The current study examines the role of perceived adequacy of social support provided by spouses for both marital and individual functioning. Married individuals from a college sample (N = 177) recorded the adequacy of specific supportive behaviors provided by the spouse on a daily basis for 7 days. Perceived support adequacy was correlated in the expected direction with marital quality, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress. Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that perceived support adequacy accounts for significant unique variance in marital quality, depressive symptomatology, and perceived stress, even after controlling for social desirability. Discussion focuses on limitations of the study and implications of the findings for clinical work with couples.When asked to describe the core qualities of marital relationships, accounts of support such as, "S/he has always been there for me," are often primary. It is an intuitively striking idea that our health and happiness are somehow linked to the supportive connections we maintain with others. Thus, it should not be surprising that theoretical and empirical interest in social support has continued to evolve since its earliest examination over 20 years ago. A high level of social support is linked with a variety of outcomes including, but not limited to improved response to medical interventions for illnesses ranging from the common cold to terminal cancer, lower rates of illness with exposure to stressors and pathogens, and improved psychological status for chronically ill individuals (Cassel, 1976). Lin, Simeone, Ensel, and Kuo (1979) found that across all levels of life events, those with better social supports tended to demonstrate fewer psychiatric symptoms. The variance in mental illness explained by social support was more than double that accounted for by a combination of life events and demographic variables. More recent studies have replicated these findings (Gritz, Wellisch, Siau, & Wang, 1990;Rogers, 1987).

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Although national justice and technology associations have endorsed the utilization of telemedicine and telehealth, little is known about the current utilization of this technology across our nation's correctional facilities. Several voluntary registries and state Web sites exist, but only limited information on telemedicine utilization may be gleaned from these. The purpose of the present study was to fill this void by reporting the utilization patterns in telemedicine programs in state and federal correctional facilities throughout the United States. Using telephone-administered interviews, data were collected from all 50 states. Respondents were asked about utilization, benefits, and barriers to the use of technology in healthcare in state and federal correctional facilities. Slightly over half of state correctional institutions and 39% of federal institutions are using some sort of telehealth or telemedicine applications. The most common benefits cited were improved security, personnel safety, costs savings, and access to specialists. The most common barriers cited were costs of technology, resistance from medical personnel, lack of staff technical expertise, and difficulties coordinating services.

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Holding regular safety briefings and debriefings has improved safety and the patient experience at one trust. The approach was piloted in an elective orthopaedic inpatient setting and includes obtaining real time patient feedback. The comments are themed, which enables staff to introduce service changes to rectify any problems. Staff using the tools have adopted the process as part of their working schedule. The authors discuss the advantages of using such an approach, which they believe can be introduced in any inpatient, outpatient and day-case setting to promote a safety culture in teams and obtain patient feedback that can be acted on promptly.