It is often difficult for the clinician to choose the most appropriate balance-assessment measure. We wanted to facilitate this decision based on the stroke patient’s functional abilities. The aim of ...our study was to compare three established scales Berg Balance Scale (BBS), mini-BESTest (MBT) and Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) in terms of responsiveness, floor and ceiling effects at different levels of ambulation as defined by the Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC). The 18-month prospective study included 88 patients after cerebral stroke, who were able to walk independently or with assistance of one person (FAC 2–6). BBS showed the highest relative gain in the FAC 2–3 group (17% of maximum scale score); in the other two groups (FAC 4–5 and FAC 6), MBT showed the highest relative gain (16 and 13%, respectively), followed by FGA (11 and 10%, respectively). Among the patients with initial FAC 2–3, a floor effect occurred with FGA, while a ceiling effect occurred with BBS among patients with initial FAC 6. Gain in FGA correlated slightly more with improvement detected by MBT (r = 0.60) than with BBS (r = 0.50). We can conclude that BBS seems to be suitable for stroke patients with initial FAC 2–5, whereas MBT and FGA for those with FAC 4–6.
Acute pain management for older adults Hosseini, Faroakh; Mullins, Sophie; Gibson, William ...
Clinical medicine (London, England),
July 2022, 2022-07-00, 20220701, Letnik:
22, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Older adults may experience a number of physiological changes that influence how acute pain is perceived, diagnosed and managed by healthcare professionals. Understanding these differences enables ...the identification, assessment and treatment of acute pain in older adults. Combining careful selection of pain medications with appropriate titration and monitoring allows the analgesic needs of this group to be met.
The aim of this study was to validate the Short Multidimensional Inventory Lifestyle Evaluation-Confinement (SMILE-C) in a Malaysian context. The SMILE-C, which is a respondent-generated instrument, ...was used to ask participants questions on their lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. The indices of seven sub-scores were then calculated. A total of 121 university staff members completed the Malay version of the SMILE-C as well as instruments for measuring well-being, family life satisfaction, mindfulness and awareness, work engagement, and quality of life. The Cronbach’s alpha values and Pearson correlation coefficients were satisfactory in this initial validation of the instrument. The SMILE-C showed positive correlations with all the variables being studied. The results supported the criterion-related validity and psychometric properties of the Malay version of the SMILE-C as an instrument for assessing lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This paper presents two robot devices for use in the rehabilitation of upper limb movements and reports the quantitative parameters obtained to characterize the rate of improvement, thus allowing a ...precise monitoring of patient's recovery. A one degree of freedom (DoF) wrist manipulator and a two-DoF elbow-shoulder manipulator were designed using an admittance control strategy; if the patient could not move the handle, the devices completed the motor task. Two groups of chronic post-stroke patients (G1 n=7, and G2 n=9) were enrolled in a three week rehabilitation program including standard physical therapy (45 min daily) plus treatment by means of robot devices, respectively, for wrist and elbow-shoulder movements (40 min, twice daily). Both groups were evaluated by means of standard clinical assessment scales and a new robot measured evaluation metrics that included an active movement index quantifying the patient's ability to execute the assigned motor task without robot assistance, the mean velocity, and a movement accuracy index measuring the distance of the executed path from the theoretic one. After treatment, both groups improved their motor deficit and disability. In G1, there was a significant change in the clinical scale values (p<0.05) and range of motion wrist extension (p<0.02). G2 showed a significant change in clinical scales (p<0.01), in strength (p<0.05) and in the robot measured parameters (p<0.01). The relationship between robot measured parameters and the clinical assessment scales showed a moderate and significant correlation (r>0.53 p<0.03). Our findings suggest that robot-aided neurorehabilitation may improve the motor outcome and disability of chronic post-stroke patients. The new robot measured parameters may provide useful information about the course of treatment and its effectiveness at discharge.
Housing and its indoor environment influence its inhabitants’ comfort, productivity, and health. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly important to investigate the factors that affect indoor ...environmental quality. Thus, numerous sustainability assessment systems have been developed to evaluate building performance. This paper presents a model for evaluating the indoor environment of housing located in the Biobio region of Chile, integrating aspects that influence its overall quality. The research methodology proposes a strategy to identify appropriate evaluation criteria and contextualized standards. The application of the model made it possible to identify the level of performance of studio dwellings for each category, namely air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, and lighting, as well as the overall evaluation of the IEQ. The results reflect that the lowest levels of performance in the three houses were with respect to the acoustic evaluation criteria, while the highest levels of performance were for the air quality evaluation criteria.
Aim
Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a nonconventional low‐cost method of newborn care. Our aim was to assess the effect of sustained KMC on the growth and development of low birthweight Indian babies ...up to the age of 12 months.
Methods
We enrolled 500 mother and baby pairs, in groups of five, in a parallel group controlled clinical trial. The three infants with the lowest birthweight in each group received KMC, while the other two received conventional care. All babies were exclusively breastfed for 6 months. Babies in the intervention group were provided KMC until the infant was 40 weeks of corrected gestation or weighed 2500 g. Weight, length and head, chest and arm circumferences were evaluated at birth and at the corrected ages of 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Development was assessed using the Developmental Assessment Scales for Indian Infants (DASII) at 12 months.
Results
The KMC babies rapidly achieved physical growth parameters similar to the control babies at 40 weeks of corrected age. But after that, they surpassed them, despite being smaller at birth. DASII motor and mental development quotients were also significantly better for KMC babies.
Conclusion
The infants in the KMC group showed better physical growth and development than the conventional control group.
Abstract
Background
Scar assessment plays a key role during burns aftercare, to monitor scar remodelling and patients’ psychosocial well-being. To aid assessment, subjective scar assessment scales ...are available that use health-care professionals’ and patients’ opinions to score scar characteristics. The subjective scales are more widely used in clinical practice over objective scar measures. To date, there is no research that considers patients’ views on scar assessment and the role of subjective and objective assessment tools. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore patients’ perspectives on scar assessment and the utility of scar assessment tools during burns rehabilitation.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 adult burn patients who were being reviewed in clinic for scarring. Participants were recruited via their clinical care team and research nurses at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Topics covered during interview included patient experience of scar assessment, the use of scar assessment tools and discussion surrounding important factors to be addressed when assessing scars. A thematic analysis using the Framework Method was conducted.
Results
Participants identified key subthemes that contribute towards the overarching theme of patient-centred scar assessment. These are: patient-led care; continuity in care; learning how to self-manage scarring; and psychological assessment. Links were demonstrated between these subthemes and the remaining themes that describe scar assessment strategies, indicating their potential patient-centred contributions. The subjective opinions of clinicians were found to be valued above the use of subjective or objective scar assessment tools. Scar assessment scales were perceived to be a beneficial method for self-reflection in relation to psychosocial functioning. However, minimal feedback and review of completed assessment scales led to uncertainty regarding their purpose. Patients perceived objective tools to be of primary use for health-care professionals, though the measures may aid patients’ understanding of scar properties.
Conclusions
Scar assessment tools should be used to support, rather than replace, health-care professionals’ subjective judgements of scarring. Adapting the way in which clinicians introduce and use scar assessment tools, according to patient needs, can support a patient-centred approach to scar assessment.
Purpose There is growing interest in the assessment of positive mental health as a global indicator of societal wealth. We aimed to adapt the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (WEMWBS) into ...Spanish and to perform a preliminary evaluation of its metric properties. Methods Forward and back-translations and cognitive debriefing were carried out. University students (n = 148) were recruited to evaluate the final Spanish version, following the UK original study. Distribution of WEMWBS responses, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, construct validity, and factor structure were assessed. Results Only 4 (out of 14) items of the initial Spanish version were not rated as conceptually and linguistically equivalent to the original and were modified. The final version was clear and comprehensible. Global score's Cronbach's alpha (0.90), item-total score correlations (0.44–0.76), and test–retest ICC (0.84) were all satisfactory. Moderate to high correlations (r = 0.45–0.70) were observed between the WEMWBS and validity scales. Preliminary confirmatory factor analyses did not support the hypothesis of a single factor. Conclusions A conceptually equivalent Spanish version of the WEMWBS was obtained with high internal consistency, good test–retest reliability, and similar construct validity as the original instrument. Further validity and factorial studies are necessary in larger and more heterogeneous samples.
Women who are victims of intimate partner violence often suffer of depression and anxiety disorders. We evaluated the performance of the SRQ-20 scale (screening test for common mental health ...disorders), in women victims of intimate partner violence by male partners. A total of 100 women were surveyed from the out-patient mental health services in four health institutions in Valle del Cauca (Colombia). SRQ-20 scales (Binary version versus Likert version) were compared with mental health diagnoses based on the HSCL-25 scale, as the gold standard. Optimal SRQ-20 cut-off score is > = 6 points; lower than the initially suggested, sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 90.9%. The new SRQ-20-Likert scale, establishing a cut-off of > = 8 points, shows better sensitivity (98.9%) and equal specificity than the original scale. Studied SRQ-20 scales are promising instruments for screening mental health disorders among women victims of intimate partner violence in primary health care settings.
The aim of the present study was to Psychometric Properties the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales, Second Edition in students of Tehran's Sampad School in the academic year of 2017-2018, which ...provided a standard tool for measuring gifted children and adolescents. after the adaptation process and psychometric analyzes in the context of the Pilot version with a sample size of 30 students, a review was carried out and a Try-Out Edition version was developed. The analyzes related to the index of difficulty, clean index and other psychometric properties were carried out with a sample size of 120 students and resulted in the development of a standard version. In line with the standardization process with a sample size of 704,it was found that all questions had a suitable difficulty index and they were identified by Cronbach's alpha in terms of internal consistency coefficient and test-retest method based on stability coefficient. The coefficients of credit are more than 80%, and the tool has internal consistency and stability. Also, according to the criteria of the new version of the Tehran-Stanford-Binet Investigations Exploration, it was determined that the instrument has a criterion validity Using the recommended psychometric properties and executive capabilities in a short time, the scale can be used to measure the intelligence profile of gifted students.
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