Translation, Adaptation and Validation of the Coronary Revascularization Outcome Questionnaire (CROQ) into Greek

Date of Acceptance: 31/05/2015Evaluating the impact of coronary revascularization on patients’ health related quality of life with a patient-based and disease-specific tool is important for drawing conclusions about treatment and outcomes. This study reports on the translation, adaptation and psychometric evaluation of a Greek version of the Coronary Revascularization Outcome Questionnaire (CROQ-Gr)Peer reviewe

Comparative optimism about infection and recovery from COVID‐19; Implications for adherence with lockdown advice

Background Comparative optimism, the belief that negative events are more likely to happen to others rather than to oneself, is well established in health risk research. It is unknown, however, whether comparative optimism also permeates people’s health expectations and potentially behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives Data were collected through an international survey (N = 6485) exploring people’s thoughts and psychosocial behaviours relating to COVID‐19. This paper reports UK data on comparative optimism. In particular, we examine the belief that negative events surrounding risk and recovery from COVID-19 are perceived as more likely to happen to others rather than to oneself. Methods Using online snowball sampling through social media, anonymous UK survey data were collected from N = 645 adults during weeks 5-8 of the UK COVID-19 lockdown. The sample was normally distributed in terms of age and reflected the UK ethnic and disability profile. Findings Respondents demonstrated comparative optimism where they believed that as compared to others of the same age and gender, they were unlikely to experience a range of controllable (eg accidentally infect/ be infected) and uncontrollable (eg need hospitalization/ intensive care treatment if infected) COVID-19-related risks in the short term (P < .001). They were comparatively pessimistic (ie thinking they were more at risk than others for developing COVID-19-related infection or symptoms) when thinking about the next year. Discussion This is one of the first ever studies to report compelling comparative biases in UK adults’ thinking about COVID-19

Behavioural self-blame in chronic illness: A study of predictors and consequences.

This thesis examined the relationship of behavioural self-blame and psychological adjustment to chronic illness and addressed some of the conceptual and methodological inconsistencies found in the existing literature on self-blame by studying different groups of chronically ill patients. Study One comprised a questionnaire study and was designed to mainly examine 1) differences in the levels of self-blame in three different patient groups (i.e. diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer patients), 2) the relationship between perceptions of behavioural risk factors contributing to the patients' illness and level of self-blame and 3) the relationship between self-blame, self-efficacy and psychological adjustment. Findings showed that there are significant differences in the levels of self-blame across the three groups with breast cancer patients showing the least self-blame. These differences were explained in terms of the different levels of perceived lifestyle factors contributing to the cause of illness and its subsequent management in the three groups. Also, self-blame was higher when patients were asked to consider a specific negative event relevant to their illness than when they considered their illness in general. For all three groups, self-blame was correlated to the number of behavioural risk factors patients reported as having contributed to their illness. No relationship was found between self-blame and self-efficacy or psychological adjustment. Study Two looked at the predictors of behavioural self-blame in heart disease patients by testing a theoretical model derived from evidence in the literature. The model included certain person (i.e. gender, age, characterological self-blame, and prior risk) and illness- related characteristics (i.e. type of diagnosis, time since diagnosis, perceived illness consequences, controllability of health behaviours) that had either direct paths to behavioural self-blame or indirect paths through their effect on behavioural causal attributions. The final model -showing gender and characterological self-blame as having both direct and indirect paths to self-blame, and prior risk, diagnosis and consequences as having only indirect paths- fit the data well. Also, behavioural attributions predicted improved health behaviour after the illness. No relationship between behavioural self-blame or causal attributions and psychological adjustment was found. Studies Three and Four addressed criticisms regarding the inconsistent conceptualisation and operation definitions of self-blame, which caution against unfounded generalisations such as the interchangeable use of the terms causality, responsibility and blame or the generalisation of results across different populations. This was done by 1) examining the degree to which self-blame is contingent upon the actual experience of illness, and 2) by comparing 14 negative events rated on dimensions relevant to blame and controllability. Specifically, in Study Three, non-patients were compared to patient counterparts from the previous study to look at differences in levels of self-blame for heart disease. Non-patients were found to have higher levels of self-blame than non-patients and showed no relationship between self-blame and behavioral risk suggesting a different understanding and utility of the concept. In Study Four, non-patients rated 14 negative events on the dimensions of blame, responsibility, control and avoidability. Two dimensional plots showed that while there were many similarities in the way the examined dimensions were applied to the 14 events, illnesses were represented separately from other negative events. Overall, these studies suggest a strong cognitive component in self-blaming patients as opposed to the motivational elements suggested in the literature. Possible explanations and ways to theoretically link the contradictory findings are discussed in the last chapter of the thesis and include the consideration of self-regulation processes and of changes that the self is subject to throughout the course of an illness

Behavioural self blame in chronic illness A study of predictors and consequences

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN057616 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Meeting the needs of parents around the time of diagnosis of disability among their children : evaluation of a novel program for information, support, and liaison by key workers

Objective. Key worker programs for families of children with disabilities, to promote information provision, emotional support, and liaisons among different agencies, have long been advocated but not extensively implemented. We report the impact on the experiences of parents and the practices of health care professionals of a novel, hospital-based, key worker service ( Community Link Team [CLT]), implemented in the pediatric ophthalmology department of Great Ormond Street Hospital ( London, United Kingdom). Design, Setting, and Participants. The CLT included 2 members, 1 of whom was present during the first outpatient assessment by the consultant ophthalmologist of any child newly diagnosed as visually impaired ( corrected acuity of 6/18 or worse in the better eye) and accompanied the family during other assessments performed during that visit. A dedicated room was used by the CLT members to spend time with each family after completion of the clinical assessments. The CLT members reiterated and/or clarified clinical information already provided, specifically advised the families about visual stimulation programs and the benefits and purpose of visual impairment certification, and provided information about educational and social services. The same CLT member met the family at subsequent visits to the department and acted as the first point of contact for parents. Parents of children newly diagnosed with visual impairment and/or ophthalmic disorders at Great Ormond Street Hospital participated in a 2-stage study to assess their needs, their views about the processes of care, and their overall satisfaction. The study included a questionnaire survey with 2 standard instruments, ie, the Measure of Processes of Care, specifically developed and used to assess parents' views of the degree to which health services for a range of childhood disorders are family-centered, and the short form of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, used to assess overall parental satisfaction or dissatisfaction with services in the preceding year, as in other studies of parental satisfaction with pediatric services. This was followed by in-depth individual interviews with a subsample of parents who returned completed questionnaires. The views of families with experience with the new service (CLT) were compared with those without. The experiences of health care professionals before and after implementation of the service were elicited through group interviews and were compared. We recognized that any differences would be attributable to both the direct effects of the CLT, ie, actual services provided by the team, and indirect effects, ie, broader changes in approaches or practices within the department resulting from shifting roles and responsibilities regarding specific elements of management. Therefore, both the specific tasks/activities undertaken by the CLT and broader changes in practices within the department were identified. Results. Seventy-nine families from the pre-CLT group and 68 from the post-CLT group (68% and 65% of those invited, respectively) participated in the questionnaire survey, of which 29 and 19 (71% and 79% of those invited), respectively, took part in interviews. The 2 groups were comparable with respect to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Parents and health care professionals agreed that the CLT provided important information and facilitated access to specific services, while providing both emotional and social support and facilitating meetings with other families with children with similar conditions. A number of key generic components of the service were identified. First, provision, within the outpatient setting, of a dedicated "quiet room" and office space for key workers was an essential physical requirement. Second, early identification of the key workers as the parents' point of contact was essential; this was achieved in this case by the CLT members attending the first consultation, combined with their detailed debriefing of families at the end of the outpatient visit. Third, the adoption of certain tasks by the key workers, including some previously undertaken by ophthalmologists, helped to define the liaison role of the program. These tasks included discussing the process and benefits of visual impairment certification, contacting the advisory teacher for the visually impaired, and providing written reports to educational and social services; analogous tasks would exist for other disabilities. Conclusions. Research on the needs of families of visually impaired children has been limited but indicates that, as with other childhood disabilities, the greatest needs during the critical period around diagnosis are for information, especially about educational and social services, and emotional support from professionals, informal and formal social networks, and support groups. Although not widely implemented or studied, key worker programs for families of visually impaired children, particularly in the context of multidisciplinary visual impairment teams, have been advocated, on the basis of their potential to facilitate coordination of health, educational, and social services. The model of such provision evaluated in this study reflects the fact that it was established as an outpatient service in a tertiary referral center for pediatric ophthalmology in the United Kingdom, with the specific structure and specialized roles for health care professionals that this requires. Different models might be more suitable in other settings in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. However, the important general lessons learned should guide implementation of such services for families of children with other disabilities. The recently launched National Service Framework for Children provides a new context and standards for meeting the needs of disabled children and their families in the United Kingdom and may also guide initiatives elsewhere. The findings of this study support implementation of programs for information provision, support, and liaison by key workers in all specialized centers for the assessment and diagnosis of children with serious visual problems. Implementation of similar services for families with children with other disabilities is likely to be equally valuable

Comparative optimism about infection and recovery from COVID‐19; Implications for adherence with lockdown advice

Background: Comparative optimism, the belief that negative events are more likely to happen to others rather than to oneself, is well established in health risk research. It is unknown, however, whether comparative optimism also permeates people’s health expectations and potentially behaviour during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Objectives: Data were collected through an international survey (N = 6485) exploring people’s thoughts and psychosocial behaviours relating to COVID‐19. This paper reports UK data on comparative optimism. In particular, we examine the belief that negative events surrounding risk and recovery from COVID‐19 are perceived as more likely to happen to others rather than to oneself. Methods: Using online snowball sampling through social media, anonymous UK survey data were collected from N = 645 adults during weeks 5‐8 of the UK COVID‐19 lockdown. The sample was normally distributed in terms of age and reflected the UK ethnic and disability profile. Findings: Respondents demonstrated comparative optimism where they believed that as compared to others of the same age and gender, they were unlikely to experience a range of controllable (eg accidentally infect/ be infected) and uncontrollable (eg need hospitalization/ intensive care treatment if infected) COVID‐19‐related risks in the short term (P < .001). They were comparatively pessimistic (ie thinking they were more at risk than others for developing COVID‐19‐related infection or symptoms) when thinking about the next year. Discussion: This is one of the first ever studies to report compelling comparative biases in UK adults’ thinking about COVID‐19