Patient satisfaction with hospital rehabilitation: validation of the SAT-16 questionnaire through Rasch analysis.

Aim: The SAT-16 is a 16-item self-administered questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with the quality of care during stay in a rehabilitation unit. A comprehensive psychometric analysis of SAT-16 was performed using both classical test theory and Rasch analysis (RA) to examine its validity and metric properties, and provide further insights for its clinical use in rehabilitation settings.

Methods: A sample of 9458 patients, consecutively admitted to two Rehabilitation Centres, was examined with SAT-16.

Falls in a rehabilitation setting: functional independence and fall risk.

Aim: With this study we wanted to determine the incidence, characteristics and consequences of falls in our rehabilitation setting.

Methods: An observational study was carried out in a rehabilitation setting for postacute orthopedic and neurological inpatients. Three-hundred and twenty patients were enrolled.

The influence of comorbidities and complications on discharge function in stroke rehabilitation inpatients.

Aim: The aims of this prospective study were: 1) to assess the frequency, type and severity of comorbidities (COMs) and complications (COMPLs) in acute stroke patients, according to the weighted comorbidity index (w-CI) of Liu et al. and 2 new indices, respectively COM severity index (COM-SI) and COMPL severity index (COMPL-SI); 2) to separately analyse the interference of COMs and COMPLs with functional status and recovery during stroke rehabilitation treatment; 3) to compare the ability of COM-SI and COMPL-SI to predict functional independence at discharge with that of w-CI.

Methods: Eighty-five stroke rehabilitation inpatients participated in the study.

Psychometric properties of the Rivermead Mobility Index in Italian stroke rehabilitation inpatients.

Objective: To examine the internal consistency, validity, responsiveness and test scalability of the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) in Italian rehabilitation inpatients recovering from stroke.

Design: Seventy-three stroke inpatients undergoing rehabilitation were assessed at admission (T0) and five weeks later (T1), using RMI, the motor (motFIM) and cognitive (cognFIM) subscales of the Functional Independence Measure, the 'leg' section of the Motricity Index and Trunk Control Test.

Results: Cronbach's alpha of the RMI was 0.

Satisfaction with hospital rehabilitation: is it related to life satisfaction, functional status, age or education?

Satisfaction with care, functional and cognitive status, life satisfaction, anxiety, and sociodemographic variables were correlated in 55 in-patients admitted to a rehabilitation unit after hip or knee surgery. The study aimed at investigating whether, as an index of care quality, patient satisfaction can be considered as a distinct domain or instead is subsidiary to other patient characteristics. Patient satisfaction with rehabilitation care was measured through a questionnaire, SAT-16.

Life Satisfaction Index: Italian version and validation of a short form.

The Life Satisfaction Index-version A (LSIA) is a 20-item questionnaire providing a cumulative score acknowledged as a valid index of quality of life. In the present study, an Italian version was produced through validated procedures of repeated back-translations. The final Italian version (LSIA.

Length of stay of stroke rehabilitation inpatients: prediction through the functional independence measure.

A model for prediction of length of stay (LOS, in days) of stroke rehabilitation inpatients was developed, based on patients' age (years) and function at admission (scored on the Functional Independence Measure, FIMSM). One hundred and twenty-nine cases, consecutively admitted to three free-standing rehabilitation centres in Italy, were analyzed. A multiple linear regression using forward stepwise selection procedure was adopted.

[Validity and reliability of a new questionnaire on patient satisfaction in rehabilitative therapy].

Background: The aim of this study was to examine some psychometric properties of a new questionnaire measuring patients' satisfaction with respect to the quality of care during stay in a rehabilitation unit. The instrument (called SAT-16) is composed of 16 four-level items and 2 open-ended questions. The construct validity of the 16-item section was already demonstrated in a previous study based on factorial analysis.

[Assessment of a patient satisfaction scale in rehabilitation].

Background: A new scale is presented, measuring patients' satisfaction with respect to the quality of care during stay in a rehabilitation unit. The questionnaire is self-administered and anonymous, and it includes 15 items, scored 1 to 4. The cumulative score may thus range 15-60; the higher the score, the higher the patient's satisfaction.

Mixed infection by Staphylococcus and Candida, and Wegener's granulomatosis.

We describe the case of a patient who initially presented with pneumonia from Staphylococcus aureus and Candida parapsilosis, which was resolved with antibiotic treatment, but reappeared 6 months later as full-blown Wegener's granulomatosis. The possible pathogenetic correlations between infective agents, in particular Staphylococcus aureus and Candida, and Wegener's granulomatosis are discussed.

[An ergonomic analysis of 5 technics for moving patients]].

Nursing personnel and physical therapists refer to the lifting and moving of patients as the most important determinant of occupationally related low-back pain. This study was conducted in 12 nurses and 12 patients, to compare three methods of transferring patients from bed to wheelchair; (I) manual lifting, (II) an assistive device-a walking belt (with both one- and two-person transfers) and (III) a mechanical hoist. After completion of a given transfer, nurses were asked to rate the physical stress and how secure they felt the method was.