Association between continuity of care and inappropriate prescribing in outpatient care in Germany: a cross-sectional analysis conducted as part of the LoChro trial.

Objectives: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) are common in multimorbid patients. This study aims to describe PIMs and PPOs in an open-access outpatient setting and to investigate any association between continuity of care (CoC) and PIMs and PPOs in multimorbid older patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study using patient-confirmed outpatient medication plans to describe PIMs and PPOs using the 'Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescription/Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment' version 2.

Analysis of the key themes in the healthcare of older people with multimorbidity in Germany: a framework analysis as part of the LoChro trial.

Objectives: Multimorbidity challenges healthcare systems. In Germany, coordination of healthcare for older multimorbid patients remains unstructured.This study aims to identify key themes in the healthcare of these patients and the inter-relationships between them.

[RECUR - Establishment of An Automated Digital Registry for Patients with Recurrent Stones in the Upper Urinary Tract].

Kidney stones, like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, affect a large number of people. Patients suffer from acute pain, repeated hospitalizations and associated secondary diseases, such as arterial hypertension and renal insufficiency. This results in considerable costs for the society and its health care system.

Abnormal FeV1 and body mass index are associated with impaired cough-related quality of life in sarcoidosis patients.

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease that mainly manifests within the lungs and may thereby impair lung function. Beyond and independently from organ impairment, sarcoidosis may affect quality of life which can be quantified by questionnaires. The Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) has been developed to assess cough-related quality of life.

Primary dementia care based on the individual needs of the patient: study protocol of the cluster randomized controlled trial, DemStepCare.

Background: Most people with dementia (PwD) are cared for at home, with general practitioners (GPs) playing a key part in the treatment. However, primary dementia care suffers from a number of shortcomings: Often, diagnoses are made too late and therapies by GPs do not follow the guidelines. In cases of acute crises, PwD are too often admitted to hospital with adverse effects on the further course of the disease.

[DNVF Memorandum Health Literacy (Part 1) - Background, Relevance, Research Topics and Questions in Health Services Research].

More than half of the German population has difficulties in dealing with health information. It is an important task of health services research to examine how healthcare professionals and health care organizations can meet this challenge. The DNVF Memorandum Health Literacy (Part 1) defines the terms of individual and organizational health literacy, presents the national and international state of research and ethical aspects of health literacy research in health care settings.

[DNVF Memorandum Health Literacy (Part 1) - Background, Relevance, Research Topics and Questions in Health Services Research: Short Version].

More than half of the German population has difficulties in dealing with health information. It is an important task of health services research to examine how healthcare professionals and health care organizations can meet this challenge. This short version of the DNVF Memorandum Health Literacy (Part 1) defines the terms of individual and organizational health literacy, presents the national and international state of research and ethical aspects of health literacy research in health care settings.

Involving patients as research partners exemplified by the development and evaluation of a communication-skills training programme (KOKOS-Rheuma).

Despite widespread recommendations for involving patient research partners (PRPs), there is little information about how patients have been involved in research. Our aim was to describe and assess the contributions of four PRPs in a project on communication-skills training funded by Deutsche Rheuma-Liga Bundesverband e. V.

Current Standards in the Endoscopic Management of Bladder Cancer: A Survey Evaluation among Urologists in German-Speaking Countries.

Introduction: To assess the current diagnostic, treatment, and documentation strategies for bladder cancer (BC) in German-speaking countries.

Materials And Methods: A 14-item web-based survey was distributed among members of the German, Austrian, and Swiss Associations of Urology, addressing physicians who perform cystoscopies and transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURB).

Results: The survey was responded to by 308 of 5,564 urologists with a mean age of 49.

Prevention of post-splenectomy sepsis in patients with asplenia - a study protocol of a controlled trial.

Background: Patients with asplenia have a significantly increased lifelong risk of severe invasive infections, particular post-splenectomy sepsis (PSS). Clear preventive measures have been described in the literature, but previous studies found poor implementation of prevention recommendations. Aim of the study is to improve the adherence to guideline-based preventive measures and thereby reduce the incidence of PSS by a novel telephone-delivered intervention that involves both patients and their physicians.

[Development of an Intervention to Enhance Health Literacy of Patients with Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID)].

Objective: The aim of the article was to describe the development of a training program to enhance the health literacy of patients with immunodeficiency. In addition, patient satisfaction and acceptance of the training will be evaluated.

Methods: Patients' needs were identified with a questionnaire (N=238).

[Development of a flexible rehabilitation concept for a neurological in-patient rehabilitation program after stroke].

Objective Of The Study: The aim was to develop an evidence-based treatment concept which describes a standard of performance for stroke patients in neurological follow-up rehabilitation, contracted by a statutory health insurance agency.

Method: The treatment concept was developed in several steps: a) first of all, a systematic literature search for guidelines was conducted and an online discussion forum was established, followed by b) formation of an expert group, as well as c) two expert workshops, two working groups and several written follow-up surveys. The implementation of the concept was scientifically accompanied by project team members from the eight pilot facilities selected.

Care of (potentially) brain-dead patients: A qualitative study protocol.

Aim: Aim of this study was to describe the experiences of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, physicians and relatives of (potentially) brain dead patients; and to develop recommendations to optimize the workflows on ICUs.

Background: Limited published information on caring for brain dead patients suggest it to be a burden for the nursing staff. It also remains unclear how physicians and relatives of (potentially) brain dead patients perceive these experiences.

A complex health services intervention to improve medical care in long-term care homes: study protocol of the controlled coordinated medical care (CoCare) study.

Background: Deficits in general and specialized on-site medical care are a common problem in nursing homes and can lead to unnecessary, costly and burdensome hospitalizations for residents. Reasons for this are often organizational obstacles (such as lack of infrastructure or communication channels) and unfavorable compensation structures, which impede the implementation of adequate medical care. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a complex intervention aiming to improve the coordination of medical care in long-term care nursing homes in Germany.

[What do rehabilitation patients expect from a telemedicine cardiac rehab aftercare? Results from interviews with rehabilitation patients].

Background: Rehabilitation aftercare programs can enable patients with cardiovascular disease to sustain and improve achievements made during their rehabilitation. However, not every patient is able to attend outpatient aftercare programs, especially if they interfere with professional or social responsibilities. Telemedical alternatives could provide those patients with longer durations or varying degrees of aftercare, regardless of location or time restriction.

Translation and psychometric properties of the King's Sarcoidosis Questionnaire (KSQ) in German language.

Background: King's Sarcoidosis Questionnaire (KSQ) is a novel, validated, health-related quality of life questionnaire on sarcoidosis with 5 scales and 29 items. For future multinational observational and interventional studies on sarcoidosis, a validated German version of the KSQ is needed. The objective of our study is to translate the original KSQ and develop a German version possessing good psychometric properties and with as few modifications as possible.

Local, collaborative, stepped and personalised care management for older people with chronic diseases (LoChro): study protocol of a randomised comparative effectiveness trial.

Background: Multimorbid older adults suffering from a long-term health condition like depression, diabetes mellitus type 2, dementia or frailty are at high risk of losing their autonomy. Disability and multimorbidity in the older population are associated with social inequality and lead to soaring costs. Our local, collaborative, stepped and personalised care management for older people with chronic diseases (LoChro-Care) aims at improving outcomes for older multimorbid patients with chronic conditions whose social and medical care must be improved.

Well informed physician-patient communication in consultations on back pain - study protocol of the cluster randomized GAP trial.

Background: Back pain is one of the most frequent causes of health-related work absence. In Germany, more than 70% of adults suffer from at least one back pain episode per annum. It has strong impact on health care costs and patients' quality of life.

Perceived health of patients with common variable immunodeficiency - a cluster analysis.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a complex disease with various influences on perceived health, which correlate with different outcomes, including new morbidity and mortality. Our hypothesis was that CVID patients fall into distinct clusters of perceived health which can inform care. Ward hierarchical cluster analysis and K-means cluster analysis were performed on data of 209 CVID patients to identify subgroups regarding their self-reported physical and mental health status, assessed by the physical (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of the Short Form-12 (SF-12).

Measuring illness perceptions in the family context: psychometric properties of the IPQ-R adapted for adolescent-caregiver dyads.

Objectives: Given the lack of validated measures assessing illness perceptions in families, the aim of our study was the development and psychometric testing of an adapted version of the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) allowing for Common Sense Model-based dyadic assessment of adolescents' and caregivers' perceptions of a chronic illness in adolescence.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey design, factor structure, reliability and validity of the adapted measure You-IPQ-R were tested in a sample of adolescents with asthma (N = 155) and their primary caregivers (N = 132). Analysis included a dyadic methodology (dyadic confirmatory factor analyses) and examination of the suitability of the measure for different age groups.

[Poststroke care in Germany : Results of an online survey of inpatient and outpatient experts in southern Germany].

Background: To avoid long-term care after stroke and to promote occupational reintegration as well as to continue improving rehabilitation results, a good inpatient and outpatient care is necessary. More importantly a gapless transition into aftercare is required. The aim of this study was to gather expert opinions and experiences on the current care process during rehabilitation discharge and aftercare as well as to identify barriers and to discuss possible solutions.

Psychometric properties of the German version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in sarcoidosis.

Background: Cough is one of the most common symptoms in general and pulmonary medicine with profound negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) is a validated HRQL questionnaire, yet a validated German version of the LCQ is not available and it has never been tested in a cohort with sarcoidosis.

Objectives: To translate the LCQ into German and determine its psychometric properties.

Post-stroke care after medical rehabilitation in Germany: a systematic literature review of the current provision of stroke patients.

Background: Although Germany's acute care for stroke patients already has a good reputation, continuous follow-up care is still not widely available, a problem originating in the strict separation of inpatient and outpatient care. This gap in the German health care system does not just lead to patients' potential readmission to inpatient care and compromise the sustainability of what they have accomplished during medical rehabilitation; it also places a burden on caregivers.

Methods: To illustrate the current procedures on follow-up care of stroke patients in Germany, a systematic literature search was conducted to gather all available evidence.

Telephone-delivered lifestyle support with action planning and motivational interviewing techniques to improve rehabilitation outcomes.

Objective: In this randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the effectiveness of a telephone-delivered intervention based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation to address behavior change, emotional status, and glycemic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Design: In a German rehabilitation center, 249 patients with Type 2 diabetes were separated into randomized groups, either a 12-month telephone follow-up support group or the usual care group. The counselor identified personal target areas and intervention modules and developed with the patient an individualized action plan for the telephone support.

[The Update of the Rehabilitation Therapy Standards of the German Pension Assurance].

Objectives: To report on the process of updating the German Pension Insurers' rehabilitation therapy standards (RTS) from 2013 to 2015.

Methods: Four methodical approaches were taken to gather evidence: a) systematic literature searches, b) the formation of expert groups, expert workshops, and online discussion forums to bring together the experiences from clinicians and patients, c) an analysis of the latest KTL data to understand the extent to which the RTS are currently being fulfilled, and d) conceptual consideration of the significance of current developments in rehabilitation in light of the RTS revision.

Results: There are now updated versions of all 9 RTS.