Health survey of ambulance workers with the help of generic questionnaire (SF-36)

2013 ◽  
Vol 154 (47) ◽  
pp. 1865-1872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emese Pék ◽  
István Mártai ◽  
József Marton ◽  
József Betlehem

Introduction: The high work-related stress among ambulance workers is a widely known a phenomenon. Aim: The aim of the authors was to asses self-reported health status of ambulance workers. Method: An anonym self-fill-in questionnaire applying SF-36 was used among workers from the northern and western regions of Hungarian National Ambulance Service. Results: Based on the dimensions of the SF-36 questionnaire the responders considered their “Physical Functioning” the best, while “Vitality” was regarded the worst. The more time an employee have been worked at the Ambulance Service the worse his health was in the first four dimensions including “Physical Functioning”, “Role-Physical”, “Bodily Pain” and “General Health”: p<0.001. Those working in part-time jobs considered their health in all dimensions worse. The respondents who did some kind of sports hold their health in all dimensions better (p<0.001). The workers with higher body mass index regarded their health status worse, in four dimensions: “Physical Functioning” (p = 0.001), “Role-Physical” (p = 0.013), “General Health” (p<0.001) and “Role-Emotional” (p = 0.05). Conclusions: According to the subjective perception of health and measurable parameters of health status of workers proved to be insufficient. Poor physical health can lead indirectly to psychological problems, which may lower the quality of the work and can lead to high turn-over. Orv. Hetil., 154(47), 1865–1872.

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1307-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B Porter ◽  
Donald Bowden ◽  
Arnold Ganser ◽  
Gabor Domokos ◽  
Adam Gater ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction: Iron chelation therapy (ICT) is essential in removing excess iron deposited in body organs, ultimately preventing organ failure and extending the lives of patients (pts) with transfusion-dependent hematological disorders such as β-thalassemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). As a life-long treatment, traditional ICT (deferoxamine, Desferal®, DFO) is based on a burdensome regimen (subcutaneous delivery 5–7 times a week) that has been shown to negatively impact on pts’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The oral chelator deferasirox (Exjade®) is less burdensome to pts offering 24-hour ICT, 7 days a week. Methods: This substudy was part of a single arm, multicenter, 1-year open-label trial (the EPIC study) to investigate the efficacy/safety of deferasirox. The first 558 pts with a variety of hematological disorders were recruited. These pts came from sites in seven countries: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Greece, and Italy. Treatment-naïve pts and those having previously received ICT (DFO or deferiprone [Ferriprox®] exclusively, or combined) participated (n=558). Pts were asked at baseline, week 4 and week 52 (end of study [EOS]) to complete the 36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36). The SF-36 is a self-administered questionnaire and measures eight HRQoL domains: physical functioning; role-physical; bodily pain; general health; vitality; social functioning; role-emotional; and mental health. Mean change in SF-36 domain scores were calculated for all pts who had completed data at baseline and week 4, as well all those with completed data at baseline and EOS. All domains are scored so that higher scores indicate a better QoL. Results: Overall, the mean age of the 558 pts (274 β-thalassemia, 168 MDS, 50 sickle cell disease and 66 other anemias) recruited to take part in this substudy was 40.8 years (SD=22.58); 51.5% of patients (n=289) were male and 48.5% (n=272) were female. Within this sample, 337 pts aged ≥16 years completed the SF-36 at baseline, 322 at week 4 and 277 at EOS. Mean domain scores for pts at baseline, week 4 and EOS are presented in Table 1. With the exception of role-emotional (mean=0.78, SD=40.56), mean change in SF-36 domain scores significantly improved (P&lt;0.05) for all domains between baseline and week 4: physical functioning (mean=2.42, SD=17.44); role-physical (mean=5.67, SD=41.70); bodily pain (mean=5.96, SD=24.15); general health (mean=0.33, SD=14.44); vitality (mean=2.54, SD=15.93); social functioning (mean=2.51, SD=23.38); mental health (mean=1.98, SD=14.71). At EOS, mean change in SF-36 domain scores improved for all domains with the exception of social functioning, role-emotional and mental health. However, unlike results at week 4, none of the mean change domain scores at EOS reached statistical significance, possibly due to sample size decrease between week 4 and EOS. Table 1. SF-36 domain scores at baseline, week 4 and EOS in pts aged 3 16 years and treated with deferasirox SF-36 domains Baseline mean (SD) Week 4 mean (SD) End of study mean (SD) Physical functioning 66.32 (25.98)&#x2028; n=336 69.70 (25.98)&#x2028; n=317 71.67 (26.95)&#x2028; n=275 Role-physical 54.33 (42.43) n=331 61.03 (42.69) n=315 62.38 (41.71) n=270 Bodily pain 65.80 (26.89)&#x2028; n=336 74.67 (26.16)&#x2028; n=322 73.11 (27.20)&#x2028; n=276 General health 46.62 (21.15)&#x2028; n=330 48.01 (22.32)&#x2028; n=311 48.42 (22.19)&#x2028; n=269 Vitality 51.12 (21.28)&#x2028; n=328 54.57 (22.06)&#x2028; n=316 55.80 (23.06)&#x2028; n=272 Social functioning 71.73 (25.74)&#x2028; n=336 74.77 (23.72)&#x2028; n=321 73.05 (24.71)&#x2028; n=276 Role-emotional 68.05 (40.92)&#x2028; n=326 69.60 (41.60)&#x2028; n=313 69.81 (40.44)&#x2028; n=270 Mental health 67.04 (19.85)&#x2028; n=328 70.40 (19.73)&#x2028; n=316 67.85 (20.19)&#x2028; n=272 Conclusions: Since mean change scores were often of the magnitude of 3 to 5 units for role-physical and bodily pain, these results indicate clinically meaningful improvement for pts with hematological disorders receiving deferasirox.


2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 338-342
Author(s):  
J HA Arnoldus ◽  
J Killestein ◽  
L EMA Pfennings ◽  
B Jelles ◽  
B MJ Uitdehaag ◽  
...  

Objectives: To determine the quality of life (QoL) of MS patients during the initial 6 months of treatment with interferon-b (IFN-b). Furthermore, to determine whether changes in QoL relate to disability, emotional state, therapeutic expectations or side effect profile. Background: IFN-b has been shown to have beneficial effects on the course of MS. Since the aim of IFN-b treatment is not to cure but to slow down the disease it is important to know how this treatment affects QoL. Surprisingly, the impact of treatment with IFN-b on QoL measures has not been extensively studied so far. Methods: Case report documentation, including EDSS, SF-36 and MADRAS scores, of 51 relapsing-remitting MS patients treated with IFN-b was obtained at baseline and at months 1, 3 and 6. Patients also filled in a form about their expectations of therapy and a questionnaire on side effects. Results: During treatment there was a significant linear trend indicating improvement in the role-physical functioning (RPF) scale of the SF-36 (F1,50=4.9, P=0.032). A transient decrease at month 1 was found in the scale for bodily pain, indicating more experienced pain (F1,50=19.8, P50.001). Subgroup analysis showed that patients with most depressive symptoms on the MADRAS at baseline contributed most to the increase in RPF scores over time (F1,24=5,6 P=0.026). Furthermore, we found associations between adverse event scores and several domains of QoL. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that IFN-b therapy has an impact on QoL of MS patients in that it improves role-physical functioning and transiently worsens experienced bodily pain. QoL during treatment with IFN-b is influenced by depressive symptoms at baseline as well as by treatment-associated side-effects.


2005 ◽  
Vol 152 (5) ◽  
pp. 713-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salman Razvi ◽  
Lorna E Ingoe ◽  
Carolyn V McMillan ◽  
Jolanta U Weaver

Objective: Sub-clinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common disorder. People with this condition may have symptoms which could affect their perception of health. Therefore, the perceived health status of people with SCH was assessed and compared with population-matched norms. Design: A prospective cross-sectional survey. Methods: Seventy-one adults with SCH, age range 18–64 years were studied. Perceived health status was measured by the Short Form-36 (SF-36) version 2 questionaire, which has been validated in a UK population setting. The SF-36 has eight scales measuring physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional and mental health. Their SF-36 scores were compared with UK normative data after matching for age and sex and are reported as z-scores. Results: Scores of all eight SF-36 scales were significantly lower in people with SCH compared with the normative population. A negative score (compared with zero of the normative population) indicates worse health status. The most significantly impaired aspects of health status were vitality and role limitations due to physical problems (role physical scale) with z-scores (95% confidence intervals) of −1.01 (−0.74 to −1.29) and −0.73 (−0.43 to −1.04) respectively. Thyroid autoimmunity did not influence the results. Conclusion: Perceived health status is significantly impaired in people with SCH when compared with UK normative population scores. This needs to be taken into consideration by clinicians when managing patients with this disease.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 5855-5855
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Mearns ◽  
Chuka Udeze ◽  
Ronda Copher ◽  
Sujit Sheth

Introduction: β-thalassemia is a genetic blood disease characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis due to defective hemoglobin production that manifests as potentially fatal anemia. Patients with β-thalassemia rely on regular, lifelong red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs) for survival and suffer from multi-system complications, physical manifestations, and decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL) due to iron overload and continual RBCTs. This literature review aims to describe the disease burden associated with β-thalassemia. Methods: Electronic databases (MEDLINE®, Embase®, Cochrane Library) were searched to identify articles in the English language assessing the clinical, economic, and humanistic burden of β-thalassemia in North America and Europe. Articles were selected based on predefined criteria including appropriate study design, disease state, country, and outcome measures. Results: Patients with β-thalassemia who received regular RBCTs were significantly more likely to develop ≥ 1 iron overload-related comorbidity than matched, non-thalassemia controls (P < 0.0001). Other iron-related issues included cardiac disease (observed in 13-30% of patients), hypogonadism (17-22%), diabetes (10-18%), osteoporosis (16%), hypothyroidism (12%), liver disease (4%), and hypoparathyroidism (2%). RBCTs also introduced the risk of transfusion reactions (48-50%), infections (24-65%), and development of alloantibodies (19-23%). Mortality rate for the US population was 1.9%. The direct annual cost per regularly transfused patient with β-thalassemia was significantly higher than in matched controls (USD 128,062 vs USD 5,438; P < 0.001; 2016 USD). The main annual cost drivers per patient were iron chelation therapy (48%; USD 61,974) and RBCTs (31%; USD 39,723). Indirect costs for β-thalassemia were impacted by unemployment, reported at 33% among patients with β-thalassemia versus 24% for the general US population. Patients scored significantly worse on 5 subdomains (physical functioning, role-physical, general health, social functioning, and role-emotional) of the Short Form-36 (SF-36) HRQoL questionnaire compared with the general US population (all P < 0.0001) with the greatest impairments seen in the general health subdomain (P < 0.0001). Clinically meaningful reductions in physical functioning, role-physical, and general health scores were observed for patients with β-thalassemia aged < 65 years with transfusion-related iron overload. Bodily pain was reported by 56-69% of patients with β-thalassemia, and pain interfered with patient physical and emotional functioning HRQoL outcomes. Increasing age correlated with higher numbers of pain responses (P < 0.001). Psychiatric comorbidities were found in 24% of patients with β-thalassemia, and mood disorders, including depression and anxiety, were associated with overall significantly poorer physical and mental HRQoL (P < 0.001). Conclusions: β-thalassemia is associated with a substantial clinical, economic, and humanistic burden in the USA. Patients with β-thalassemia experience reduced life expectancy, significant comorbidities, considerable direct healthcare costs, unemployment, and impaired HRQoL. There is a need for more effective management and therapeutic options for these patients. Disclosures Mearns: Celgene Corporation: Employment. Udeze:Celgene Corporation: Employment. Copher:Celgene Corporation: Employment. Sheth:CRSPR/Vertex: Other: Clinical Trial Steering committee; Apopharma: Other: Clinical trial DSMB; Celgene: Consultancy.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-49
Author(s):  
D. Z. Vorobets ◽  
I. I. Horpynchenko ◽  
Z. D. Vorobets

The psychogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) does not show strong correlation between domains of questionnaires SF-36 and IIEF. In conditions of ED caused by endothelial dysfunction the domains of general health, physical functioning, bodily pain and vitality strongly correlates with all domains rates of IIEF questionnaire except overall satisfaction. In conditions of erectile dysfunction caused by chronic pelvis pain the rates of IIEF correlate with domains of physical functioning, pain, vitality from SF-36. In conditions of premature ejaculation and ED accompaniment the rates of general health, pain intensity and vitality become worth and correlate with total score of IIEF, rates of sexual desire end intercourse satisfaction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Koken ◽  
Berk Guclu

Background Health-related quality of life (QOL) is defined as a patient's subjective perception of his or her own health. Insufficient data exist on QOL of patients who undergo a hallux valgus (HV) operation. We used a 36-item short form survey (SF-36) to measure QOL of such patients. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of HV on QOL and to identify QOL determinants. Methods Fifty patients who underwent surgery for HV between 2015 and 2017 were included in the study. The SF-36 questionnaire was applied to the patients before and after surgery. Patients' medical records were examined to identify possible factors affecting QOL such as age, gender, body mass index, duration of symptoms, or smoking. Results The mean age of the patients was 55.6 ± 3.8 years, and 42 of the 50 patients were women. The mean duration of disease was 12 ± 3.7 years. The surgery improved QOL scores for general health, emotional well-being, role limitations due to personal or emotional problems, physical functioning and bodily pain. However, the changes in scores for vitality and social functioning were not statistically significant. Lower postoperative QOL scores for emotional well-being and bodily pain were significantly associated with age and duration of the symptoms. Compared to the mean QOL of healthy adult Turkish population, all scores in subdimensions were lower. Conclusions This study shows that HV in adults has a negative impact on general health, bodily pain, physical functioning, physical and emotional well-being rather than social well-being and vitality.


2009 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-72
Author(s):  
A.R.A. Lesic ◽  
N. Kocev ◽  
I. Milosevic ◽  
M.Z. Bumbasirevic

Introduction: Fractures of the proximal segment of the femur occurring most commonly in elderly patients are a serious, both medical (orthopaedic) and socioeconomic, problem. Material and Methods: 46 patients (14 male and 32 female) operated for hip fracture in the January-June 2008 period, who were available for analysis (as 24 patients were not) were investigated. In addition to descriptive analysis, general health status-quality of life was assessed by means of SF-36 questionnaire comprising eight groups of questions determining the physical, psychological and social status of the patients within the 0 to 100 (problem) points range.. Results: The findings were that the average patient age was 74 years (76.9 for male patients and 74.06 fro female ones). The values of all eight parameters were lower by up to 89% in comparison to the pre-injury values, but improved by as much as 50% after six months (for physical functioning and the role of physical functioning) or by 30% for the role of emotions. The values never return to their pre-injury levels. In foreign studies, the parameters are higher, especially post-treatment values for vitality and role of emotions. Conclusion: In patients treated for hip fractures, it is necessary to carry out an assessment of general, physical, mental and social functioning of the patient in addition to the assessment of their clinical and radiological findings, so as to get a more realistic insight in the status of the treated and operated patients. The SF-36 questionnaire is widely used in such investigations along with other questionnaires. It is also necessary to investigate the general health status-quality of life of the entire healthy population in our country.


2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara Renata Fernandes ◽  
Luciane B.C. Carvalho ◽  
Gilmar F. Prado

CONTEXT: Hemiparesia changes quality of life of patients with stroke making difficult a normal life. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of Functional Eletric Orthesis (FEO) applied over the paretic leg in the quality of life of stroke patients. METHOD: The quality of life of 50 stroke patients of Associacao de Assistencia a Crianca Deficiente (AACD) was evaluated with SF-36 questionnaire before and after the treatment with a FEO for rehabilitation of walking. We analyzed data according to gender and affected hemisphere. RESULTS: The average values from all domains of SF-36 improved significantly (p<0.001). Female patients improved more than male in Emotional Domain (p=0.04) and presented a trend to be better regarding Bodily Pain and Social Functioning. Patients with right hemiparesia improved more than those with left hemiparesia (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: FEO over a paretic leg is efficient to improve quality of life of stroke patients, mainly Physical Functioning.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Xie ◽  
Sean Fournier ◽  
Susan Hiller ◽  
Joyce Oen Hsiao ◽  
Rachel P Dreyer

Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an evidence-based program to improve secondary prevention outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lower health-related quality of life is a known risk factor for worse CVD outcomes. We examined the effects of a patient-driven appointment-based CR program on health-related quality of life. Methods: We utilized data from the Yale New-Haven Health (YNHH) CR program over a 6-year period (2012-2017). Data was collected on patient demographics, clinical characteristics and socioeconomic status. The Medical Outcome Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure general health status. We evaluated SF-36 score changes pre and post CR with paired T-tests and conducted logistic regression analysis to examine predictors of improvements in health-related quality of life. Results: Over the 6-year study period, a total of 2,135 patients (27.9% women, mean age 65±12 years) were enrolled in the CR program. Patients demonstrated significant improvements in both the SF-36 physical, mental and health transition components (P<0.001) (Table) . In particular, patients had significant improvement in the social functioning domain (measures limitations patients see in their ability to participate in social activities due to physical/emotional issues), with an increase of 23.3 points out of 100. Physician-reported patient stress and/or depression on intake medical exam were significant negative predictors for improvement in the total SF-36 score (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08-0.80, P=0.021), with the effect driven largely by its impact on the physical component of SF-36 (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.09-0.83, P=0.022). Conclusion: We demonstrated that a novel appointment-based CR program produced improvements in patient-reported health-related quality of life. Appointment-based CR could be a viable alternative for patients who prefer more scheduling flexibility, to optimize health status improvement and CVD outcomes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2473011419S0004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Kreulen ◽  
Trevor Shelton ◽  
Jacqueline Nguyen ◽  
Eric Giza ◽  
Martin Sullivan

Category: Ankle, Arthroscopy, Hindfoot, Sports, Trauma Introduction/Purpose: Surgical management of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) present an ongoing treatment challenge. Previously, matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) demonstrated improved pain and function at 7-years postoperative, providing evidence that MACI is a reliable method for treating cartilage. However, it is unknown the long- term results of MACI in OLT. The purpose of this study was to assess 13-year clinical follow-up data and the long-term success of this implant by comparing patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) pre-operatively, at 7-years post-operative, and at 13- years post-operative. Methods: A prospective investigation of MACI was performed on 10 patients with OLTs who had failed previous arthroscopic treatment. Of the 10 patients, 9 were available for 7-year and 13-year follow-up. Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) hindfoot evaluation were utilized at pre-operative, 7-year, a 13-year postoperative. For each patient, a paired t-test was used to compare 13-year post-operative PROMs to pre-operative PROMs. A single factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined whether PROMs were different between pre-operative, 7-year post- operative, and 13-year post-operative time intervals. When a significant difference was detected, a post-hoc Tukey’s determined which time periods were different. Results: SF-36 data at 13-years showed significant improvements in Physical Functioning (p=0.012), Lack of Bodily Pain (p=0.017), and Social Functioning (p=0.007) compared with preoperative data. There were no differences in other components of the SF-36 outcomes (p>0.05). Although the AOFAS was on average 12 points higher at 13-years postoperative, this was not statistically significant (p=0.173). As for comparing PROMs over time, 13-years post-operative PROMs were comparable to 7-years post- operative (Table 1). There were better PROMs for Physical Functioning, Bodily Pain, and Social Functioning at 7- and 13-years post-operative compared to pre-operative while Physical Role Functioning was also better at 7-years post-operative compared to pre-operative. Conclusion: This study shows MACI provides greater pain relief and function at 13-years post-operative with stable long-term follow-up. MACI should be considered for osteochondral lesions that fail initial microfracture.


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