Professional psychologists have an ethical obligation to engage in culturally competent service delivery within their research and practice. Although the American Psychological Association has published guidelines for multicultural competence within these areas, researchers continue to rely on convenience samples comprised primarily of majority population groups interspersed with individuals from various diverse populations. This leads to uncertainty regarding the generalizability and utility of existing psychological treatments. Given the growth in research and popularity of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), this paper investigates the practice of cultural competence in ACT outcome research. A comprehensive review of published ACT outcome research revealed that ACT is being implemented and researched across a number of countries around the world, with a presumably diverse population. However, a notable percent of the outcome studies do not provide adequate descriptions of the demographic makeup of their samples, particularly related to ethnic or racial information. Studies that do report ethnic or racial infonnation provide preliminary evidence that suggests ACT may be effective with diverse groups. The implications of these fmdings are discussed, including recommendations for researchers and practitioners and potential directions for future research and practice.

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Low back pain is an increasingly prevalent and costly issue in the United States. It is a particularly relevant problem for Workers' Compensation patients, who typically experience worse surgical and functional outcomes than their non-compensated counterparts. Neuropsychologists often provide intervention and assessment services to compensated patients with back pain, and thus it is critical they possess a basic understanding of the factors that might predispose an injured worker to poor spine surgery outcomes. This paper will review the current literature regarding presurgical biopsychosocial factors which have been implicated in poor back surgery outcomes among injured workers. We provide some tentative guidelines for neuropsychologists to utilize in providing services to injured workers with back pain.

Medical costs among compensated Utah patients receiving lumbar fusion have risen dramatically since the 1990s, whereas compensation costs have not. Biopsychosocial variables continue to be predictive of these costs, although to a more modest degree than in prior studies. Further investigations should look at other factors leading to increased medical costs.

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