This study examined whether individuals with asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection exhibit subtle cognitive deficits relative to healthy seronegative control subjects. Asymptomatic seropositive homosexual and bisexual men were compared with 59 seronegative homosexual men on a battery ofnewopsychological tests. Age, education, ethnicity, and depression were controlled as potential confounding variables. Seropositive subjects performed below seronegative controls on measures of verbal fluency, recall of logical discourse material (younger seropositive subjects only), and arithmetic. No group differences were found on visuospatial measures, abstract reasoning, attention, or set shifting. Ethnicity (Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic) and education effects were observed only on select language measures. Depression did not adversely affect performance scores.

The prevalence of medical errors and malpractice claims has been attributed to deficits in error reporting and disclosure. Increasingly, states are adopting error reporting and apology laws to reduce these information gaps thereby instituting error-transparent medical cultures. At the same time, doubts have been expressed about the capacity for legislation to influence medical professionals. In order to assess legislative potential to establish error transparency, a cross-sectional research design compared differences in malpractice claim rates among states adopting different legislative approaches. Two one-way analysis of variance tests were performed. The first analysis indicated that there are no significant mean differences in claims rates between states enacting only an apology law, only an error reporting law, both laws, and neither law, F (3,47)=1.13, p=.34. The second analysis indicated that there are no significant mean differences in claims rates between states enacting both laws, either law, and neither law, F (2,48)=1.08, p=.35. The findings show that legislation does not have a significant capacity to regulate malpractice claims rates. This suggests that laws governing error transparency are too remote from the delivery of healthcare services to regulate disclosure behavior and that fundamental changes in our medical culture should be initiated at an organizational level.

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DiDona, Toni Marie, "An evaluation of depression, self-efficacy, satisfaction with life and perceived access to medical care across stages of HIV infection" (1994). School of Public Affairs and ServicesThis dissertation, written by Toni Marie DiDona, and entitledAn Evaluation of Depression, Self Efficacy, Satisfaction with Life and Perceived Access to Medical Care Across Stages of HIV Infection, having been approved in resect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgement.We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. The dissertation of Toni Marie DiDona is approved. Her dedication to the profession and scholarship will always be the benchmark by which I guide my career. to mental health issues. Dean Allan RosenbaumSubjects were recruited through a purposive sample from South Florida. A total of 871 surveys were used in the analysis. The overall response rate was nearly 90%.The incidence of depression was found to be higher than 75% across all stages of HIV infection. Furthermore, the incidence of depression increased as HIV disease progressed.Satisfaction with life and for the most part, self efficacy vi were found to decrease slightly as HIV disease progressed.Significant variance in depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy were found across stages of HIV infection. No significant differences between groups that were HIV infected, were found for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy.The severity of depression was found to vary significantly with self efficacy, life satisfaction and access to medical care but not with socioeconomic status.Life satisfaction was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and self efficacy but not with access to medical care, Self-efficacy was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and life satisfaction but not with access to medical care.Gender and ethnicity were not found to be significant precedent variables in depression for HIV infected individuals. Sexual orientation was found to be a significant precedent variable for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy.vii (Lloyd, 1990).These discrete stages are difficult if not impossible to pinpoint since the exact time of infection is rarely known.The stages of the three stage topology are as follows: HIV infection asymptomatic; development of symptoms otherwise known as AIDS related Complex (ARC); and finally the development of opportunistic disease formally known as AIDS (Ozawa et al., 1993). The three stage topology is more helpful because these stages are easier to identify due to the clinical symptoms and biological signs that accompany them.Individuals with AIDS do not die from the virus itself, but rather from the infections and diseases that they contract and cannot fight due to the inadequate function of their immune system. It was initially postulated that all individuals with HIV infection would get sick and die in a matter of a few years (Centers for Disease Control, 1982).Although a diagnosis of AID...