Qualitative study exploring heterogeneity in caregiving experiences post-stroke in Singapore.

Objective: Stroke, a common illness in older adults, accounts for up to 4% of direct medical costs in developed nations. Informal caregiving contributing a significant proportion of economic burden post-stroke warrants a deeper understanding of the caregiving context to sustain caregiving arrangement. While literature exists describing differences in motivation and preferences of caregivers, limited literature explores differences in caregiving experiences of different types of caregivers (ie, spouse, adult-child, sibling or others).

Seeking healthcare services post-stroke: a qualitative descriptive study exploring family caregiver and stroke survivor perspectives in an asian setting.

Aim: Exploration of the healthcare journey post-stroke is incomplete without acknowledging the crucial role of family caregivers. With limited literature documenting the role of caregivers in the healthcare journey post-stroke, we aimed to describe the healthcare experiences of family caregivers and stroke survivors across different caregiver identities in Singapore.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative descriptive study involving semi-structured interviews with transcripts analysed using thematic analysis.

Burden of informal care in stroke survivors and its determinants: a prospective observational study in an Asian setting.

Background: Informal caregiving is an integral part of post-stroke recovery with strenuous caregiving demands often resulting in caregiving burden, threatening sustainability of caregiving and potentially impacting stroke survivor's outcomes. Our study aimed to examine and quantify objective and subjective informal care burden after stroke; and to explore the factors associated with informal care burden in Singapore.

Methods: Stroke patients and their informal caregivers were recruited from all five tertiary hospitals in Singapore from December 2010 to September 2013.

Support system diversity among family caregivers of stroke survivors: a qualitative study exploring Asian perspectives.

Background: Caregiving is a global phenomenon which is bound to increase in tandem with the aging population worldwide. Stroke is a condition common in older people that requires complex caregiving necessitating provision of adequate support to the caregivers. Past literature consists of limited accounts of types and organization of support arrangements needed by different caregivers.

MicroRNAs: understanding their role in gene expression and cancer.

MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in cells. These small molecules comprise 17 to 25 nucleotides and are able to recognize target messenger RNAs by sequence complementarity and regulate their protein translation. Different microRNAs are expressed in all human cells.

Role of caregiver factors in outpatient medical follow-up post-stroke: observational study in Singapore.

Background: Outpatient medical follow-up post-stroke is not only crucial for secondary prevention but is also associated with a reduced risk of rehospitalization. However, being voluntary and non-urgent, it is potentially determined by both healthcare needs and the socio-demographic context of stroke survivor-caregiver dyads. Therefore, we aimed to examine the role of caregiver factors in outpatient medical follow-up (primary care (PC) and specialist outpatient care (SOC)) post-stroke.

Stroke Rehabilitation Use and Caregiver Psychosocial Health Profiles in Singapore: A Latent Profile Transition Analysis.

Objectives: To identify and describe caregiver profiles based on their psychosocial health characteristics over a 12-month period and transitions among these profiles, to determine if stroke rehabilitation use at 12 months post-stroke differed by caregiver profile transition patterns, and to investigate if caregiver profiles at 3 months post-stroke moderate the association of stroke rehabilitation use at 3 months and 12 months post-stroke after accounting for covariates.

Design: Latent profile transition analysis of caregiver psychosocial health with stroke rehabilitation use at 12 month post-stroke as outcome.

Setting And Participants: A total of 149 stroke patient-caregiver dyads from the Singapore Stroke Study.

Dyadic approach to supervised community rehabilitation participation in an Asian setting post-stroke: exploring the role of caregiver and patient characteristics in a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To study the association of caregiver factors and stroke survivor factors with supervised community rehabilitation (SCR) participation over the first 3 months and subsequent 3 to 12 months post-stroke in an Asian setting.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Community setting.

Dyadic approach to post-stroke hospitalizations: role of caregiver and patient characteristics.

Aim: To study the association of caregiver factors and stroke patient factors with rehospitalizations over the first 3 months and subsequent 3-12 months post-stroke in Singapore.

Methods: Patients with stroke and their caregivers were recruited in the Singapore Stroke Study, a prospective yearlong cohort. While caregiver and patient variables were taken from this study, hospitalization data were extracted from the national claims database.

Can caregivers report their care recipients' post-stroke hospitalizations and outpatient visits accurately? Findings of an Asian prospective stroke cohort.

Background: Health services research aimed at understanding service use and improving resource allocation often relies on collecting subjectively reported or proxy-reported healthcare service utilization (HSU) data. It is important to know the discrepancies in such self or proxy reports, as they have significant financial and policy implications. In high-dependency populations, such as stroke survivors, with varying levels of cognitive impairment and dysphasia, caregivers are often potential sources of stroke survivors' HSU information.

Trajectories of positive aspects of caregiving among family caregivers of stroke-survivors: the differential impact of stroke-survivor disability.

Objective To delineate positive aspects of caregiving trajectories among family caregivers of stroke-survivors and determine the impact of stroke-survivor disability, a time-varying factor, on the delineated trajectories. Methods In a longitudinal study, family caregivers of 173 stroke-survivors in Singapore were administered the Positive Aspects of Caregiving scale (PAC scale) thrice (baseline/3 months/6 months). Group-based trajectory modeling delineated positive aspects of caregiving trajectories and identified the impact of stroke-survivor disability on the trajectories.

Caregivers: Do They Make a Difference to Patient Recovery in Subacute Stroke?

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between caregiver nature and availability, and rehabilitation outcomes in subacute stroke.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Four community rehabilitation hospitals.

Rehabilitation Outcomes After Inpatient Rehabilitation for Lower Extremity Amputations in Patients With Diabetes.

Objective: To identify factors associated with functional gain, discharge destination, and long-term survival after inpatient rehabilitation in patients with lower extremity amputation and diabetes.

Design: Retrospective medical records review.

Setting: All community hospitals.

Efficacy of an Electromechanical Gait Trainer Poststroke in Singapore: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the longer-term effects of electromechanical gait trainers (GTs) combined with conventional physiotherapy on health status, function, and ambulation in people with subacute stroke in comparison with conventional physiotherapy given alone.

Design: Randomized controlled trial with intention-to-treat analysis.

Setting: Community hospital in Singapore.

Short-Term Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Stroke Survivors and Their Family Caregivers.

Goal: We utilize group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) to delineate depressive symptom trajectories among stroke survivor-caregiver dyads, to identify predictors of the delineated trajectories, and to assess the influence of time-varying covariates (stroke survivor depressive symptoms and functional disability, caregiver depressive symptoms, and foreign domestic worker [FDW] assistance) on the level of the depressive symptom trajectories.

Methods: Data on 172 stroke survivor-caregiver dyads in Singapore, for whom depressive symptoms were assessed thrice (baseline/3 months/6 months), were utilized. GBTM was applied to delineate depressive symptom trajectories, and to identify their predictors and time-varying covariates.

The synergistic effect of functional status and comorbidity burden on mortality: a 16-year survival analysis.

Objectives: The relationship between disability and comorbidity on mortality is widely perceived as additive in clinical models of frailty.

Design: National data were retrospectively extracted from medical records of community hospital.

Data Sources: There were of 12,804 acutely-disabled patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation in Singapore rehabilitation community hospitals from 1996 through 2005 were followed up for death till 31 December 2011.

Postoperated hip fracture rehabilitation effectiveness and efficiency in a community hospital.

Introduction: This study aims to determine the inpatient rehabilitation effectiveness (REs) and rehabilitation efficiency (REy) of hip fracture in a Singapore community hospital (CH), its association with socio-demographic variables, medical comorbidities and admission Shah-modified Barthel Index (BI) score as well as change in independent ambulation from discharge to 4 months later.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study using data manually extracted from medical records of all patients who had hip fracture within 90 days and admitted to a CH after the operation for rehabilitation. Multiple linear regressions are used to identify independent predictors of REs and REy.

Factors and trade-offs with rehabilitation effectiveness and efficiency in newly disabled older persons.

Objective: To determine the factors for rehabilitation effectiveness (REs) and rehabilitation efficiency (REy) among newly disabled older persons and if there is any trade-off between REs and REy.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Rehabilitation hospitals.

Tuberculous retropharyngeal abscess revisited.

Retropharyngeal tubercular abscess is an uncommon cause of neck pain and dysphagia in the developed world. In this report, we describe an insidiously presenting retropharyngeal abscess treated successfully with intraoral aspiration and antitubercular chemotherapy. A 33-year-old female patient presented with neck pain and dysphagia.

Factors associated with nursing home placement of all patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation in Singapore community hospitals from 1996 to 2005: a disease stratified analysis.

Objectives: To (1) identify social and rehabilitation predictors of nursing home placement, (2) investigate the association between effectiveness and efficiency in rehabilitation and nursing home placement of patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation from 1996 to 2005 by disease in Singapore.

Design: National data were retrospectively extracted from medical records of community hospital.

Data Sources: There were 12,506 first admissions for rehabilitation in four community hospitals.

Trends in length of stay, functional outcomes, and discharge destination stratified by disease type for inpatient rehabilitation in Singapore community hospitals from 1996 to 2005.

Objective: To determine the trends in length of stay (LOS), rehabilitation functional outcome, and discharge destination of patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation from 1996 to 2005 and stratified by disease in Singapore.

Design: Retrospective national data were extracted from medical records of community-based inpatient rehabilitation admissions in Singapore from 1996 to 2005.

Setting: Four community hospitals.

The shared signal hypothesis: effects of emotion-gaze congruency in infant and adult visual preferences.

In this study, 4-month-old infants' and adults' spontaneous preferences for emotional and neutral displays with direct and averted gaze are investigated using visual preference paradigms. Specifically, by presenting two approach-oriented emotions (happiness and anger) and two avoidance-oriented emotions (fear and sadness), we asked whether the pattern of emotion-gaze interaction suggested by the shared signal hypothesis (SSH) would also be found with this paradigm. Both age groups demonstrated an ability to discern the approach- and avoidance-oriented emotions, matching them with direct and averted gaze, respectively.

Socio-demographic and clinical profile of admissions to community hospitals in Singapore from 1996 to 2005: a descriptive study.

Introduction: Little data is available on community hospital admissions. We examined the differences between community hospitals and the annual trends in sociodemographic characteristics of all patient admissions in Singaporean community hospitals over a 10- year period from 1996 to 2005.

Materials And Methods: Data were manually extracted from medical records of 4 community hospitals existent in Singapore from 1996 to 2005.

Selective activation of the superior frontal gyrus in task-switching: an event-related fNIRS study.

In the task-switching paradigm, reaction time is longer and accuracy is worse in switch trials relative to repetition trials. This so-called switch cost has been ascribed to the engagement of control processes required to alternate between distinct stimulus-response mapping rules. Neuroimaging studies have reported an enhanced activation of the human lateral prefrontal cortex and the superior frontal gyrus during the task-switching paradigm.