory Program fulfilled its aim, entering young people with chronic illness into the peer support program. There was evidence of initial personal growth and development in those young people, with potential for enhanced social connection from ongoing participation in ChIPS activities.     

Exploring Causes of the Self‐serving Bias

The self‐serving bias refers to a tendency for people to take personal responsibility for their desirable outcomes yet externalize responsibility for their undesirable outcomes. We review a variety of explanations for this attribution bias. Although researchers have historically pitted cognitive and motivational explanations for the self‐serving bias against one another, cognitive and motivation processes often work in tandem to lead people to conclude that they are responsible for the desirable but not the undesirable outcomes.     

EPS Prize Lecture. Learning to read words

The ease with which we process the written word belies its complexities and makes it easy to forget that it is a highly skilled behaviour and one that takes time to master. In this paper, I argue that our ability to read words has its roots in our capacity for language. Good progress has been made towards understanding how children discover the systematic relationship between speech sounds and the letters used to represents those sounds, very early in reading development. However, we understand much less about how beginning readers become skilled readers. To understand this, I argue that it is important to view the visual word recognition system within the context of a broader language system, one that incorporates a rich network of semantic and episodic knowledge.     

Hanging in the balance: the role of self-construal abstractness in navigating self-relevant uncertainty

People inevitably face moments of uncertainty as they await feedback regarding self-relevant life outcomes, but they react to this uncertainty with varying amounts of anxiety. Self-construal abstractness (SCA) may be one key predictor of anxiety in the face of uncertain outcomes. SCA refers to a broad self-concept based on generalizations rather than a detailed, low-level self-concept that is based on specific behaviors or events. The current studies examined SCA and anxiety over self-relevant uncertainty. Studies 1 and 2 measured naturally occurring levels of SCA and found that reflecting on an abstract self-construal buffered people from anxiety when upcoming evaluative feedback was highly self-relevant (Study 1) and immediate (Study 2). Study 3 revealed that SCA is equally effective as a buffer against anxiety when manipulated with a subtle prime. The potential for SCA to serve as the target for anxiety-reduction interventions in uncertain situations is discussed.