Publications by authors named "Allison Leavens"
Background: Active tuberculosis (TB) disease can impose substantial morbidity, while treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI) has frequent side effects. We compared health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between persons diagnosed and treated for TB disease, persons treated for LTBI, and persons screened but not treated for TB disease or LTBI, over one year following diagnosis/initial assessment.
Methods: Participants were recruited at two hospitals in Montreal (2008-2011), and completed the Short Form-36 version 2 (SF-36) at baseline, and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months thereafter.
Purpose: To estimate health utility derived from the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and Standard Gamble instrument for persons diagnosed and treated for tuberculosis (TB) disease, those diagnosed and treated for latent TB infection (LTBI), and those screened but not treated for TB disease or LTBI over the year following their diagnosis/initial assessment.
Methods: Participants were recruited at two Montreal hospitals (2008-2011) and completed the SF-36 and Standard Gamble at baseline and at follow-up visits 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months thereafter. SF-6D health utility scores were derived from SF-36 responses.
Objective: Clinical practice guidelines disagree on whether health care professionals should screen women for depression during pregnancy or postpartum. The objective of this systematic review was to determine whether depression screening improves depression outcomes among women during pregnancy or the postpartum period.
Methods: Searches included the CINAHL, EMBASE, ISI, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases through April 1, 2013; manual journal searches; reference list reviews; citation tracking of included articles; and trial registry reviews.
Objective: Depression symptom measures that include somatic symptoms may inflate severity estimates among medically ill patients, including patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma). The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is increasingly used to assess depressive symptoms in medical settings, but it is not known whether PHQ-9 scores are influenced by somatic symptoms common in medical illness. The objective was to assess whether SSc patients had higher somatic symptom scores on the PHQ-9 than non-medically ill respondents from the general population matched on cognitive/affective scores.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSystemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma, is a chronic multisystem autoimmune disorder characterised by thickening and fibrosis of the skin and by the involvement of internal organs such as the lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and heart. Because there is no cure, feasibly-implemented and easily accessible evidence-based interventions to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are needed. Due to a lack of evidence, however, specific recommendations have not been made regarding non-pharmacological interventions (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Several practice guidelines recommend screening for depression in cancer care, but no systematic reviews have examined whether there is evidence that depression screening benefits cancer patients. The objective was to evaluate the potential benefits of depression screening in cancer patients by assessing the (1) accuracy of depression screening tools; (2) effectiveness of depression treatment; and (3) effect of depression screening, either alone or in the context of comprehensive depression care, on depression outcomes.
Methods: Data sources were CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, ISI, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and SCOPUS databases through January 24, 2011; manual journal searches; reference lists; citation tracking; trial registry reviews.