This assignment gives your first experience of reading and reacting to journal literature in Allied Health Research.  Many students never realize there's a world beyond the textbooks and so it's all new to them.  You learn that in your specialty there are things printed every day that are new.  You will have to keep up to maintain your professional competency.  Journals are a resource that you can use, both here in school and when you get out in a professional situation.  The assignment is carefully sequenced with clear due dates and instructions. 

I believe that all of you, as future health care professionals, should be aware of how you can keep up on new developments in allied health and the issues that surround them.  Therefore, the objectives of this assignment are to familiarize you with the available literature in medicine and allied health.  

To meet the objectives of the assignment, you will:

·         Read and study, in detail, one current article on a topic covered in class from any of the three journals mentioned above. 

·         You will submit two assigned journal articles as Discussion Forums, and you may submit 2 or more of your own for credit in ALHE4060.  Ask the instructor if you wish to submit more than 2.

Details of What You Need To Do: 

1.        Go to the library and check out the issues of the journal.  You can also use the Internet for a resource.

2.        TIP: Most Journals publish a subject index in their December issue.  This is extremely useful and convenient when performing searches on subjects. 

3.        Look through the selected article ass well as the rest of that issue of the journal and several other recent issues to get a clear understanding of:

4.        what kinds of information is published,

5.        what audience it is intended to serve

6.        Whether references for further information are given. 

7.        Complete the Journal Article Review Form and submit by the due date. 

To receive full credit for this assignment, you must answer all questions on the review form and submit it by the due date.  Here is the information you should submit to your Research website:

Title of Journal

Article_______________Depression in Children and Adolescents _____________________________________

Title of Journal

________________________American Family Physician ______________________________

Volume___________Vol.62/No.10___________ Date ___11/___15/___00___ Page Number(s) _______N/A_______

·          What organization is responsible for publishing the journal you chose?

The American Academy of Family Physicians

·          What is your overall evaluation of this article?

_____Poor          ______Fair            ______Good        ____+___Very Good       _____Excellent

·          Why did you choose to review this particular article?

Dr. Masini assigned it for review for ALHE 4060

·          How would you rate this article as a tool for teaching a student about cardiopulmonary physiology, radiography, or another allied health specialty? 

Students:               ____Poor       ____Fair       ___+__Good     ___Very Good      _____Excellent

Teachers:               ____Poor       ____Fair       _____Good     __+__Very Good      _____Excellent

Patients:                ____Poor       _+__Fair       _____Good     _____Very Good      _____Excellent

·          Comment on the readability of this article. 

The article was very in depth.  It used a lot of terminology that can take away from the effectiveness of the article.  I think for a student researching depression in children and adolescents it would be great information to use as research, as well as for a teacher.  But, for the average person or patient it would probably stray away from the topic at hand. 

·          Course Topics covered:

There were many course topics covered:  Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Bipolar I and II disorders, anxiety disorders, Patient/Physician relationship (autonomy), disruptive disorder, diagnosis of disorders, symptoms, treatment of disorders (medicines that are commonly prescribed for the disorders talked about in the article), therapy, studies done on these psychological disorders, side effects of medicines, and also referrals to other professionals to help children with the disorders.

·          Brief Summary:

This article covered the topic of depression in children and adolescents. It also went further to touch on other disorders that affect this age group as well.  It has a lot of very good information to use when looking at children with possible depressive disorders.  As the article states it is sometimes very difficult to diagnose children with these types of disorders because it is hard for them to explain what they are feeling.  The article gives information on a number of treatments and therapies that are available to children with depression. Involving this therapy the article discusses the emotional involvement that is needed from family and friends to help these children and adolescents that are affected by depression and other psychological disorders.  It also gives parents and family members a variety of symptoms to look for when watching for depression in children and even provides a checklist to make that evaluation easier for them. The article even goes further to give statistics of children with these particular disorders which allows the readers to understand the size of population that they currently affect.

·          Identify and attempt to explain three (3) terms, procedures or concepts that were unfamiliar to you when reviewing this article.

-          Dysthymic Disorder - I have found out that this is another name for a mild depressive disorder.  I was not familiar with this term before reading this article.

-          SSRI’s - Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - I had never heard of this type of medication before.

-          I was also not aware of the extent to which young children become depressed.  A lot of times I have drawn the conclusion that a child was only shy based on the fact that they tended to gear away from other people.  This article really helped me to realize the amount of emotional problems that these children may be dealing with.

·          Detail the strengths/weaknesses of this article.

Strengths:  This article gave an amazing amount of information on the topic of Depression in children and adolescents.  It provides the reader with a wide base of knowledge on the topic, not only informing the reader of symptoms associated with psychological disorders but also giving them an insight into what can be done to help children in these situations.

Weaknesses:  This article would be very confusing for a parent or patient to read because of the writers’ choice of words. It would probably be better summarized in a shorter article for the average reader in order to gain the knowledge needed without feeling overcome by the information.

·          How might this article be useful to you in your further studies and career?

This article could definitely be helpful in the future.  There is so much information in it that could help me in a situation, especially in my future career, where I may be suspecting of a child being depressed.  It would also help me in any studies I may choose to do regarding depression in this age group. I have always been interested in depression (signs, symptoms, and treatments) so I will definitely keep this article with me for future reference.

·          Does the article include a list of references/citations that can be used to find more information on the topics they cover?    Yes

Your Name: _______________Laura Urbin______________________ Date: ___06_/__19_/__06__