Consent and assent to participate in research from people with dementia.

Conducting research with vulnerable populations involves careful attention to the interests of individuals. Although it is generally understood that informed consent is a necessary prerequisite to research participation, it is less clear how to proceed when potential research participants lack the capacity to provide this informed consent. The rationale for assessing the assent or dissent of vulnerable individuals and obtaining informed consent by authorized representatives is discussed.

Special care facility compared with traditional environments for dementia care: a longitudinal study of quality of life.

Objectives: To compare the effect of a specialized care facility (SCF) on quality of life (QoL) for residents with middle- to late-stage dementia over a 1-year period with residence in traditional institutional facilities.

Design: A prospective, matched-group design with assessments of QoL every 3 months for 1 year.

Setting: Twenty-four long-term care centers and four designated assisted living environments in an urban center in western Canada.

Quality of life in sleep disorders.

Quality of life is a major outcome variable in choosing and evaluating treatment alternatives for sleep disorders. However, the number of well validated and sufficiently responsive quality of life measures for use with this population is limited. The SF-36, Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) are the most frequently used generic measures.

Workplace violence in Alberta and British Columbia hospitals.

Workplace violence is a significant and widespread public health concern among health care workers, including nurses. With growing awareness of how practice environments influence patient outcomes and the retention of health professionals, it is timely to consider the impact of workplace violence in hospitals. Registered nurses in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada were surveyed on their experiences of violence in the workplace over the last five shifts.

Major depressive disorder and health care costs in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is associated with elevated levels of depressive symptoms and an elevated frequency of depressive disorders. Depressive disorders, in general, are associated with substantial direct and indirect economic costs, and have been shown to increase the costs associated with the management of medical conditions in a variety of clinical settings. However, the impact of depressive disorders on costs associated with MS have not been evaluated.

Measurement properties of the calgary sleep apnea quality of life index.

Sleep apnea patients were studied three times prior to and 4 wk after a trial of nasal continuous positive airway pressure to determine the measurement properties of the Calgary Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index (SAQLI), a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire. All patients completed the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form (SF-36), the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index, and a global assessment of quality of life before and after treatment. The SAQLI was found to have a very high responsiveness index of 1.