The PedsQL™ as a patient-reported outcome in children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common chronic mental health condition in children and adolescents. The application of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as a pediatric population health measure may facilitate risk assessment and resource allocation, the identification of health disparities, and the determination of health outcomes from interventions and policy decisions for children and adolescents with ADHD at the local community, state, and national health level. METHODS: An analysis from an existing statewide database to determine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the 23-item PedsQL™ 4.0 (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™) Generic Core Scales as a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure of pediatric population health for children and adolescents with ADHD. The PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales (Physical, Emotional, Social, School Functioning) were completed by families through a statewide mail survey to evaluate the HRQOL of new enrollees in the State of California State's Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Seventy-two children ages 5–16 self-reported their HRQOL. RESULTS: The PedsQL™ 4.0 evidenced minimal missing responses, achieved excellent reliability for the Total Scale Score (α = 0.92 child self-report, 0.92 parent proxy-report), and distinguished between healthy children and children with ADHD. Children with ADHD self-reported severely impaired psychosocial functioning, comparable to children with newly-diagnosed cancer and children with cerebral palsy. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that population health monitoring may identify children with ADHD at risk for adverse HRQOL. The implications of measuring pediatric HRQOL for evaluating the population health outcomes of children with ADHD internationally are discussed

Myth or Memory? Recollections of Penal Times in Irish Folklore

Stories of priests being hunted down and murdered at Mass Rocks by priest catchers and soldiers during the Penal era in Ireland persist to the present day. Using Ó Ciosáin’s (2004) tripartite taxonomy of memory this paper explores the reasons why these images continue to dominate and reflect persecuted nature of Catholicism

Bodin Now; or, What's Wrong with Intellectual History?

Contains fulltext : 229717.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access

Preventable hospitalizations among adult Medicaid beneficiaries with concurrent substance use disorders

Objective: We aim to examine the relationships between substance use disorders and preventable hospitalizations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions among adult Medicaid beneficiaries. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis using de-identified Medicaid claims data in 2012 from 177,568 beneficiaries in Missouri was conducted. Logistic regression models were estimated for the associations of substance use disorder status with Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, demographics, chronic physical and mental illnesses. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions assessed substance use disorders, hospitalization for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, and length of hospital stay for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions adjusting for co-morbid physical illnesses, mental illnesses and demographics. Results: Over 12% of the sample had been diagnosed for substance use disorder. Beneficiaries with substance use disorder were more likely than Nonsubstance use disorder beneficiaries to have admissions for chronic conditions including short/long-term complications of diabetes, uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma, but not for acute conditions. While substance use disorder beneficiaries were more likely than Nonsubstance use disorder beneficiaries to be hospitalized for any Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions; there were no statistical differences between the two groups in terms of length of hospital stays. Conclusions: Substance use disorder is statistically associated with hospitalizations for most Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions but not with length of hospital stay for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions, after adjusting for covariates. The significant associations between substance use disorder and Ambulatory Care Sensitive Condition admissions suggest unmet primary health care needs for substance use disorder beneficiaries and a need for integrated primary/behavioral healthcare