Effectiveness of Teleassistance at Improving Quality of Life in People with Neuromuscular Diseases

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Martínez ◽  
Amaia Jometón ◽  
Manuel Pérez ◽  
Esther Lázaro ◽  
Imanol Amayra ◽  
...  

AbstractRare neuromuscular diseases (NDs) are a group of inherited or acquired neurological pathologies affecting the muscles and the nervous system. Their low prevalence and high geographical dispersion can cause isolation and difficulties in social interaction between affected equals. New technologies, such as videoconferencing, offer a complementary option for improving the health of this population. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a teleassistance program at improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) through social interaction in adults with NDs. The sample consisted of 45 participants affected by rare NDs. Twenty-four participants were assigned to the experimental group (EG), which participated in the videoconferencing sessions, and 21 to the control group. Three questionnaires were administered: WHO-DAS II, Sickness Impact Profile, and SF-36 Health Survey. Effectiveness was assessed by a pre-post design. An online psychosocial program was applied over three-month period. Data revealed an improvement of the EG in psychosocial variables, e.g. “Getting along with people” (z = –2.289, r = –.47, p ≤ .05) or “Psychosocial Domain” (z = –2.404, r = –.49, p ≤ .05), and in physical variables, e.g. “Life activities” (z = –2.844, r = –.58, p ≤ .05). Social interaction appeared as a relevant factor at improving HRQoL levels. High levels of satisfaction about the teleassistance program were reported.

2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562098769
Author(s):  
Mecheala Abbas Ali ◽  
Alwaleed Fadul Nasir ◽  
Shaza K. Abass

Objective: This study compared the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among children with a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate (CL±P) and a group of their peers. The reliability of the Arabic version of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile Questionnaire (COHIP) was also assessed. Design: A cross-sectional study. Settings: Cleft clinic in a private dental college in Omdurman City, Sudan. Patients: In all, 75 children (mean age 11.3 ± 2.5 years) with a history of CL±P and a group of 150 school children without CL±P (mean age 11.4 ± 2.6 years). Main Outcome Measures: Overall and subscale scores on the Arabic version of the COHIP. Results: Test–retest reliability of COHIP in Arabic was high with an interclass correlation coefficient >0.8. Cronbach α value internal consistency was 0.8 for the total scale and between 0.7 and 0.8 for the subscales. The COHIP score was 89.41 ± 19.97 in children with CL±P and 122.82 ± 9.45 for the control group. Children with CL±P had significantly lower scores on the overall and all subscales when compared to children without CL±P ( P ≤ .001). Among the children with CL±P, there were no statistically significant differences on the COHIP based on age and/or gender ( P ≥ .05). Conclusions: Children with CL±P had a relatively high OHRQoL, which was lower than that of their peers without CL±P in both the overall scale and all subscales. Gender and age differences had no significant impact on the OHRQoL. The COHIP Arabic version showed appropriate reliability.


Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
I Re Heo ◽  
Ho Cheol Kim ◽  
Tae Hoon Kim

Background and Objectives: preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm) is a common spirometric pattern that causes respiratory symptoms, systemic inflammation, and mortality. However, its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its associated factors remain unclear. We aimed to identify these HRQOL-related factors and investigate the differences in HROOL between persons with PRISm and those with normal lung function. Materials and Methods: we reviewed the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2008 to 2013 to evaluate the HRQOL of persons with PRISm, as measured while using the Euro Quality of Life-5D (EQ-5D) and identify any influencing factors. PRISm was defined as pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) <80% predicted and FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio (FEV1/FVC) ≥0.7. Individuals with FEV1 ≥80% predicted and FEV1/FVC ≥0.7 were considered as Controls. Results: of the 27,824 participants over the age of 40 years, 1875 had PRISm. The age- and sex-adjusted EQ-5D index was lower in the PRISm group than in the control group (PRISm, 0.930; control, 0.941; p = 0.005). The participants with PRISm showed a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension (p < 0.001), diabetes (p < 0.001), obesity (p < 0.001), low physical activity (p = 0.001), ever-smoker (p < 0.001), and low income (p = 0.034) than those in the control group. In participants with PRISm, lower EQ-5D index scores were independently associated with old age (p = 0.002), low income (p < 0.001), low education level (p < 0.001), and no economic activity (p < 0.001). Three out of five EQ-5D dimensions (mobility, self-care, and usual activity) indicated a higher proportion of dissatisfied participants in the PRISm group than the control group. Conclusions: the participants with PRISm were identified to have poor HRQOL when compared to those without PRISm. Old age and low socioeconomic status play important roles in HRQOL deterioration in patients with PRISm. By analyzing risk factors that are associated with poor HRQOL, early detection and intervention of PRISm can be done in order to preserve patients’ quality of life.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-117
Author(s):  
Tahereh Haji Seyed Javadi ◽  
Najmeh Aghareb Parast ◽  
Sahar Shahsavani ◽  
Mir Javad Chehraghi ◽  
Leila Razavi ◽  
...  

Background: Considering the prevalence of migraine and its detrimental effects on functioning, physical health, and quality of life as well as its psychosocial and social risks. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction treatment with treatment based on acceptance and commitment to the severity of pain and health-related quality of life in migraine patients. Methods: In this study, a semi-experimental design used with pre-test, post-test, a 3-month follow-up, and a control group. Using purposive sampling and considering the inclusion criteria, 45 patients with migraine diagnosis selected from among those referring to the neurology department of Imam Hossein hospital in Tehran. They were then randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. The first experimental group received group therapy based on mindfulness (n = 15; 90-minute sessions), the second experimental group received acceptance and commitment based intervention (n = 15; 90-minute sessions), and the control group (n = 15) received no intervention. All subjects responded to pain intensity and health-related quality of life questionnaires before the intervention (pre-test), after the intervention (post-test), and 3 months after the intervention (follow-up). One-way ANOVA analyzed the collected data. Results: The findings showed that mean scores for the 2 experimental groups were significantly different from the control group in the post-test and follow-up phases in terms of severity of pain and health-related quality of life, while the mean scores for the two experimental groups did not differ significantly. The results emphasize the importance of these interventions for chronic diseases and offer new horizons in clinical interventions. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy could positively affect the severity of pain and health-related quality of life in migraine patients, and any of them can be used to improve the variables mentioned above.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1593-1603
Author(s):  
Michał Rabijewski ◽  
Lucyna Papierska ◽  
Radosław Maksym ◽  
Ryszard Tomasiuk ◽  
Anna Kajdy ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between men with prediabetes (PD) and a control group as well as to investigate the relationship between HRQoL and anabolic hormones. The analysis was carried out in 176 middle-aged (40–59 years) and elderly (60 80 years) men with PD, and 184 control peers. PD was defined according the American Diabetes Association and HRQoL was assessed by the SF-36 questionnaire. Total testosterone (TT), calculated free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) were measured. Analysis of the standardized physical and mental component summary scores (SF-36p and SF-36m) revealed that patients with PD had lower SF-36p and SF-36m than control group ( p < .02 and p < .001). Middle-aged men with PD had lower SF-36p and SF-36m than control peers, whereas elderly men with PD had lower only SF-36p. In men with PD negative correlations between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and SF-35m score ( r = −0.3768; p = .02) and between HbA1c and SF-36p score ( r = −0.3453; p = .01) were reported. In middle-aged prediabetic men, SF-36p was associated with high free testosterone and low HbA1c while SF-36m with high TT and high DHEAS. In elderly patients with PD, SF-36p was associated with high TT, high IGF-1, and low HbA1c, while SF-36m correlated with high free testosterone and high DHEAS. In conclusion, PD in men is associated with decreased HRQoL in comparison with healthy men, and generally better quality of life is associated with higher testosterone, higher free testosterone, higher DHEAS, and lower HbA1c.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. van Eck van der Sluijs ◽  
◽  
A. A. Bonenkamp ◽  
F. W. Dekker ◽  
A. C. Abrahams ◽  
...  

Abstract Background More than 6200 End Stage Renal Disease patients in the Netherlands are dependent on dialysis, either performed at home or in a dialysis centre. Visiting a dialysis centre three times a week is considered a large burden by many patients. However, recent data regarding the effects of dialysis at home on quality of life, clinical outcomes, and costs compared with in-centre haemodialysis are lacking. Methods The Dutch nOcturnal and hoME dialysis Study To Improve Clinical Outcomes (DOMESTICO) is a nationwide, prospective, observational cohort study that will include adult patients starting with a form of dialysis. Health-related quality of life, as the primary outcome, clinical outcomes and costs, as secondary outcomes, will be measured every 3–6 months in patients on home dialysis, and compared with a control group consisting of in-centre haemodialysis patients. During a 3-year period 800 home dialysis patients (600 peritoneal dialysis and 200 home haemodialysis patients) and a comparison group of 800 in-centre haemodialysis patients will be included from 53 Dutch dialysis centres (covering 96% of Dutch centres) and 1 Belgian dialysis centre (covering 4% of Flemish centres). Discussion DOMESTICO will prospectively investigate the effect of home dialysis therapies on health-related quality of life, clinical outcomes and costs, in comparison with in-centre haemodialysis. The findings of this study are expected to ameliorate the shared decision-making process and give more guidance to healthcare professionals, in particular to assess which type of patients may benefit most from home dialysis. Trial registration The DOMESTICO study is registered with the National Trial Register on (number: NL6519, date of registration: 22 August 2017) and the Central Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (CCMO) (number: NL63277.029.17).


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 819-823
Author(s):  
Patricia Palomo-López ◽  
Ricardo Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo ◽  
Marta Elena Losa-Iglesias ◽  
Daniel López-López ◽  
David Rodríguez-Sanz ◽  
...  

SUMMARY Generalized ligamentous hyperlaxity (GLH) has been shown to predispose an individual to a number of orthopaedic conditions. Little is known about how GLH affects people’ foot health-related quality of life. This study analyses a sample of people with GLH and people without GLH with normalised reference values of the scores collected with regard to using the Foot Health Status Questionnaire (FSHQ). A total of 100 respondents with mean age of 22.69 ± 3.78 years old, who attended a health centre were classified as GLH (n = 50) or non-GLH (n = 50). The GLH was determined of the patients with and without GLH using assessment with Beighton tool and the scores on the FHSQ were compared. The control group recorded higher scores in the First Section for foot pain, foot function and general foot health, and lower scores in footwear. In the Second Section, they obtained higher scores in social capacity and lower scores in physical activity, vigour and general health. Differences between the two groups were evaluated through a t-test for independent samples, showing statistical significance (P<0.001). This study has detected measurable differences of association between GLH (Beighton score ≥4) with impaired quality of life related to foot health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Wahlström ◽  
Mårten Rosenqvist ◽  
Jörgen Medin ◽  
Ulla Walfridsson ◽  
Monica Rydell-Karlsson

Background: Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is associated with impaired health-related quality of life. Yoga has been suggested to improve health-related quality of life among patients with heart failure and hypertension. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of MediYoga, in respect of health-related quality of life, blood pressure, heart rate, as well as N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide, among patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, compared with standard therapy or relaxation. Methods: Patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, n=132, were stratified for gender and randomised to MediYoga, a relaxation group or a control group, 44 patients per group with a 12-week follow-up. Health-related quality of life, blood pressure, heart rate and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide were assessed. Results: After 12 weeks, there were no differences in health-related quality of life between the groups. There were improvements in Short-Form Health Survey bodily pain, general health, social function, mental health and mental component summary scores within the MediYoga group ( p=0.014, p=0.037, p=0.029, p=0.030, p=0.019, respectively). No change was seen in the relaxation and control groups. Systolic blood pressure decreased in the MediYoga group (134±18 to 127±13) compared with the control group (126±17 to 127±15, p=0.041); no difference compared with the relaxation group (131±17 to 125±12). Diastolic blood pressure decreased in the MediYoga group (79±9 to 74 ±9) compared with the control group (76±9 to 79±8, p=0.005); no difference compared with the relaxation group (76±9 to 77±8). There were no differences in heart rate and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide between the groups after 12 weeks. Conclusions: MediYoga improves health-related quality of life and decreases blood pressure in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. MediYoga may be used as a part of a self-management programme among patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiva Petruseviciene ◽  
Deive Surmaitiene ◽  
Daiva Baltaduoniene ◽  
Egle Lendraitiene

We aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of community-based occupational therapy on health-related quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities among women with breast cancer. An open label randomized controlled trial study design was applied. The participants were members of various societies of women with cancer. In total, 22 women have participated in the study. Participants of the experimental group (n=11) participated in a 6-week community-based occupational therapy program and the usual activities of various societies, whereas the control group (n=11) women participated in the usual activities of the societies only. 1 of the participants withdrew during the course; therefore 21 completed the study successfully. Participants of both groups were assessed for health-related quality of life and the participants of the experimental group were assessed for engagement in meaningful activities. The evaluation was carried out during the nonacute period of the disease—at the beginning of the study and after 6 weeks. Women of the experimental group demonstrated statistically significantly better scores in the global quality of life, role functions, physical, emotional, cognitive, and social functions, fatigue, insomnia, financial impact, systemic therapy side effects, and breast symptoms scales compared to the control group participants (p<0.05) after the 6 weeks, as measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its breast cancer module QLQ-BR23. Furthermore, women of the experimental group demonstrated significant greater engagement in meaningful activities when applying community-based occupational therapy (p<0.05), as measured by using the Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (EMAS). The evaluation of the associations between the women’s engagement in meaningful activities and changes in health-related quality of life showed that greater engagement in meaningful activities was associated with better emotional functions and a lower level of insomnia (p<0.05). Based on the results of our study, we recommend applying occupational therapy in the field of community healthcare in order to maintain or improve breast cancer patients’ health-related quality of life and suggest involving women into meaningful activities during community-based occupational therapy after clarifying which activities are important to them.


2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Sutherland ◽  
Mark B. Andersen ◽  
Mark A. Stoové

Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are often advised not to participate in vigorous exercise. Leading a relatively sedentary life, however, may exacerbate the debilitating effects of MS. In this study, 22 people participated in either a no-special-activity group (n = 11) or an experimental group (n = 11) that involved water aerobics three times a week for 10 weeks. Measures taken included scales for health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychological well-being. ANCOVAs using social support and the appropriate pretest scores as covariates revealed that after the intervention, the exercise group had more energy and vigor (extremely large effect sizes). Other very large effects were found in the exercise group, which had better social and sexual functioning and less bodily pain and fatigue than the control group. Future research should involve long-term studies to determine whether exercise not only improves quality of life but also helps slow the progression of disease.


RSBO ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Monalisa Klingenfuss Klingenfuss ◽  
Denise Piotto Leonardi ◽  
Estela Maris Losso ◽  
Tatiana Miranda Deliberador ◽  
Bárbara Pick Ornaghi

The success of oral reabilitation treatment depend on the re-establishment of the masticatory function and oral comfort of the patient. Objective: To evaluate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients undergoing rehabilitation with implant-supported prostheses by Oral Health Impact Profile - short form questionnaire (OHIP-14) and a questionnaire associated to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Material and methods: Fourteen patients requiring implant-supported prostheses on anterior region were asked to complete the OHIP-14 before, 1 and 3 months, and the VAS questionnaire, 1 and 3 months after the prosthesis installation (sample group). Moreover, fourteen complete dentate patients were asked to complete the OHIP-14 (control group). For each OHIP-14 category, the sample group’s answers were compared between the evaluation periods by the Kruskal-Wallis test, and to the control group’s answers by the U-test. The answers of the questionnaire associated to VAS were compared between the evaluation periods by t-test ( α=0.05). Results: For OHIP-14, there was no statistical difference between the answers after 1 and 3 months; however, there was difference among the answers of baseline, and 1 and 3 months after the prostheses installation, excepted for functional limitation. Comparing to the control group, before the prostheses installation, there was statistical difference for functional limitation, physical pain, psychological discomfort, physical and psychological disability; and, there was no difference after 3 months of prostheses installation. For the questionnaire associated to the VAS, there was no statistical difference between the responses for both evaluation periods, excepted for the prosthesis’ comfort and stability. Conclusion: The rehabilitated patients showed a significant improvement in function, aesthetics, self-esteem, and the quality of life.


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