The Relative Contribution of Domains of Quality of Life to Overall Quality of Life for Different Chronic Diseases

This study examined the contribution of the quality of life (QoL) domains physical, social and psychological functioning to the explanation of overall QoL. Various disorders may differentially affect QoL domains due to disease-specific factors and, consequently, the relationship between QoL domains and overall QoL may vary between diseases. We therefore studied this relationship for several diseases as well as the differential impact of these diseases on QoL. The present study had a cross-sectional design. We selected patients (aged 57 years and older) with one of the following eight chronic medical conditions: lung disorder, heart condition, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, back problems, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, or dermatological disorders. The total group of respondents included 1457 patients and 1851 healthy subjects. Regression analyses showed that the domain of psychological functioning contributed to overall QoL for all disorders, whereas physical and social functioning contributed to overall QoL for some disorders. Differences were found between most patient groups and healthy subjects with respect to physical functioning; with respect to social and psychological functioning some groups differed from the healthy group. Explanations for the findings and implications for clinical practice are discussed.     

Very old people’s use of the pedestrian environment: functional limitations, frequency of activity and environmental demands

Due to decreased functional capacity as well as high environmental demands there is a risk of diminishing activity outside home in very old age (age 80+). In order to explore differences according to functional limitations (FL) among very old people with respect to frequency of activity, perceived health, overall perception of neighbourhood environment, and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment, data derived from a postal questionnaire survey to very old people living in an urban area in Sweden were used. This explorative study is based on the sub-sample of people aged 80+ who reported outdoor activities (n = 97). Four groups of respondents with different types of FL were identified: with no FL (n = 23), with only movement-related FL (n = 26), with only perception/cognition-related FL (n = 16), and with both movement- and perception/ cognition-related FL (n = 32). The majority of the respondents reported rather high frequency of activity outside home. When examining differences between the four groups, the analysis indicated how the complexity of FL and perceived problems in the pedestrian environment impacted on their activity performance. Persons with both movement- and perception/cognition-related FL were less satisfied with their frequency of activity, experienced their health more negatively and experienced more problems in the pedestrian environment than in the other groups. The findings from this study indicate the importance of considering combinations of FL in creating supportive environments for activity and health.     

血液病患者对健康教育需求的调查与分析

目的　探讨血液病患者及家属对健康教育的需求。方法　选择 4 35例患者填写调查问卷 ,同时随机选择 4 35例患者家属进行了解 ,对结果进行处理。结果　患者及家属对健康教育的需求很高 ,主要集中在治疗、自我保健等方面。结论　针对不同患者的个体差异制订不同的健康教育内容 ,提高了护理质量 ,使患者受益 ;增强了护理人员专业素质 ;建立了新型的护患关系。     

Induced abortion in China and the advances of post abortion family planning service

<正>This is a review of current situation of induced abortion and post abortion family planning service in China. Induced abortion is an important issue in reproductive health. This article reviewed the distribution of induced abortion in various time, areas, and population in China, and explored the character, reason, and harm to reproductive health of induced abortion. Furthermore, this article introduces the concept of Quality of Care Program in Family Planning, and discusses how important and necessary it is to introduce Quality of Care Program in Family Planning to China.     

Health status,work limitations,and return-to-work trajectories in injured workers with musculoskeletal disorders

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the health status and work limitations in injured workers with musculoskeletal disorders at 1 month post-injury, stratified by return-to-work status, and to document their return-to-work trajectories 6 months post-injury. METHODS: A sample of 632 workers with a back or upper extremity musculoskeletal disorder, who filed a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board lost-time claim injury, participated in this prospective study. Participants were assessed at baseline (1 month post-injury) and at 6 months follow-up. RESULTS: One month post-injury, poor physical health, high levels of depressive symptoms and high work limitations are prevalent in workers, including in those with a sustained first return to work. Workers with a sustained first return to work report a better health status and fewer work limitations than those who experienced a recurrence of work absence or who never returned to work. Six months post-injury, the rate of recurrence of work absence in the trajectories of injured workers who have made at least one return to work attempt is high (38%), including the rate for workers with an initial sustained first return to work (27%). CONCLUSIONS: There are return-to-work status specific health outcomes in injured workers. A sustained first return to work is not equivalent to a complete recovery from musculoskeletal disorders.     

Nurse Migration: A Canadian Case Study

Objective. To synthesize information about nurse migration in and out of Canada and analyze its role as a policy lever to address the Canadian nursing shortage.
Principal Findings. Canada is both a source and a destination country for international nurse migration with an estimated net loss of nurses. The United States is the major beneficiary of Canadian nurse emigration resulting from the reduction of full-time jobs for nurses in Canada due to health system reforms. Canada faces a significant projected shortage of nurses that is too large to be ameliorated by ethical international nurse recruitment and immigration.
Conclusions. The current and projected shortage of nurses in Canada is a product of health care cost containment policies that failed to take into account long-term consequences for nurse workforce adequacy. An aging nurse workforce, exacerbated by layoffs of younger nurses with less seniority, and increasing demand for nurses contribute to a projection of nurse shortage that is too great to be solved ethically through international nurse recruitment. National policies to increase domestic nurse production and retention are recommended in addition to international collaboration among developed countries to move toward greater national nurse workforce self sufficiency.     

Income-related health inequality in Belgium: a longitudinal perspective

This paper provides new evidence on the degree of income-related inequality in self-assessed health in Belgium. First of all, we combine the time dimension, which has been shown to be very important in the analysis of inequality, and the use of the recently developed interval regression approach to transform a categorical health variable in a continuous one. Second, we measure how the long-run inequality differs from the short-run inequality. Finally, we decompose this health-related income mobility index as well as the long-run concentration index (CI) itself into its contributors. Using data from the panel survey of Belgian households (1994–2002), we find that health is pro-rich distributed and that its inequality is underestimated by 9.45% when neglecting the dynamics of individuals over time. Income, education, job status and age are the most important contributors in the CI and the difference between the short-run and long-run inequality.      

行为干预对慢性乙型肝炎患者健康相关行为影响的研究

目的 观察行为干预对慢性乙型肝炎患者健康行为的影响。方法 将300例慢性乙型肝炎患者作为目标人群进行健康教育，建立目标人群管理档案，进行目标人群健康行为干预，比较教育前后相关行为的改变。结果 慢性乙型肝炎患者8项健康行为和8项危险健康行为有明显改观，差异具有统计学意义（P〈0．01）。结论 通过行为干预，有效地使慢性乙型肝炎患者完全遵从医嘱合理用药，完全依从健康行为，从而减少危险行为的发生。