Perception of a chronic illness is a driver of patient behaviour that may impact treatment outcomes. The cross-sectional PETRA study was designed to describe the links between disease perception, ...patient behaviour and treatment outcomes in adults with allergic rhinitis (AR). Overall, 687 French general practitioners (GPs) included 1929 analysable patients (mean age: 39 years; intermittent/persistent symptoms: 46.2/52.3%). Of the patients, 14.1% had also been diagnosed with asthma; 71.7% had uncontrolled AR (ARCT score < 20), and 53.6% had a good perception of their illness (BIPQ score < 5). Factors significantly associated with poor perception of AR were ENT (ear/nose/throat) complications, nasal pruritus, uncontrolled AR and asthma. A strong negative correlation was observed between the BIPQ and ARCT scores: the poorer the patient's perception, the less the AR was controlled. Although no causal relationship could be drawn, GP-driven improvement of AR perception could lead to better control of symptoms.
Abstract
Eight million Ukrainians have taken refuge in the European Union. Many have asthma and/or allergic rhinitis and/or urticaria, and around 100,000 may have a severe disease. Cultural and ...language barriers are a major obstacle to appropriate management. Two widely available mHealth apps, MASK‐air® (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK) for the management of rhinitis and asthma and CRUSE® (Chronic Urticaria Self Evaluation) for patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria, were updated to include Ukrainian versions that make the documented information available to treating physicians in their own language. The Ukrainian patients fill in the questionnaires and daily symptom‐medication scores for asthma, rhinitis (MASK‐air) or urticaria (CRUSE) in Ukrainian. Then, following the GDPR, patients grant their physician access to the app by scanning a QR code displayed on the physician's computer enabling the physician to read the app contents in his/her own language. This service is available freely. It takes less than a minute to show patient data to the physician in the physician's web browser. UCRAID—developed by ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) and UCARE (Urticaria Centers of Reference and Excellence)—is under the auspices of the Ukraine Ministry of Health as well as European (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical immunology, EAACI, European Respiratory Society, ERS, European Society of Dermatologic Research, ESDR) and national societies.
Background
Google Trends (GTs) is a web‐based surveillance tool that explores the searching trends of specific queries via Google. This tool proposes to reflect the real‐life epidemiology of allergic ...rhinitis and asthma. However, the validation of GTs against pollen concentrations is missing at the country level.
Objectives
In the present study, we used GTs (a) to compare the terms related to allergy in France, (b) to assess seasonal variations across the country for 5 years and (c) to compare GTs and pollen concentrations for 2016.
Methods
Google Trends queries were initially searched to investigate the terms reflecting pollen and allergic diseases. 13‐ and 5‐year GTs were used in France. Then, 5‐year GTs were assessed in all metropolitan French regions to assess the seasonality of GTs. Finally, GTs were compared with pollen concentrations (Réseau National de Surveillance en Aerobiology) for 2016 in seven regions (GTs) and corresponding cities (pollen concentrations).
Results
The combination of searches for “allergy” as a disease, “pollen” as a disease cause and “ragweed” as a plant was needed to fully assess the pollen season in France. “Asthma” did not show any seasonality. Using the 5‐year GTs, an annual and clear seasonality of queries was found in all regions depending on the predicted pollen exposure for spring and a summer peak but not for winter peaks. The agreement between GT queries and pollen concentrations is usually poor except for spring trees and grasses. Moreover, cypress pollens are insufficiently reported by GTs.
Conclusions
Google Trends cannot predict the pollen season in France.
Google Trends (GTs) is a web‐based tool that explores searching trends. This tool was used to search the terms related to allergy in France, to assess 5‐year seasonal variations across the country and to compare GTs with the pollen concentrations for 2016. The combination of terms “allergy,” “pollen” and “ragweed” was needed to fully assess the pollen season in France. GTs cannot predict the pollen season in France.
Making quality improvement stick and stay Weaver, Lynda; Bossé, Isabelle; Sinclair, Dionne ...
Healthcare Management Forum,
01/2016, Volume:
29, Issue:
1
Book Review, Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This article examines issues related to sustaining Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives in a Canadian subacute care hospital and recommends strategies to address them. The authors define two levels ...of sustainability, the QI project and the corporate/organizational and how they influence a LEADS (Lead Self, Engage Others, Achieve Results, Develop Coalition and System Transformation) culture. The authors then reflect on the differing factors for QI sustainability and present them under five essential categories of accountability, education, communication, monitoring and reporting, and structure and processes.
Abstract Background Google Trends (GTs) is a web‐based surveillance tool that explores the searching trends of specific queries via Google. This tool proposes to reflect the real‐life epidemiology of ...allergic rhinitis and asthma. However, the validation of GTs against pollen concentrations is missing at the country level. Objectives In the present study, we used GTs (a) to compare the terms related to allergy in France, (b) to assess seasonal variations across the country for 5 years and (c) to compare GTs and pollen concentrations for 2016. Methods Google Trends queries were initially searched to investigate the terms reflecting pollen and allergic diseases. 13‐ and 5‐year GTs were used in France. Then, 5‐year GTs were assessed in all metropolitan French regions to assess the seasonality of GTs. Finally, GTs were compared with pollen concentrations ( Réseau National de Surveillance en Aerobiology ) for 2016 in seven regions (GTs) and corresponding cities (pollen concentrations). Results The combination of searches for “allergy” as a disease, “pollen” as a disease cause and “ragweed” as a plant was needed to fully assess the pollen season in France. “Asthma” did not show any seasonality. Using the 5‐year GTs, an annual and clear seasonality of queries was found in all regions depending on the predicted pollen exposure for spring and a summer peak but not for winter peaks. The agreement between GT queries and pollen concentrations is usually poor except for spring trees and grasses. Moreover, cypress pollens are insufficiently reported by GTs. Conclusions Google Trends cannot predict the pollen season in France.
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