Survey of the opinions on the occupational health system in turkey expressed by patients of the Istanbul Hospital of Occupational Diseases

Objective  

To examine the opinion of patients of an occupational diseases hospital on the quality of provision of occupational medicine services in Turkey.     

Effect of HDL composition and particle size on the resistance of HDL to the oxidation

Objectives  

To study the resistance of HDL particles to direct oxidation in respect to the distribution of HDL particles.     

Examination of useful items for the assessment of fall risk in the community-dwelling elderly Japanese population

Objectives  

The aim of this study was to select useful items for assessing fall risk in healthy elderly Japanese individuals.     

The use of end-quintile comparisons to identify under-servicing of the poor and over-servicing of the rich: A longitudinal study describing the effect of socioeconomic status on healthcare

Background  

To demonstrate the use of end-quintile comparisons in assessing the effect of socio-economic status on hospital utilisation and outcomes in Western Australia.     

Patient and public perspectives of community pharmacies in the United Kingdom: A systematic review

Background

The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of enhancing pharmacist roles and community pharmacy services, particularly over the past decade. However, patient and public awareness of community pharmacy services has been limited.

Objective

To identify and synthesize the research literature pertaining to patient and public perspectives on: existing community pharmacy services, extended pharmacist roles and strategies to raise awareness of community pharmacy services.

Search strategy

Systematic search of 8 electronic databases; hand searching of relevant journals, reference lists and conference proceedings.

Inclusion criteria

UK studies investigating patient or public views on community pharmacy services or pharmacist roles from 2005 to 2016.

Data extraction and synthesis

Data were extracted into a grid and subjected to narrative synthesis following thematic analysis.

Main results

From the 3260 unique papers identified, 30 studies were included. Manual searching identified 4 additional studies. Designs using questionnaires (n = 14, 41%), semi‐structured interviews (n = 8, 24%) and focus groups (n = 6, 18%) made up the greatest proportion of studies. Most of the studies (n = 28, 82%) were published from 2010 onwards and covered perceptions of specific community pharmacy services (n = 31). Using a critical appraisal checklist, the overall quality of studies was deemed acceptable. Findings were grouped into 2 main themes “public cognizance” and “attitudes towards services” each with 4 subthemes.

Discussion and conclusions

Patients and the public appeared to view services as beneficial. Successful integration of extended pharmacy services requires pharmacists’ clinical skills to be recognized by patients and physicians. Future research should explore different approaches to increase awareness.     

Cost-effectiveness of infliximab for the treatment of acute exacerbations of ulcerative colitis

Background  

Infliximab has been shown to be efficacious in acute exacerbations of ulcerative colitis (UC).     

Comparison of the health of Roma and non-Roma children living in the district of Teplice

Objectives  

To compare the morbidity of 66 Roma and 466 non-Roma children born and living in a diffused type of habitation in the district of Teplice.     

Validation of the psychometric properties of the health-promoting lifestyle profile in a sample of Taiwanese women

Purpose  

To examine the preliminary psychometric properties of the Chinese health-promoting lifestyle profile II (HPLP II) among Taiwanese women.     

Exploring the relationship of sociodemographic changes,economic instability and the availability of health resources with birth rates

Aims  

To examine the relationship among sociodemographic changes, economic instability and the availability of health resources to the birth rate in Macau.     

The perception of the benefits of herbal medicine consumption among the Thai elderly

Objectives  

To determine how the Thai elderly perceived the benefits of herbal medicine consumption and to study related variables influencing their perception.     

Cross-national comparability of the WHOQOL-BREF: A measurement invariance approach

Purpose  

To evaluate whether the WHOQOL-BREF measures the QOL construct in the same way across nations.     

Research ethics, publication ethics and the dialectics of scientists trying not to behave badly: a comment on the advantages and limitations of Twin Assessment of Clinical Trials (TACT)

Aim  

This comment addresses conflicts of interest in the publication of research results.     

A Spanish version of the athens insomnia scale

Objectives  

To develop and validate a Spanish version of the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS).     

The use of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Fanconi anaemia patients: a survey of decision making among families in the US and Canada

Background

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a rare genetic disorder associated with bone marrow failure (BMF), congenital anomalies and cancer susceptibility. Stem cell transplantation (SCT) offers a potential cure for BMF or leukaemia, but incurs substantial risks. Little is known about factors influencing SCT decision making.

Objective

The study objective was to explore factors influencing patients' with FA and family members' decision making about SCT.

Design

Using a mixed‐methods exploratory design, we surveyed US and Canadian patients with FA and family members who were offered SCT.

Main variables studied

Closed‐ended survey items measured respondents' beliefs about the necessity, risks and concerns regarding SCT; multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between these factors and the decision to undergo SCT. Open‐ended survey items measured respondents' perceptions of factors important to the SCT decision; qualitative analysis was used to identify emergent themes.

Results

The decision to undergo SCT was significantly associated with greater perceived necessity (OR = 2.81, P = 0.004) and lower concern about harms of SCT (OR = 0.31, P = 0.03). Qualitative analysis revealed a perceived lack of choice among respondents regarding the use of SCT, which was related to physician influence and respondent concerns about patients' quality of life.

Conclusions

Overall, study results emphasize the importance of the delicate interplay between provider recommendation of a medical procedure and patient/parental perceptions and decision making. Findings can help providers understand the need to acknowledge family members' perceptions of SCT decision making and offer a comprehensive discussion of the necessity, risks, benefits and potential outcomes.     

Influence of the consumption of fruits and vegetables on the nutritional status of a group of institutionalized elderly persons in the Madrid region

Aim  

To determine the nutritional status in a group of institutionalized elderly people in the Madrid region of Spain, with respect to their consumption of fruits and vegetables.     

Association between glycemic index, glycemic load, and fructose with insulin resistance: the CDC of the Canary Islands study

Background  

The involvement of carbohydrates in triggering insulin resistance (IR) remains a source of controversy.     

Validation of the FACT-G scale for evaluating quality of life in cancer patients in Colombia

Purpose  

To validate the FACT-G scale for measuring quality of life of patients with cancer in Colombia.     

Predicting the probability of falls in community-dwelling elderly individuals using the trail-walking test

Background  

Falling is a common problem in the fast-growing elderly population. Multitasking or engaging in two or more activities at the same time is common in daily living.     

Reliability and validity of the Korean‐language version of the Communication Function Classification System in children with cerebral palsy

Purpose

The Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) and Viking Speech Scale (VSS) are useful systems for describing the broad communication function and speech intelligibility, respectively, of children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aims of this study were to determine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the CFCS and also to investigate the association between the CFCS and the VSS and other functional classifications for children with CP.

Materials and methods

Participants were 50 children with CP (33 males, 17 females; mean age 7.2 years, range 4–16 years) recruited from a rehabilitation hospital. We analysed the interrater and intrarater reliabilities of the Korean version of the CFCS and VSS between parents, a physiatrist, and a speech–language pathologist (SLP). The social function domain of the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory was assessed to examine the concurrent validity of the CFCS and VSS.

Results

The intrarater reliabilities of the CFCS and VSS were excellent in a physiatrist (? = 0.92, ? = 0.94, respectively) and an SLP (? = 0.98, ? = 0.98) and very good in parents (? = 0.87, ? = 0.89). The interrater reliability of the CFCS and VSS was very good between the physiatrist and SLP (? = 0.87, ? = 0.89) and good between parents and the SLP (? = 0.63, ? = 0.78) and between parents and the physiatrist (? = 0.61, ? = 0.76). The CFCS and VSS were strongly related with the social function domain of Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory. In addition, we found very strong associations between the VSS and CFCS.

Conclusions

The Korean version of the CFCS is a valid and reliable tool to classify communication ability and is strongly associated with the VSS, a reliable tool to classify speech intelligibility.