Trephine Minimally Invasive Procedure for Pilonidal Sinus.

Background: Pilonidal sinus is a chronic, inflammatory condition. Controversy exists regarding the best surgical management for pilonidal sinus, including the extent of excision and type of closure of the surgical wound.

Objectives: To assess the short- and long-term outcomes and success rate of the trephine procedure for the treatment of pilonidal sinus.

The contribution of self-efficacy, social support and participation in the community to predicting loneliness among persons with schizophrenia living in supported residences.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of self-efficacy, social support, social participation, living arrangement, and employment status to predicting loneliness among 97 individuals (over age 18) who were diagnosed with schizophrenia and lived in supported residences within the community.

Method: Participants responded to five self-report questionnaires: a socio-demographic questionnaire, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the MOS Social Support Survey, and the Participation and Use of Services in the Community Questionnaire.

Results: Social support, participation in the community, and living arrangement emerged as significant predictors of loneliness: the higher the participants' levels of social support and participation in leisure and social activities in the community, the lower their levels of loneliness.

Contribution of demographic, medical, and social support variables in predicting the mental health dimension of quality of life among people with multiple sclerosis.

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of demographic, medical, and social support variables in predicting the mental health dimension of quality of life (MHD/QOL) among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Eighty-two participants of employment age recruited from hospital neurology clinics specializing in MS completed a demographic questionnaire, and 69 completed the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Inventory (MSQLI). In addition, a neurologist used the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) to assess the medical status of each participant.

Parents of mentally ill adult children living at home: rewards of caregiving.

In the context of parents caring at home for an adult child with mental illness, this study explored the positive aspects and rewards of caregiving. Specifically, it measured the extent to which parents perceive their ill child as providing assistance and support--practical and emotional--and perceive their own caregiving as emotionally and mentally rewarding. One parent from each of 93 households completed a self-administered questionnaire.