In support of an individualized approach to assessing quality of life: comparison between Patient Generated Index and standardized measures across four health conditions

Background

Individualized measures of health-related quality life (HRQL) have been used for decades and shown to provide unique information, but little work has been done to explain this uniqueness particularly across health conditions.

Aims

To estimate, across four health conditions, the magnitude of the association between scores derived from the Patient Generated Index (PGI) and those from fully standardized generic and disease-specific measures of the HRQL; to identify the extent to which the areas generated from the PGI are covered by the content of the fully standardized measures.

Methods

The PGI and other generic and disease-specific measures had been used in four different samples of people: stroke (n = 222), multiple sclerosis (MS; n = 185); advanced cancer (n = 173), and HIV+ (n = 690). Areas nominated on the PGI were harmonized to a standard nomenclature. Pearson correlations were estimated between PGI and other measures.

Results

Data from 1263 people indicated that PGI provided the lowest rating for HRQL across all health conditions. The areas nominated differed across conditions with walking/mobility: the most common for stroke (42%), work/school for MS (62%), health for HIV+ (97%), and fatigue for cancer (39%). Many of the aspects of health included in generic measures were not nominated using the PGI and vice versa. The highest correlations between the PGI and other measures were observed for people with MS, with correlations between 0.53 and 0.59; lowest correlations were observed for people with HIV and cancer, ≤0.33.

Discussion

The PGI scores reflect those aspects of quality of life that are important to patients in which they would most value an improvement. Heterogeneity in HRQL across health conditions is poorly discriminated using standardized measures. A “one-size-fits-all” approach to HRQL assessment may not provide the most useful representation of this important construct.

     

Preference-based health-related quality of life among victims of bullying

Purpose

No previous study has estimated the association between bullying and preference-based health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (“utility”), knowledge of which may be used for cost-effectiveness studies of interventions designed to prevent bullying. Therefore, the aim of the study was to estimate preference-based HRQoL among victims of bullying compared to non-victims.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey data collection among Swedish adolescents aged 15–17 years in the first year of upper secondary school was conducted in the city of Gothenburg in Sweden (N = 758). Preference-based HRQoL was estimated with the SF-6D. Regression analyses were conducted to adjust for some individual-level background variable.

Results

Mean preference-based health-related quality of life scores were 0.77 and 0.71 for non-victims and victims of bullying, respectively. The difference of 0.06 points was statistically significant (p < 0.05) and robust to inclusion of gender, age, and parental immigrant status.

Conclusions

The preference-based HRQoL estimates in this study may be used as an upper bound in economic evaluations of bullying prevention interventions, facilitating a comparison between costs and quality-adjusted life-years.

     

Physical activity types and health-related quality of life among middle-aged and elderly adults: The Rotterdam Study

Objectives

Physical activity (PA) is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL). The specific PA types that provide beneficial effects in an older population remain unclear. We assessed the association of total PA, walking, cycling, domestic work, sports and gardening with HRQL in middle-aged and elderly adults.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Participants

5,554 participants, with a mean age of 69 years.

Measurements

Total PA was categorized in five groups to evaluate the dose-response effect of PA and specific PA types were categorized in tertiles. HRQL was measured with the EuroQoL 5-dimension. The outcome of every HRQL domain (i.e. mobility, self-care, daily activities, pain and mood) was expressed as having any problems versus not having problems. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used, adjusting for confounders, to examine associations of total PA and PA types with HRQL domains.

Results

In both middle-aged (<65 years) and elderly adults (>65 years), we found a dose-response association between total PA and better HRQL (i.e. lower odds of having problems in HRQL domains). In the middle-aged, sports was the only PA type associated with lower odds of having problems with all HRQL domains. In the elderly, all PA types were associated with less problems with HRQL domains, but cycling contributed most to the beneficial effect.

Conclusions

Total PA was associated with better HRQL. Sports and cycling were the activity types that contributed most to this association in the middle-aged and elderly, respectively. Since PA levels tend to decline with aging, cycling and sports should be promoted with the aim to improve HRQL.

     

The Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life Instrument: reliability and validity of the Adult Form in cancer survivors

Purpose

Childhood cancer survivors are at risk for deficits in health-related quality of life (HRQL) as they age. Youth (8–12 years) and adolescent (13–20 years) versions of the Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life Instrument (MMQL) have been developed to address survivor-specific issues and are currently in use; the MMQL-Adult Form has now been developed to assess HRQL in childhood cancer survivors aged 21–55 years.

Methods

The MMQL-Adult Form was administered to 499 adults: 65 cancer patients on-therapy, 107 off-therapy, and 327 healthy controls. Forty-four percent of patients were under 30 years old at cancer diagnosis. Principal components analysis was performed. We evaluated internal consistency reliability, stability (re-administration of the MMQL-Adult Form 2 weeks later), construct validity (concurrent administration of the SF-36), and known-groups validity (score comparisons across the three groups).

Results

Principal components analysis resulted in retention of 44 items across six scales: social functioning, physical functioning, cognitive functioning, outlook on life, body image, and psychological functioning. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) was 0.80–0.90 for individual scales and 0.95 overall. Strong intraclass correlations (0.98 overall) indicated high stability. The MMQL-Adult Form distinguished between known groups; healthy controls scored better than patients on four of six scales. The MMQL-Adult Form scales correlated highly with similar SF-36 scales, demonstrating construct validity.

Conclusions

The MMQL-Adult Form is a reliable and valid self-report instrument for measuring multidimensional HRQL in cancer survivors. Development of this instrument ensures availability of a tool enabling cross-sectional and longitudinal assessment of HRQL in childhood cancer survivors as they age.

     

Quality of life in adults with asthma treated in allergy and pneumology subspecialties: relationship with sociodemographic,clinical and psychological variables

Purpose

Prior studies suggest that specialist care associates with improved health-related quality of life (HRQL) in asthmatic patients. However, there are limited studies focused on differences in HRQL among subspecialties. The aim of this study was to assess the differences in HRQL between adult asthmatic patients treated in pneumology or allergy practices, and to estimate to what extent the differences in HRQL can be explained by sociodemographic, clinical or psychological characteristics of patients from each specialty.

Methods

We recruited adult asthmatic outpatients from allergy and pneumology practices. Information on sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics was collected, and HRQL was assessed with generic and disease-specific questionnaires. HRQL was compared between groups adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics.

Results

A total of 287 asthmatic patients participated in the study (105 from pneumology and 182 from allergy). Patients treated by pneumologists reported significantly poorer HRQL in physical dimensions of generic questionnaire and all dimensions of disease-specific questionnaire. Pneumology patients were older (p < .001) and had a lower education level (p < .001); a higher number of patients were in a non-active employment situation (p = .003) and had worse pulmonary function (p < .001), longer duration of disease (p = .020), higher prevalence of obesity (p < .001) and uncontrolled asthma (p < .001), and a higher rate of previous absenteeism (p = .001). Depression and the use of cognitive avoidance coping were also higher among pneumology patients (p = .050 and p = .022, respectively). There were not significant differences in HRQL between pneumology and allergy patients after adjustment for these sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics.

Conclusions

Asthmatic patients treated by pneumologists reported poorer HRQL than patients treated by allergists, but this outcome is attributed to differences in several sociodemographic, clinical and psychological characteristics between the two groups of patients.

     

Condition-specific or generic preference-based measures in oncology? A comparison of the EORTC-8D and the EQ-5D-3L

Purpose

It has been argued that generic health-related quality of life measures are not sensitive to certain disease-specific improvements; condition-specific preference-based measures may offer a better alternative. This paper assesses the validity, responsiveness and sensitivity of a cancer-specific preference-based measure, the EORTC-8D, relative to the EQ-5D-3L.

Methods

A longitudinal prospective population-based cancer genomic cohort, Cancer 2015, was utilised in the analysis. EQ-5D-3L and the EORTC QLQ-C30 (which gives EORTC-8D values) were asked at baseline (diagnosis) and at various follow-up points (3 months, 6 months, 12 months). Baseline values were assessed for convergent validity, ceiling effects, agreement and sensitivity. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated and similarly assessed. Multivariate regression analyses were employed to understand the determinants of the difference in QALYs.

Results

Complete case analysis of 1678 patients found that the EQ-5D-3L values at baseline were significantly lower than the EORTC-8D values (0.748 vs 0.829, p < 0.001). While the correlation between the instruments was high, agreement between the instruments was poor. The baseline health state values using both instruments were found to be sensitive to a number of patient and disease characteristics, and discrimination between disease states was found to be similar. Mean generic QALYs (estimated using the EQ-5D-3L) were significantly lower than condition-specific QALYs (estimated using the EORTC-8D) (0.860 vs 0.909, p < 0.001). The discriminatory power of both QALYs was similar.

Conclusions

When comparing a generic and condition-specific preference-based instrument, divergences are apparent in both baseline health state values and in the estimated QALYs over time for cancer patients. The variability in sensitivity between the baseline values and the QALY estimations means researchers and decision makers are advised to be cautious if using the instruments interchangeably.

     

The Cost Effectiveness of Maintenance Schedules Following Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Economic Evaluation Alongside a Randomised Controlled Trial

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects approximately 3 million people in the UK. An 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) course is recommended under current guidelines. However, studies show that initial benefits diminish over time.

Objective

We present here an economic evaluation conducted alongside a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a low-intensity maintenance programme over a time horizon of 1 year delivered in UK primary and secondary care settings.

Methods

Patients with COPD who completed at least 60 % of a standard 8-week PR programme were randomised to a 2-h maintenance session at 3, 6 and 9 months (n = 73) or treatment as usual (n = 75). Outcomes were change in Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) score, EQ-5D-based QALYs, cost (price year 2014) to the UK NHS and social services over the 12 months following initial PR, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).

Results

At 12 months, incremental cost to the NHS and social services was ?£204.04 (95 % CI ?£1522 to £1114). Incremental CRQ and QALY gains were ?0.007 (?0.461 to 0.447) and +0.015 (?0.050 to 0.079), respectively. Based on point estimates, PR maintenance therefore dominates treatment as usual from the perspective of the NHS and social services in terms of cost per QALY gained. Whether it is cost effective in terms of CRQ depends on whether the £204 per patient could be reinvested elsewhere to a CRQ gain of greater than 0.007. However, there is much decision uncertainty: 95 % CIs around increments did not exclude zero, and there is a 72.9 % (72.5 %) probability that the ICER is below £20,000 (£30,000) per QALY.

Conclusion

Future research should explore whether more intensive maintenance regimens offer benefit to patients at reasonable cost.

     

Psychological distress between chronic hemodialysis patients with and without low back pain

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare psychological distress between patients on chronic hemodialysis with and without chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Subjects and methods

A total of 72 patients on chronic hemodialysis, aged 72.9 ± 10.8 years, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Psychological distress using the K6, questionnaire for CLBP, and physical activity using the tri-accelerometer were evaluated.

Results

Twenty-nine patients (40.3 %) were having CLBP. The K6 scores were 4.0 ± 4.6 and physical activity (n = 55) was 1.0 ± 1.0 METs h/day. K6 scores in patients on chronic hemodialysis with CLBP were significantly higher than those in patients on chronic hemodialysis without CLBP even after adjusting for sex, age, duration of hemodialysis and physical activity.

Conclusion

These results suggest that higher psychological distress was a fundamental feature in patients on chronic hemodialysis with CLBP.

     

Effect of probiotics and synbiotics on blood glucose: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials

Purpose

High fasting blood glucose (FBG) can lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Consuming probiotics or synbiotics may improve FBG. A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials was conducted to clarify the effect of probiotic and synbiotic consumption on FBG levels.

Methods

PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases were searched for relevant studies based on eligibility criteria. Randomized or non-randomized controlled trials which investigated the efficacy of probiotics or synbiotics on the FBG of adults were included. Studies were excluded if they were review articles and study protocols, or if the supplement dosage was not clearly mentioned.

Results

A total of fourteen studies (eighteen trials) were included in the analysis. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for the mean difference in FBG. Overall reduction in FBG observed from consumption of probiotics and synbiotics was borderline statistically significant (?0.18 mmol/L 95 % CI ?0.37, 0.00; p = 0.05). Neither probiotic nor synbiotic subgroup analysis revealed a significant reduction in FBG. The result of subgroup analysis for baseline FBG level ≥7 mmol/L showed a reduction in FBG of 0.68 mmol/L (?1.07, ?0.29; ρ < 0.01), while trials with multiple species of probiotics showed a more pronounced reduction of 0.31 mmol/L (?0.58, ?0.03; ρ = 0.03) compared to single species trials.

Conclusion

This meta-analysis suggests that probiotic and synbiotic supplementation may be beneficial in lowering FBG in adults with high baseline FBG (≥7 mmol/L) and that multispecies probiotics may have more impact on FBG than single species.

     

A Multilevel Model to Examine Adolescent Outcomes in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare: The Parent Perspective

Background

Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) has arisen to fill a gap in mental health treatment. While research shows large positive changes in adolescent self-reports, little is known about predictors of change, longitudinal outcomes, and parent-reports of change.

Objective

This study sought to identify treatment outcomes up to 18 months post-discharge and predictors of change for parents of adolescent clients in OBH treatment.

Methods

Parents of 659 adolescents from four OBH programs were invited to complete questionnaires at intake, discharge, and 6 and 18 months post-discharge. A regression was conducted to examine change during treatment, and a multilevel model to examine trajectories of change post-treatment.

Results

OBH participants entered treatment with clinically significant levels of emotional and behavioral dysfunction, made significant change during the program, and discharged within the “normal” range of functioning. Post-discharge scores indicated that clients remained in the “normal” range of functioning 6 and 18 months post-discharge. The regression analysis found that parent intake scores and attachment disorders were predictive of in-treatment change. The MLM found that parent perceptions of treatment gains and adoption status were significant predictors of functioning post-discharge.

Conclusions

Results are in-line with previous research suggesting that OBH may be helpful to adolescents experiencing a wide range of presenting problems, and adds new insights as well. Parent-reports parallel the dramatic changes in adolescent self-reports documented throughout OBH literature; data up to 18 months post-treatment shows healthy functioning per the parent perspective; and adoption and attachment appear to play a role in outcome trajectories.

     

Profiles of Emergent Writing Skills Among Preschool Children

Background

Research suggests that considerable individual differences may exist among preschool children in terms of emergent writing performance. However, there is no study examining this variability.

Objective

This research explored the patterns of within-group individual differences in the emergent writing skills of preschool children.

Method

Cluster analysis was employed to identify profiles of emergent writing skills in two independent samples (children from middle-socioeconomic status backgrounds N = 36; children from socioeconomically and racial/ethnically diverse backgrounds N = 367).

Results

Cluster analysis identified three emergent writing profiles: (1) highest emergent writing-strength in letter writing and spelling; (2) average emergent writing-strength in name writing; and (3) lowest emergent writing across skills. Children’s letter name knowledge and phonological awareness significantly predicted profile membership when controlling for age.

Conclusion

These findings provide evidence regarding the heterogeneity of preschool children’s emergent writing skills and suggest that different profiles of emergent writing can be explained by children’s letter name knowledge, phonological awareness, and age.

     

Health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s: impact of ‘off’ time and stated treatment preferences

Purpose

Long-term levodopa therapy and related fluctuating plasma concentrations are associated with between-dose periods of ‘off time’ resulting in substantial variation in symptoms and functioning throughout the day in people with Parkinson’s (PwP).

Methods

PwP across UK, France, Spain and Italy completed an online survey to explore: the impact of ‘off time’ on (1) health-related quality of life (HRQL) and (2) on functioning and ability to undertake usual activities; (3) the value of ‘off time’ relative to other factors associated with Parkinson’s through a stated preference discrete choice experiment (SPDCE).

Results

In total, 305 PwP completed the online survey. Overall mean HRQL (utility) score was significantly lower for ‘off time’ (0.37) than for ‘on time’ (0.60). All attributes within the SPDCE were significant predictors of treatment choice, although increased duration of ‘on time’ (per hour per day: odds ratio (OR) = 1.40) and predictability of ‘off time’ to within 30 min (OR = 1.42) were valued most highly.

Conclusions

‘On time’ and predictability of ‘off time’ are highly valued by PwP. Due to substantial diurnal variation of Parkinson’s symptoms, standard patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments may not adequately capture the impact of ‘off time’ on HRQL and participation in daily activities.

     

Improving risk equalization using information on physiotherapy diagnoses

Background

Worldwide, risk-equalization (RE) models in competitive health insurance markets have evolved from simple demographic models to sophisticated models containing diagnosis and pharmacy-based indicators of health. However, these models still have important imperfections; adding information on (diagnoses of) physiotherapy treatment may further improve RE-models. Therefore, a new risk-adjuster based on physiotherapy costs in the prior year was introduced in the Dutch RE-model of 2016.

Methods

Physiotherapy claims-data (2012) and administrative data on costs and risk-characteristics (2013) for 94% of the Dutch population (N = 15.8 million) are used to evaluate the current risk-adjuster based on physiotherapy costs and to assess the effects of replacing it by different modalities of a risk-adjuster based on physiotherapy diagnoses. Of the 89 diagnoses in the claims-data, 62 are dropped because they relate to temporary health problems. The 27 retained diagnoses are added to the Dutch model in 4 modalities: 27 separate risk-classes, 9 diagnosis-clusters based on main pathology category, 4 diagnosis-clusters based on residual costs, and the 4 clusters of modality 3 interacted with age.

Results

Although the cost-based risk-adjuster improves the model’s predictive power and removes the average undercompensation (€919) for enrollees with physiotherapy costs in the prior year, it is outperformed by all 4 diagnosis-based modalities. Of these modalities, modality 3 is preferred based on its simplicity and comparable predictive power.

Conclusions

Adding information on physiotherapy can further improve the performance of sophisticated RE-models. Regarding the Dutch model, a risk-adjuster containing 4 risk-classes for clustered diagnoses based on residual costs is the preferred modality.

     

Correlation of emotional labor and cortisol concentration in hair among female kindergarten teachers

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to explore whether two types of emotional labor, surface acting and deep acting, are related to hair cortisol concentration among kindergarten teachers.

Methods

Surface acting and deep acting over the last month were measured with the Chinese version of the emotional labor scale in 43 kindergarten teachers. Hair samples with 1 cm in length were cut from their posterior vertex region to represent cortisol excretion over one month. Cortisol concentrations were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.

Results

Positive association of emotion labor with hair cortisol concentration was significant for surface acting (r = 0.34, p < 0.05) and not significant for deep acting (r = 0.14, p > 0.05).

Conclusions

More surface acting showed to be associated stronger with stress responses or higher HPA axis activity.

     

Körperliche Aktivität zur Stärkung kognitiver Ressourcen

Background

Nursing care insurance funds are supposed to deliver preventive services in nursing homes. The strengthening of cognitive resources is considered as one field of action.

Aim

The preventive effectiveness of physical activity on cognitive performance in nursing home residents shall be evaluated.

Methods

A systematic search was carried out in the databases MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and PEDro. Results were combined in random-effects meta-analyses.

Results

Taking into account 13 primary studies, it was shown that those participating in physical activity showed statistically significant greater cognitive performance compared to controls (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.66, p = 00002). Subgroup analyses suggest that nursing home residents with different cognitive impairments might benefit from long-lasting physical activity interventions. Due to the high risk of bias in included studies, the results must be interpreted with caution.

Conclusion

Physical activity might be effective in the inpatient care setting. Further studies with longer intervention periods are required.

     

Individually tailored dietary counseling among old home care clients - Effects on nutritional status

Objective

To evaluate the effect of individually tailored dietary counseling on nutritional status among home care clients aged 75 years or older.

Design

Non-randomised controlled study.

Setting and participants

The study sample consisted of 224 home care clients (≥ 75 years) (intervention group, n = 127; control group, n = 100) who were at protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) or risk of PEM (MNA score <24 and plasma albumin <35 g/L).

Intervention

Individually tailored dietary counseling; the persons were instructed to increase their food intake with energy-dense food items, the number of meals they ate and their consumption of energy-, protein- and nutrient-rich snacks for six months.

Measurements

The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Body Mass Index (BMI) and plasma albumin were used to determine nutritional status at the baseline and after the six-month intervention.

Results

The mean age of the home care clients was 84.3 (SD 5.5) in the intervention group and 84.4 (SD 5.3) in the control group, and 70 percent were women in both groups. After the six-month nutritional intervention, the MNA score increased 2.3 points and plasma albumin 1.6 g/L in the intervention group, against MNA score decreased -0.2 points and plasma albumin -0.1 g/L in the control group.

Conclusions

Individually tailored dietary counseling may improve nutritional status among older home care clients.

     

Effects of 12-week supplementation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus bergamia</Emphasis> extracts-based formulation CitriCholess on cholesterol and body weight in older adults with dyslipidemia: a randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled trial

Backgrounds

Recent experiments suggest that Citrus bergamia extracts could benefit people with dyslipidemia and obesity but this needs to be further validated.

Methods

A total of 98 people age-matched older adults (65 years) with elevated blood lipids were enrolled to receive 12-week supplementation of a Citrus bergamia extracts-based formulation (CitriCholess)(n?=?48) and placebo (n?=?50).

Results

No group differences were found in baseline bodyweight, body mass index (BMI), blood cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and glucose levels. CitriCholess supplementation resulted in lower levels than placebo in TG (1.83?±?0.92 vs. 1.95?±?1.34 mmol/L, P?=?0.612), TC (5.14?±?0.98 vs. 5.44?±?0.77 mmol/L, P?=?0.097), and LDL-C (3.13?±?0.74 vs. 3.43?±?0.62 mmol/L, P?=?0.032). Compared to placebo, CitriCholess also resulted in greater reductions in body weight (?0.604?±?0.939 vs. 0.06?±?0.74 kg, P?<?0.01), waist circumferences (?0.60?±?1.349 cm vs. -0.16?±?1.503 cm, P?<?0.01) and BMI (?0.207?±?0.357 vs. 0.025?±?0.274, P?<?0.01). Additionally, females had a significantly higher level of HDL-C than males. TC was significantly correlated with LDL-C, and to a less degree, with TG. TG was inversely correlated with HDL-C. Body weight and waist circumference were negatively correlated with HDL-C and positively correlated with glucose.

Conclusion

12-week supplementation of CitriCholess could benefit lipid metabolism and weight management in old adults with dyslipidemia.

     

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and Children’s Cognitive Development

Background

Providing enriched learning environments is important to stimulating children’s development in early childhood. Early child-care policymakers in many states in the US have adopted Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a way to verify quality of child care and to support children’s school readiness.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between QRIS, a statewide government-funded early childhood care and education policy which integrates structural quality of child-care, and children’s cognitive skills.

Methods

A sample of randomly selected 313 children (mean age = 54.9 months, SD = 6.7) from 36 QRIS-participating early child-care programs was included in this study.

Results

Multilevel analysis with a latent variable (i.e., observed cognitive skills consisting of vocabulary, phonological awareness, and mathematical skills) revealed that children in the highest level of QRIS programs demonstrated better cognitive skills after controlling for child demographics, and home and neighborhood environments. In addition, QRIS moderated a negative association between family socioeconomic risk and children’s cognitive skills.

Conclusions

The results suggest that policymakers may expect positive returns on QRIS investments in terms of children’s early cognitive achievements that support their school readiness in later life.

     

The role of mindfulness in distress and quality of life for men with advanced prostate cancer

Objective

To examine the extent to which mindfulness skills influence psychological distress and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in men with metastatic or castration-resistant biochemical progression of prostate cancer.

Patients and methods

A cross-sectional survey of 190 men (46 % response; mean age 71 years, SD = 8.7, range 40–91 years) with advanced prostate cancer, assessed psychological and cancer-specific distress, HRQOL. Mindfulness skills were assessed as potential predictors of adjustment outcomes.

Results

Overall, 39 % of men reported high psychological distress. One third had accessed psychological support previously although only 10 % were under current psychological care. One quarter had accessed a prostate cancer support group in the past six months.Higher HRQOL and lower cancer-specific and global psychological distress were related to non-judging of inner experience (p < 0.001).Higher HRQOL and lower psychological distress were related to acting with awareness (p < 0.001). Lower distress was also related to higher non-reactivity to inner experience and a lower level of observing (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Men with advanced prostate cancer are at risk of poor psychological outcomes. Psychological flexibility may be a promising target for interventions to improve adjustment outcomes in this patient group.

Clinical Trial Registry

Trial Registration: ACTRN12612000306819