Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Multimorbidity in Old Age - A Scoping Review.

Multimorbidity disproportionally affects individuals exposed to socioeconomic disadvantage. It is, however, unclear how adverse socioeconomic conditions (SEC) at different periods of the life course predict the occurrence of multimorbidity in later life. In this scoping review, we investigate the association between life course SEC and later-life multimorbidity, and assess to which extent it supports different life course causal models (critical period, sensitive period, accumulation, pathway, or social mobility). We identified four studies (25,209 participants) with the first measure of SEC in childhood (before age 18). In these four studies, childhood SEC was associated with multimorbidity in old age, and the associations were partially or fully attenuated upon adjustment for later-life SEC. These results are consistent with the sensitive period and the pathway models. We identified five studies (91,236 participants) with the first measure of SEC in young adulthood (after age 18), and the associations with multimorbidity in old age as well as the effects of adjustment for later-life SEC differed from one study to the other. Among the nine included studies, none tested the social mobility or the accumulation models. In conclusion, SEC in early life could have an effect on multimorbidity, attenuated at least partly by SEC in adulthood

Inequalities in healthy life expectancy in Switzerland since 1990

La plupart des pays à haut revenu comme la Suisse connaissent un accroissement de l’espérance de vie, mais ce gain est-il le même pour tous ? Et est-il synonyme d’une vie plus longue en bonne santé pour tous ? Utilisant les données de la Cohorte Nationale Suisse et de l’Enquête suisse sur la santé, cette étude montre que les femmes et les hommes ont gagné respectivement 3 ans et 5 ans de vie totale et environ autant en bonne santé sur la période 1990 à 2014. Cependant, le gain d’espérance de vie en bonne santé n’est pas le même selon le niveau d’éducation, stagnant chez les personnes avec un niveau de formation bas (scolarité obligatoire) et augmentant plus vite que l’espérance de vie totale chez celles avec une formation universitaire. Ces résultats montrent que les progrès de santé sont inéquitablement répartis en Suisse

Growing discontent of Swiss doctors, 1998-2007

Background: Work satisfaction of doctors is a useful indicator of the functioning of the health-care system. We documented the work satisfaction of doctors nine years apart, before and after the implementation of several health-care reforms (limitation of working hours for medical trainees, restrictions on new doctors' offices, new reimbursement fee schedule, greater administrative controls). Methods: Two surveys of all doctors working in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland (1998: 1146 respondents, 2007: 1546 respondents). The doctors filled in a 17-item questionnaire rating their satisfaction with different aspects of their professional life, each on a scale between 1 and 7. For each item, proportions of highly satisfied (scores 6-7) and highly dissatisfied (scores 1-2) doctors were compared over time. Results: The proportion of doctors who were highly satisfied decreased significantly for 15 out of 17 items between 1998 and 2007. Meanwhile, ‘time available for family, friends, or leisure' improved, and ‘opportunity for continuing education' remained stable. Proportions of highly satisfied respondents decreased the most for ‘enjoyment of work' (−17.2%), ‘autonomy in treating your patients' (−15.8%), ‘autonomy in referring patients to a specialist' (−14.0%), ‘relations with patients' (−13.9%) and ‘global satisfaction with current work situation' (−13.3%). The proportion of respondents who were highly dissatisfied (score 1-2) increased the most for ‘administrative burden' (+8.9%) and ‘social status and respect' (+5.0%). Conclusions: Doctors' satisfaction with most aspects of their professional lives has decreased sharply during the past decade. This trend may be linked, tentatively, with specific policy change

Too Imperfect to Fall Asleep: Perfectionism, Pre-sleep Counterfactual Processing, and Insomnia

Previous research suggests that certain dimensions of perfectionism are associated with insomnia. However, the exact processes whereby perfectionism may influence sleep have as yet remained unexplored. The present study tested the hypothesis that perfectionistic individuals are particularly prone to engage in counterfactual thinking and to experience counterfactual emotions (regret, shame, and guilt) at bedtime, which have been shown to impair sleep. One hundred eighty university students completed questionnaires on perfectionism, counterfactual processing, and insomnia severity. Analyses revealed that three dimensions of perfectionism were significantly related to insomnia severity: Concern over mistakes and doubts about action showed positive correlations, whereas organization showed a negative correlation. Moreover, the frequency of counterfactual thoughts and emotions at bedtime largely mediated the effects of these dimensions of perfectionism on insomnia severity. These findings highlight how personality-related patterns of behavior may translate into affective arousal at bedtime, thereby increasing the risk of insomnia

When Illegitimate Tasks Threaten Patient Safety Culture: A Cross-Sectional Survey in a Tertiary Hospital.

Objectives: The current study investigates the prevalence of illegitimate tasks in a hospital setting and their association with patient safety culture outcomes, which has not been previously investigated. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a tertiary referral hospital. Patient safety culture outcomes were measured using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire; the primary outcome measures were a low safety rating for the respondent's unit and whether the respondent had completed one or more safety event reports in the last 12 months. Analyses were adjusted for hospital department and staff member characteristics relating to work and health. Results: A total of 2,276 respondents answered the survey (participation rate: 35.0%). Overall, 26.2% of respondents perceived illegitimate tasks to occur frequently, 8.1% reported a low level of safety in their unit, and 60.3% reported having completed one or more safety event reports. In multivariable analyses, perception of a higher frequency of illegitimate tasks was associated with a higher risk of reporting a low safety rating and with a higher chance of having completed event reports. Conclusion: The prevalence of perceived illegitimate tasks was rather high. A programme aiming to reduce illegitimate tasks could provide support for a causal effect of these tasks on safety culture outcomes

When Illegitimate Tasks Threaten Patient Safety Culture: A Cross-Sectional Survey in a Tertiary Hospital

Objectives: The current study investigates the prevalence of illegitimate tasks in a hospital setting and their association with patient safety culture outcomes, which has not been previously investigated.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a tertiary referral hospital. Patient safety culture outcomes were measured using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire; the primary outcome measures were a low safety rating for the respondent’s unit and whether the respondent had completed one or more safety event reports in the last 12 months. Analyses were adjusted for hospital department and staff member characteristics relating to work and health.Results: A total of 2,276 respondents answered the survey (participation rate: 35.0%). Overall, 26.2% of respondents perceived illegitimate tasks to occur frequently, 8.1% reported a low level of safety in their unit, and 60.3% reported having completed one or more safety event reports. In multivariable analyses, perception of a higher frequency of illegitimate tasks was associated with a higher risk of reporting a low safety rating and with a higher chance of having completed event reports.Conclusion: The prevalence of perceived illegitimate tasks was rather high. A programme aiming to reduce illegitimate tasks could provide support for a causal effect of these tasks on safety culture outcomes

Self-rated health: analysis of distances and transitions between response options

Purpose: We explored health differences between population groups who describe their health as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Methods: We used data from a population-based survey which included self-rated health (SRH) and three global measures of health: the SF36 general health score (computed from the 4 items other than SRH), the EQ-5D health utility, and a visual analogue health thermometer. We compared health characteristics of respondents across the five health ratings. Results: Survey respondents (N=1.844, 49.2% response) rated their health as excellent (12.2%), very good (39.1%), good (41.9%), fair (6.0%), or poor (0.9%). The means of global health assessments were not equidistant across these five groups, for example, means of the health thermometer were 95.8 (SRH excellent), 88.8 (SRH very good), 76.6 (SRH good), 49.7 (SRH fair), and 33.5 (SRH poor, p<0.001). Recoding the SRH to reflect these mean values substantially improved the variance explained by the SRH, for example, the linear r 2 increased from 0.50 to 0.56 for the health thermometer if the SRH was coded as poor=1, fair=2, good=3.7, very good=4.5, and excellent=5. Furthermore, transitions between response options were not explained by the same health-related characteristics of the respondents. Conclusions: The adjectival SRH is not an evenly spaced interval scale. However, it can be turned into an interval variable if the ratings are recoded in proportion to the underlying construct of health. Possible improvements include the addition of a rating option between good and fair or the use of a numerical scale instead of the classic adjectival scal

Self-rated health: analysis of distances and transitions between response options

Purpose: We explored health differences between population groups who describe their health as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Methods: We used data from a population-based survey which included self-rated health (SRH) and three global measures of health: the SF36 general health score (computed from the 4 items other than SRH), the EQ-5D health utility, and a visual analogue health thermometer. We compared health characteristics of respondents across the five health ratings. Results: Survey respondents (N=1.844, 49.2% response) rated their health as excellent (12.2%), very good (39.1%), good (41.9%), fair (6.0%), or poor (0.9%). The means of global health assessments were not equidistant across these five groups, for example, means of the health thermometer were 95.8 (SRH excellent), 88.8 (SRH very good), 76.6 (SRH good), 49.7 (SRH fair), and 33.5 (SRH poor, p<0.001). Recoding the SRH to reflect these mean values substantially improved the variance explained by the SRH, for example, the linear r 2 increased from 0.50 to 0.56 for the health thermometer if the SRH was coded as poor=1, fair=2, good=3.7, very good=4.5, and excellent=5. Furthermore, transitions between response options were not explained by the same health-related characteristics of the respondents. Conclusions: The adjectival SRH is not an evenly spaced interval scale. However, it can be turned into an interval variable if the ratings are recoded in proportion to the underlying construct of health. Possible improvements include the addition of a rating option between good and fair or the use of a numerical scale instead of the classic adjectival scal