Cognitive behavioral therapy for frequent attenders in primary care.

Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate if cognitive behavioral therapy given in a group setting affects anxiety and depression, stress, pain, coping strategies during daily life, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), among frequent attenders (FAs) in primary care.

Methods: Cognitive behavioral therapy was offered to 331 FAs between 18 and 65 years of age, of whom 89 accepted and 54 completed all steps in the protocol; patients were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: 0, 6, and 12-month waiting time. The therapy consisted of 12 sessions administered in group format.

Diagnostics, epidemiological observations and genomic subtyping in an outbreak of pullorum disease in non-commercial chickens.

Salmonella Gallinarum biovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum) is a poultry pathogen associated with significant economic losses and animal suffering. Strict eradication programmes have eliminated S.

Comparison of whole genome sequencing typing results and epidemiological contact information from outbreaks of Salmonella Dublin in Swedish cattle herds.

Background: Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is becoming a routine tool for infectious disease outbreak investigations. The Swedish situation provides an excellent opportunity to test the usefulness of WGS for investigation of outbreaks with Salmonella Dublin (S. Dublin) as epidemiological investigations are always performed when Salmonella is detected in livestock production, and index isolates from all detected herds are stored and therefore available for analysis.

Neurocognitive functioning and outcome of the Illness Management and Recovery Program for clients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

The relationship between psychosocial programming and neurocognition has been established in previous research, but has not been explored in the context of the Illness Management and Recovery Program (IMR). This study examined associations between neurocognition and illness self-management skills acquisition, based on two previous trials of IMR. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed at baseline and post-treatment in 53 participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who completed the IMR.

Changes in the risk management of Salmonella enterica subspecies diarizonae serovar 61:(k):1, 5, (7) in Swedish sheep herds and sheep meat due to the results of a prevalence study 2012.

Background: The prevalence of Salmonella in food producing animals is very low in Sweden due to rigorous control programmes. However, no active surveillance is in place in sheep. The authorities decided to perform a prevalence study in sheep herds because findings at slaughter indicated that sheep associated S.

Salmonella species in piglets and weaners from Uganda: prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and herd-level risk factors.

Non-typhoidal salmonellosis is of concern in humans in sub-Saharan Africa, and this is partly due to the high number of immunocompromised persons. Pork and pork products could be among the sources of these non-typhi Salmonella spp. The aim of this study was to identify Salmonella spp.

Salmonella isolated from individual reptiles and environmental samples from terraria in private households in Sweden.

Background: This study investigates Salmonella spp. isolated from privately kept reptiles and from environmental samples such as bedding materials or water from the floor of the enclosures (terraria). It also compares isolation of Salmonella using Modified Semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis (MSRV) medium or selective enrichment in Rappaport-Vassiliadis-Soya (RVS) pepton broth.

Can demographic and exposure characteristics predict levels of social support in survivors from a natural disaster?

Objective: Lack of social support is a strong predictor for poor mental health after disasters. Psychosocial post-disaster interventions may benefit from targeting survivors at risk of low support, yet it is unknown whether demographic and disaster exposure characteristics are associated with social support. This study assessed if age, gender, educational status, cohabitation, and disaster exposure severity predicted aspects of informal social support in a cohort of Swedish survivors from the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami.

Evaluation of the Illness Management and Recovery Scale in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the parallel client and clinician versions of the Illness Management and Recovery Scale (IMRS) developed to monitor the clients' progress in the Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) program in schizophrenia. A total of 107 study participants completed assessments of the IMRS, interview-based ratings of psychiatric symptoms, self-ratings of psychiatric symptoms, perception of recovery, and quality of life. Case managers completed the clinician version of the IMRS.

Effects of heart rate variability biofeedback in subjects with stress-related chronic neck pain: a pilot study.

Recent studies focusing on autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunctions, together with theoretical pathophysiological models of musculoskeletal disorders, indicate the involvement of ANS regulation in development and maintenance of chronic muscle pain. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback (BF) in increasing HRV and reducing the symptoms of different disorders characterized by ANS aberration. The study investigated the effects of resonance frequency HRV BF on autonomic regulation and perceived health, pain, stress and disability in 24 subjects with stress-related chronic neck-shoulder pain.

A randomized controlled effectiveness trial of parent management training with varying degrees of therapist support.

This study examined the effectiveness of a Swedish parent management training (PMT) intervention for parents of children aged 3 to 10 within the context of regular social service. Self-referred parents of 159 children (aged 3 to 10) with conduct problems were randomly assigned to either 11 practitioner-assisted group sessions (PMT-P), or a single instructional workshop followed by self-administration of the training material (PMT-S), or a waitlist control group. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that both PMT-P and PMT-S improved parent competence and reduced child conduct problems compared to the waitlist at posttest.

Evaluating the effectiveness of exposure and acceptance strategies to improve functioning and quality of life in longstanding pediatric pain--a randomized controlled trial.

Although several studies have illustrated the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on adult pain patients, there are few randomized controlled trials on children and adolescents. There is particularly a need for studies on pediatric patients who are severely disabled by longstanding pain syndromes. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, as an extension of traditional CBT, focuses on improving functioning and quality of life by increasing the patient's ability to act effectively in concordance with personal values also in the presence of pain and distress.

The Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ)-further validation including a confirmatory factor analysis and a comparison with the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia.

Acceptance of pain and distress has lately appeared as an important factor in determining peoples' ability to restore functioning in the presence of chronic pain. Although treatments based on cognitive behaviour therapy are beginning to incorporate acceptance strategies, there is still a lack of reliable and valid instruments to assess relevant processes in such interventions. The Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ) was originally constructed as part of the development of an acceptance oriented treatment approach for pain patients.

Can exposure and acceptance strategies improve functioning and life satisfaction in people with chronic pain and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD)? A randomized controlled trial.

Although 14% to 42% of people with whiplash injuries end up with chronic debilitating pain, there is still a paucity of empirically supported treatments for this group of patients. In chronic pain management, there is increasing consensus regarding the importance of a behavioural medicine approach to symptoms and disability. Cognitive behaviour therapy has proven to be beneficial in the treatment of chronic pain.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and yoga for drug-refractory epilepsy: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: There is a need for controlled outcome studies on behavioral treatment of epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and yoga in the treatment of epilepsy.

Methods: The design consisted of a randomized controlled trial with repeated measures (N=18).

Avoidance and cognitive fusion--central components in pain related disability? Development and preliminary validation of the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale (PIPS).

Acceptance of pain and other associated negative private experiences has received increasing attention in recent years. This approach is in stark contrast to the traditional approach of reducing or controlling symptoms of pain. The empirical support for treatments emphasizing exposure and acceptance, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, is growing.

Relation problems in internationally adopted juvenile delinquents.

Objective: Internationally adopted delinquents are overrepresented in juvenile Swedish institutions. With the purpose of investigating possible reasons for this overrepresentation, this study compared adopted delinquent adolescents and internationally adopted controls in the structure and functioning of their current relations, especially with their parents.

Methods: Internationally adopted adolescents admitted to institutional care (N=20) and non-delinquent internationally adopted controls (N=21) were compared through: a questionnaire; "family relations", a subscale in I think I am; "Family climate" (from Karolinska Scale of Personality); Individual Schedule of Social Interaction; and an Attachment Test.

Evaluation of acceptance and commitment therapy for drug refractory epilepsy: a randomized controlled trial in South Africa--a pilot study.

Purpose: Psychological interventions in the treatment of epilepsy have been developed and evaluated for many years but the amount of research has hardly made an impact on how epilepsy is treated. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a psychological treatment program consisting of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) together with some behavioral seizure control technology shown to be successful in earlier research.

Methods: The method consisted of a randomized controlled trial group design with repeated measures (n=27).

Exposure and acceptance in the rehabilitation of adolescents with idiopathic chronic pain - a pilot study.

For chronic pain of unclear origin (idiopathic), pharmacological therapy is often insufficient. Psychological treatment strategies have been developed and evaluated for adults with chronic pain. However, few such studies are seen with youths, and to date there is limited empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychological treatment for generalized musculoskeletal pain syndromes in adolescents.

Relaxation treatment of adolescent headache sufferers: results from a school-based replication series.

Background: In recent reviews of psychological and drug treatment, relaxation training approaches have been found to be efficacious for children and adolescents suffering from recurrent tension-type headache (TTH), while biofeedback procedures provide effective help for migraine headache sufferers, primarily treated in tertiary clinics.

Objective: In a school-based replication series, the effectiveness and efficiency of relaxation training provided within school settings were examined, in addition to the effects on various headache features and the maintenance of treatment gains at a 6 to 10-month follow-up.

Methods: Over a 20-year period, 288 adolescents aged 10 to 18 years participated in seven randomized, controlled trials conducted within regular school health service settings.

Development of cognitive functions in children with rolandic epilepsy.

An initial investigation of cognitive functions in 32 children, aged 7 to 15 years, with rolandic epilepsy (RE), using an extensive test battery, was followed 2.5 to 3 years later by a second assessment of 26 of these children, using the same technique. The initial investigation reported cognitive deficits in memory and learning of auditory-verbal material together with executive functions compared with controls.

Specific cognitive deficits are common in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A neuropsychological assessment was conducted to study cognition, with emphasis on memory, information processing/learning ability, and executive functions in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A group of 20 boys with DMD, aged 7 to 14 years (mean age 9 years 5 months, SD 2 years 2 months), was contrasted with 17 normally developing age-matched comparison individuals, using specific neuropsychological tests (Block Span, Digit Span, Story Recall, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Rey Complex Figure Test, Spatial Learning Test, Verbal Fluency, Trail Making Test, Tower of London, Memory for Faces, and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices). The DMD group performed significantly worse on all aspects of memory, learning, and executive functions.

A factor analytic study of the Autism Behavior Checklist.

The factor structure of the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) (Krug, Arick, & Almond, 1980a, 1980b), a 57-item screening instrument for autism, was examined on a sample of 383 individuals with autism spectrum disorders (i.e., autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome, and other autism-like conditions) aged 5-22 years.