scholarly journals Telepractice Versus In-Person Delivery of Voice Therapy for Primary Muscle Tension Dysphonia

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balaji Rangarathnam ◽  
Gary H. McCullough ◽  
Hylan Pickett ◽  
Richard I. Zraick ◽  
Ozlem Tulunay-Ugur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Behavioral Treatment ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Voice Therapy ◽  
Muscle Tension Dysphonia ◽  
Quality Of Life Measures ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Language Pathology

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of telepractice for delivering flow phonation exercises to persons with primary muscle tension dysphonia (MTD). Method Fourteen participants with a diagnosis of primary MTD participated, 7 on site and 7 at remote locations. Each participant received 12 treatment sessions across 6 weeks. Treatment consisted of flow phonation voice therapy exercises. Auditory–perceptual, acoustic, aerodynamic, and quality-of-life measures were taken before and after treatment. Results Perceptual and quality-of-life measures were significantly better posttreatment and were statistically equivalent across groups. Acoustic and aerodynamic measures improved in both groups, but changes did not reach statistical significance. Results for the 2 service delivery groups were comparable, with no significant differences observed for perceptual and quality-of-life measures. Conclusions Although the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association supports the use of telepractice for speech-language pathology services, evidence for the use of telepractice for providing behavioral treatment to patients with MTD has been lacking. The results of this study indicate that flow phonation exercises can be successfully used for patients with MTD using telepractice.

scholarly journals The Effects of Patients' and Care-Givers' Knowledge, Attitude, & Practice (KAP) on Quality of Life Among Thalassemia Major Patients' in Damascus-Syrian Arab Republic

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
Yaser Adnan Abo Jeesh ◽  
Magda El-hadi Ahmad Yousif ◽  
Moauya Al-Balal Al-Haboub
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Thalassemia Major ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Teaching Guide ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After

Background: Thalassemia is the most common autosomal abnormality in Syria. Its complications have an important effect on education; time off school; sport; difference from friends/ siblings; social interactions; and stigmatization. Knowledge of factors associated with quality of life in thalassemia patients is necessary for forming appropriate clinical programs, social support, and improving treatment outcomes. Purpose: The study was to assess the effects of Patients' and Care-givers' Knowledge, Attitude, & Practice (KAP) with Quality of Life among Thalassemia Major Patients' in Syria. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive analytical design was conducted at the national thalassemia center in Damascus. WHOQOL-BREF and a questionnaire developed by the researcher were used to measure the participants’ knowledge, attitudes and practices of thalassemia. Results: Total of 238 thalassemia patients participated in the study. A statistical significance was found regarding improvement of skill and knowledge scores among caregivers and thalassemia patients before and after receiving the teaching guide from 12.52±1.77 to 14.07±1.01, t=11.447, p=0.000 and from 34.12±4.50 to 37.43±4.61, t=-8.58, p= .000 respectively. Stigmatization was significantly noticed among families caring for thalassemic patients. There were a significant differences in the mean score regarding nutritional status before and after teaching guide paired t test= 12.11, p= 0.000. A statistical significance was found in females regarding social domain p=0.04. However, mean scores for overall quality of life were better in females rather than males, but these mean scores were statistically insignificant p>0.05. A statistical significant difference in ferritin levels and patient’s age was found. Results also revealed that no statistical significant differences was observed between overall quality of life of the four domains in relation to the two treatment groups (subcutaneous vs oral) and age groups. Conclusion: Thalassemia is a socio-economic problem. The most efficient way to reduce risks of having affected patients is by increasing the knowledge through training of parents regarding the disease. Our findings highlighted that there was lack in patients’ knowledge and skills regarding the disease, but a remarkable improvement in both knowledge and performance was found after patients received the teaching guide, which lead to an increase in overall patient's quality of life.

scholarly journals Quality Of Life Of Patients With Breast And Gynecological Cancer Faced With Anticancer Chemotherapy

10.3823/2503 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia Afonso Regino ◽  
Thaís Cristina Elias ◽  
Caroline Freitas Silveira ◽  
Gilberto De Araújo Pereira ◽  
Cristina Wide Pissetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Gynecological Cancer ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
World Health ◽  
World Health Organization Quality ◽  
Anticancer Chemotherapy ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Student’S T ◽  
Health Organization

Quality of life of patients with breast and gynecological cancer faced with anticancer chemotherapy  Backgroud: the evaluation of quality of life in cancer patients is of interest to researchers due to its impact on health policies. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life of patients with breast and gynecological cancer, undergoing chemotherapy.  Methods and Findings: this was a quantitative, descriptive and longitudinal study, conducted in the Clinical Hospital of the Triangulo Mineiro Federal University. To assess the quality of life, the Portuguese brief version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument was applied. The paired Student’s t-test was used for the analysis of the means of/ the scores of the domains. The study included 14 women. The lowest means were observed in the physical domain, 51.78±15.89 and 50.25±15.37, respectively before and after treatment. There was also a compromise of the psychological and environment domains, however, the data analyzed did not show statistical significance. The main limitation of this study is the sample size.  Conclusion: quality of life presents itself as an important factor for the measurement of results in clinical studies. Keywords: Quality of Life; Breast Neoplasms; Genital Neoplasms, Females; Chemotherapy.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Quality of Life in Adults With Voice Disorders Before and After Voice Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
Tipwaree Aueworakhunanan ◽  
Kalyanee Makarabhirom ◽  
Dechavudh Nityasuddhi
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Voice Disorders ◽  
Voice Handicap Index ◽  
Voice Therapy ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Voice

Background: Previous studies have documented the effectiveness of voice therapy in terms of voice quality outcomes rather than quality of life outcomes. Objective: To compare the quality of life among patients with voice disorders, before and after voice therapy. Methods: Thirty-six patients with voice disorders who visited the Speech Clinic at Ramathibodi Hospital from March 2013 to January 2015 were enrolled. Thirty minutes per session within 10 weeks period of voice therapy program were used. The voice therapy approaches included direct and indirect therapy. The outcomes of this study were measured using Dr. Speech software version 5 for acoustic analysis and the Voice Handicap Index in Thai version for quality of life. Data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics (Paired t test). Results: The total participants were 36 patients with a mean age of 51.31 years. They were divided to 4 groups according to the causes of voice disorders that were 18 patients for structural cause, 8 patients for functional cause, 6 patients for neurological cause, and 4 patients for inflammatory cause. The results for both voice quality and quality of life after voice therapy improved and showed statistically significant differences (P < .05). The patients with all causes of voice disorders were statistically significant differences in total the Voice Handicap Index scores (P < .05). Moreover the structural causes group exhibited statistically significant differences in all subscales (P < .05) but the others causes groups were not statistically significant differences in emotional subscale for functional causes, physical subscale for neurological causes, and functional subscale for inflammatory cause (P > .05) Conclusions: Voice therapy might be an effective treatment to decrease the severity of voice disorders in role of voice quality and quality of life, especially voice disorders from structural causes.

scholarly journals Effect of Intensive Voice Therapy in a Patient With Multiple System Atrophy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoumeh Amirkhani ◽  
Fatemeh Mohebinejad
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Multiple System Atrophy ◽  
Voice Therapy ◽  
Acoustic Features ◽  
Life Index ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Quality Of Life Index ◽  
Perceptual Assessment ◽  
Multiple Symptoms

Introduction: Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a degenerative neurogenic disorder characterized by multiple symptoms affecting the movements and autonomic nervous system. It reduces the function of various types of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. MSA causes some movement disorders such as dysarthria that is one of the most common symptoms in these patients. The first neurological sign that sometimes progresses is the complete inability to produce speech. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an intensive voice therapy based on the principles of Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT) on improving acoustic features, intelligibility, and quality of life index of the patients with MSA. Materials and Methods: The patient was a 57-year-old woman with MSA disorder. Acoustic assessments of voice, intelligibility, and voice handicap index were performed before and after the treatment program according to LSVT principles. Results: Acoustic values such as intensity, frequency, and harmonic to noise ratio increased, and jitter and shimmer parameters decreased. Amount of perception of intelligibility increased. A significant decrease in the scores of the quality of life index related to voice handicap was observed. Conclusion: After treatment by intensive voice therapy, the acoustic assessment revealed improvement in all voice parameters. The perceptual assessment showed improved intelligibility and increased the patient’s quality of life. Intensive voice therapy based on LSVT principles effectively improves the acoustic features, which subsequently cause intelligibility to be more comprehensible. It generally improves verbal communication, which has a positive effect on the patient’s quality of life.

scholarly journals Quality of Life and Social Impact in Patiens with Laryngeal Tumors after Radiotherapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 149-161
Author(s):  
Adriana NEAGOS ◽  
Cristian OLTEANU ◽  
Daniela MANUC ◽  
Oana Roxana BITERE ◽  
Mihail Dan COBZEANU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Laryngeal Tumors ◽  
Eortc Qlq

Malignant laryngeal tumor occupies an important place among ENT malignancies, representing 26% of head and neck cancers. The control of the disease and especially the quality of life are parameters often overlooked. The term "quality of life", has social impact too. The aim of this retrospective, observational study, is to evaluate the quality of life of patients with laryngeal tumors and the social impact in patients after the radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy. The group of study included 52 patients, diagnosed with histopathologically confirmed laryngeal tumors. The evaluation of the quality of life was done before and after surgery and during the radiotherapy and chemotherapy, weekly, for 8 weeks. The tools used to assess the quality of life, were the questionnaires EORTC QLQ-30 version 3.0, and EORTC QLQ 35. EORTC QLQ-30 version 3.0 showed a low score on scales such fatigue, pain and sleep problems, from the beginning of therapy. The symptoms that appeared during the treatment, with statistical significance were: fatigue, nausea / vomiting, pain and appetite problems. EORTC QLQ-35 signals from the beginning of therapy problems with the senses, voice, social life, cough, which increase in severity as the radiation dose increases. At the end of treatment, pain scales, senses, social life and dry mouth were affected. In conclusion, the patients with laryngeal tumors present an important degradation of the quality of life and social integration after the treatment and radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, situation that we must take into account in the therapeutic plan.

scholarly journals Changes in health-related quality of life before and after a 12-month enhanced primary care model among chronically ill primary care patients in Australia.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James John ◽  
Kathy Tannous ◽  
Amanda Jones
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Primary Care Patients

Abstract Purpose: Evidence suggests that Patient-centred Medical Home (PCMH) model facilitates person-centred care and improves health-related quality of life for patients with chronic illness. This study aims to evaluate changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), before and after enrolment into a 12-month integrated care program called ‘WellNet’. Methods: This study includes 616 eligible consented patients aged 40 years and above with one or more chronic conditions from six general practices across Sydney, Australia. The WellNet program included a team of general practitioners (GPs) and clinical coordinators (CCs) providing patient-tailored care plans configured to individual risk and complexity. HRQoL was recorded using the validated EuroQol EQ-5D-5L instrument at baseline and 12 months. Additionally, patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis also reported HRQoL using short versions of Knee and/or Hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome scores (KOOSjr and HOOSjr). A case-series study design with repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to assess changes in mean differences of EQ-5D index scores after controlling for baseline covariates. Per-protocol (Model 1) and multiple imputation models (Model 2), the latter using a fully conditional specification (FCS) of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm was analysed. Additionally, backward stepwise multivariable linear regression models were conducted to determine significant predictors of EQ-5D index scores at follow-up. Results: Out of 616 patients, 417 (69%) reported EQ-5D scores at follow-up. Almost half (48%) of the WellNet patients reported improved EQ-5D index scores at follow-up. After controlling for baseline covariates, the adjusted mean difference was statistically significant whilst also meeting the bare minimal clinically important difference (MCID) with a change of 0.03 (95% CI 0.01, 0.05). However, the imputed model failed to meet statistical significance. The multivariable regression models determined that baseline EQ-5D scores, positive diagnosis of a respiratory illness, and private health insurance status were significant predictors of HRQoL at follow-up. There were significant improvements across both KOOS and HOOS assessments, specifically, the pain and symptom scores in both scales met statistical significance in addition to meeting the MCID.Conclusion: Patient-tailored CDM plans designed by team of GPs and CDM clinical coordinators could lead to better HRQoL among primary care patients.

A Randomised Comparison of Two Forms of a Brief, Group, Psychoeducational Program for Cancer Patients: Weekly Sessions versus a “Weekend Intensive”

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair J. Cunningham ◽  
Claire V. I. Edmonds ◽  
Gwen Jenkins ◽  
Gina A. Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Standard Format ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Psychoeducational Program ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Life Improvement ◽  
Patient Groups

There is considerable evidence that brief group psychoeducational programs for cancer patients, offering support and some training in coping skills, may have lasting beneficial effects on mood and quality of life. Objective: to compare two different formats of a brief, group psychoeducational program for cancer patients; a standard format of six weekly two-hour sessions or a “weekend intensive,” involving the same content and contact time compressed into two days. Method: Cancer patients were randomly assigned to either the standard weekly intervention ( n = 77) or the weekend program ( n = 79). Two assessment measures were used: Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Functional Living Index for Cancer (FLIC). Assessments were made before and after each intervention and at a nineteen-week follow-up. Results: While the two formats were found to be equivalent in their overall effects on mood and quality of life, there were some differences. There was a sudden, large improvement in mood by the end of the weekend version of the course (2-day time point) but this did not persist, and by the six-week point and again at nineteen-weeks, mood improvement was the same for both groups. Quality of life improvement seemed to be marginally greater with the six-weekly sessions (reaching statistical significance at the 6-week point). Conclusions: The two formats produced similar improvements in both mood and quality of life. We discuss the need for further studies to find optimal ways of presenting such help for different patient groups.

scholarly journals Changes in Health-Related Quality of Life Before and After a 12-month Enhanced Primary Care Model Among Chronically Ill Primary Care Patients in Australia.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James John ◽  
Kathy Tannous ◽  
Amanda Jones
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Primary Care Patients

Abstract Purpose: Evidence suggests that Patient-centred Medical Home (PCMH) model facilitates person-centred care and improves health-related quality of life for patients with chronic illness. This study aims to evaluate changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), before and after enrolment into a 12-month integrated care program called ‘WellNet’. Methods: This study includes 616 eligible consented patients aged 40 years and above with one or more chronic conditions from six general practices in Sydney, Australia. The WellNet program included a team of general practitioners (GPs) and specially trained chronic disease management (CDM) clinical coordinators (CCs) providing patient-tailored CDM plans configured to individual risk and complexity. HRQoL was recorded using the validated EuroQol EQ-5D-5L instrument. A case-series study design with repeated measures ANCOVA was used to assess changes in EQ-5D index scores after controlling for baseline covariates. Per-protocol analysis and imputed model, the latter using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm of multiple imputation were analysed. A backward stepwise multivariate linear regression models were conducted to determine predictors of EQ-5D index scores at follow-up. In addition to EQ-5D instrument, a supplementary analysis was carried out with use of the short versions of Knee and/or Hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome scores (KOOS and HOOS) reported by patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Results: Out of 616 patients, 417 (69%) reported EQ-5D scores at follow-up. Almost half (48%) of the WellNet patients reported improved EQ-5D index scores at follow-up. After controlling for baseline covariates, the adjusted mean difference was statistically significant whilst also meeting the bare minimal clinically important difference (MCID) with a change of 0.03 (95% CI 0.01, 0.05). However, the imputed model failed to meet statistical significance. The multivariate regression models determined that baseline EQ-5D scores, positive diagnosis of a respiratory illness, and private health insurance status were significant predictors of HRQoL at follow-up. There were significant improvements across both KOOS and HOOS assessments, specifically, the pain and symptom scores in both scales met statistical significance in addition to meeting the MCID.Conclusion: Patient-tailored CDM plans designed by team of GPs and CDM clinical coordinators could lead to better HRQoL among primary care patients.

Chronic Refractory Cough: A Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Siciliano
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Chronic Cough ◽  
Treatment Regime ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Old Adult ◽  
Language Pathology

This paper presents a successful behavioral case study in treatment of chronic refractory cough in a 60-year-old adult female. The efficacy for speech-language pathology treating chronic cough is discussed along with description of treatment regime. Discussion focuses on therapy approaches used and the patient's report of changes in quality of life and frequency, duration, and severity reduction of her cough after treatment.

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