Excluding initially highly distressed patients, for whom more distressed focused interventions may be necessary, these findings suggest that most distressed patients are highly responsive to clinical staff attention, concern, and support both with and without the structure of formal programs to change behavior or enhance DD-related problem solving.
From my perspective as a professor and director of the Project on Lived Theology who regularly places students in faith-based internships, the experience of service in faith-based organisations often promotes an appreciation for greater government involvement in distressed and excluded communities, as it raises awareness of the large scale of the social deterioration of the other America.
This was reflected in the study when 12% (n = 16) of the patients were excluded because they were too distressed to blow into the peak flow meter.
Although a considerable numbers of early distressed sections were found, the measured service life shows a good relationship with the predicted service life by the AASHTO design method when early distressed sections are excluded from the comparison.
Finally, we excluded children who were crying or distressed, because these factors could contribute to individual variation and unreliable measurements.
We also cannot exclude the possibility that particularly concerned or distressed HCWs were under-represented, as such subjects might be on leave because of their worries about the pandemic and thus unable to join the study.
The final sample of 380 participants was probably biased towards the more well patients, since 31 (6%) of the 517 patients screened were excluded or declined due to being too unwell, distressed or symptomatic.
Patients with recurrent or metastatic disease and those judged by the clinical team or researcher to be too distressed or confused to give informed consent were excluded.
Patients who were too physically ill, too emotionally distressed, <18 years of age or not literate in English were excluded.
Women were not invited to participate or were excluded if the social worker or research psychiatrist considered them to be too distressed or unwell to take part.
Women were excluded if the social worker or research psychiatrist considered them to be too distressed or unwell to take part in the study.
