Social support in an Internet weight loss community

PURPOSE: To describe social support for weight loss shared by members of a large Internet weight loss community. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods study with surveys (n=193) and interviews (n=13) of community members along with a content analysis of discussion forum messages (n=1924 messages). Qualitative data were analyzed for social support themes. RESULTS: Survey respondents were primarily white (91.4%) and female (93.8%) with mean age 37.3 years and mean body mass index 30.9. They used forums frequently, with 56.8% reading messages, 36.1% replying to messages, and 18.5% posting messages to start a discussion related to weight loss on a daily or more frequent basis. Major social support themes were encouragement and motivation, mentioned at least once by 87.6% of survey respondents, followed by information (58.5%) and shared experiences (42.5%). Subthemes included testimonies, recognition for success, accountability, friendly competition, and humor. Members valued convenience, anonymity, and the non-judgmental interactions as unique characteristics of Internet-mediated support. CONCLUSION: This Internet weight loss community plays a prominent role in participants\u27 weight loss efforts. Social support within Internet weight loss communities merits further evaluation as a weight loss resource for clinicians to recommend to patients. Understanding these communities could improve how health professionals evaluate, build, harness, and manipulate social support for weight loss

Rehabilitation medicine summit: building research capacity Executive Summary

The general objective of the "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity" was to advance and promote research in medical rehabilitation by making recommendations to expand research capacity. The five elements of research capacity that guided the discussions were: 1) researchers; 2) research culture, environment, and infrastructure; 3) funding; 4) partnerships; and 5) metrics. The 100 participants included representatives of professional organizations, consumer groups, academic departments, researchers, governmental funding agencies, and the private sector. The small group discussions and plenary sessions generated an array of problems, possible solutions, and recommended actions. A post-Summit, multi-organizational initiative is called to pursue the agendas outlined in this report (see Additional File 1)

The impact of emotional well-being on long-term recovery and survival in physical illness: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis synthesized studies on emotional well-being as predictor of the prognosis of physical illness, while in addition evaluating the impact of putative moderators, namely constructs of well-being, health-related outcome, year of publication, follow-up time and methodological quality of the included studies. The search in reference lists and electronic databases (Medline and PsycInfo) identified 17 eligible studies examining the impact of general well-being, positive affect and life satisfaction on recovery and survival in physically ill patients. Meta-analytically combining these studies revealed a Likelihood Ratio of 1.14, indicating a small but significant effect. Higher levels of emotional well-being are beneficial for recovery and survival in physically ill patients. The findings show that emotional well-being predicts long-term prognosis of physical illness. This suggests that enhancement of emotional well-being may improve the prognosis of physical illness, which should be investigated by future research

Association between mental health conditions and rehospitalization, mortality, and functional outcomes in patients with stroke following inpatient rehabilitation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Limited evidence exists regarding the association of pre-existing mental health conditions in patients with stroke and stroke outcomes such as rehospitalization, mortality, and function. We examined the association between mental health conditions and rehospitalization, mortality, and functional outcomes in patients with stroke following inpatient rehabilitation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our observational study used the 2001 VA Integrated Stroke Outcomes database of 2162 patients with stroke who underwent rehabilitation at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.</p> <p>Separate models were fit to our outcome measures that included 6-month rehospitalization or death, 6-month mortality post-discharge, and functional outcomes post inpatient rehabilitation as a function of number and type of mental health conditions. The models controlled for patient socio-demographics, length of stay, functional status, and rehabilitation setting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients had an average age of 68 years. Patients with stroke and two or more mental health conditions were more likely to be readmitted or die compared to patients with no conditions (OR: 1.44, p = 0.04). Depression and anxiety were associated with a greater likelihood of rehospitalization or death (OR: 1.33, p = 0.04; OR:1.47, p = 0.03). Patients with anxiety were more likely to die at six months (OR: 2.49, p = 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with stroke with pre-existing mental health conditions may need additional psychotherapy interventions, which may potentially improve stroke outcomes post-hospitalization.</p

Mortality in Pharmacologically Treated Older Adults with Diabetes: The Cardiovascular Health Study, 1989–2001

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) confers an increased risk of mortality in young and middle-aged individuals and in women. It is uncertain, however, whether excess DM mortality continues beyond age 75 years, is related to type of hypoglycemic therapy, and whether women continue to be disproportionately affected by DM into older age. METHODS AND FINDINGS: From the Cardiovascular Health Study, a prospective study of 5,888 adults, we examined 5,372 participants aged 65 y or above without DM (91.2%), 322 with DM treated with oral hypoglycemic agents (OHGAs) (5.5%), and 194 with DM treated with insulin (3.3%). Participants were followed (1989–2001) for total, cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), and non-CVD/noncancer mortality. Compared with non-DM participants, those treated with OHGAs or insulin had adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for total mortality of 1.33 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 1.62) and 2.04 (95% CI, 1.62 to 2.57); CVD mortality, 1.99 (95% CI, 1.54 to 2.57) and 2.16 (95% CI, 1.54 to 3.03); CHD mortality, 2.47 (95% CI, 1.89 to 3.24) and 2.75 (95% CI, 1.95 to 3.87); and infectious and renal mortality, 1.35 (95% CI, 0.70 to 2.59) and 6.55 (95% CI, 4.18 to 10.26), respectively. The interaction of age (65–74 y versus ≥75 y) with DM was not significant. Women treated with OHGAs had a similar HR for total mortality to men, but a higher HR when treated with insulin. CONCLUSIONS: DM mortality risk remains high among older adults in the current era of medical care. Mortality risk and type of mortality differ between OHGA and insulin treatment. Women treated with insulin therapy have an especially high mortality risk. Given the high absolute CVD mortality in older people, those with DM warrant aggressive CVD risk factor reduction

Visualizing the Effects of rTMS in a Patient Sample: Small N vs. Group Level Analysis

The use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess changes in cortical excitability is a tool used with increased prevalence in healthy and impaired populations. One factor of concern with this technique is how to achieve adequate statistical power given constraints of a small number of subjects and variability in responses. This paper compares a single pulse excitability measure using traditional group-level statistics vs single subject analyses in a patient population of subjects with focal hand dystonia, pre and post repetitive TMS (rTMS). Results show significant differences in cortical excitability for 4/5 subjects using a split middle line analysis on plots of individual subject data. Group level statistics (ANOVA), however, did not detect any significant findings. The consideration of single subject statistics for TMS excitability measures may assist researchers in describing the variably of rTMS outcome measures

The effects of REBT on irrational beliefs, self-determined motivation, and self-efficacy in American Football

It has been suggested in recent research that rational beliefs as conceptualized within rational-emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) can be operationalized as strategic self-talk, but this has yet to be meaningfully investigated. The current study examines the effects of five one-to-one REBT sessions with three amateur American Football athletes to foster rational self-talk. The purpose of the intervention was to reduce the irrational beliefs, but also in line with recent applied REBT research, to increase the self-determined motivation and self-efficacy of the athletes. Using an idiographic single-case, staggered multiple-baseline across participants design, visual analyses revealed meaningful increases in self-determined motivation and self-efficacy, adjunct to decreases in total irrational beliefs across all participants. Social validation data supported these outcomes. These findings add to the growing research indicating that REBT can influence motivational approaches in athletes, such as self-determined motivation and self-efficacy. Results are discussed in relation to processes underlying the mechanisms of change, while also reporting the limitations of the study. The robustness of the research design increases the extent to which target variable changes can be attributed to REBT, but critical reflections are undertaken to assess the veracity of the findings

Testing effectiveness of the revised Cape Town modified early warning and SBAR systems: a pilot pragmatic parallel group randomised controlled trial

Abstract Background Nurses’ recognition of clinical deterioration is crucial for patient survival. Evidence for the effectiveness of modified early warning scores (MEWS) is derived from large observation studies in developed countries. Methods We tested the effectiveness of the paper-based Cape Town (CT) MEWS vital signs observation chart and situation-background-assessment-recommendation (SBAR) communication guide. Outcomes were: proportion of appropriate responses to deterioration, differences in recording of clinical parameters and serious adverse events (SAEs) in intervention and control trial arms. Public teaching hospitals for adult patients in Cape Town were randomised to implementation of the CT MEWS/SBAR guide or usual care (observation chart without track-and-trigger information) for 31 days on general medical and surgical wards. Nurses in intervention wards received training, as they had no prior knowledge of early warning systems. Identification and reporting of patient deterioration in intervention and control wards were compared. In the intervention arm, 24 day-shift and 23 night-shift nurses received training. Clinical records were reviewed retrospectively at trial end. Only records of patients who had given signed consent were reviewed. Results We recruited two of six CT general hospitals. We consented 363 patients and analysed 292 (80.4%) patient records (n = 150, 51.4% intervention, n = 142, 48.6% control arm). Assistance was summoned for fewer patients with abnormal vital signs in the intervention arm (2/45, 4.4% versus (vs) 11/81, 13.6%, OR 0.29 (0.06–1.39)), particularly low systolic blood pressure. There was a significant difference in recording between trial arms for parameters listed on the MEWS chart but omitted from the standard observations chart: oxygen saturation, level of consciousness, pallor/cyanosis, pain, sweating, wound oozing, pedal pulses, glucose concentration, haemoglobin concentration, and “looks unwell”. SBAR was used twice. There was no statistically significant difference in SAEs (5/150, 3.3% vs 3/143, 2.1% P = 0.72, OR 1.61 (0.38–6.86)). Conclusions The revised CT MEWS observations chart improved recording of certain parameters, but did not improve nurses’ ability to identify early signs of clinical deterioration and to summon assistance. Recruitment of only two hospitals and exclusion of patients too ill to consent limits generalisation of results. Further work is needed on educational preparation for the CT MEWS/SBAR and its impact on nurses’ reporting behaviour. Trial registration Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, PACTR201406000838118. Registered on 2 June 2014, www.pactr.org

Statistical Multiplicity in Systematic Reviews of Anaesthesia Interventions: A Quantification and Comparison between Cochrane and Non-Cochrane Reviews

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews with meta-analyses often contain many statistical tests. This multiplicity may increase the risk of type I error. Few attempts have been made to address the problem of statistical multiplicity in systematic reviews. Before the implications are properly considered, the size of the issue deserves clarification. Because of the emphasis on bias evaluation and because of the editorial processes involved, Cochrane reviews may contain more multiplicity than their non-Cochrane counterparts. This study measured the quantity of statistical multiplicity present in a population of systematic reviews and aimed to assess whether this quantity is different in Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We selected all the systematic reviews published by the Cochrane Anaesthesia Review Group containing a meta-analysis and matched them with comparable non-Cochrane reviews. We counted the number of statistical tests done in each systematic review. The median number of tests overall was 10 (interquartile range (IQR) 6 to 18). The median was 12 in Cochrane and 8 in non-Cochrane reviews (difference in medians 4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-19.0). The proportion that used an assessment of risk of bias as a reason for doing extra analyses was 42% in Cochrane and 28% in non-Cochrane reviews (difference in proportions 14% (95% CI -8 to 36). The issue of multiplicity was addressed in 6% of all the reviews. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Statistical multiplicity in systematic reviews requires attention. We found more multiplicity in Cochrane reviews than in non-Cochrane reviews. Many of the reasons for the increase in multiplicity may well represent improved methodological approaches and greater transparency, but multiplicity may also cause an increased risk of spurious conclusions. Few systematic reviews, whether Cochrane or non-Cochrane, address the issue of multiplicity