Understanding self-management behaviors in symptomatic adults with uncertain etiology using an illness perceptions framework

The self-management behaviors of individuals with medical conditions that have an unknown etiology have not been studied. This study assesses the relationship between illness perceptions and various illness self-management behaviors in patients undergoing clinical genomic sequencing to identify a genetic cause for their condition. Hierarchical linear regression, Poisson linear regression, and logistic regression were used to assess the effect of illness perceptions (i.e., perceived consequences, timeline, personal control, treatment control, identity, concern, understanding, emotional impact, and causal beliefs as measured by the Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire) on healthcare use, prescription medication use, and doctor recommended supplement use, respectively (n = 200). Analyses revealed that (1) illness identity beliefs were positively associated with healthcare use (β =.20, p =.04), (2) both treatment control beliefs (B =.03, p =.02) and genetic causal beliefs (B =.17, p =.049) were positively associated with prescription medication use, and (3) both timeline beliefs (OR =1.23, p =.02) and emotional impact (OR =1.20, p =.02) were positively associated with doctor recommended supplement use. These findings can be used to inform the development of guidelines for treating patients who are seeking a genetic diagnosis for their illness

PEMERIKSAAN PROFIL LIPID PADA JEMAAT LANSIA SALAH SATU GEREJA KRISTEN DI YOGYAKARTA

Lipid profile examination including total cholesterol level, triglycerides level and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction is essential to be done as a routine activity quinquennially to prevent someone from the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity. This kind of examination is mandatory for the elderly people to maintain their quality of life. In order to support the government program on the prevention of the cardiovascular diseases, a team of social service of Faculty of Pharmacy Universitas Sanata Dharma (FFUSD) was organizing an event of lipid profile examination in one of Christian church located in Kalasan, Yogyakarta. As many as 35 elderly people were enthusiastically participating on the event. A nurse from Poliklinik Sanata Dharma was appointed to take the blood samples, which were further taken to the Biochemistry Laboratory in FFUSD to get analysed. The results were sent to the participants in private. The overall blood lipid profiles of most participants showed good level of quality, indicating that they have been trying to manage their life healthily. However, as much as 62. 8% of participants showed a low level of the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.  This was believed due to the food intake which was still rich in oil and fat.  The event was very succesful and the responses were very positive. The participants felt assisted with a fast and accurate results sent

Posttraumatic growth, social support, and social constraint in hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors: PTG, social support, and constraint in HSCT survivors

The relation between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and aspects of the social context, such as social support and social constraint, continues to be unclear in cancer survivors. Social-cognitive processing theory is a useful framework for examining the effect of the social context on PTG. In theory, support interactions may either facilitate or hinder cognitive processing and thus lead to different PTG outcomes. The current study tested the hypothesis that emotional support and instrumental support would each explain a unique amount of the variance in PTG in distressed hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) survivors. Additionally, it was predicted that social constraint on cancer-related disclosure would be negatively with PTG

Appraisals, perceived dyadic communication, and quality of life over time among couples coping with prostate cancer

Little research has examined how prostate cancer patients’ and their spouses’ appraisals of illness and quality of life (QOL) interact with one another. This study examined the interdependent relationships between their appraisals of illness and QOL, and if their perceived dyadic communication mediated these relationships

Patient hopes for diagnostic genomic sequencing: roles of uncertainty and social status

For patients with unexplained or undiagnosed conditions, genomic sequencing offers the hope of resolving unanswered questions. With the growth of clinical genomic sequencing, understanding factors that shape patients' hope for information could have important implications for developing patient education guidelines. Based on the goal-directed theory of hope, we investigated illness uncertainty as a form of motivation and subjective social status as a form of perceived resources to predict the amount and kinds of information that adult patients (N=191) and parents of pediatric patients (N=79) hoped to receive from diagnostic sequencing results. Participants were part of a larger longitudinal study on clinical genomic sequencing, but the current study focuses on their hopes for diagnostic sequencing results. Hopes for information were assessed through close-ended and open-ended responses. Findings from mixed methods analyses indicated that although patients and parents hoped to learn multiple kinds of information from diagnostic sequencing results, their hopes appeared to be influenced by their illness uncertainty and perceptions of their social and economic resources. These findings suggest that patients' illness uncertainty and perceived resources could be useful avenues for discussing patient hopes and educating patients about strengths and limitations of genomic sequencing

Meningkatkan Kemampuan Representasi Semiotik Siswa Dengan Metode Guided Discovery Learning

This classroom action research aims to improve the ability of students' semiotic representations on material tangents to circles at SMP Muhammadiyah 3 Rambipuji. The preliminary study stated that 20% of class VIII students were able to represent their thinking results in the form of images and symbols. Ten grade VIII students became the research subjects. Data collection was carried out by field observations, student worksheets, and interviews. Data analysis with the stages of data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Each cycle has 4 stages, namely, making plans, implementing action plans, making observations, and reflecting on research results. In this study, it was said to be successful if at least 85% of students obtained scores that exceeded the KKM limit. From the results of the implementation of cycle 1, 60% of students were able to represent the answers to the questions in the semiotic representation of the research subjects. Cycle 2 following the guided discovery learning method, indicates the development of semiotic representation abilities. Students find it easier to represent a problem in material tangent to a circle. So that the final value obtained has increased significantly is 90%. Keywords: Guided Discovery Learning, Semiotic Representatio

I Keep my Problems to Myself: Negative Social Network Orientation, Social Resources, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors

Cancer survivors treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplant rely on their social network for successful recovery. However, some survivors have negative attitudes about using social resources (negative social network orientation) that are critical for their recovery

Regenerative medicine funding policies in Europe and The Netherlands

Stem cells & developmental biolog