Differences in Results and Related Factors Between Hospital-at-Home Modalities in Catalonia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Hospital-at-home (HaH) is a healthcare modality that provides active treatment by healthcare staff in the patient's home for a condition that would otherwise require hospitalization. The aims were to describe the characteristics of different types of hospital-at-home (HaH), assess their results, and examine which factors could be related to these results. A cross-sectional study based on data from all 2014 HaH contacts from Catalonia was designed.

The validity of recommendations from clinical guidelines: a survival analysis.

Background: Clinical guidelines should be updated to maintain their validity. Our aim was to estimate the length of time before recommendations become outdated.

Methods: We used a retrospective cohort design and included recommendations from clinical guidelines developed in the Spanish National Health System clinical guideline program since 2008.

Strategies to assess the validity of recommendations: a study protocol.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) become quickly outdated and require a periodic reassessment of evidence research to maintain their validity. However, there is little research about this topic. Our project will provide evidence for some of the most pressing questions in this field: 1) what is the average time for recommendations to become out of date?; 2) what is the comparative performance of two restricted search strategies to evaluate the need to update recommendations?; and 3) what is the feasibility of a more regular monitoring and updating strategy compared to usual practice?.

Validation of the FRAX predictive model for major osteoporotic fracture in a historical cohort of Spanish women.

FRAX is a fracture risk assessment tool to estimate the 10-yr probability of a major osteoporotic fracture or a hip fracture. The aim of the study was to assess the predictive ability of FRAX for major osteoporotic fracture in a cohort of Spanish women. The study was based on a retrospective cohort of women aged 40-90 yr.

[Risk factors for fragility fractures in a cohort of Spanish women].

Introduction: Fragility fractures are an important public health issue. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of the main osteoporotic risk factors related to fragility fracture in a cohort of women with an indication of bone densitometry (BD).

Methods: A retrospective cohort was followed-up until a fragile fracture occurred, in a population of women aged 40 to 90 years with a first visit for BD between January 1992 and February 2008.

Reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile Child-Edition/Child Report Form (CHIP-CE/CRF).

Objectives: To assess the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the CHIP-CE/CRF.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of primary school children in Spain. Children were administered the Spanish version of the CHIP-CE/CRF.

Perceptions and attitudes of clinicians in Spain toward clinical practice guidelines and grading systems: a protocol for a qualitative study and a national survey.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have become a very popular tool for decision making in healthcare. While there is some evidence that CPGs improve outcomes, there are numerous factors that influence their acceptability and use by healthcare providers. While evidence of clinicians' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes toward CPGs is extensive, results are still disperse and not conclusive.

Reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile (CHIP) Child-Edition, Parent Report Form (CHIP-CE/PRF).

Background: The objectives of the study were to assess the reliability, and the content, construct, and convergent validity of the Spanish version of the CHIP-CE/PRF, to analyze parent-child agreement, and compare the results with those of the original U.S. version.

Systems to support health technology assessment (HTA) in member states of the European union with limited institutionalization of HTA.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to support health technology assessment (HTA) capacity building in Member States of the European Union with limited experience or without institutionalized HTA. The main output is a Handbook on HTA Capacity Building.

Methods: The methods used were worldwide surveys of (i) HTA organizations, (ii) information management units, and (iii) HTA educational programs.

[A tool (corrected) for the critical appraisal of epidemiological cross-sectional studies].

The aim was to develop a tool for the critical appraisal of epidemiological cross-sectional studies. Several recommendations or guidelines for assessing the strength of scientific evidence provided by observational studies were reviewed, like those from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Group, the Osteba (Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment), and the STROBE Initiative. The tool has 27 items to assess: study question or objective, participants, comparability between groups, definition and measure of main variables; analysis and confusion, results, conclusions, external validity and applicability, and conflict of interest.

Health-related quality of life measurement in children and adolescents: a systematic review of generic and disease-specific instruments.

Objective: To identify currently available generic and disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments for children and adolescents up to 19 years old, to describe their content, and to review their psychometric properties.

Study Design: Previous reviews on the subject and a new literature review from 2001 to December 2006 (MEDLINE, the ISI Science Citation Index, HealthSTAR and PsycLit) were used to identify measures of HRQOL for children and adolescents. The characteristics (country of origin, age range, type of respondent, number of dimensions and items, name of the dimensions and condition) and psychometric properties (reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change) of the instruments were assessed following international guidelines published by the Scientific Committee of the Medical Outcomes Trust.

Perceived health status and use of healthcare services among children and adolescents.

Background: The aim of the present study was to analyse the use of healthcare services according to health status in a population of children and adolescents, taking into account family socio-demographic characteristics and characteristics of the proxy respondent.

Methods: A total of 836 interviews of proxy respondents for children aged 5-14 years from the Barcelona Health Interview Survey carried out in 2000 were included. Dependent variables were visits to a healthcare professional, visits to the emergency room, and hospitalization.

[Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition Parent Report Form [CHIP-CE/PRF]].

Objectives: To analyze the reliability and validity of the domains of the Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition Parent Report Form (CHIP-CE/PRF) included in the Barcelona Health Survey conducted in 2000 and to obtain population-based reference values.

Methods: Data were obtained from proxy-respondent interviews of children aged 5-14 years old (n = 836) participating in the Barcelona Health Survey 2000. The 4 subdomains of the parent version of the CHIP-PRF included in the health survey were: satisfaction with health, and physical discomfort, emotional discomfort, and limitation of activities of the discomfort domain.