[Integration of the Insured Person's Perspective in the Quality Assessment of Medical Evaluations].

Integration of the Insured Person's Perspective in the Quality Assessment of Medical Evaluations In the current practice of medical work disability evaluations and other pension assessments, insured persons in Switzerland lack the possibility to routinely provide feedback on the extent to which they felt treated with dignity and respect by medical experts, which, according to occasional complaints, does not always seem to be the case. In order to be able to systematically capture such aspects of interactive fairness, we developed a questionnaire, the Basel Fairness Questionnaire (BFQ). The BFQ contains 30 statements such as «The reviewer listened to me.

The reproducibility of psychiatric evaluations of work disability: two reliability and agreement studies.

Background: Expert psychiatrists conducting work disability evaluations often disagree on work capacity (WC) when assessing the same patient. More structured and standardised evaluations focusing on function could improve agreement. The RELY studies aimed to establish the inter-rater reproducibility (reliability and agreement) of 'functional evaluations' in patients with mental disorders applying for disability benefits and to compare the effect of limited versus intensive expert training on reproducibility.

Use of a structured functional evaluation process for independent medical evaluations of claimants presenting with disabling mental illness: rationale and design for a multi-center reliability study.

Background: Work capacity evaluations by independent medical experts are widely used to inform insurers whether injured or ill workers are capable of engaging in competitive employment. In many countries, evaluation processes lack a clearly structured approach, standardized instruments, and an explicit focus on claimants' functional abilities. Evaluation of subjective complaints, such as mental illness, present additional challenges in the determination of work capacity.

Attitudes towards evaluation of psychiatric disability claims: a survey of Swiss stakeholders.

Questions: In Switzerland, evaluation of work capacity in individuals with mental disorders has come under criticism. We surveyed stakeholders about their concerns and expectations of the current claim process.

Methods: We conducted a nationwide online survey among five stakeholder groups.

Effects of depressive symptoms on antecedents of lapses during a smoking cessation attempt: an ecological momentary assessment study.

Aims: To investigate pathways through which momentary negative affect and depressive symptoms affect risk of lapse during smoking cessation attempts.

Design: Ecological momentary assessment was carried out during 2 weeks after an unassisted smoking cessation attempt. A 3-month follow-up measured smoking frequency.

Evaluation of work capacity in Switzerland: a survey among psychiatrists about practice and problems.

Questions Under Study: In Switzerland, psychiatric evaluations of work capacity for determining a person's eligibility for disability benefits are being criticised for a lack of transparency and high inter-rater variability. The aims of this study were to learn about the current practice of psychiatrists, to explore possible sources for lack of transparency and variability, and to contrast practice with current professional guidance.

Methods: A national online-survey among psychiatrists who performed five or more evaluations of work capacity per year.

Predictors of depressed mood 12 months after injury. Contribution of self-efficacy and social support.

Purpose: There is evidence that depressed mood and perception of pain are related in patients with chronic illness. However, how individual resources such as self-efficacy and social support play a role in this association remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of both variables as either moderator or mediator.

[Development of a screening instrument for rumination and suppression RS-8].

Rumination and suppression are 2 maladaptive emotion regulation strategies known to be involved in pathological behaviors such as overeating and uncontrolled drinking. Until now, no short screening scale has been available focusing on both strategies. The RS-8 questionnaire includes 8 items assessing both dimensions: rumination and suppression.

Distinct coping strategies differentially predict urge levels and lapses in a smoking cessation attempt.

This study analysed mechanisms through which stress-coping and temptation-coping strategies were associated with lapses. Furthermore, we explored whether distinct coping strategies differentially predicted reduced lapse risk, lower urge levels, or a weaker association between urge levels and lapses during the first week of an unassisted smoking cessation attempt. Participants were recruited via the internet and mass media in Switzerland.

Comparing growth trajectories of risk behaviors from late adolescence through young adulthood: an accelerated design.

Risk behaviors such as substance use or deviance are often limited to the early stages of the life course. Whereas the onset of risk behavior is well studied, less is currently known about the decline and timing of cessation of risk behaviors of different domains during young adulthood. Prevalence and longitudinal developmental patterning of alcohol use, drinking to the point of drunkenness, smoking, cannabis use, deviance, and HIV-related sexual risk behavior were compared in a Swiss community sample (N = 2,843).

Sexual risk behavior in emerging adults: gender-specific effects of hedonism, psychosocial distress, and sociocognitive variables in a 5-year longitudinal study.

The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal effects of HIV protection intention, condom self-efficacy, psychosocial distress and hedonism on sexual risk behavior up to 5 years later. The sample included 1,290 Swiss heterosexual young adults aged 16-24 years. A series of hierarchical logistic regression analyses yielded clear gender-specific results showing that for women condom self-efficacy and psychosocial distress, and for men HIV protection intention and hedonism, predicted sexual risk behavior up to 5 years later.