ICF-Based Assessment of Functioning in Daily Clinical Practice. A Promising Direction Toward Patient-Centred Care in Patients With Low Back Pain

Background: Patient-centred care has received increased attention in recent years. Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) and shared decision-making are key components of Patient-Centred care. Low back pain (LBP) is a complex symptom affected by multiple, interacting factors. Therefore, evidence strongly recommend a biopsychosocial and patient-centred approach in the assessment and management. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provide a biopsychosocial model for describing functioning and disability. ICF is widely acknowledged, but implementation into clinical practice is lacking. To support the use of a biopsychosocial and patient-centred approach in daily clinical practice among patients with LBP we developed a practice-friendly tool based on ICF; the LBP assessment tool.Objective: To compare an ICF-based assessment facilitated by the LBP assessment tool with standard care in terms of the use of PROs and shared decision-making in order to promote patient-centred care in patients with LBP.Methods: A non-randomized controlled design was used. Eligible patients were allocated to one of two groups: the ICF group, assessed with the LBP assessment tool or the control group, assessed with a conventional LBP assessment. Primary outcome includes use of PROs. Secondary outcomes include use of a graphical overview displaying the patient profile and shared decision-making. A patient evaluation questionnaire was used to collect data.Results: Seven hundred ten patients were assessed for eligibility of whom 531 were allocated to the ICF group (n = 299) or the control group (n = 232). A significantly higher use of PRO data (p < 0.00) and the patient profile (p < 0.00) was reported in favor of the ICF group. Patients in the ICF group also experienced being more involved in decision-making (p = 0.01).Conclusions: This study showed that a functioning assessment, by means of the LBP assessment tool, increased use of PROs and shared decision-making when compared to a conventional LBP assessment. Additionally, this study demonstrated that routine use of ICF-based PRO data and shared decision-making promoted patient-centred care in patients with LBP. The LBP assessment tool may be a strong candidate for a user-friendly ICF-based tool with the potential to support health professionals in a shift toward a biopsychosocial and patient-centred approach to patients with LBP

CONTINUITY OF RESEARCH AND RESEARCH OF CONTINUITY: BASIC RESEARCH ON SETTLEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON AGE IN THE BALTIC REGION. A NEW LONG-TERM RESEARCH PROJECT BY THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND LITERATURE IN SCHLESWIG AND BERLIN

After several years of successful investigations in former East Prussia (today the Kaliningradskaya Oblast of the Russian Federation) and investigations in neighbouring countries around the Baltic Sea, the Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology in Schleswig (ZBSA) in Germany has expanded its research plans for the next 18 years. The application for the project ‘Forschungskontinuität und Kontinuitätsforschung – Siedlungsarchäologische Grundlagenforschung zur Eisenzeit im Baltikum’ (Continuity of Research and Research of Continuity: Basic Research on Settlement Archaeology of the Iron Age in the Baltic Region), submitted in June 2010, was accepted by the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz in December 2011.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v17i0.4

A study of dilute to dense flow in a circulating fluidized bed

. This work concerns a experimental and numerical study on how the amount of particles influences the flow in the CFB. Experiments are performed with a 1D Laser and Phase Doppler anemometry, whereby data of axial velocity, RMS velocity and particle diameter is obtained. The numerical simulations are based on a Multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics code, where the conservation equations for the solid phases are based on the kinetic theory of granular flow. The experimental data is used to evaluate the multiphase CFD code with alternative gas-solid drag models, which showed an improved agreement with the experimental findings

Evaluation Of A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model Of A Scaled Circulating Fluidized Bed

This work concerns evaluation of a numerical model of a scaled circulating fluidized bed, CFB, with a square cross-section. The evaluation consists of a comparison of the numerical results with measurements achieved with Laser Doppler Anemometry, LDA, and pressure taps. The CFB is fluidized using metal particles, which enable the lab-scale CFB to be operated under scaled conditions of a full-scale CFB. The numerical part is based on a 3D multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics, CFD, model that uses an Eulerian description for the gas and solid phases. The conservation equations for the solid phases are based on the kinetic theory for granular flow, which provide adequate modelling of the solid phase when using the Eulerian approach. Three-dimensional simulations is found to be superior to two-dimensional simulations when compared to the experimental findings. This manuscript is submitted for the special issue of IECR to be published in conjunction with the United Engineering Foundation-CRE VIII conference to be held June 23-29, 2001 in Barga, Ital