Evaluation of a Psychological Intervention for Patients with Chronic Pain in Primary Care.

According to evidence from recent decades, multicomponent programs of psychological intervention in people with chronic pain have reached the highest levels of efficacy. However, there are still many questions left to answer since efficacy has mainly been shown among upper-middle class patients in English-speaking countries and in controlled studies, with expert professionals guiding the intervention and with a limited number of domains of painful experience evaluated. For this study, a program of multicomponent psychological intervention was implemented: (a) based on techniques with empirical evidence, but developed in Spain; (b) at a public primary care center; (c) among patients with limited financial resources and lower education; (d) by a novice psychologist; and (e) evaluating all domains of painful experience using the instruments recommended by the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT).

Randomized trial to reduce emergency visits or hospital admissions using telephone coaching to complex patients.

Background: Comorbidity remains a matter of international interest, given growing prevalence of chronic conditions.

Objective: To evaluate the impact that adding a telephone coaching intervention by a family physician to usual care has on reducing resource consumption and improving health status, caregiver burden and quality of life among complex chronic patients (CCP) compared with usual care.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on a random sample of CCP from three primary care teams in Barcelona.

[Factors associated with hospitalization in a cohort of elderly patients included in a home care program].

Background And Objective: The objective is to identify the features associated with next year hospital admissions among elderly dependent patients living at home (EDLH) and visited by primary care teams at their home setting.

Patients And Method: Longitudinal cohort study of a sample of EDLH patients admitted to a home care programme delivered by 72 primary care teams. A global health assessment was performed at recruitment in all patients (health and social status, informal and formal carer characteristics and burden of care).