International Law: Waiver of Sovereign Immunity

Background: Different recovery patterns are reported for those befallen a whip-lash injury, but little is known about the variability within subgroups. The aims were (1) to compare a self-selected mildly affected sample (MILD) with a self-selected moderately to severely affected sample (MOD/SEV) with regard to background characteristics and pain-related disability, pain intensity, functional self-efficacy, fear of movement/(re) injury, pain catastrophising, post-traumatic stress symptoms in the acute stage (at baseline), (2) to study the development over the first year after the accident for the above listed clinical variables in the MILD sample, and (3) to study the validity of a prediction model including baseline levels of clinical variables on pain-related disability one year after baseline assessments. Methods: The study had a prospective and correlative design. Ninety-eight participants were consecutively selected. Inclusion criteria; age 18 to 65 years, WAD grade I-II, Swedish language skills, and subjective report of not being in need of treatment due to mild symptoms. A multivariate linear regression model was applied for the prediction analysis. Results: The MILD sample was less affected in all study variables compared to the MOD/SEV sample. Pain-related disability, pain catastrophising, and post-traumatic stress symptoms decreased over the first year after the accident, whereas functional self-efficacy and fear of movement/(re) injury increased. Pain intensity was stable. Pain-related disability at baseline emerged as the only statistically significant predictor of pain-related disability one year after the accident (Adj r(2) = 0.67). Conclusion: A good prognosis over the first year is expected for the majority of individuals with WAD grade I or II who decline treatment due to mild symptoms. The prediction model was not valid in the MILD sample except for the contribution of pain-related disability. An implication is that early observations of individuals with elevated levels of pain-related disability are warranted, although they may decline treatment

A three-group study, internet-based, face-to-face based and standard- management after acute whiplash associated disorders (WAD) – choosing the most efficient and cost-effective treatment: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The management of Whiplash Associated Disorders is one of the most complicated challenges with high expenses for the health care system and society. There are still no general guidelines or scientific documentation to unequivocally support any single treatment for acute care following whiplash injury.</p> <p>The main purpose of this study is to try a new behavioural medicine intervention strategy at acute phase aimed to reduce the number of patients who have persistent problems after the whiplash injury. The goal is also to identify which of three different interventions that is most cost-effective for patients with Whiplash Associated Disorders. In this study we are controlling for two factors. First, the effect of behavioural medicine approach is compared with standard care. Second, the manner in which the behavioural medicine treatment is administered, Internet or face-to-face, is evaluated in it's effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The study is a randomized, prospective, experimental three-group study with analyses of cost-effectiveness up to two-years follow-up. <it>Internet – based programme </it>and <it>face-to-face group treatment programme </it>are compared to <it>standard-treatment </it>only. Patient follow-ups take place three, six, twelve and 24 months, that is, short-term as well as long-term effects are evaluated. Patients will be enrolled via the emergency ward during the first week after the accident.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This new self-help management will concentrate to those psychosocial factors that are shown to be predictive in long-term problems in Whiplash Associated Disorders, i.e. the importance of self-efficacy, fear of movement, and the significance of catastrophizing as a coping strategy for restoring and sustaining activities of daily life. Within the framework of this project, we will develop, broaden and evaluate current physical therapy treatment methods for acute Whiplash Associated Disorders. The project will contribute to the creation of a cost-effective behavioural medicine approach to management of acute Whiplash Associated Disorders. The results of this study will answer an important question; on what extent and how should these patients be treated at acute stage and how much does the best management cost.</p> <p>Trial registration number</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN61531337</p

A Behavioural Medicine Perspective on Acute Whiplash Associated Disorders : Daily Coping, Prognostic Factors and Tailored Treatment

The overall aim of this thesis was to study the daily process of coping, potential prognostic factors for recovery and evaluating an individually tailored behavioural medicine intervention in the acute stage of Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). The studies comprised three samples of patients with acute Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). All patients were included within the first month after the whiplash occurrence and were recruited from hospital emergency wards in six Swedish communities. Study I and II included 51 participants generating 260 daily coping diaries (WAD-DCA) during seven days in the acute stage of WAD. In Study I daily stressors and primary appraisal were analysed and in Study II patterns between stressors, appraisals, coping strategy profiles, daily activity level and well-being were described. The results showed a large variety of situations that the individuals perceive as stressful, not only pain itself. High self-efficacy was associated with high degree of physical/mental well-being. Threatening stressors and catastrophic thoughts were associated with low degree of physical and mental well-being. In Study III potential prognostic factors for good as well as poor recovery were studied more closely in a mildly affected sample (MIAS) (n=98) from within the first month after the accident up to one year later. Pain-related disability at baseline emerged as the only indicator of prognosis after 12 months in MIAS. Study IV (n=55) was a randomised control study, were current clinical recommendations of standard self-care instructions (SC) for the management of acute WAD was compared to an individually tailored behavioural medicine intervention delivered via Internet or face-to-face. The results showed that SC was not as effective as the behavioural medicine intervention. By early identification of situation-specific factors and potential behavioural (physical, cognitive and affective) determinants of activity performance, it seems possible to tailor a self-management intervention that decreases pain-related disability, fear of movement and catastrophising and increases self-efficacy. The use of innovative methods such as the Internet of distributing treatment interventions showed to be a good alternative to more traditional forms. The results of this thesis uncover new insights in understanding the individual’s specific perspective as applied in a behavioural medicine approach in acute WAD

A Behavioural Medicine Perspective on Acute Whiplash Associated Disorders : Daily Coping, Prognostic Factors and Tailored Treatment

The overall aim of this thesis was to study the daily process of coping, potential prognostic factors for recovery and evaluating an individually tailored behavioural medicine intervention in the acute stage of Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). The studies comprised three samples of patients with acute Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). All patients were included within the first month after the whiplash occurrence and were recruited from hospital emergency wards in six Swedish communities. Study I and II included 51 participants generating 260 daily coping diaries (WAD-DCA) during seven days in the acute stage of WAD. In Study I daily stressors and primary appraisal were analysed and in Study II patterns between stressors, appraisals, coping strategy profiles, daily activity level and well-being were described. The results showed a large variety of situations that the individuals perceive as stressful, not only pain itself. High self-efficacy was associated with high degree of physical/mental well-being. Threatening stressors and catastrophic thoughts were associated with low degree of physical and mental well-being. In Study III potential prognostic factors for good as well as poor recovery were studied more closely in a mildly affected sample (MIAS) (n=98) from within the first month after the accident up to one year later. Pain-related disability at baseline emerged as the only indicator of prognosis after 12 months in MIAS. Study IV (n=55) was a randomised control study, were current clinical recommendations of standard self-care instructions (SC) for the management of acute WAD was compared to an individually tailored behavioural medicine intervention delivered via Internet or face-to-face. The results showed that SC was not as effective as the behavioural medicine intervention. By early identification of situation-specific factors and potential behavioural (physical, cognitive and affective) determinants of activity performance, it seems possible to tailor a self-management intervention that decreases pain-related disability, fear of movement and catastrophising and increases self-efficacy. The use of innovative methods such as the Internet of distributing treatment interventions showed to be a good alternative to more traditional forms. The results of this thesis uncover new insights in understanding the individual’s specific perspective as applied in a behavioural medicine approach in acute WAD

A Behavioural Medicine Perspective on Acute Whiplash Associated Disorders : Daily Coping, Prognostic Factors and Tailored Treatment

The overall aim of this thesis was to study the daily process of coping, potential prognostic factors for recovery and evaluating an individually tailored behavioural medicine intervention in the acute stage of Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). The studies comprised three samples of patients with acute Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). All patients were included within the first month after the whiplash occurrence and were recruited from hospital emergency wards in six Swedish communities. Study I and II included 51 participants generating 260 daily coping diaries (WAD-DCA) during seven days in the acute stage of WAD. In Study I daily stressors and primary appraisal were analysed and in Study II patterns between stressors, appraisals, coping strategy profiles, daily activity level and well-being were described. The results showed a large variety of situations that the individuals perceive as stressful, not only pain itself. High self-efficacy was associated with high degree of physical/mental well-being. Threatening stressors and catastrophic thoughts were associated with low degree of physical and mental well-being. In Study III potential prognostic factors for good as well as poor recovery were studied more closely in a mildly affected sample (MIAS) (n=98) from within the first month after the accident up to one year later. Pain-related disability at baseline emerged as the only indicator of prognosis after 12 months in MIAS. Study IV (n=55) was a randomised control study, were current clinical recommendations of standard self-care instructions (SC) for the management of acute WAD was compared to an individually tailored behavioural medicine intervention delivered via Internet or face-to-face. The results showed that SC was not as effective as the behavioural medicine intervention. By early identification of situation-specific factors and potential behavioural (physical, cognitive and affective) determinants of activity performance, it seems possible to tailor a self-management intervention that decreases pain-related disability, fear of movement and catastrophising and increases self-efficacy. The use of innovative methods such as the Internet of distributing treatment interventions showed to be a good alternative to more traditional forms. The results of this thesis uncover new insights in understanding the individual’s specific perspective as applied in a behavioural medicine approach in acute WAD

The clinical course of pain-related disability over the first year in whiplash associated disorders : Description and prediction of outcome in an initially mildly affected sample

Background: Different recovery patterns are reported for those befallen a whip-lash injury, but little is known about the variability within subgroups. The aims were (1) to compare a self-selected mildly affected sample (MILD) with a self-selected moderately to severely affected sample (MOD/SEV) with regard to background characteristics and pain-related disability, pain intensity, functional self-efficacy, fear of movement/(re) injury, pain catastrophising, post-traumatic stress symptoms in the acute stage (at baseline), (2) to study the development over the first year after the accident for the above listed clinical variables in the MILD sample, and (3) to study the validity of a prediction model including baseline levels of clinical variables on pain-related disability one year after baseline assessments. Methods: The study had a prospective and correlative design. Ninety-eight participants were consecutively selected. Inclusion criteria; age 18 to 65 years, WAD grade I-II, Swedish language skills, and subjective report of not being in need of treatment due to mild symptoms. A multivariate linear regression model was applied for the prediction analysis. Results: The MILD sample was less affected in all study variables compared to the MOD/SEV sample. Pain-related disability, pain catastrophising, and post-traumatic stress symptoms decreased over the first year after the accident, whereas functional self-efficacy and fear of movement/(re) injury increased. Pain intensity was stable. Pain-related disability at baseline emerged as the only statistically significant predictor of pain-related disability one year after the accident (Adj r(2) = 0.67). Conclusion: A good prognosis over the first year is expected for the majority of individuals with WAD grade I or II who decline treatment due to mild symptoms. The prediction model was not valid in the MILD sample except for the contribution of pain-related disability. An implication is that early observations of individuals with elevated levels of pain-related disability are warranted, although they may decline treatment

The clinical course of pain-related disability over the first year in whiplash associated disorders : Description and prediction of outcome in an initially mildly affected sample

Background: Different recovery patterns are reported for those befallen a whip-lash injury, but little is known about the variability within subgroups. The aims were (1) to compare a self-selected mildly affected sample (MILD) with a self-selected moderately to severely affected sample (MOD/SEV) with regard to background characteristics and pain-related disability, pain intensity, functional self-efficacy, fear of movement/(re) injury, pain catastrophising, post-traumatic stress symptoms in the acute stage (at baseline), (2) to study the development over the first year after the accident for the above listed clinical variables in the MILD sample, and (3) to study the validity of a prediction model including baseline levels of clinical variables on pain-related disability one year after baseline assessments. Methods: The study had a prospective and correlative design. Ninety-eight participants were consecutively selected. Inclusion criteria; age 18 to 65 years, WAD grade I-II, Swedish language skills, and subjective report of not being in need of treatment due to mild symptoms. A multivariate linear regression model was applied for the prediction analysis. Results: The MILD sample was less affected in all study variables compared to the MOD/SEV sample. Pain-related disability, pain catastrophising, and post-traumatic stress symptoms decreased over the first year after the accident, whereas functional self-efficacy and fear of movement/(re) injury increased. Pain intensity was stable. Pain-related disability at baseline emerged as the only statistically significant predictor of pain-related disability one year after the accident (Adj r(2) = 0.67). Conclusion: A good prognosis over the first year is expected for the majority of individuals with WAD grade I or II who decline treatment due to mild symptoms. The prediction model was not valid in the MILD sample except for the contribution of pain-related disability. An implication is that early observations of individuals with elevated levels of pain-related disability are warranted, although they may decline treatment

Construct validity of the Mini-BESTest in individuals with chronic pain in specialized pain care

Abstract Background Balance assessment scales are important clinical tests to identify balance impairments. Chronic pain (> 3 months) is associated with impaired dynamic balance; however, very few balance assessment scales are psychometrically evaluated for the population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of the Mini-BESTest for individuals with chronic pain in specialized pain care. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 180 individuals with chronic pain (> 3 months) were assessed with the Mini-BESTest and included in the analyses. For construct validity, five alternative factor structures were evaluated using a confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, we tested the a priori hypotheses about convergent validity with the 10-meter walk test, and divergent validity with the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI): pain intensity, the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia-11 (TSK-11), and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-SW). Internal consistency was evaluated for the model with the best fit. Results A one-factor model with added covariance via the modification indices showed adequate fit indices. In line with our hypotheses, Mini-BESTest showed convergent validity (rs = > 0.70) with the 10-meter walk test, and divergent validity (rs = < 0.50) with BPI pain intensity, TSK-11, and PCS-SW. Internal consistency for the one-factor model was good (α = 0.92). Conclusions Our study supported the construct validity and internal consistency of the Mini-BESTest for measuring balance in individuals with chronic pain, who were referred to specialized pain care. The one-factor model showed an adequate fit. In comparison, models with subscales did not reach convergence, or showed high correlations between subscales, implying that Mini-BESTest is measuring one construct in this sample. We, therefore, propose using the total score, instead of subscale scores, for individuals with chronic pain. However, further studies are necessary to establish the reliability of the Mini-BESTest in the population

Level of physical activity in men and women with chronic stroke.

INTRODUCTION: Community-dwelling stroke survivors generally show low levels of physical activity (PA). An improved understanding of the factors influencing participation in PA after stroke is imperative to improve levels of PA. Furthermore, gender differences in PA have received little attention in stroke research. The objective of this study was to examine gender differences in PA, physical functioning and psychological factors and the association between these factors and PA in men and women 1-3-year post-stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 187 community-dwelling individuals with stroke (65-85 years old, 29% women) were included in a secondary analysis based on data from a cross-sectional study. The exclusion criteria were severe cognitive or language dysfunction or dementia. The level of PA was measured by the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly. Physical function included balance, walking speed and mobility. Psychological factors included depression, health-related quality of life and fall-related self-efficacy. Falls and fear of falling were each measured with a single question. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in PA levels between men and women. In multiple regression analyses, walking speed (p &lt; 0.001) was associated with PA in men, and balance (p = 0.038) was associated with PA in women. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that strategies to increase PA levels 1-3-year post-stroke could be improved by considering gender-specific factors

Systematic review of rehabilitation in focal dystonias : classification and recommendations

Background Rehabilitation interventions are rarely utilized as an alternative or adjunct therapy for focal dystonias. Reasons for limited utilization are unknown, but lack of conclusive evidence of effectiveness is likely a crucial factor. Methods and Findings The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the level of evidence for rehabilitation interventions in focal dystonias. Rehabilitation interventions were classified based upon the underlying theoretical basis of different approaches, and the strength of evidence for each category was evaluated to identify gaps in the field. Prospective studies using rehabilitation methods in cervical, hand, and foot dystonia were reviewed. The key elements of treatments tested were identified and studies were grouped into six categories based on the theoretical basis of the intervention: (1) movement practice, (2) training with constraint, (3) sensory reorganization, (4) normalization of muscle activity with external techniques, (5) neuromodulation with training, and (6) compensatory strategies. Quality of the body of evidence ranged from very low‐to‐low according to the grades of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE). Despite inconclusive evidence for these rehabilitation approaches, data suggest that intensive movement practice and neuromodulation combined with motor training should be further explored. Conclusions This systematic review presents a novel approach to classify studies of rehabilitation in focal dystonias based on the theoretical basis of intervention. The proposed classification system will move toward a unified theoretical understanding of rehabilitation interventions in dystonia. Moreover, it will help provide recommendations for clinical applications and future investigations