Burdens and Resources of Staff of a Specialized Ward for Neuropalliative Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Palliative care adds significant burdens to healthcare workers. In neuropalliative care (NPC), additional challenges include patient symptom burdens, such as impairments in mobility, cognition, and communication. After one year of operating the first NPC ward in Germany, we assessed burdens, resources, and the number of deaths perceived as stressful.

Influence of Weekday and Seasonal Trends on Urgency and In-hospital Mortality of Emergency Department Patients.

Background: Given the scarcity of resources, the increasing use of emergency departments (ED) represents a major challenge for the care of emergency patients. Current health policy interventions focus on restructuring emergency care with the help of patient re-direction into outpatient treatment structures. A precise analysis of ED utilization, taking into account treatment urgency, is essential for demand-oriented adjustments of emergency care structures.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, depressive symptoms and somatic comorbidity in patients with coronary heart disease.

Objective: Depression and coronary heart disease (CHD) are highly comorbid conditions. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in cardiovascular processes. Depressed patients typically show decreased BDNF concentrations.

Association between heart-focused anxiety, depressive symptoms, health behaviors and healthcare utilization in patients with coronary heart disease.

Objective: To analyze the association between heart-focused anxiety, depressive symptoms, health behaviors and healthcare utilization in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods: N = 1007 patients with CHD were recruited in hospital and followed for one year in a two-site cohort study. Heart focused anxiety (Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire [CAQ] with the three subscales fear, attention, and avoidance), depressive symptoms (depression module from the Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]), health behaviors and healthcare utilization (smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, outpatient physician/psychotherapist visits) were assessed six months after the initial hospitalization.

Depressive symptoms and health care within 30 days after discharge from a cardiac hospital unit.

Objective: To determine the association between depressive symptoms in CHD patients and in- and outpatient health care utilization during the 30 days following treatment in a cardiac hospital unit.

Method: The study sample consisted of 949 CHD patients who completed a measure of depressive symptom severity (the Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]). Cardiac disease severity and medical comorbidities were assessed by chart review.