The application of the drug user quality of life scale (DUQOL) in Australia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The concept of quality of life relates to the perceptions of individuals about their mental and physical health as well as non-health related areas. The evaluation of quality of life in the context of substance abuse has been conducted using generic instruments. The Drug Users Quality of Life Scale (DUQOL) is a specific assessment tool in which the most pertinent and salient areas to drug abusers are taken into consideration. In this study, the authors report the results of a validation study in which the DUQOL was used for the first time in Australia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sample of 120 participants from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities completed a series of questionnaires, including the DUQOL and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF). Parameters investigated in this study included the demographic characteristics of the sample, internal structure, and convergent validity. Correlations between the DUQOL scale scores and the scores of the WHOQOL-Bref test were investigated via Pearson product-moment correlation analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The English version of the DUQOL attained a significant overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.868. The factorial analysis of the DUQOL identified one principal factor that accounted for 28.499% of the variance. Convergent validity analyses demonstrate significant correlations (<it>p </it>< 0.01) between the DUQOL scores and the scores of all four dimensions of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study demonstrates that the DUQOL constitutes a reliable research instrument for evaluating quality of life of substance users in Australia.</p

Comparison and concordance of health-related quality of life tests among substance users

Background: In the field of drug and alcohol abuse, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been used as an important clinical and research outcome. The aim of this study was to establish score linkages (concordance) among three HRQoL assessment tools: WHOQOL-BREF, DUQOL and HRQOLDA scores, applying a Rasch-based common person equating procedure. Methods: One hundred and twenty one adults were recruited from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities in Sydney West Area Health Service. WHOQOL-BREF, DUQOL and HRQOLDA tests were administered. Item parameters were calculated applying Rating Scale Model, a Rasch model. Results: Fit statistics suggest acceptable goodness-of-fit to the RSM for three instruments. Correlations between HRQOLDA and WHOQOL-BREF and between HRQOLDA and DUQOL scores were 0.719 and 0.613, and the RiU index was 30.4 % and 20.9 %, respectively. All three tests performed adequately for differentiating between individuals whose scores are located at different points along the continuum of the HRQoL construct. Conclusion: The results demonstrated a higher concordance between the HRQoLDA and WHOQOL-BREF than between the HRQoLDA and the DUQOL. However, it cannot be established unequivocally that the scores of these tools are concordant. In this study, the utility of the application of the Rasch model to provide an empirical benchmark for the selection of measurement tools to be used in the context of health care and research is demonstrated

Denitrification coupled with methane anoxic oxidation and microbial community involved identification

In this work, the biological denitrification associated with anoxic oxidation of methane and the microbial diversity involved were studied. Kinetic tests for nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) removal and methane uptake were carried out in 100 mL batch reactors incubated in a shaker (40 rpm) at 30 ºC. Denitrificant/methanotrophic biomass was taken from a laboratory scale reactor fed with synthetic nitrified substrates (40 mgN L-1 of NO3- and subsequently NO2-) and methane as carbon source. Results obtained from nitrate removal followed a first order reaction, presenting a kinetic apparent constant (kNO3)) of 0.0577±0.0057d-1. Two notable points of the denitrification rate (0.12gNO3--N g-1 AVS d-1 and 0.07gNO3--N g-1 AVS d-1) were observed in the beginning and on the seventh day of operation. When nitrite was added as an electron acceptor, denitrification rates were improved, presenting an apparent kinetic constant (kNO2) of 0.0722±0.0044d-1, a maximum denitrification rate of 0.6gNO2--N g-1AVS d-1, and minimum denitrification rate of 0.1gNO2--N g-1AVS d-1 at the beginning and end of the test, respectively. Endogenous material supporting denitrification and methane concentration dissolved in the substrate was discarded from the control experiments in the absence of methane and seed, respectively. Methylomonas sp. was identified in the reactors fed with nitrate and nitrite as well as uncultured bacterium.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

An Assessment of Maternal Quality of Life in the Postpartum Period in Southern Brazil: A Comparison of Two Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: To assess maternal quality of life (QoL) during the postpartum period and to compare the performance of two QoL questionnaires across a sample of 101 women in southern Brazil. To our knowledge, this is the first study that measures maternal quality of life during the postpartum period in Brazil. INTRODUCTION: There is limited information about postpartum maternal quality of life in Brazil. The are no Portuguese versions of instruments specifically designed to measure quality of life during the postpartum period. METHODS: Research participants completed the Portuguese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Bref (WHOQOL-BREF) and Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) questionnaires. The correlations between the MQLI and the discrete areas of WHOQOL-BREF were examined using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients. RESULTS: We report a significant correlation between the global MQLI and the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF scores (p < 0.01). An analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in mean scores in the Psychological and Environment domains according to different socio-economic strata: F (3, 97) = 3.81, p = 0.012 and F (3, 97) = 4.03, p = 0.01, respectively. DISCUSSION: The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire may be more sensitive than the MQLI in detecting the impact of socioeconomic status on the QoL of postpartum women. CONCLUSION: The sample of postpartum women evaluated in this study presented favorable QoL scores according to both the MQLI and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires. Our results also indicate that the WHOQOL-BREF and the MQLI questionnaires have a significant correlation in terms of their assessments of postpartum mothers

An assessment of maternal quality of life in the postpartum period in southern Brazil: a comparson of two questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: To assess maternal quality of life (QoL) during the postpartum period and to compare the performance of two QoL questionnaires across a sample of 101 women in southern Brazil. To our knowledge, this is the first study that measures maternal quality of life during the postpartum period in Brazil. INTRODUCTION: There is limited information about postpartum maternal quality of life in Brazil. The are no Portuguese versions of instruments specifically designed to measure quality of life during the postpartum period. METHODS: Research participants completed the Portuguese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Bref (WHOQOL-BREF) and Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) questionnaires. The correlations between the MQLI and the discrete areas of WHOQOL-BREF were examined using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients. RESULTS: We report a significant correlation between the global MQLI and the four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF scores (p < 0.01). An analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in mean scores in the Psychological and Environment domains according to different socio-economic strata: F (3, 97) = 3.81, p = 0.012 and F (3, 97) = 4.03, p = 0.01, respectively. DISCUSSION: The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire may be more sensitive than the MQLI in detecting the impact of socioeconomic status on the QoL of postpartum women. CONCLUSION: The sample of postpartum women evaluated in this study presented favorable QoL scores according to both the MQLI and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires. Our results also indicate that the WHOQOL-BREF and the MQLI questionnaires have a significant correlation in terms of their assessments of postpartum mothers

Investigating quality of life and depressive symptoms in the postpartum period

Background: Mood disturbances represent the most frequent form of maternal psychiatric morbidity in the postpartum period. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the impact of postpartum depression on the mother's quality of life. Research question or problem: The present study aims to assess the quality of life of a sample of mothers in Southern Brazil, in order to investigate the association between postpartum depression and quality of life (QoL) standards. Participants and methods: This study investigates a sample of 101 adult volunteers who completed the Portuguese version World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-Bref (WHOQOL-Bref) and Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) questionnaires. Postnatal depressive symptoms were evaluated through the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to predict the overall PDSS and EPDS scores. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation coefficients were computed between the global scores of the quality of life measurements and the screening questionnaires for postnatal depression. Results: Both socio-economic status and quality of life have influenced significantly the depressive symptomatology and correlated epiphenomena. Significant correlations were observed among scores of postpartum depression screening tools and quality of life questionnaires. The socio-economic status of research participants was only significantly correlated to the scores generated by the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire. Conclusions: These findings confirm that socio-economic deficiencies and low quality of life can facilitate the expression of depressive symptomatology during the postpartum period. The results also emphasize the salience of psychosocial risk factors in the diathesis of postnatal depression

The correlation between breastfeeding self-efficacy and maternal postpartum depression in southern Brazil

Objective: To investigate the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy and postpartum depression symptoms in a sample of Portuguese-speaking mothers in southern Brazil. Background: There remains equivocal evidence regarding a putative association between breastfeeding self-efficacy and postpartum depression. Method: This is a cross-sectional study in which eligible research participants completed screening questionnaires and other assessment tools. Mothers were interviewed once only in their homes between the 2nd and 12th week of the postpartum period. Research participants completed the Portuguese version of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Breastfeeding self-efficacy was evaluated through the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES-SF). Results: A total number of 89 mothers completed the investigation: 69 (77%) were exclusively breastfeeding, whereas 20 mothers (22.7%) were partially breastfeeding at the time of the interview. Mothers who combined breastfeeding and bottle-feeding presented higher PDSS and EPDS scores. The breastfeeding self-efficacy scores were higher in mothers who exclusively breastfed and were negatively associated (p<0.001) with both EPDS and PDSS (postpartum depression) scores. Conclusion: These findings suggest that mothers who suffer from depressive symptoms may experience less confidence in their ability to breastfeed. This association may be particularly relevant for the purpose of screening procedures for depression and unsatisfactory breastfeeding during the postpartum period