Reconceptualising relocation for specialist treatment: insights from New Zealand

Purpose  

To date, the research on relocation has been conducted in countries such as Australia where there are vast distances that need to be travelled by regional, rural and remote patients to access specialist metropolitan treatment. This research considers the issue of relocation for specialist treatment in a New Zealand context.     

The Effects of Caregiving on Women's Self-Assessed Health Status: An International Comparison

To compare the self-assessed health status (SAHS) of female caregivers of older adults across the United States (N = 1,496), China (N = 485), and the United Kingdom (N = 252), data from three data sets were analyzed to isolate significant predictors of SAHS using an adapted meta-analytic technique. Higher income and full-time employment were predictors of higher SAHS; chronic health condition and emotional strain predicted lower SAHS. Female gender was a predictor of lower SAHS. The health status of women was negatively impacted by the caregiving experience. National policies, such as those in the United Kingdom, may result in higher SAHS for women caregivers.     

Work satisfaction and career aspirations of internists working in teaching hospital group practices

This paper presents data on the characteristics, work activities, job-related stress, work satisfaction, and career aspirations of 150 faculty and 595 housestaff physicians who regularly provide continuous primary care in 15 teaching hospital-based group practices. The faculty were young, board-certified generalists; they had been recruited from local training programs and spent the majority of their time seeing patients and supervising housestaff. Job satisfaction among faculty and housestaff was generally high. Dissatisfaction occurred most often with aspects of work over which physicians had little control. Although work-related stress was common, it was not related to job satisfaction. Compared with housestaff in traditional residency programs, housestaff enrolled in special Primary Care Training Programs reported significantly greater job satisfaction. For all housestaff, satisfaction with work in the group practice was consistently associated with decreased interest in subspecialty training. assisted in preparing this report. Received from the Department of Medicine and the School of Public Health, UCLA Center for the Health Sciences. Los Angeles. California. Supported by Grant #59082 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.     

The prevention of osteoporosis and sarcopenia in older adults

Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are common in older adults. Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Bone fractures can result in changes in posture, pain, the need for surgical repair and functional impairment. Sarcopenia is the progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength and/or physical performance. Older adults with sarcopenia experience increased risk of frailty, disability, hospitalizations, mortality, and a reduced quality of life. In this narrative review we provide guidance regarding the prevention of both osteoporosis and sarcopenia, including interventions that prevent both conditions from occurring, recommended screening and treatment to prevent progression.