Impact and therapy of osteoarthritis: the Arthritis Care OA Nation 2012 survey.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the fastest growing cause of disability worldwide. The aim of this study was to understand the impact of OA on individuals and to explore current treatment strategies. An online UK-wide survey of people with self-reported OA was conducted, composed of 52 questions exploring the impact of OA, diagnosis and treatment, the role of health professionals and self-management.

Why patients take part in the Royal College of Physicians Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (MRCP PACES).

The aim of this study was to examine patients' motivation to participate in the Royal College of Physicians Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES). An exploratory cross-sectional study was performed with data collected via telephone interviews. All patients aged 18+ who participated in PACES at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire in the last two years were invited to take part; 28 patients were interviewed.

Coping using positive reinterpretation in parents of children with cerebral palsy.

Use of the coping strategy positive reinterpretation was examined among parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Survey data (n = 66) were used to gain a general picture of positive reinterpretation use, which was then explored in greater depth using semi-structured interviews (n = 13). Positive reinterpretation was positively correlated with self-efficacy and negatively correlated with depression and stress.

The psychosocial well-being of parents of children with cerebral palsy: a comparison study.

Purpose: Parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) may be at risk from poor psychosocial well-being, compared with parents of children without a long-term health condition (LTHC). However, research has produced some conflicting findings on the topic and no comparison studies have been conducted in the UK. Furthermore, studies have only used measures of negative psychosocial well-being.

Economic evaluation of arthritis self management in primary care.

Objective: To assess the cost effectiveness of a self management programme plus education booklet for arthritis in primary care.

Design: Cost effectiveness and cost utility analysis from health and social care and societal perspectives alongside a randomised controlled trial.

Setting: 74 general practices in the United Kingdom.

Understanding metaphor to facilitate emotional expression during a chronic disease self-management course.

Objective: This study was designed to understand emotional expression as an element of the chronic disease self-management course (CDSMC).

Methods: Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse a qualitative interview data set in which 10 lay-tutors described their perceptions of emotional expression during a CDSMC. The accounts were used to develop an interpretive phenomenological account.

A randomised controlled trial of lay-led self-management for people with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To determine the impact of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Course (CDSMC) on people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: 2-group, randomised, controlled trial with Intervention Group (IG) and Waiting-List Control Group (WLCG). Additional data were collected from a Comparison Group (CG) who chose not to attend the CDSMC.

Experiences of diagnosis and treatment among people with multiple sclerosis.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: The aim of this qualitative study was to examine patients' experiences of being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), the information that they were given at this time, subsequent treatment and its impact on their lives.

Method: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 people with MS. The use of interviews allowed participants' experiences to be explored in depth.

The effectiveness of the Training and Support Program for parents of children with disabilities: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The Training and Support Program (TSP) was designed to equip parents of children with disabilities with a simple massage skill for use with their children in the home environment. The effectiveness of the TSP was examined in a randomized controlled trial with a wait-list control group.

Methods: Parents were trained in massage by suitably qualified therapists in eight weekly sessions, each lasting 1 h.

A validation study of the New Zealand score for hip and knee surgery.

Unlabelled: In the absence of consensus over criteria for performing total knee arthroplasty, the variability of symptom burden, and limited resources, some ways to prioritize whether and when to treat would be useful. In the UK, some payers use the New Zealand score to determine access to an orthopaedic surgeon despite limited validation. We tested convergent validity of this score and ascertained its ability to discriminate between groups of patients with high or low disease burden as determined by a validated disease-specific measure.

Living with haemophilia and von Willebrand's: a descriptive qualitative study.

Objective: The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to describe the experience of living with bleeding disorders and to identify the associated salient issues from the perspectives of people living with haemophilia or von Willebrand's Disease (vWD).

Methods: Nine members of The Haemophilia Society took part in a semi-structured interview. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed and the results subjected to thematic content analysis.

Living with late deafness: insight from between worlds.

The psychosocial impact of 'late' deafness in adults has received little research attention. The aim of this study was to examine the views of people with experience of late deafness living in the UK. Eight participants (six male; age range 33 to 60) were interviewed by a researcher who had undergone appropriate communication skills training.

Coronary artery bypass grafting: patients' and health professionals' views of recovery after hospital discharge.

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is effective in relieving symptoms and reducing mortality but some patients report no improvement or a decline in quality of life and hence do not experience a good recovery after surgery. Little published research has explored patients' and particularly health professionals' views on barriers and facilitators to recovery or the processes by which these factors affect recovery.

Aims: To identify post-discharge facilitators and barriers to recovery after CABG.

An exploratory, descriptive study of women's experiences of hospital admission during pre-term labor.

Background: Rarely have women's experiences of admission to hospital during pre-term labor (PTL) been described from their own perspective. This study aimed to address this issue using qualitative methods.

Methods: The views of 8 women admitted to hospital with PTL were obtained through semi-structured interviews.

Design considerations in a clinical trial of a cognitive behavioural intervention for the management of low back pain in primary care: Back Skills Training Trial.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a major public health problem. Risk factors for the development and persistence of LBP include physical and psychological factors. However, most research activity has focused on physical solutions including manipulation, exercise training and activity promotion.

Recovery after coronary artery bypass grafting: patients' and health professionals' views of the hospital experience.

Background: Increasing access to revascularisation procedures is a key aspect of a National Service Framework. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is effective in relieving symptoms and reducing mortality but some patients do not report an improved quality of life or experience a good recovery.

Aims: To describe the recovery trajectory after CABG and identify facilitators and barriers to recovery.

Self management of arthritis in primary care: randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate clinical effectiveness of a self management programme for arthritis in patients in primary care with osteoarthritis.

Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Setting: 74 general practices in the United Kingdom.

The Training and Support Programme for parents of children with Cerebral Palsy: a process evaluation.

The aim of this process evaluation was to better understand the practice implications of an intervention designed to train parents to massage their children with Cerebral Palsy. Seventy parents completed the Training and Support Programme (TSP) with their children. Data were collected by Home Record Sheets and Observation Sheets completed by parents and therapists, respectively.

Evidence-based clinical guidelines: a new system to better determine true strength of recommendation.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Clinical practice guidelines often grade the 'strength' of their recommendations according to the robustness of the supporting research evidence. The existing methodology does not allow the strength of recommendation (SOR) to be upgraded for recommendations for which randomized controlled trials are impractical or unethical. The purpose of this study was to develop a new method of determining SOR, incorporating both research evidence and expert opinion.

Personal meanings in the construction of need for total knee replacement surgery.

This study explores patients' personal meanings of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and total knee replacement (TKR). Personal meanings are important because decisions regarding the need for TKR do not seem to be explained by symptoms alone. A total of 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of respondents who were listed for TKR at one UK specialist orthopaedic hospital, and who had lower than average disease burden according to standard quantitative criteria.

The influence of the training and support programme on the self-efficacy and psychological well-being of parents of children with disabilities: a controlled trial.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of an intervention for parents of children with disabilities in a controlled study focusing on parents' self-efficacy, psychological well-being and perceptions of change in children's sleeping, eating and mobility. The Training and Support Programme (TSP) was designed to equip parents with a simple massage skill that they could use with their children in the home environment. Parents were trained in massage by therapeutic massage therapists in 8-weekly sessions, each lasting 1h.

Exploring a massage intervention for parents and their children with autism: the implications for bonding and attachment.

This exploratory study aimed to address two questions: (1) What does touch mean between parents and their children with autism on completion of a massage intervention? (2) Do parents feel that their relationship with their children has changed on completion of a massage intervention? Fourteen parents agreed to be interviewed. Data were collected before the massage intervention (baseline), immediately after the massage intervention and 16 weeks from baseline and were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. At baseline, parents felt distressed that they felt unable to get 'close' to their children.

Self-management training for people with chronic disease: a shared learning experience.

The lay-led, Chronic Disease Self-Management Course (CDSMC) is designed to train people in self-management. The present study focused on the experiences of a group of participants attending the CDSMC. Data were collected via interviews with nine participants four months and twelve months after attending the CDSMC.