ABSTRACT Introduction There has been no valid and reliable instrument available to measure the impact of oral health on the quality of life of Slovenian preschool children. The main aim of this study ...was to develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of the first Slovenian instrument assessing Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) preschool children: the ECOHIS-SVN. Methods The ECOHIS-SVN was developed using forward-backward translations and with the participation of children aged under six and their parents. The children’s teeth were examined, and parents were asked to complete questionnaires, including the ECOHIS-SVN. The internal consistency of ECOHIS-SVN was evaluated through the calculation of Cronbach’s alpha (α), test-retest reliability with an intra-class-correlation coefficient (ICC), convergent validity with Spearman’s rank correlation (r) and criterion validity with the Mann-Whitney test. The association between the ECOHIS-SVN score and parents’ age, educational level, self-reported oral health and OHIP-SVN14 was estimated using multiple linear regression. Results In the study, 255 children participated, with a mean age of 4.8 years (±0.8). The ECOHIS-SVN questionnaire was completed by the parents of all 255 children and re-filled by 71 parents. The results of the total ECOHIS-SVN scale include α=0.85, ICC=0.85, and r=0.6-0.75. A statistically significant association was found between the ECOHIS-SVN and parents’ age and between the ECOHIS-SVN and parents’ OHIP-SVN14 in the whole group and in the subgroup of children with no teeth affected by cavitated caries (dmft=0) (p=0.025, p=0.028), respectively. Conclusion ECOHIS-SVN enables further studies to assess the OHRQoL of preschool children in the Slovenian-speaking population.
Izvleček
Refleksna nevrokardiogena sinkopa je ena izmed najbolj pogostih oblik izgube zavesti, pri kateri prekomeren odziv parasimpatičnega živčnega sistema vodi do padca krvnega pritiska preko ...vazodilatacije in/ali znižanja srčnega utripa. Gre za sinkopo, ki praviloma ni povezana z organsko boleznijo, zato je njena prognoza dobra in umrljivost ni povečana, lahko pa vpliva na kvaliteto življenja. Z novo metodo zdravljenja - kardionevroablacijo - želimo doseči izboljšanje kvalitete življenja pri pacientih s pogostimi epizodami refleksne nevrokardiogene sinkope s prevladujočo kardioinhibitorno komponento, pri katerih nefarmakološki in farmakološki načini zdravljenja niso učinkoviti, vstavitev srčnega spodbujevalnika pa zaradi mladosti odsvetovana. Gre za perkutani elektrofiziološki poseg, kjer z radiofrekvenčno ablacijo z endokardialne strani uničimo specifične parasimpatične ganglije epikardialno na srcu. Na ta način dosežemo delno parasimpatično denervacijo srca in s tem zmanjšamo ali odpravimo prekomeren vpliv parasimpatičnega živčevja na srce in posledično tudi kardioinhibitorno komponentno refleksne nevrokardiogene sinkope.
The purpose of this study was to translate the low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) score into Slovenian and to test its validity on Slovenian patients who underwent low anterior rectal resection.
...The LARS score was translated from English into Slovenian and then back-translated following international recommendations. The Slovenian version of the LARS questionnaire was completed by patients who underwent low anterior rectal resection between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2010 at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. An anchor question assessing the impact of bowel function on lifestyle was included. To assess test-retest reliability, some of the patients answered the LARS score questionnaire twice.
A total of 100 patients (66.7%) of the 150 patients who were contacted for participation, were included in the final analysis. A total of 58 patients reported major LARS score. The LARS score was able to discriminate between patients who received radiotherapy and those who did not (p<0.001), and between total and partial mesorectal excision (p<0.001). Age was not associated with a greater LARS score (p=0.975). There was a perfect fit between the QoL category question and the LARS score in 66.0% of cases and a moderate fit was found in 24.0% of the cases, showing good convergent validity. Test-retest reliability of 51 patients showed a high intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.86.
The Slovenian translation of the LARS score is a valid tool for measuring LARS.
The author writes about the quality of life in northwest Croatia, which changed through the centuries and was different in rural and urban areas. Life in northwest Croatia before the beginning of the ...20th century was very hard – poverty was widespread in the villages, families were large, living conditions unfavourable, sewers and waterworks non-existent. Most people worked in agriculture, which was dependent on the climate and weather conditions (which were often bad), while food was monotonous and lacking. Sanitation and hygiene were almost unknown, education was basic or non-existent, and healthcare was minimal. In such conditions, the qualities of live such as exist today were rarely thought or spoken about. With some exceptions, this state of affairs in the countryside lasted almost until the mid-20th century or, in some places, persisted even longer. When compared to the countryside, the quality of life of people residing in cities or towns was somewhat different. Such people also didn’t think much about quality of life, but they did take steps to “beautify” it, not only in their private lives, but also by changing the surroundings in which they lived. In this work, the author uses the example of Varaždin to show how the quality of life in the city, like that in the countryside, changed from century to century, albeit in different ways. In the city, there were differences in the quality of life of workers, traders, craftsmen, middle class, and nobles. The examples mentioned in this work confirm that the quality of life both in the countryside and the city changed from century to century, that that which was of good quality and rarely available in the 18th century became more common in the 19th century, and that the greatest changes were recorded in the 20th century.
The aim was to determine whether pregnant women conceiving through in vitro fertilization (IVF) differ from those conceiving spontaneously in terms of psychological well-being and the quality of ...life.
In a prospective study we included 75 women conceived after IVF and 78 who conceived spontaneously in the same time period (control group). All the women were sent a self-report questionnaire about demographic and reproductive history, health, pregnancy concerns, containing Subjective Quality of Life Scale (QLS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Zung Self-Assessment Anxiety Scale (SAS); obstetric and newborn's data were obtained from medical records. Response rate was 66.6% in the IVF and 83.3% in control group.
The mean women's age was 33.8 years in the IVF, and 32.5 years in the control group (NS). There were no significant differences between groups on the most of the outcome measures assessing psychological status. IVF mothers were just less satisfied in "friend/acquaintances" (P=0.03), a higher percentage had sexual problems prior to conception (P=0.03); the length of hospitalization during pregnancy was longer (P=0.02), and the preterm delivery rate was higher (P=0.01). Withingroup changes over gestation time indicated that IVF women, not controls, showed an increase in positive affect (P=0.04) and purpose in life (P=0.05).
IVF women are inclined to social isolation. Despite more medical problems during pregnancy, they reported improved positive emotions and purpose in life as the pregnancy progressed.
The research used different indicators to objectively evaluate the quality of residential environment in Ljubljana at the outset of the second decade of the 21st century. Residential environment was ...defined as the characteristics of the dwelling and its immediate and wider surroundings that are pertinent for satisfying general human needs and for performing basic human functions. The elements of the residential environment were arranged into seven groups: dwelling characteristics, safety, aesthetics, accessibility to urban amenities, environmental strain, social environment, and transportation conditions. The quality of the residential environment as a whole was measured accurately to the building using the method of summing the unweighted standardised indicators. We concluded that the quality of the residential environment in Ljubljana differs significantly between areas. The study results can be useful to city authorities and spatial planners as a support in the decision-making for management as well as planning purposes~for example, as the basis for improving the residential environment or for determining the appropriate locations for residential construction.
Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi vezu između pušenja, pijenja
alkohola i raznih pokazatelja kvalitete življenja. Istraživanje je
provedeno na reprezentativnom uzorku hrvatskih građana (N
= 4721) u ...okviru projekta "Zlouporaba sredstava ovisnosti u
općoj populaciji Republike Hrvatske". Podaci su prikupljeni
metodom ankete licem-u-lice. Rezultati su pokazali da
nepušači i osobe koje umjereno piju (nekoliko puta na
mjesec) imaju viši stupanj kvalitete življenja nego pušači, bivši
pušači i osobe koje piju češće od nekoliko puta na mjesec. U
svim analizama kontrolirana je dob, prihodi i spol. Nadalje,
pokazalo se da osobe koje piju često (nekoliko puta na
tjedan ili češće) imaju niži stupanj kvalitete življenja od onih
koji ne piju tako često, ako to rade zbog toga što se ne mogu
nositi sa svakodnevnim problemima ili jer osjećaju socijalni
pritisak. Rezultati istraživanja interpretirani su u skladu sa
suvremenim znanstvenim teorijama.
Subjective well-being is a broad area of scientific interest, which has been increasingly occupying the attention of researchers for the past thirty years. It refers to a general assessment of ...satisfaction with life, as well as emotional reactions and satisfaction with various aspects of life. Research on subjective well-being typically involves a scientific analysis of how people evaluate their life, both for the current situation, and for longer periods of time. The importance of subjective well-being research is illustrated by the data that indicates the advantages of experiencing positive emotions, such as fostering the quality of social relations, creativity, and psychological resources of the individual. This paper discusses the conceptual definition of subjective well-being, different theoretical perspectives and approaches, as well as the dominant topic in contemporary research.
In the monograph (‘Ethnography of intergenerational relations: home and work on farms through life stories’), intergenerational relationships are discussed along the lines of demographical ...anthropology (Chapter 1).
Polazeći od općeg definiranja pojma i čimbenika kvalitete življenja, u radu je dat pregled suvremenih spoznaja o čimbenicima
i indikatorima procjene kvalitete življenja osoba s intelektualnim ...teškoćama. Navodeći tumačenja osnovnih dimenzija kvalitete
življenja u kontekstu različitih teorijskih polazišta, naglašava se značaj multidimenzionalnog i interakcionalnog pristupa
ovom području istraživanja. Kritički se razmatraju dosadašnje tendencije istraživanja o obilježjima kvalitete življenja osoba
s intelektualnim teškoćama, s uočavanjem nesrazmjera između holističkih i ekoloških teorijskih postavki i ograničenog
obuhvaćanja različitih faktora u većini postojećih istraživanja, a u kojima prevladavaju procjene samo nekih, najčešće objektivnih
indikatora. Ukazuje se na zapostavljenost ovog područja istraživanja u našim uvjetima, kao i na potrebu daljnjeg razvoja do sada
nedovoljno zastupljenih metoda procjene subjektivnog doživljaja kvalitete življenja osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama, osobito
kvalitativnog tipa. Na kraju se naglašava značaj primjenjenih istraživanja tj. primjene koncepta kvalitete življenja kao osnove
za razvoj suvremenih modela i programa podrške u zajednici usmjerenih k unapređenju kvalitete življenja osoba s intelektualnim
teškoćama.
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