Measuring health-related quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a routine hospital setting: Feasibility and perceived value

BACKGROUND: Assessment of health-related quality of life is so far mainly used in specific research settings and not widely accepted in the routine care of patients. Lack of trust in accuracy and reliability and lack of knowledge concerning the questionnaires used, methods, terminology, are just some of the perceived barriers for a more widespread dissemination of these instruments into routine health care. The present study was undertaken in order to test the feasibility of a computerised system for collecting and analysing health-related quality of life in a routine clinical setting and to examine the thoughts and attitudes among physicians concerning the value of these measurements. METHODS: Seventy-four patients with chronic pulmonary lung disease were asked to assess their health-related quality of life with a computerised version of the SF-36 questionnaire before a regular the visit to a physician. The results were immediately available for the physician during the consultation for comparison of information given by the patients and the physician's evaluation of the patients overall health status. A focus group interview with the physicians was performed before and after the implementation of routine measurements of health-related quality of life. RESULTS: The systematic assessment concept worked satisfactorily. All patients approached agreed to participate and completed the assessment on the touch screen computer. A weak correlation was found between patients' self-rated health and pulmonary function and between physicians' evaluation and pulmonary function. The physicians appreciated the SF-36 assessments and the value of the patients' perspective although only a few could pinpoint new clinical decisions based upon this new information. CONCLUSION: Physicians' clinical evaluation and patients' self-rating of health status offer unique and important information that are complementary

Generation Pep – study protocol for an intersectoral community-wide physical activity and healthy eating habits initiative for children and young people in Sweden

BackgroundThere is overwhelming evidence for the preventive effects of regular physical activity and healthy eating habits on the risk for developing a non-communicable disease (NCD). Increasing attention has been paid to community-wide approaches in the battle against NCDs. Communities can create supportive policies, modify physical environments, and foster local stakeholder engagement through intersectoral collaboration to encourage communities to support healthy lifestyles. The Pep initiative is based on intersectoral community-wide collaboration among Sweden’s municipalities. Primary targets are municipality professionals who work with children and young people as well as parents of children <18 years. The goal is to spread knowledge and create commitment to children’s and young people’s health with a special focus on physical activity and healthy eating habits to facilitate and support a healthy lifestyle. The overarching aim of the research project described in this study protocol is to investigate factors that influence the implementation of the Pep initiative in Sweden, to inform tailored implementation strategies addressing the needs and local prerequisites of the different municipalities.MethodsThe project includes a qualitative and a quantitative study and is framed by a theoretical model involving four complementary forms of knowledge, explicitly recognized in the Pep initiative: knowledge about the issue; knowledge about interventions; knowledge about the context; and knowledge about implementation. Study 1 is a focus group study exploring barriers and facilitators for implementing the Pep initiative. The study will be carried out in six municipalities, selected purposively to provide wide variation in municipality characteristics, including population size and geographical location. Data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. Study 2 is a cross-sectional web-based survey investigating the implementability of the Pep initiative in Sweden’s 290 municipalities. Conditions for implementing different areas of the Pep initiative will be examined in terms of the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility, three predictors of implementation success. Data will be analyzed using non-parametric statistics.DiscussionThe findings of the two studies will increase understanding of the prerequisites for implementing the Pep initiative in Swedish municipalities, which will provide valuable input into how implementation of the Pep initiative can best be facilitated in the different municipality settings

Study protocol: a multi-professional team intervention of physical activity referrals in primary care patients with cardiovascular risk factors-the Dalby lifestyle intervention cohort (DALICO) study

Background: The present study protocol describes the trial design of a primary care intervention cohort study, which examines whether an extended, multi-professional physical activity referral (PAR) intervention is more effective in enhancing and maintaining self-reported physical activity than physical activity prescription in usual care. The study targets patients with newly diagnosed hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes. Secondary outcomes include: need of pharmacological therapy; blood pressure/plasma glucose; physical fitness and anthropometric variables; mental health; health related quality of life; and cost-effectiveness. Methods/Design: The study is designed as a long term intervention. Three primary care centres are involved in the study, each constituting one of three treatment groups: 1) Intervention group (IG): multi-professional team intervention with PAR, 2) Control group A (CA): physical activity prescription in usual care and 3) Control group B: treatment as usual (retrospective data collection). The intervention is based on self-determination theory and follows the principles of motivational interviewing. The primary outcome, physical activity, is measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and expressed as metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-minutes per week. Physical fitness is estimated with the 6-minute walk test in IG only. Variables such as health behaviours; health-related quality of life; motivation to change; mental health; demographics and socioeconomic characteristics are assessed with an electronic study questionnaire that submits all data to a patient database, which automatically provides feed-back to the health-care providers on the patients' health status. Cost-effectiveness of the intervention is evaluated continuously and the intermediate outcomes of the intervention are extrapolated by economic modelling. Discussions: By helping patients to overcome practical, social and cultural obstacles and increase their internal motivation for physical activity we aim to improve their physical health in a long- term perspective. The targeted patients belong to a patient category that is supposed to benefit from increased physical activity in terms of improved physiological values, mental status and quality of life, decreased risk of complications and maybe a decreased need of medication

Untersuchung von Katalysatoren auf Gold/TiO2-Basis und optoelektronischen Halbleitern mittels Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie und Tomographie

Gold, usually known for its inertness, can be prepared as a nanoporous bulk material showing catalytic properties. A particular advantage of this catalytic material is the stable monolithic structure, combining mechanical strength, thermal and electrical conductivity and a reproducible porosity due to self-organization during the preparation. Important structural properties are the pore size and the size of the gold ligaments. TEM (transmission electron microscopy) is a powerful tool to obtain information on these properties. Additionally, the functionalization of the nanoporous gold with TiO2 particles was investigated. For the application in catalysis of CO-oxidation, the gold can be coated with TiO2 in order to enhance catalytic activity. Furthermore semiconductor heterostructures were investigated. II-VI-based microcavities grown by molecular beam epitaxy designed for emission in the blue spectral region have been comprehensively characterized by transmission electron microscopy in bright field, dark field and scanning mode. Moreover the STEM signal for InP based semiconductors was simulated

Factors associated with patients self-reported adherence to prescribed physical activity in routine primary health care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Written prescriptions of physical activity have increased in popularity. Such schemes have mostly been evaluated in terms of efficacy in clinical trials. This study reports on a physical activity prescription referral scheme implemented in routine primary health care (PHC) in Sweden. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients' self-reported adherence to physical activity prescriptions at 3 and 12 months and to analyse different characteristics associated with adherence to these prescriptions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prospective prescription data were obtained for the general population in 37 of 42 PHC centres in Östergötland County, during 2004. The study population consisted of 3300.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average adherence rate to the prescribed activity was 56% at 3 months and 50% at 12 months. In the multiple logistic regression models, higher adherence was associated with higher activity level at baseline and with prescriptions including home-based activities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Prescription from ordinary PHC staff yielded adherence in half of the patients in this PAR scheme follow-up.</p

Is there a demand for physical activity interventions provided by the health care sector? Findings from a population survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health care providers in many countries have delivered interventions to improve physical activity levels among their patients. Thus far, less is known about the population's interest to increase their physical activity levels and their opinion about the health care provider's role in physical activity promotion. The aims of this paper were to investigate the self-reported physical activity levels of the population and intention to increase physical activity levels, self-perceived need for support, and opinions about the responsibilities of both individuals and health care providers to promote physical activity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A regional public health survey was mailed to 13 440 adults (aged 18-84 years) living in Östergötland County (Sweden) in 2006. The survey was part of the regular effort by the regional Health Authorities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>About 25% of the population was categorised as physically active, 38% as moderately active, 27% as somewhat active, and 11% as low active. More than one-third (37%) had no intentions to increase their physical activity levels, 36% had thought about change, while 27% were determined to change. Lower intention to change was mainly associated with increased age and lower education levels. 28% answered that physical activity was the most important health-related behaviour to change "right now" and 15% of those answered that they wanted or needed support to make this change. Of respondents who might be assumed to be in greatest need of increased activity (i.e. respondents reporting poor general health, BMI>30, and inactivity) more than one-quarter wanted support to make improvements to their health. About half of the respondents who wanted support to increase their physical activity levels listed health care providers as a primary source for support.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings suggest that there is considerable need for physical activity interventions in this population. Adults feel great responsibility for their own physical activity levels, but also attribute responsibility for promoting increased physical activity to health care practitioners.</p

A nationwide study on parathyroid carcinoma

Background: Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is rare and diagnostically challenging. Reported outcomes are rather poor and the incidence might be increasing.Material and methods: We performed a nationwide study on all cases (n=32) diagnosed in 2000-2011 in Finland, and compared clinical and histopathological characteristics and outcome to atypical parathyroid (APA; n=28) and parathyroid adenomas (PA; n=72). The incidence in years 1955-1999 was compared to that in 2000-2013.Results: Preoperatively, calcium and parathyroid hormone concentrations were higher in PC compared to APA and PA (1.76, 1.56 and 1.44mmol/l, pPeer reviewe

Response to letter on use of functional imaging by 11C-metomidate PET for primary aldosteronism subtyping

Non peer reviewe

Activating People : Physical activity in the general population and referral schemes among primary health care patients in a Swedish county

In this thesis the need for physical activity interventions is investigated in a general adult population, the characteristics of physical activity referral (PAR) scheme recipients and referral practitioners, and the effectiveness of PAR in a routine primary health-care (PHC) setting in the county of Östergötland, Sweden. The thesis consists of four papers: three papers are based on a quantitative, uncontrolled prospective PAR study and one paper is based on a population survey in the county of Östergötland, Sweden. In 2006, only one in four of the adult population, aged 18–84 years, in Östergötland was considered sufficiently active to meet the Swedish national public health recommendations, stated as “30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day”. More than one-third (37%) reported that they hade no intentions to change their physical activity levels, while 36% had thought about change, and 27% were determined to change. Although the individuals felt a large responsibility for their own physical activity, they also believed that this responsibility is partly shared by health-care providers. Among those who wanted to increase their physical activity level, almost one in seven of the total population and one in four among those reporting poor general health, with a BMI over 30 and those who were inactive reported that they wanted support to bring about this change. More than half of them wanted this support from their health-care provider. During 2004 and 2005, a total of 6300 patients received PARs as part of the Östergötland PAR scheme. Two-thirds of the patients were female and half of the patients were 45–64 years old. The PAR scheme reached a relatively high proportion of physically inactive people. PARrelated statistics, including the numbers of referrals made at individual PHC centres and by different professional categories, showed large differences in prescribing activities, both by patient categories, and by prescribing professionals, indicating great potential for further improvements of this scheme in the future. Half of the patients (51%) who received PARs were recommended home-based activities, such as walking. Patient follow-up showed that an increase in self-reported physical activity level was achieved by 52% of the patients at the 12-month follow-up. The proportion of inactive patients decreased from 33% at baseline to 20% at 12 months. The proportion of patients who were physically active on a regular basis increased from 22% at baseline to 32% at 12 months. Neither patient age, diagnosis/PAR reason nor the profession of the prescriber were associated with differences in effectiveness. Low activity levels at baseline and homebased activities were significantly associated with increased physical activity at 12 months. Half of the patients (50%) achieved adherence to PARs at the 12-month follow-up, with adherence assessed by simply asking the patients about their adherence to prescribed activity. Patients’ activity levels at baseline (being at least somewhat physically active) and being issued home-based activities were significantly associated with higher adherence at 12 months