scholarly journals A Service Evaluation of the Experiences of Patients With Functional Neurological Disorders Within the NHS

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shauna O'Keeffe ◽  
Ibrahim Chowdhury ◽  
Anila Sinanaj ◽  
Iberedem Ewang ◽  
Camilla Blain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Services ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Patient Centred Care ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Structured Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Previous research into Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) has shown that there are significant barriers in providing patient-centred care. However, there has been no specific research into whether patient experiences of care for FND meet the current standards of care. This study aimed to investigate the types of problems experienced by FND patients, and whether these differed to patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). FND (n = 40) and MS patients (n = 37) were recruited from NHS tertiary neurology clinics and completed questionnaires on their experiences of health care services. Significant differences in experiences of care between the two patient groups were found, with FND patients reporting significantly more problems in their diagnosis and treatment (p = 0.003), patient-centred care (p < 0.001), relationships with healthcare professionals (p < 0.001), and in accessing community care (p = 0.001). Limitations include a small sample size, specificity to a single centre, and cross-sectional design. The results suggest that current care for FND patients is not meeting expected standards for long-term neurological conditions, highlighting the need for structured care pathways and patient-centred care.

scholarly journals #3100 A service evaluation of the experiences of patients with functional neurological disorders within the NHS

2021 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. A15.2-A15
Author(s):  
Shauna OKeeffe ◽  
Ibrahim Chowdhury ◽  
Anila Sinanaj ◽  
Iberedem Ewang ◽  
Camilla Blain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Structured Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Patient Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Objectives/AimsPrevious research into Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) has shown that there are significant barriers in providing multidisciplinary, patient-centred care for these patients, including stigmatising attitudes, poor knowledge about FND, and a lack of structured care pathways. However, there has been no specific research into patient experiences of care for FND within NHS services to date, and whether these experiences meet the standards of care expected for long-term neurological conditions (LTNCs). The current study thus aimed to investigate the types of problems experienced by FND patients, and whether they differed in frequency and type to patients with another LTNC, multiple sclerosis (MS).MethodsBoth FND (n = 40) and MS patients (n = 37) were recruited from tertiary neurology clinics at an NHS hospital and completed two questionnaires on their experiences of health and social care services and on their level of disability.ResultsThe results indicated significant differences in experiences of care between the two patient groups, with FND patients reporting significantly more problems (p<0.001)overall. These problems were reported in relation to their diagnosis and treatment, relationships with healthcare professionals, and difficulties in accessing services. This was despite FND patients reporting significantly higher levels of disability (p=0.001), highlighting the burden of care experienced by FND patients as a result of these difficulties in accessing and receiving care. A small sample size, specificity to a single neurology centre, and a cross-sectional design are acknowledged as limitations.ConclusionsTogether, these results suggest that current care for FND patients is not meeting the standards expected for LTNCs, and highlight the need for further research and the development of structured, multidisciplinary pathways with a patient-centred approach.

scholarly journals Italian Children’s Well-Being after Lockdown: Predictors of Psychopathological Symptoms in Times of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11429
Author(s):  
Marcella Caputi ◽  
Barbara Forresi ◽  
Ludovica Giani ◽  
Giovanni Michelini ◽  
Simona Scaini
Keyword(s):  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Novelty Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

The first Italian lockdown imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19 caused important disruptions in families’ everyday lives. The main aim of this research was to investigate the predictors of psychopathology in children aged 5–10 years, immediately after the national 2-month lockdown. A total of 158 Italian parents (148 mothers, 10 fathers, mean age = 41 years) were recruited and asked to complete an online research concerning their 158 children (76 boys, mean age = 7.4 years). Parents completed questionnaires on parent–child conflict, resilience, temperament, behavior, and previous adverse childhood experiences. Hierarchical regressions showed that children’s psychopathology was predicted by low child resilience, high novelty seeking and harm avoidance, adverse experiences, and high flooding levels. Moreover, girls exposed to adverse experiences appeared more vulnerable to psychopathology. The recruitment of a convenience sample, the small sample size, and the cross-sectional design of our study limit the generalizability and interpretation of the present findings. Nonetheless, this research extends our knowledge of children’s functioning in such an exceptional period. Shedding light on predictors of children’s psychopathology following prolonged quarantine can indeed guide effective psychological interventions now and in future similar situations.

scholarly journals Dream Activity in Narcoleptic Patients During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Scarpelli ◽  
Valentina Alfonsi ◽  
Anita D'Anselmo ◽  
Maurizio Gorgoni ◽  
Alessandro Musetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Dream Recall ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Medication Effect ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Some studies highlighted that patients with narcolepsy type-1 (NT1) experience high lucid dream frequency, and this phenomenon has been associated with a creative personality. Starting from the well-known “pandemic effect” on sleep and dreaming, we presented a picture of dream activity in pharmacologically treated NT1 patients during the Italian lockdown. Forty-three NT1 patients completed a web-survey during Spring 2021 and were compared with 86 matched-controls. Statistical comparisons revealed that: (a) NT1 patients showed greater sleepiness than controls; (b) controls showed higher sleep disturbances than NT1 patients, and this result disappeared when the medication effect in NT1 was controlled; (c) NT1 patients reported higher lucid dream frequency than controls. Focusing on dreaming in NT1 patients, we found that (a) nightmare frequency was correlated with female gender, longer sleep duration, higher intrasleep wakefulness; (b) dream recall, nightmare and lucid dream frequency were positively correlated with sleepiness. Comparisons between low and high NT1 lucid dreamers showed that patients more frequently experiencing lucid dreams reported a greater influence of dreaming during wakefulness, especially concerning problem-solving and creativity. Overall, our results are consistent with previous studies on pandemic dreaming carried out on healthy subjects. Moreover, we confirmed a link between lucidity and creativity in NT1 patients. Considering the small sample size and the cross-sectional design, our findings cannot provide a causal relationship between lucid dreams and the COVID-19 lockdown. Nevertheless, they represent a first contribution to address future studies on this issue, suggesting that some stable characteristics could interact with changes provoked by the pandemic.

scholarly journals Rural use of health service and telemedicine during COVID-19: The role of access and eHealth literacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 146045822110200
Author(s):  
Kathy L Rush ◽  
Cherisse Seaton ◽  
Eric Li ◽  
Nelly D Oelke ◽  
Barbara Pesut
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Rural Access ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Remote Care ◽  
Ability And Willingness

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a greater reliance on telemedicine, yet rural access, use, and satisfaction with telemedicine and the role of eHealth literacy are unknown. Using a cross-sectional design, 279 (70.6% female) western rural Canadians completed an online survey. The majority of participants reported access to telemedicine, but nearly 1/5 lacked access to online or virtual mental health services. The majority of participants had used health care services following the declared COVID-19 pandemic in North America, and just under half had used telemedicine. Telemedicine satisfaction scores were higher among participants who had used video ( M = 4.18) compared to those who used phone alone ( M = 3.79) ( p = 0.031). Telemedicine satisfaction and eHealth literacy were correlated ( r = 0.26, p = 0.005). Participants did not want telemedicine to replace in-person consultations. Telemedicine practice requires that rural residents have the resources, ability and willingness to engage with remote care.

scholarly journals Implications of Biological Rates of Aging on Healthcare Expenditures and Morbidity

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 673-674
Author(s):  
Alix Jean Santos ◽  
Xavier Eugenio Asuncion ◽  
Camille Rivero-Co ◽  
Maria Eloisa Ventura ◽  
Reynaldo Geronia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Health Care Expenditures ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Biological Aging ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Aging Rates

Abstract Understanding biological aging, which entails impeding the progressive decline of biological systems, is important in enabling older adults to live independently. However, the differences in how individuals evolve as they age suggest that aging is a process that does not progress on a single-dimensional trajectory. Moreover, longitudinal studies of aging that follow a cohort of individuals over the course of several years are commonly limited by cost, attrition, and subsequently small sample size. In this study, we used a variational autoencoder to estimate multidimensional rates of aging from cross-sectional routine laboratory data of 1.4 million Americans of at least 40 years of age, collected from 2016 to 2019. We uncovered four aging dimensions that represent the following bodily functions: 1) kidney, 2) thyroid, 3) white blood cells, and 4) liver and heart. We found that fast agers along these dimensions are more likely to develop chronic diseases that are related to these bodily functions. They also had higher health care expenditures compared to the slow agers. K-means clustering of individuals based on the different aging rates revealed that clusters with higher odds of developing morbidity had the highest cost across all types of health care services. Results suggest that cross-sectional laboratory data can be leveraged as an alternative methodology to understand rates of aging along different dimensions, and analysis of their relationships with future costs can aid in the development of interventions to delay disease progression.

From Potential Absorptive Capacity to Knowledge Creation in Organisations: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Storage and Realised Absorptive Capacity

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 1850006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vítor Costa ◽  
Samuel Monteiro
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Human Resources Managers ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
Internal Knowledge

The present research explores the role of knowledge storage and documentation and realised absorptive capacity as mediating variables between potential absorptive capacity and internal knowledge creation. The theoretical model is developed and further tested with a sample of 111 organisations from multiple industry sectors. The results show that the technology-driven process of knowledge storage and documentation, as well as the realised absorptive capacity of the respondent companies, reinforces the human-driven process of internal knowledge creation, and mediates, individually and jointly, the relationship between potential absorptive capacity and intra-firm knowledge creation. Mediation analysis relies on the use of bootstrapping confidence intervals. The authors draw practical implications for organisational psychologists and human resources managers. The small sample size and the cross-sectional design limit the generalisation of the present findings. Further research should explore the complementarity of absorptive capacity phases with other knowledge management processes that could enable the creation of new knowledge in organisations.

scholarly journals Cost, Quality, and Access of Healthcare in Piura, Peru

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Griffin ◽  
Elaina Osterbur
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Medical Providers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Cost ◽  
To Receive

The aim of the study is to investigate the patient perceptions on the cost, quality, and access of health care services in Piura, Peru. Although one of the largest cities in Peru, Piura has one of the lowest densities of health care workers in the country which greatly impacts the population’s ability to receive medical treatment. Lack of financial resources and health literacy, among other health disparities exist. Modeled after CAHPS Health Plan Adult Commercial Survey 5.0 and the Patient Satisfaction Survey, a forty-four question English and Spanish survey was created with questions to study healthcare variables. As a correlational study with convenience sampling, the survey was administered to both patients and medical providers in eight city health centers. Over a period of twelve days, 107 surveys were collected. After eliminating subjects who did not meet the study criteria, 92 patients and 13 medical providers were included in the study. Findings from medical providers are not reported because of the small sample size. The results of this study suggests that 32% of subjects do not have health insurance, 24% of subjects rated their healthcare received as average, 18% of participants rated their healthcare as the best possible on a scale of zero to ten, and 29% of subjects had to wait an average of seven days for access to healthcare services when care is urgent. The results of this analysis can be used to better understand the Peruvian healthcare system and educate the Piura community and the Parish Santísimo Sacramento as they continue to improve and expand their health care services. KEYWORDS: Cost; Quality; Access; Healthcare; Piura; Peru; Satisfaction; Parroquia Santísimo Sacramento; EsSalud; SIS; MINSA

scholarly journals The Role of Servant Leadership in Church Workers’ Commitment

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-25
Author(s):  
Seth Akhilele
Keyword(s):  
Length Of Stay ◽  
Servant Leadership ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Leadership Behavior ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Church Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

The study was an examination of the role of servant leadership in worker's commitment to the Xander church (Pseudonym). In Xander church, workers' commitment is shallow, as reflected in attendance and service. A cross-sectional design was used to study 38workers using nonprobability purposive sampling. The hypotheses were: H1 Is there a statistically significant relationship between servant leader behaviors and workers' commitment? H2: Is there a statistically significant relationship between the servant leadership behavior of empowerment and church workers' reported commitment due to the length of stay? The eight dimensions servant leadership survey instrument measured servant leadership, while workers' commitment was measured with the 15-item Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. The data were analyzed with Spearman’s Rho correlation because of a small sample size. The results revealed that servant leadership predicted commitment, and the servant leadership survey element, behavior empowerment, was not predicted by the worker's length of stay. I recommend that further research be conducted to ascertain reasons for a low commitment since servant leadership behavior impacted commitment. Keywords: Servant leadership, commitment, church workers, empowerment, and leadership behavior.

Trust antecedents: emotional intelligence and perceptions of others

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M.H. Christie ◽  
Peter J. Jordan ◽  
Ashlea C. Troth
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Workplace Performance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine if teachers’ trust in others is predicted by their perceptions of others and their emotional intelligence. Employees need to trust others to achieve outcomes, and a lack of trust can have a negative impact on workplace performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper surveys a sample of 84 employed teachers. Findings – Our findings show that perceptions of others’ ability, benevolence and integrity are strongly and positively associated with trust. The emotional intelligence ability to perceive emotions is also related to trust. Regression analysis showed that perceptions of others (ability and integrity) and an individual’s emotional intelligence (perceiving) combined to predict a large portion of the variance in trust. Research limitations/implications – This study was limited by a small sample size and the use of a cross-sectional design. These issues were addressed in our analysis. Originality/value – The majority of trust research examines employee-to-manager trust. Our study is one of the few to examine trust among co-workers. This study also contributes to research on the emotional intelligence and trust relationship by showing that the ability to perceive one’s own and others emotions significantly predicts increases in trust. It also reaffirms that perceptions of others’ integrity and ability are strongly linked to trust, but that further investigation of the benevolence construct is required.

Validating the Factor Structure of the Stigma of Suicide Scale–Short Form Spanish Version Among Healthcare Students

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Ruthmarie Hernández-Torres ◽  
Paola Carminelli-Corretjer ◽  
Nelmit Tollinchi-Natali ◽  
Ernesto Rosario-Hernández ◽  
Yovanska Duarté-Vélez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthcare Students ◽  
Spanish Speaking

Abstract. Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among Spanish-speaking individuals. Suicide stigma can be a risk factor for suicide. A widely used measure is the Stigma of Suicide Scale-Short Form (SOSS-SF; Batterham, Calear, & Christensen, 2013 ). Although the SOSS-SF has established psychometric properties and factor structure in other languages and cultural contexts, no evidence is available from Spanish-speaking populations. Aim: This study aims to validate a Spanish translation of the SOSS-SF among a sample of Spanish-speaking healthcare students ( N = 277). Method: We implemented a cross-sectional design with quantitative techniques. Results: Following a structural equation modeling approach, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the three-factor model proposed by Batterham and colleagues (2013) . Limitations: The study was limited by the small sample size and recruitment by availability. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the Spanish version of the SOSS-SF is a valid and reliable tool with which to examine suicide stigma among Spanish-speaking populations.

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