Smartphone-assisted training with education for patients with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (SmArt-E): study protocol for a multicentre pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Hip and knee osteoarthritis are associated with functional limitations, pain and restrictions in quality of life and the ability to work. Furthermore, with growing prevalence, osteoarthritis is increasingly causing (in)direct costs. Guidelines recommend exercise therapy and education as primary treatment strategies.

Cultural traits and second-generation immigrants' value of informal care.

Unlabelled: Many European studies find that immigrants and the native population differ in their long-term care use. These differences have been attributed to immigrants' cultural preferences, among others. However, the cultural integration process of immigrants may result in a potential caregiving conflict between foreign-born immigrants' preferences for long-term care and their children's willingness to provide long-term care.

Cost-effectiveness of surgical treatment compared to medical treatment in patients with drug-refractory epilepsy: A systematic review.

Background And Purpose: Approximately 30% of epilepsy patients develop a drug-refractory epilepsy, that is, seizures cannot be controlled with antiepileptic drugs. Surgery has been evaluated as an effective but costly form of treatment. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the available evidence on the cost-effectiveness of surgical treatment compared to medical treatment for these patients.

Cultural Differences in the Intended Use of Long-Term Care Services in the United States: The Role of Family Ties.

Objectives: In the light of an increasingly diverse older population in the United States, there is an ongoing discussion on how cultural factors contribute to individual long-term care (LTC) needs and service use. This study empirically assesses whether the level of acculturation and cultural differences in the importance of the family shape foreign-born immigrants' intention to use certain LTC services.

Methods: We correlated immigrants' intention to use certain LTC services to the cultural strength of family ties that prevails in their region of origin.

How Politico-Economic Systems Shape Individuals' Value of Elderly Care: Evidence From the German Reunification.

Background And Objectives: Perceptions of how societies should care for the elderly people can differ among countries. This study examines to what extent individuals' value of informal care is shaped by the politico-economic system in which they grew up and if this value adjusts once an individual lives in a different politico-economic system.

Research Design And Methods: We use data from the German Family Panel and take advantage of the unique setting of the German separation and reunification.

Costs of informal nursing care for patients with neurologic disorders: A systematic review.

Objective: To systematically review the economic burden of informal nursing care (INC), often called informal care, caused by multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson disease (PD), and epilepsy, with special attention to disease severity.

Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and NHS Economic Evaluation Database for articles on the cost of illness of the diseases specified. Title, abstract, and full-text review were conducted in duplicate by 2 researchers.