Burden of allergic rhinitis and impact of MP-AzeFlu from the patient perspective : pan European patient survey

Funding for this research was provided by Mylan Inc. Acknowledgements We thank Dr Ruth B Murray (Medscript NZ Ltd) for assistance in drafting and editing this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Burden of allergic rhinitis and impact of MP-AzeFlu from the patient perspective: pan European patient survey

ObjectiveThe aims of this survey were to (1) assess the burden of allergic rhinitis (AR) from the patient perspective, (2) investigate MP-AzeFlu use in real life and its impact on patients' lives and (3) explore factors associated with treatment satisfaction.MethodsA cross-sectional, quantitative, online, questionnaire-based survey was conducted in seven European countries (March-June 2019). Questions explored AR burden and treatment satisfaction. Satisfaction was assessed using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication 9-item (TSQM-9; max score = 100). Participants (aged >= 18 years) had a doctor/healthcare provider confirmed AR diagnosis and used MP-AzeFlu within the last year.ResultsPre-MP-AzeFlu treatment, participants (n = 1004) reported an average of 3.3 (SD:3.5) doctor visits/year, 8.1 (SD:11.0) days/year absenteeism and 15.8 (SD:18.9) days/year presenteeism due to AR. Only 48% of participants used MP-AzeFlu twice/day as recommended. Post-MP-AzeFlu 57% of participants reported better QoL, 47% reported fewer doctor visits and 52% discontinued polypharmacy. Absenteeism and presenteeism were reduced by 2.5 (SD 10.0) and 7.3 (SD:16.0) days/year, respectively. 70% of participants were more/much more satisfied with MP-AzeFlu versus previous AR treatment(s), and >= 70% were satisfied/extremely satisfied with its ability to prevent/treat AR, relieve symptoms and with its onset of action. Mean global, effectiveness and convenience TSQM-9 scores were 70.0 (SD:19.8), 68.3 (SD:21.6) and 72.7 (SD:20.4), respectively. Treatment satisfaction and effectiveness were significantly improved when MP-AzeFlu was taken as recommended.ConclusionsThe impact of AR on patients' lives remains high. Real-life use of MP-AzeFlu reduces that impact and is associated with a high level of effectiveness, convenience and global satisfaction.</p

Proenvironmental travel behavior among office workers:A qualitative study of individual and organizational determinants

An analysis of individual and organizational determinants of proenvironmental work-related travel behavior, and their interactions, is presented. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with office workers from four organizations in two Dutch provinces. Environmentally-relevant behavior related to commutes and business trips (i.e. travel frequency, travel mode, teleworking, and teleconferencing) was examined. Evidence from interorganizational comparisons suggests that organizational measures did not have uniform effects on employee behavior which was partially due to differences in attitude and personal income. The salience of social norms pertaining to work-related travel behavior also differed between organizations and organizational subpopulations. Differences in attitudes between employees, however, did correspond to some extent to organizational culture or focus differences at the organizational level. Finally, the results underscore the possibility that similar outcomes at the behavioral level might be the result of different underlying dynamics

Commuting travel mode choice among office workers:Comparing an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior model between regions and organizational sectors

Little is known about how contextual factors influence psychosocial determinants of travel mode choice. The reported study examined the effect of organizational sector and geographical region on an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model of commuting travel mode choice. Multigroup structural equation model analyses were conducted to test for sectoral and regional differences using survey data from office workers of four organizations. The results indicate that intention was very strongly related to commuting travel mode choice. Attitude, descriptive norm, and perceived control were also consistently associated with intentions. Personal norm, injunctive norm, and habit did not have (consistent) significant effects on intention or behavior in the overall models of short-distance and long-distance commuting. Most commute-related beliefs varied between organizational sectors and regions. The relevance of psychosocial determinants in the extended TPB model was generally similar across sectors and regions, except for the effect of injunctive norm which differed between regions. The results suggest that organizational-level as well as regional-level interventions have potential to change commuting travel mode choice. Transforming attitude, descriptive norm and perceived control is likely to be equally useful across contexts, although the potential for change in psychosocial determinants might vary between contexts. (C) 2015 Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Changing energy-related behavior: An Intervention Mapping approach

This paper's objective is to apply Intervention Mapping, a planning process for the systematic development of theory- and evidence-based health promotion interventions, to the development of interventions to promote energy conservation behavior. Intervention Mapping (IM) consists of six steps: needs assessment, program objectives, methods and applications, program development, planning for program implementation, and planning for program evaluation. Examples from the energy conservation field are provided to illustrate the activities associated with these steps. It is concluded that applying IM in the energy conservation field may help the development of effective behavior change interventions, and thus develop a domain specific knowledge-base for effective intervention design.Energy-related behavior Behavior change Intervention Mapping

Piloting the Impact of Three Interventions on Guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Test Uptake within the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

This study evaluated the impact of three interventions on uptake of the guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) in Greater London. The interventions were designed to improve awareness and understanding of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) and assist stool sampling. Logistic regression analysis of BCSP London data (N=205,541 invitees aged 60–74) compared uptake at 12 weeks between intervention groups and a control group, sent kits as usual between January-April 2013 and January-April 2014. An endorsement flyer, included with gFOBT kits, had no impact on uptake (P=0.68). In 60–69-year-olds, there was a small but significant increase in modelled uptake amongst invitees sent both the flyer and a kit enhancement pack compared with controls (45.1% versus 43.4%, OR=1.07, P=0.047). In North East London, the flyer together with outdoor advertising was associated with a small but significant increase (45.6% versus 43.4%, OR=1.09, P=0.027). The largest increases were seen when all three interventions (flyer, pack, and advertising) were combined (49.5% versus 43.4%, OR=1.28, P<0.001). The increased uptake in the intervention groups was largest in “first-timers” and smaller amongst previous nonresponders and previously screened invitees

Does psychosocial stress exacerbate avoidant responses to cancer information in those who are afraid of cancer? A population-based survey among older adults in England

Objective: Communication of cancer information is an important element of cancer control, but cancer fear may lead to information avoidance, especially when coping is low. We examined the association between cancer fear and cancer information avoidance, and tested whether this was exacerbated by psychosocial stress. Design: Cross-sectional survey of 1258 population-based adults (58–70 years) in England. Main outcome measures: Cancer fear (intensity and frequency), perceived psychosocial stress and cancer information avoidance. Control variables were age, gender, ethnicity, marital status and education. Results: A quarter (24%) of respondents avoided cancer information. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed main effects of psychosocial stress (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.07–1.29) and cancer fear: cancer information avoidance was lowest in those with no cancer fear (13%), followed by those with moderate (24%; OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.49–3.12), and high cancer fear (35%; OR = 3.90, 95% CI: 2.65–5.73). In the adjusted model, the interaction between cancer fear and stress was significant (OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.004–1.29, p <.05): 40% of those with high fear/high stress avoided cancer information compared with 29% with high fear/low stress. Conclusion: Cancer fear and psychosocial stress interact to produce disengagement with cancer-related information, highlighting the importance of affective processes to cancer control efforts