Comparing patients’ and other stakeholders’ preferences for outcomes of integrated care for multimorbidity: a discrete choice experiment in eight European countries

Objectives To measure relative preferences for outcomes of integrated care of patients with multimorbidity from eight European countries and compare them to the preferences of other stakeholders within these countries. Design A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted in each country, asking respondents to choose between two integrated care programmes for persons with multimorbidity. Setting Preference data collected in Austria (AT), Croatia (HR), Germany (DE), Hungary (HU), the Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), Spain (ES), and UK. Participants Patients with multimorbidity, partners and other informal caregivers, professionals, payers and policymakers. Main outcome measures Preferences of participants regarding outcomes of integrated care described as health/well-being, experience with care and cost outcomes, that is, physical functioning, psychological well-being, social relationships and participation, enjoyment of life, resilience, person-centredness, continuity of care and total costs. Each outcome had three levels of performance. Results 5122 respondents completed the DCE. In all countries, patients with multimorbidity, as well as most other stakeholder groups, assigned the (second) highest preference to enjoyment of life. The patients top-three most frequently included physical functioning, psychological well-being and continuity of care. Continuity of care also entered the top-three of professionals, payers and policymakers in four countries (AT, DE, HR and HU). Of the five stakeholder groups, preferences of professionals differed most often from preferences of patients. Professionals assigned lower weights to physical functioning in AT, DE, ES, NL and NO and higher weights to person-centredness in AT, DE, ES and HU. Payers and policymakers assigned higher weights than patients to costs, but these weights were relatively low. Conclusion The well-being outcome enjoyment of life is the most important outcome of integrated care in multimorbidity. This calls for a greater involvement of social and mental care providers. The difference in opinion between patients and professionals calls for shared decision-making, whereby efforts to improve well-being and person-centredness should not divert attention from improving physical functioning

The syntheses, structures and redox properties of phosphine-gold(I) and triruthenium-carbonyl cluster derivatives of tolans

The syntheses of several ethynyl-gold(I) phosphine substituted tolans (1,2-diaryl acetylenes) of general form [Au(C=CC6H4C=CC6H4X)(PPh3)] are described [X = Me (2a), OMe (2b), CO2Me (2c), NO2 (2d), CN (2e)]. These complexes react readily with [Ru-3(CO) 10(mu-dppm)] to give the heterometallic clusters [Ru3(mu-AuPPh3)(mu-eta(1), eta(2)-C2C6H4C, CC6H4X)(CO)(7)(mu-dppm)] (3a-e). The crystallographically determined molecular structures of 2b, 2d, 2e and 3a-e are reported here, that of 2a having been described on a previous occasion. Structural, spectroscopic and electrochemical studies were conducted and have revealed little electronic interaction between the remote substituent and the organometallic end-caps. (C) 2007 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Metal cluster terminated "molecular wires"

The gold complexes Au(C≡CC6H4C≡CC6H4Me)(PPh3) (3) and {Au(PPh3)}2(μ-C≡CC6H4C≡CC6H4C≡CC6H4C≡C) (6), prepared from the reaction of AuCl(PPh3) with the corresponding terminal or trimethylsilyl protected alkynes, react readily with Ru3(CO)10(μ-dppm) to afford phenylene ethynylene derivatives featuring the Ru3(μ-AuPPh3)(μ-C2R)(CO)7 cluster “end-caps”. The hydrido cluster Ru3(μ-H)(μ-C2C6H4C≡CC6H4Me)(CO)7 (4a) has also been obtained. There are significant differences in the absorption spectra of the organic precursors, the gold complexes and the clusters indicate a mixing of electronic states between the cluster and phenylene ethynylene moieties, while the presence of the Ru3 and in particular Ru3(μ-AuPPh3) cluster end-caps leads to a quenching of the phenylene ethynylene centred emission. The crystallographically determined structures of 3, 4a and Ru3(μ-AuPPh3) (μ-C2C6H4C≡CC6H4Me)(CO)7 (4b) are reported