Evaluation of the Quality of Life of Patients with Myasthenia Gravis in Greece.

Myasthenia Gravis (MG) patients often report an affected quality of life (QoL). The aim of the current study was to evaluate the QoL of patients with MG in Greece using a specific tool. A cross-sectional online survey was performed.

The impact of accessibility and service quality on the frequency of patient visits to the primary diabetes care provider: results from a cross-sectional survey performed in six European countries.

Background: Visits to the primary diabetes care provider play a central role in diabetes care. Therefore, patients should attend their primary diabetes care providers whenever a visit is necessary. Parameters that might affect whether this condition is fulfilled include accessibility (in terms of travel distance and travel time to the practice), as well as aspects of service quality (for example in-practice waiting time and quality of the provider's communication with the patient).

Correction: The relationship between context, structure, and processes with outcomes of 6 regional diabetes networks in Europe.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Development of a universal short patient satisfaction questionnaire on the basis of SERVQUAL: Psychometric analyses with data of diabetes and stroke patients from six different European countries.

Objective: A short questionnaire which can be applied for assessing patient satisfaction in different contexts and different countries is to be developed.

Methods: Six items addressing tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and communication were analysed. The first five items stem from SERVQUAL (SERVice QUALity), the last stems from the discussion about SERVQUAL.

Do Caregiver Characteristics Affect Caregiver Burden Differently in Different Countries?

The relationships between caregiver burden as measured with the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers-short form and 6 characteristics of caregivers caring for patients with dementia were investigated for caregivers from England (n = 36), Finland (n = 42), and Greece (n = 46) using survey data. In all 3 countries, caregiver burden increases with physical problems of the caregiver, emotional problems of the caregiver, and weekly hours of care. Hence, in all 3 countries, special support for informal care is required when these characteristics are at high levels.