Connect-ROD - development and qualitative evaluation of a community-based group intervention to support well-being in patients with a rare or orphan disease.

Background: Patients living with various rare or orphan diseases (ROD) experience common psychosocial difficulties. Those need emerge from a combination of factors, such as the large variety of patients and the rarity of resources, as well as concentrated efforts on physical health needs that yielded increases in life expectancy and quality in patients. A gap is therefore rising in the consideration of psychosocial needs of patients, such as coping with the impacts of physical limitations, reducing social isolation and distress.

Group intervention programs and their impact on well-being and quality-of-life for adults living with a rare or orphan disease - realist review of literature.

Purpose: Adults living with a rare or orphan diseases (ROD) experience common psychosocial difficulties that are often poorly addressed in usual care. This realist literature review aims to inform the development, evaluation and implementation of evidence based group therapy programs adapted to shared needs of patients living with various ROD.

Method: The review is based on an analysis of Context-Mechanism-Outcome configurations.

Six-month prevalence and correlates of generalized anxiety disorder among primary care patients aged 70 years and above: Results from the ESA-services study.

Objectives: To estimate the 6-month prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in primary care patients aged 70 years and above and to describe their clinical profile, including types of worries.

Methods/design: Participants (N = 1193) came from the Étude sur la Santé des Aînés (ESA) services study conducted in Quebec, Canada. An in-person structured interview was used to identify GAD and other anxiety/depressive disorders as well as to identify types of worries.

Using virtual reality to improve the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of late-life anxiety: preliminary recommendations for future research.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) using traditional exposure techniques (i.e. imaginal and in vivo) seems less effective to treat anxiety in older adults than in younger ones.