Ronald Blount - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ronald Blount

Adherence and health-related quality of life in adolescent transplant recipients

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2008

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, Dec 25, 2013

Prior research evaluating health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among pediatric patients with in... more Prior research evaluating health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among pediatric patients with internal cardiac devices has primarily focused on children with cardiac defibrillators, with scant attention devoted to pacemaker recipients. Social support has been conceptualized as a protective factor that partially accounts for differences in HRQOL. This study compares the HRQOL of children with pacemakers with that of healthy children, and examines associations between HRQOL and social support. Twenty-seven pediatric pacemaker recipients completed measures of HRQOL and social support. Their parents also completed measures of child HRQOL. High concordance was found for child and parent-proxy reports of child HRQOL. Children with pacemakers and their parents both reported relatively low child HRQOL when compared to published normative data for healthy children and parents of healthy children. Family and friends emerged as the sources of support positively associated with the greatest number of HRQOL domains. In conclusion, these findings suggest that pediatric pacemaker recipients experience lower levels of HRQOL compared to healthy peers, and that social support from those closest to the child is associated with their perceived HRQOL.

Management of Pediatric Pain and Distress Due to Medical Procedures

... Due to Medical Procedures RONALD L. BLOUNT WILLIAM T. ZErvlPSKY TIINA JAANISTE SUBHADRA EVANS... more ... Due to Medical Procedures RONALD L. BLOUNT WILLIAM T. ZErvlPSKY TIINA JAANISTE SUBHADRA EVANS LINDSEY L. COHEN KATIE A. DEVINE LONNIE K. ZELTZER From birth to the grave, painful medical procedures are a fact of life. ...

The Clinical Psychologist: Reflections After Three Years of Changes

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 1993

Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Apr 4, 2012

Objective To examine differences in factors related to health care utilization (HCU) among childr... more Objective To examine differences in factors related to health care utilization (HCU) among children eventually diagnosed with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) or an innocent heart murmur (IHM). Methods 67 pediatric patients with NCCP and 62 with IHM and their parent/guardian completed paper-and-pencil measures of psychological functioning and past HCU during an initial visit to the cardiologist's office. Results Children with NCCP utilized significantly more health care services compared to their IHM counterparts in the year prior to their cardiology visit. Children in the NCCP group had higher internalizing and somatic symptoms, and their parents experienced more anxious symptoms, than those in the IHM group. For the NCCP group only, child and parent psychological symptoms and parent HCU were positively related to child HCU. Conclusions Results identify possible child and parent psychological factors that may be the focus of interventions to reduce high rates of HCU among children with NCCP.

Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 1997

Investigated the validity of the Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale-Revised (CAMPIS-... more Investigated the validity of the Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale-Revised (CAMPIS-R) using multiple concurrent objective and subjective measures of child distress, approach-avoidance behavior, fear, pain, child cooperation, and parents' perceived ability to help their preschool children during routine immunizations. Parents', staffs', and children's behaviors in the treatment room were videotaped and coded. Results indicate that the validity of the CAMPIS-R codes of Child Coping and Distress, Parent Distress Promoting and Coping Promoting, and Staff Distress Promoting and Coping Promoting behavior were supported, with all significant correlations being in the predicted direction. An unanticipated finding was that the child, parent, and staff Neutral behaviors were inversely related to some measures of distress and positively related to some measures of coping. Interobserver reliability was high for each CAMPIS-R code.

Adolescent Medication Barriers Scale

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2007

The Pediatric Psychologist: Issues in Professional Development and Practice (Book)

Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, Sep 1, 1989

Pain, May 1, 1993

This study examined the hypothesis that matching pain management interventions to children's pref... more This study examined the hypothesis that matching pain management interventions to children's preferred coping methods would increase pain tolerance and decrease self-reported pain during the cold pressor pain paradigm. Children aged 8-10 years were classified as 'attenders' (focusing on the stimulus) or 'distracters' (focusing away from the stimulus) based upon their spontaneous coping responses during a baseline exposure to the cold pressor. Children were then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 intervention conditions (sensory focusing, imagery, or no intervention) and completed the cold pressor procedure again 2 weeks later. A significant interaction was found between coping style and intervention. Children who were classified as distracters demonstrated greater tolerance when taught to use imagery techniques (a 'matched' intervention). Although pain ratings tended to be lower for distracters using imagery, the significant interaction resulted from an increase in ratings for the distracters using sensory focusing (i.e., a 'mismatched' intervention). Results suggest that, for distracters, interventions that are consistent with natural coping methods are most effective in enhancing abilities to cope with pain, while a mismatched intervention reduces coping abilities. The findings also suggest further study regarding how to provide effective pain intervention with attenders, since neither intervention enhanced coping in this group.

Contingency management and distraction techniques with child dental patients

Transplantation, Feb 1, 2020

Background: Examining executive functioning (EF) post-transplant has become increasingly prevalen... more Background: Examining executive functioning (EF) post-transplant has become increasingly prevalent, as EF deficits are associated with poor disease-related outcomes and psychosocial functioning. The purpose of the current meta-analysis was to compare overall and domainspecific EF between healthy youth and those with a kidney, heart, or liver transplant, and identify moderating variables related to EF differences between these two groups. Methods: A literature search of PsycINFO, Pubmed, and Medline was conducted for eligible articles published until January 2019. Twenty studies met eligibility criteria and were included in the present meta-analysis. Results from the random effects model indicated a significant standardized mean difference in overall EF skills with transplant recipients demonstrating worse EF (g = .40, 95% CI = .29, .50) than healthy youth. Specifically, transplanted youth had worse working memory (g = .33, 95% CI = .01, .66), processing speed (g = .41, 95% CI = .19, .62), attentional control (g = .53, 95% CI = .33, .73), and metacognitive skills (g = .36, 95% CI = .18, .54). Assessment type and time since transplantation were not significant moderators. Conclusions: Pediatric solid organ transplant recipients demonstrate worse overall EF skills and deficits in working memory, processing speed, attentional control, and metacognitive skills. Many children who have undergone solid organ transplantation will require additional support in medical and academic settings due to deficits in various EF domains.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, Jan 27, 2016

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multidimensional constructinfluenced by disease, indi... more Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multidimensional constructinfluenced by disease, individual, and environmental factors. Greater disease activity (DA) predicts poorer HRQoL, but disease status alone does not fully account for individual variability in HRQoL. This investigation tested the role of patient and caregiver internalizing symptoms in explaining the relationship between DA and patient HRQoL. Participants included 83 subjects aged 11 to 18 diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and their caregiver. Patients reported on their HRQoL. Caregivers rated their own depressive symptoms and patients' internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety, and somatization). Physicians rated DA. Greater DA was positively associated with subjects' internalizing symptoms and negatively associated with HRQoL. Mediation analyses found support for significant indirect effects on the relationship between DA and HRQoL through the subjects' internalizing symptoms, through their ...

Anesthesiology, 2003

Background The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether parental pres... more Background The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether parental presence during induction of anesthesia (PPIA) is associated with parental physiologic and behavioral manifestations of stress. Methods Children and their parents (N = 80) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) PPIA; (2) PPIA plus 0.5 mg/kg oral midazolam; and (3) control (no PPIA or midazolam). The effect of the group assignment on parental heart rate (HR), parental blood pressure, and parental skin conductance level (SCL) were assessed. Both parental HR and parental SCL were monitored continually. Anxiety of the parent and child was also assessed. Results Parental HR increased from baseline until the induction of anesthesia (P = 0.001). A group-by-time effect ( P= 0.005) was also found. That is, throughout the induction period there were several time points at which parents in the two PPIA groups had a significantly higher HR than did parents in the control group (P < 0.05)....

The Role of Self-Competence in Health-Related Quality of Life and Behavioral Functioning of Children with Tourette Syndrome

Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Nov 1, 2015

To evaluate self-competence, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and emotional/behavioral fun... more To evaluate self-competence, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and emotional/behavioral functioning in children with Tourette syndrome (TS) compared to normative data and to examine self-competence as a potential protective factor against poorer HRQOL and emotional/behavioral outcomes in this population. Thirty-nine children between the ages of 8 and 17 years and 72 caregivers participated in this study. Participants completed measures of children&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s HRQOL, emotional/behavioral functioning, and self-competence. Participants reported significantly lower levels of emotional/behavioral functioning and HRQOL compared with norms of healthy children. No significant differences were found in domains of perceived self-competence. Social and general self-competence domains were significantly and positively correlated with most emotional and behavioral outcomes examined. Only social self-competence was significantly correlated with domains of HRQOL. Self-competence, particularly in the social realm, may play a protective role against lower HRQOL and worse emotional and behavioral outcomes in children with TS. Children with this condition may benefit from self-competence-promoting interventions targeting children&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s perceptions of their own abilities.

Clinical practice in pediatric psychology, Sep 1, 2015

Pediatric psychology competencies were recently defined. There remains discussion about the timin... more Pediatric psychology competencies were recently defined. There remains discussion about the timing of specialization and sequencing of training experiences in doctoral programs to optimally develop these competencies. A developmental model of training within the Science and Application clusters (Palermo, Janicke, et al., 2014) is presented with reference to sequencing of specific training experiences, timing of specialization, and outcome data over the past 5 years for individuals completing the doctoral program at the University of Georgia. This training model involves a progression from developing broad-based, clinical psychology competencies in early training to increased focus on pediatric psychology competencies over time.

Journal of American College Health, Jan 5, 2021

Artificial surfaces in the Raya Central Ibérica Use generalized linear models to define driving f... more Artificial surfaces in the Raya Central Ibérica Use generalized linear models to define driving forces of the territorial changes

Management of pain and distress due to medical procedures

Sponsored by the Society of Pediatric Psychology, this handbook is recognized as the definitive r... more Sponsored by the Society of Pediatric Psychology, this handbook is recognized as the definitive reference in the field.

Barriers to Medication Adherence in Pediatric Organ Transplant Recipients

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2014

Caregiver‐reported outcomes of pediatric transplantation: Changes and predictors at 6 months post‐transplant

Pediatric Transplantation, Jun 16, 2021

BackgroundIt is widely assumed that pediatric solid organ transplantation results in better careg... more BackgroundIt is widely assumed that pediatric solid organ transplantation results in better caregiver‐reported outcomes, including reduced caregiver psychological distress and increased child health‐related quality of life (HRQOL), yet little empirical evidence of this expectation exists. The current investigation aims to fill this gap and identify key clinical course factors predictive of caregiver‐reported outcomes.MethodsForty‐nine caregivers of children (Mage = 10.30 years, SD = 5.43) presenting for kidney, liver, or heart transplant evaluation reported on their psychological distress levels (anxiety, depression, somatization, and global psychological stress) and their children's HRQOL at children's pretransplant evaluations and 6 months post‐transplant. Clinical course factors were abstracted via medical chart review.ResultsCaregivers did not report significant changes in their psychological distress from pre‐ to post‐transplant but reported significantly improved child HRQOL across most domains (ds = −.45 to −.54). Higher post‐transplant caregiver global psychological distress was predicted by older child age, shorter time since diagnosis, and lower pretransplant caregiver‐reported child HRQOL even after controlling for pretransplant caregiver psychological distress. Lower post‐transplant child total HRQOL was predicted by more post‐transplant hospitalizations even after controlling for pretransplant child total HRQOL.ConclusionsThese preliminary results indicate pediatric solid organ transplantation was associated with some improved caregiver‐reported outcomes, specifically children's HRQOL, but not caregivers’ psychological distress. Linear regression models identify several clinical course and pretransplant factors associated with transplantation outcomes. Characterizing how caregivers view their psychological distress levels and children's HRQOL across the transplantation process could inform family‐centered holistic care and support caregiver adaptation to transplantation.

Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale--Infant Version

PsycTESTS Dataset, 2008