Genital psoriasis: a questionnaire‐based survey on a concealed skin disease in the Netherlands

Background Psoriatic lesions may involve nearly all sites of the body. Involvement of the genital skin is frequently classified as part of intertriginous psoriasis without special awareness and treatment for this presentation of the disease. Gaining knowledge about the frequency of the involvement of genital skin in these patients will improve the overall care for patients with psoriasis. Objectives We studied the prevalence of genital psoriasis in the Netherlands and epidemiological characteristics of this specific presentation of the disease. Furthermore, we studied the relation between flexural and genital psoriasis. Patients/Methods A self‐administered questionnaire was sent to all 5300 members of the Dutch Psoriasis Society. Sociodemographic patient characteristics and disease‐related data (such as localization of psoriatic lesions, involvement of the genitalia, age at onset of genital psoriasis and severity of genital psoriatic lesions) were collected and analysed. Results A response rate of 37% was achieved. Almost 46% of the responding patients with psoriasis, that is 16.5% of all potential responders (n = 5300), report genital involvement at some time during the course of their disease. The genitalia can become affected at any age. Many patients with current genital involvement (38%) do not have the flexural skin affected. Conclusions A large part of patients with psoriasis suffer from genital psoriasis, which was not associated with flexural involvement in at least one third of them. More attention to the genital region is required in the current standard treatment of both male and female psoriatic patients at any age.     

The critical appraisal of focus group research articles

Objectives: To determine whether the three mailings routinely used by researchers for epidemiological surveys are useful and appropriate, by comparing social characteristics and selected disease histories to find out if there are differences between individuals responding at different times.

Methods: Social characteristics and selected disease histories of 11,797 British women still under general practitioner observation in the Royal College of General Practitioners' Oral Contraception Study were compared. The women aged 40-78 at December 1992 were sent health survey questionnaires via their general practitioners between November 1994 and July 1995.

Results: Significant differences in the characteristics of first, second and third mailing respondents and non-respondents were found for smoking habits, social class, parity, area of residence, further contact, bronchitis, hysterectomy and mental illness. First mailing respondents were more likely to be from a non-manual social class, have a parity of less than three, live in England, and be happy to be contacted again, but were less likely to have had bronchitis or mental illness and were less likely to have been smokers at the time of recruitment than second mailing respondents. A comparison of second and third mailing respondents on the above factors showed no significant differences between the two groups.

Conclusions: The inclusion of third mailing respondents did not significantly change the social or health characteristic profile of the cohort and suggests that the effort and resources expended in carrying out a third mailing may not be justified.     

Caudal septoplasty: efficacy of a surgical technique-preliminnary report

Although not being the most frequent nasal septal deviations, those of the caudal septum account for many complaints. The correction of such defects has always been the subject of much controversy, and several different operative techniques have been described.AimTo assess the efficacy of a surgical technique for correcting caudal septal deviations.Materials and MethodsProspective study with preliminary reports of 10 patients who answered a standardized, specific questionnaire (the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation, or NOSE), underwent acoustic rhinometry and had their noses photographed. Caudal deviations were then corrected through a surgical technique whereby the entire deviated portion is removed and a straight cartilage segment is placed between the medial crura of the alar cartilages, through a retrograde approach, to support the nasal tip. Sixty days after all patients were reassessed.ResultsAs for the NOSE questionnaire, mean pre-operative and post-operative scores were 82.39 and 7.39 respectively (p<0.001). Pre-operative acoustic rhinometry showed mean minimum crosssectional area (MCA) values of 0.352 and 0.431 cm2, whereas mean post-operative values were 0.657 and 0.711 cm2(p<0.0001).ConclusionsThe study results prove, both subjectively (patient satisfaction as measured with a standardized questionnaire) and objectively (acoustic rhinometry findings), that the proposed technique for correction of caudal septal deviation is safe and effective.     

Women's Experiences of Participating in the Magpie Trial: A Postal Survey in the United Kingdom

Background: The Magpie Trial compared magnesium sulfate with placebo for women with preeclampsia. The objective of this study was to explore women's views and experiences of participating in the Magpie Trial in the United Kingdom. Methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to 771 women participants in the Magpie Trial to assess long‐term health of UK women and children. The questionnaire included three questions exploring women's experience of participating in the trial: (a) If time suddenly went backward, and you had to do it all over again, would you agree to participate in the Magpie Trial? (b) Please tell us if there was anything about the Magpie Trial that you think could have been done better; and (c) Please tell us if there was anything about the Magpie Trial, or your experience of joining the trial, that you think was particularly good. Results: Overall, 619 of the 771 women who were sent questionnaires returned them. In response to the three questions: (a) 58 percent (356) of women responded “definitely yes,” 27 percent (169) “probably yes,” 4 percent (23) “probably no,” 5 percent (33) “definitely no,” and 5 percent (34) “not sure.” No clear evidence was shown of a relationship with allocated treatment, although women who responded “probably or definitely no” were more likely to have had side effects from trial treatment. (b) Although 44 percent of women stated that nothing could have been done better, free text suggestions related to content of recruitment information, and its timing, and wanting to know treatment allocation and trial results. c) Women were generally extremely positive about being followed up and receiving trial results. Conclusions: Women were largely positive about participation in the trial and its follow‐up, but still reported ways they believed the study could have been improved, such as more information, given earlier, which also has implications for clinical care.     

Quality of life and participation restrictions,a study in elderly

According to the IBGE, Brazil had 21 million elderly persons in 2008.ObjectiveTo study the effects of speech therapy - fitting of hearing aids - on the quality of life of elderly persons and restriction of participation according to sex and age.Material and Method50 elderly subjects, 23 females and 27 males, were allocated to Group 1 and Group 2, and were assessed with questionnaires (HHIE and SF 36) before and one year after fitting hearing aids; subjects were monitored every two months.ResultsThe HHIE Social and Emotional Scale was significant with regards to sex and age after fitting hearing aids. The SF 36 results after fitting hearing aids were significant in six of eight test aspects. Two test aspects were not significant after fitting hearing aids; pain, however, was significant in the elderly group 2.ConclusionThere is little awareness of participation restrictions after the HHIE intervention. There is improvement in quality of life after rehabilitation. Retrospective study.     

The Cost-Effectiveness of Postal and Telephone Methodologies in Increasing Routine Outcome Measurement Response Rates in CAMHS

Background:  This small evaluation compared the cost effectiveness of different methods of questionnaire administration (General system improvements, postal reminders and telephone reminders) sent as part of the CORC protocol employed by three community CAMHS teams.
Method:  Return rates and costs of these different methods were recorded and compared with a 3-month baseline (during which questionnaires were distributed using existing systems) and following 3-month intervention period.
Results:  Comparison of return rates between baseline and intervention periods indicated that administrative improvements and a centralised mailing process increased the return rate of questionnaires by 11%. A further limited increase of 16% was achieved when a postal reminder was added, whilst an additional telephone reminder significantly increased the return rate by 34%. Telephone administration and telephone follow-up to initial postal administration is more expensive overall than postal methods alone; however, the cost per return is substantially less. An initial postal mailing plus telephone reminder is predicted to provide services with more representative data on service effectiveness and acceptability than postal methods alone.
Conclusions:  The findings of this small scale project are useful in informing the Routine Outcome Measurement (ROM) administration protocol and highlight the importance of resourcing ROM and increasing the quality of the data collected.     

公安院校低年级大学生心理压力问卷的编制

目的 研究公安院校低年级大学生的心理压力因素.方法 以警察院校994名低年级大学生(男生778人,女生216人)为研究对象,采用自编问卷调查和探索性因素分析的方法.结果 公安院校低年级大学生的心理压力因素有:人际关系和自我意识压力、求职就业压力、家庭期望和学校管理压力、集体压力.自编问卷的α系数为0.87,各分量表的α...     

Exploratory factor analysis of the Brazilian OHIP for edentulous subjects

Summary The use of seven domains for the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)‐EDENT was not supported for its Brazilian version, making data interpretation in clinical settings difficult. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess patients’ responses for the translated OHIP‐EDENT in a group of edentulous subjects and to develop factor scales for application in future studies. Data from 103 conventional and implant‐retained complete denture wearers (36 men, mean age of 69·1 ± 10·3 years) were assessed using the Brazilian version of the OHIP‐EDENT. Oral health‐related quality of life domains were identified by factor analysis using principal component analysis as the extraction method, followed by varimax rotation. Factor analysis identified four factors that accounted for 63% of the 19 items total variance, named masticatory discomfort and disability (four items), psychological discomfort and disability (five items), social disability (five items) and oral pain and discomfort (five items). Four factors/domains of the Brazilian OHIP‐EDENT version represent patient‐important aspects of oral health‐related quality of life.     

Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment

malloy t. & penprase b. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management  18 , 715–725
Nursing leadership style and psychosocial work environment Aim This study examines the relationship between leadership style and the psychosocial work environment of registered nurses. Background Research consistently supports the positive relationship between transformational leadership style and job satisfaction. There is less evidence, which identifies the relationship between leadership style and psychosocial work environment. Method The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5× was used to identify the leadership style. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire was used to measure psychosocial work environment dimensions. Statistical analysis included Pearson’s r correlation between leadership style and psychosocial work environment and anova to analyse group means. Results There is a significant correlation between leadership style and 22 out of the 37 dimensions of the psychosocial work environment. This correlation was significant ranging from r = 0.88, P < 0.01 to r = 0.18, P < 0.05. Nurses divided into groups based on transformational leadership scores of the immediate supervisor report significant differences in their psychosocial work environment. Conclusion This study supports the significant correlation between leadership style and psychosocial work environment for registered nurses. Implications for nursing management The results of this study suggest that there would be an improvement in the nursing psychosocial work environment by implementation of transformational and contingent reward leadership behaviours.