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To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01334.x Byline: KIRSTEN von SYDOW (*), STEFAN BEHER ([dagger]), JOCHEN SCHWEITZER ([double dagger]), RUDIGER RETZLAFF (s.) Keywords: Systemic Therapy; Systems Oriented Family Therapy; Couples Therapy; Family Therapy; Multifamily Group Therapy; Individual Therapy; Randomized-Controlled Trial (RCT); Efficacy; Therapy Research Abstract: All abstracts are available in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese on Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1545-5300). Please pass this information on to your international colleagues and students. Systemic therapy is a widely used psychotherapy approach. Yet there exist few systematic reviews on its efficacy. A meta-content analysis was performed to analyze the efficacy of systemic therapy for the treatment of mental disorders in adulthood. All randomized (or matched) controlled trials (RCT) evaluating systemic/systems oriented therapy in various settings (family, couple, individual, group, multifamily group therapy) with adult index patients suffering from mental disorders were identified by database searches and cross-references in other reviews. Inclusion criteria were: index patient diagnosed with a DSM or ICD listed mental disorder, trial published in any language up to the end of 2008. The RCTs were content analyzed according to their research methodology, interventions applied, and results. Thirty-eight trials published in English, German, Spanish, and Chinese were identified, 34 of them showing systemic therapy to be efficacious for the treatment of mood disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, mental and social factors related to medical conditions and physical disorders, and schizophrenia. Systemic therapy may also be efficacious for anxiety disorders. Results were stable across follow-up periods of up to 5 years. There is a sound evidence-base for the efficacy of systemic therapy for adult index patients with mental disorders in at least five diagnostic groups. Abstract (French) RESUMEN Introduccion: La terapia sistemica es un enfoque psicoterapeutico muy utilizado, sin embargo, existen pocas evaluaciones sistematicas sobre su eficacia. Se realizo un analisis de metacontenido a fin de analizar la eficacia de la terapia sistemica para el tratamiento de trastornos mentales en la adultez. Metodos: Mediante busquedas en bases de datos y remisiones en otras evaluaciones se identificaron todas las pruebas controladas aleatorias (o emparejadas) que evaluaban la terapia sistemica en varios contextos (terapia familiar, de pareja, individual, grupal, multifamiliar) con pacientes indice adultos que padecian trastornos mentales. Los criterios de inclusion fueron: paciente indice diagnosticado con un trastorno mental listado en el 'Manual diagnostico y estadistico de los trastornos mentales' (DSM, por sus siglas en ingles) o en la 'Clasificacion internacional de enfermedades' (ICD), prueba publicada en cualquier idioma hasta fines de 2008. Se analizo el contenido de las pruebas controladas aleatorias de acuerdo con su metodologia de investigacion, intervenciones aplicadas y resultados. Resultados: Se identificaron 38 pruebas publicadas en ingles, aleman, espanol y chino, 34 de las cuales demostraron la eficacia de la terapia sistemica para el tratamiento de trastornos del estado de animo, trastornos alimenticios, trastornos de abuso de sustancias, factores mentales y sociales relacionados con problemas de salud y trastornos fisicos, y esquizofrenia. La terapia sistemica tambien puede ser eficaz para los trastornos de la ansiedad. Los resultados fueron estables durante periodos de seguimiento de hasta 5 anos. Debate: Existe una base solida de evidencia en relacion con la eficacia de la terapia sistemica para pacientes indice adultos con trastornos mentales en por lo menos cinco grupos diagnosticos. Palabras clave: Terapia sistemica, terapia familiar con orientacion sistemica, terapia de parejas, terapia familiar, terapia de grupo multifamiliar, terapia individual, prueba controlada aleatoria, eficacia, investigacion sobre terapia. Author Affiliation: (*)Clinical psychologist. ([dagger])University of Bielefeld, Department of Sociology. ([double dagger])Institute of Medical Psychology, Heidelberg University Hospital. (s.)Director of the Clinic of Marital and Family Therapy, Institute for Collaborative Psychosomatic Research and Family Therapy, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital. Article note: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kirsten von Sydow at Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, Am Kollnischen Park 2, D-10179 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: kirsten.von.sydow@t-online.de

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.10.015 Byline: Jody Lawrence (a), Robin A. Kearns (a), Julie Park (b), Linda Bryder (c), Heather Worth (d) Keywords: New Zealand; Tuberculosis; Media; Disease; Discourse; Public health; Newspapers Abstract: This paper critically examines the ways that tuberculosis (TB) has been represented in the print media in New Zealand over recent years (2002-2004). Our broad contention is that, notwithstanding its biomedical reality, TB is socially constructed by, and through, human experience. Further, public health practitioners depend, to a large extent, on the media to alert the public to threats of disease and opportunities for protection. However, the messages conveyed are sometimes neither helpful nor accurate. In our analysis of TB coverage in three major daily newspapers in New Zealand, we enumerate and classify references to the disease, as well as undertake a discursive analysis of the revealed themes. Of the 366 texts we retrieved in the database search, we selected 120 for in-depth analysis. Our examination indicated the importance of bovine TB within the national consciousness, the stigmatised character of TB and the association between TB and immigrants. We observe that newspaper 'stories' in general, and commentaries by public health officials in particular, are invariably offered on a 'case by case' basis. We conclude that this specificity in time and place avoids more challenging discourses linking TB with deeply embedded determinants of health such as the strong link between TB and poverty. Author Affiliation: (a) School of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland, New Zealand (b) Department of Anthropology, The University of Auckland, New Zealand (c) Department of History, The University of Auckland, New Zealand (d) National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales, Australia Article Note: (footnote) [star] This paper is part of the study 'The Political Ecology of Tuberculosis in New Zealand' which was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.