scholarly journals Quality of Life (QoL) Is Reduced in Those with Severe COVID-19 Disease, Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19, and Hospitalization in United States Adults from Northern Colorado

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11048
Author(s):  
Kim McFann ◽  
Baxter A. Baxter ◽  
Stephanie M. LaVergne ◽  
Sophia Stromberg ◽  
Kailey Berry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Northern Colorado ◽  
Role Limitation ◽  
The Impact

The longitudinal quality of life (QoL) of COVID-19 survivors, especially those with post-acute sequelae (PASC) is not well described. We evaluated QoL in our COVID-19 survivor cohort over 6 months using the RAND SF-36 survey. From July 2020–March 2021 we enrolled 110 adults from the United States with a positive SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) into the Northern Colorado Coronavirus Biobank (NoCo-COBIO). Demographic data and symptom surveillance were collected from 62 adults. In total, 42% were hospitalized, and 58% were non-hospitalized. The Rand SF-36 consists of 36 questions and 8 scales, and questions are scored 0–100. A lower-scale score indicates a lower QoL. In conclusion, hospitalization, PASC, and disease severity were associated with significantly lower scores on the RAND SF-36 in Physical Functioning, Role Limitation due to Physical Health, Energy/Fatigue, Social Functioning, and General Health. Long-term monitoring of COVID-19 survivors is needed to fully understand the impact of the disease on QoL and could have implications for interventions to alleviate suffering during recovery.

scholarly journals Long-Term Patient-Related Quality of Life after Knee Periprosthetic Joint Infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 907
Author(s):  
Nike Walter ◽  
Markus Rupp ◽  
Katja Hierl ◽  
Matthias Koch ◽  
Maximilian Kerschbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Successful Treatment ◽  
Periprosthetic Joint Infection ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Joint Infection ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

Background: We aimed to evaluate the impact of knee periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) by assessing the patients’ long-term quality of life and explicitly their psychological wellbeing after successful treatment. Methods: Thirty-six patients with achieved eradication of infection after knee PJI were included. Quality of life was evaluated with the EQ-5D and SF-36 outcome instruments as well as with an ICD-10 based symptom rating (ISR) and compared to normative data. Results: At a follow-up of 4.9 ± 3.5 years the mean SF-36 score was 24.82 ± 10.0 regarding the physical health component and 46.16 ± 13.3 regarding the mental health component compared to German normative values of 48.36 ± 9.4 (p < 0.001) and 50.87 ± 8.8 (p = 0.003). The mean EQ-5D index reached 0.55 ± 0.33 with an EQ-5D VAS rating of 52.14 ± 19.9 compared to reference scores of 0.891 (p < 0.001) and 68.6 ± 1.1 (p < 0.001). Mean scores of the ISR revealed the psychological symptom burden on the depression scale. Conclusion: PJI patients still suffer from significantly lower quality of life compared to normative data, even years after surgically successful treatment. Future clinical studies should focus on patient-related outcome measures. Newly emerging treatment strategies, prevention methods, and interdisciplinary approaches should be implemented to improve the quality of life of PJI patients.

scholarly journals Path to diagnosis and women’s perspectives on the impact of endometriosis pain

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgine Lamvu ◽  
Oscar Antunez-Flores ◽  
Mona Orady ◽  
Beth Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Disease State ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Significant Impairment ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Endometriosis is a burdensome chronic disease that can be difficult to diagnose, yet few studies examine experiences along the continuum of disease state. We sought to explore women’s journeys to an endometriosis diagnosis, experience with endometriosis pain, and interactions with healthcare practitioners. Methods: An anonymous 23-question online survey was distributed to women (aged >19 years) who self-identified as having a surgical or nonsurgical diagnosis of endometriosis and living in seven English-speaking countries through the social media network MyEndometriosisTeam.com . Results: From January through April 2018, 317 women in the United States and 134 women outside the United States completed the survey. More than 50% of the women waited 6 or more years for a diagnosis of endometriosis. Overall, 54.3% experienced endometriosis-related pain daily. Respondents (US/non-US) reported a significant impairment in quality of life that interfered with their family (45.7%/45.5%) and social life (40.1%/44.0%), education/career (42.9%/46.3%), and sexual function (68.1%/70.1%). Women reported their disease led to other conditions, including fatigue (93.6%), gastrointestinal issues (91.8%), and difficulty sleeping (87.4%). Many women were not satisfied with their practitioner’s ability to listen to concerns and felt that their practitioner’s treatment recommendations lacked consistency with their own goals/needs. Conclusion: Women still experience long delays and difficult journeys to an endometriosis diagnosis. Disease-associated pain is pervasive and has direct and indirect impacts on quality of life. Women are frequently not satisfied with disease-management options presented to them by their practitioners. These results suggest a need for improved medical education on disease state for both patients and practitioners.

scholarly journals Quality of Life and Functional Health Status of Long-Term Meditators

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Manocha ◽  
Deborah Black ◽  
Leigh Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
General Health ◽  
Bodily Pain ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Role Limitation ◽  
Yoga Meditation

Background. There is very little data describing the long-term health impacts of meditation.Aim. To compare the quality of life and functional health of long-term meditators to that of the normative population in Australia.Method. Using the SF-36 questionnaire and a Meditation Lifestyle Survey, we sampled 343 long-term Australian Sahaja Yoga meditation practitioners and compared their scores to those of the normative Australian population.Results. Six SF-36 subscales (bodily pain, general health, mental health, role limitation—emotional, social functioning, and vitality) were significantly better in meditators compared to the national norms whereas two of the subscales (role limitation—physical, physical functioning) were not significantly different. A substantial correlation between frequency of mental silence experience and the vitality, general health, and especially mental health subscales (P<0.005) was found.Conclusion. Long-term practitioners of Sahaja yoga meditation experience better functional health, especially mental health, compared to the general population. A relationship between functional health, especially mental health, and the frequency of meditativeexperience(mental silence) exists that may be causal. Evidence for the potential role of this definition of meditation in enhancing quality of life, functional health and wellbeing is growing. Implications for primary mental health prevention are discussed.

scholarly journals Urban Education: High-Quality Education, the Economic Impact it Generates, and the Tragedy of Urban Education in the United States of America

2021 ◽  
Vol Volume II (December 2021) ◽  
pp. 103-127
Author(s):  
Sergio Paez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Urban Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Exceptional Case ◽  
The Impact

Education is an investment in improving the quality of life for individuals, and therefore benefiting society in general. Education in the United States of America exemplifies a correlation between the level of an individual's education, their salary level due to those academic qualifications, and the impact they generate within themselves, their families, society, and within the nation. This contemporary study of education in the U.S. shows how a community in an urban center of Massachusetts made fundamental changes to transform the education of its students who historically experienced school failure. This exceptional case of leadership and altruism was accomplished with intensive influence from the State Government. This case can be the basis for educational initiatives that can have relevance and social impact anywhere in the world. At a global level, we can see that a society with high levels of education, based on knowledge and academic training, stands out for the multiple opportunities that arise to obtain a higher quality of life. The outcomes of a good education are beneficial to the growth of an entire society. Societies benefit from advances in technological and economic fields, health systems, construction and accessible housing, industry, commerce, and even social security.

scholarly journals Active Aging and Elderly’s Quality of Life: Comparing the Impact on Literature of Projects Funded by the European Union and USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Kirilov ◽  
M Atzeni ◽  
A Perra ◽  
D Moro ◽  
MG Carta
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Scientific Productivity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Active Aging ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
European Projects ◽  
The Impact

Background: The objective of this research is to verify whether European projects on Active Aging (AA) and Elderly Quality of Life (Qol) funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) produce an impact on literature similar to projects funded by the National Health Institute (NHI) of the United States on international literature using well-known bibliometric indicators. This effort may be useful in developing standardized and replicable procedures. Methods: Fifteen randomly selected projects on AA and Elderly Qol concluded in August 2017 and funded by FP7 were compared to similar projects funded by the US NHI with reference to papers published (Scopus and Scholar), papers published in Q1 journals, and the number of citations of the papers linked to the projects. Results: In all the indicators considered, the European projects showed no difference with the US NHI projects. Conclusions: The EU-funded AA and Qol Elderly projects have an impact on scientific literature comparable to projects funded in the United States by the NHI Agency. Our results are consistent with the data on general medical research, which indicates that, European research remains at a high level of competitiveness. In this experimental study, our methodology appeared to be convincing and reliable and it could be applied to the extent of the impact of more extensive research areas. Our research did not evaluate the relationship between funding required by research and scientific productivity.

scholarly journals How do patients and physicians communicate about hereditary angioedema in the United States?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260805
Author(s):  
Gagan Jain ◽  
Lauren Walter ◽  
Carolyn Reed ◽  
Patricia O’Donnell ◽  
Jeffrey Troy
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Hereditary Angioedema ◽  
The United States ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Communication Dynamics ◽  
The Impact

Background Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare disease that manifests as recurrent and debilitating angioedema attacks, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life. Objective To assess communication dynamics between patients with HAE and treating physicians and the impact this has on the treatment of HAE in the United States. Methods This observational study used an institutional review board–approved protocol to collect four sources of patient–physician communication data from the period between January 2015 and May 2017: in-office conversations between patients aged ≥18 years with HAE and physicians, follow-up dictations with physicians, telephone interviews with patients and physicians, and publicly available social media posts from patients. Participant language was qualitatively assessed and key communication elements and communication gaps identified. Results Twenty-five in-office conversations, 14 follow-up physician dictations, and 17 telephone interviews were conducted with a total of 29 unique patients, 4 caregivers, and 14 physicians. In-office conversations were generally physician-driven and focused primarily on symptom frequency, location, and severity; lexicon from both parties centered on “episodes” and “swelling.” During visits, impact on quality of life was not routinely assessed by physicians nor discussed proactively by patients; however, during telephone interviews and online, patients frequently described the multifaceted burden of HAE. Patients highlighted the difficulties they experience by using repetition, emphasis, and metaphors; they also varied the descriptors used for attacks depending on the communication goal. Physicians used intensifiers to emphasize the necessity of rescue medication access, whereas prophylactic treatments were positioned as an option for frequent or laryngeal attacks. Conclusion Vocabulary differences suggest that the full impact of HAE is not consistently communicated by patients to physicians during clinical visits, indicating the potential for misaligned understanding of disease burden. A patient-driven, rather than physician-driven approach to the discussions may elicit valuable information that could help to optimize treatment approaches.

scholarly journals The DiSCover Project: Protocol and Baseline Characteristics of a Decentralized Digital Study Assessing Chronic Pain Outcomes and Behavioral Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Lee ◽  
Christian J Cerrada ◽  
Mai Ka Ying Vang ◽  
Kelly Scherer ◽  
Caroline Tai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Behavioral Data ◽  
Behavioral Characteristics ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Impact

Background: Chronic pain affects approximately 50 million adults in the United States and impacts mood, everyday functioning, and quality of life. The challenges of analgesic clinical trials and, therefore, the approval of new non-opioid analgesics, are based in part on a fundamental lack of understanding of those outcomes that are relevant to an individual's overall functioning. Objectives: To determine the behaviors and health outcomes associated with chronic pain. This manuscript presents an overview of the study design, baseline health and behavioral characteristics of our sample, and preliminary findings of how behavioral characteristics differ between individuals with and without chronic pain. Methods: The study is a decentralized digital longitudinal cohort study of 10,036 individuals (5,832 with chronic pain [CP] and 4,204 with no chronic pain [NCP), age 18 years or older, living in the United States. The study period was one year. Data were collected from wearable activity trackers and health or fitness mobile applications to capture passively collected behavioral data including steps, sleep, and heart rate. Patient-reported outcomes on mood and pain, including the BPI-SF, PHQ-9, and GAD-7, were collected at various timepoints during the study. Results: The data suggest greater levels of depression and anxiety, lower quality of life, less physical activity, more variable sleep, and higher resting heart rate are associated with CP. Conclusions: The longitudinal data from the larger study will yield substantial contributions to the body of literature in chronic pain, particularly in delineating relational and causal factors relevant to the impact of chronic pain, and potential development of a digital biomarker to assess and monitor patients' everyday experience with chronic pain.

Diagnosis and Evaluation of Hearing Loss

2016 ◽  
pp. 31-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marios Stavrakas ◽  
Georgios Kyriafinis ◽  
Miltiadis Tsalighopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
The United States ◽  
Accurate Diagnosis ◽  
Hearing Disorders ◽  
Acute Setting ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Normal Speech

Hearing disorders are quite common in our days, not only due to congenital causes, environmental factors abut also due to the increased rate of diagnosis. Hearing loss is one of the commonest reasons to visit an ENT Department both in the clinic and in the acute setting. Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing. One in eight people in the United States (13 percent, or 30 million) aged 12 years or older has hearing loss in both ears, based on standard hearing examinations. About 2 percent of adults aged 45 to 54 have disabling hearing loss. The rate increases to 8.5 percent for adults aged 55 to 64. Nearly 25 percent of those aged 65 to 74 and 50 percent of those who are 75 and older have disabling hearing loss. These figures depict the impact on patients' quality of life and the necessity for early and accurate diagnosis and treatment. It is important to mention that congenital hearing loss and deafness is also a condition that requires early diagnosis and hearing aiding in order to develop normal speech. Profound, early-onset deafness is present in 4–11 per 10,000 children, and is attributable to genetic causes in at least 50% of cases.

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