[Loneliness and self-management abilities in the visually impaired elderly].

Objectives: To describe the degree of loneliness among the visually impaired elderly and to make a comparison with a matched reference group of the normally sighted elderly. In addition, we examined self-management abilities (SMAs) as determinants of loneliness among the visually impaired elderly.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 173 visually impaired elderly persons completed telephone interviews.

Effects of a multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme on participation of the visually impaired elderly: a pilot study.

Purpose: To pilot test the newly developed multidisciplinary group rehabilitation programme Visually Impaired elderly Persons Participating (VIPP).

Method: A single group pretest-posttest design pilot study included 29 visually impaired persons (≥ 55 years). The intervention (20 weekly meetings) consisted of four components (practical training; education, social interaction, counselling and training of problem-solving skills; individual and group goal setting; home-based exercise programme).

Determinants of social participation of visually impaired older adults.

Purpose: To assess determinants of social participation among visually impaired older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included visually impaired persons (≥55 years; n = 173) who were referred to a low-vision rehabilitation center. Determinants (i.

Loneliness and self-management abilities in the visually impaired elderly.

Objective: To describe the degree of loneliness among the visually impaired elderly and to make a comparison with a matched reference group of the normally sighted elderly. In addition, we examined self-management abilities (SMAs) as determinants of loneliness among the visually impaired elderly.

Method: In a cross-sectional study, 173 visually impaired elderly persons completed telephone interviews.

Participation of the elderly after vision loss.

Purpose: To assess the degree of participation of the visually impaired elderly and to make a comparison with population-based reference data.

Method: This cross-sectional study included visually impaired elderly persons (≥55 years; n = 173) who were referred to a low-vision rehabilitation centre. Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) participation in: (1) domestic life, (2) interpersonal interactions and relationships, (3) major life areas, and (4) community, social and civic life was assessed by means of telephone interviews.

Psychosocial dysfunction in the first year after Guillain-Barré syndrome.

In this investigation we study the impact of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) on psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and health status of patients during the first year after GBS. At 3, 6, and 12 months, patients were given the General Health Questionnaire, the Sickness Impact Profile, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Eighty-five patients participated.

Predictors of functional disability in rheumatoid arthritis: results from a 13-year prospective study.

Purpose: To explore the role of distress and social support as modifiers of functional disability in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We hypothesized that: (a) higher inflammatory activity, more joint tenderness and more pain lead to more disability, and (b) that more distress and less social support lead to more disability and accelerate the disablement process by moderating the effects of inflammatory activity, joint tenderness and pain.

Methods: The study is a Dutch extension of the European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support (EURIDISS) which started with 292 patients.

Amputation, phantom pain and subjective well-being: a qualitative study.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of an amputation and of phantom pain on the subjective well-being of amputees. Sixteen lower-limb amputees were interviewed. A semi-structured interview and two Visual Analogue Scales were used.

Disability, social support, and distress in rheumatoid arthritis: results from a thirteen-year prospective study.

Objective: To examine the strength and stability of the relationships between disease-related factors (joint tenderness, pain, and functional disability), social support, and distress over time, and to investigate to what extent disease-related factors and social support can predict distress in short-term and long-term rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: The study was a Dutch extension of the European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support and started with 292 patients. After 5 waves of data collection, 129 patients remained.

The effects of Guillain-Barré syndrome on the close relatives of patients during the first year.

Objective: To study the impact of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) on the psychosocial functioning of the closest relative and on family functioning during the first year after GBS.

Method: At 1 (=T1), 3 (=T3), 6 (=T6), and 12 months (=T12) after the onset of GBS, relatives of patients received the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ28) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Sixty-three relatives returned the GHQ28 at all four designated intervals.

Contribution of partner support in self-management of rheumatoid arthritis patients. An application of the theory of planned behavior.

The aim of this exploratory study was to test the applicability of a model derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior on self-management. In this model social support from the partner, attitude and self-efficacy are determinants of intention, and intention and self-efficacy are determinants of self-management. We tested the model on rheumatoid arthritis patients who have a partner, using regression analyses and structural equation models.

How Guillain-Barre patients experience their functioning after 1 year.

Objective: To analyze how the patient himself perceives his physical and social situation 1 year after Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

Material And Method: The Dutch patients who participated in an international multicenter trial were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire containing questions on their physical status at homecoming and at 12 months, as well as questions dealing with various aspects of their social condition.

Results: Ninety patients participated.

Are there more than cross-sectional relationships of social support and support networks with functional limitations and psychological distress in early rheumatoid arthritis? the European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support Longitudinal Study.

Objective: To investigate whether greater social support and support network are cross-sectionally associated with less functional limitations and psychological distress in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA); whether this association is constant over time; and whether increases in social support or support network are associated with less functional limitations and psychological distress.

Methods: Subjects were from the European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support cohort and had early RA. Social support, support network, functional limitations (Health Assessment Questionnaire), and psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire) were assessed annually.

Functional ability, social support, and depression in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: First, to investigate the patterns of functional ability, depressive feelings, and social support in early stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Second, to demonstrate the stress buffering effect of social support. Social support is thought to reduce the impact of chronic stress on psychological well-being; for patients without social support the impact of functional ability on depressive feelings will be stronger.

The relative contribution of domains of quality of life to overall quality of life for different chronic diseases.

This study examined the contribution of the quality of life (QoL) domains physical, social and psychological functioning to the explanation of overall QoL. Various disorders may differentially affect QoL domains due to disease-specific factors and, consequently, the relationship between QoL domains and overall QoL may vary between diseases. We therefore studied this relationship for several diseases as well as the differential impact of these diseases on QoL.

Social functioning, psychological functioning, and quality of life in epilepsy.

Purpose: Part of our research intended to explain "Quality of Life" (QoL) differences between people with epilepsy. To this end, a series of already existing generic and disease-specific health status measures were used. In this study, they were considered as determinants of people's QoL, whereas QoL itself was conceived as a general "value judgment" about one's life.

Quality of life profiles in the first years of rheumatoid arthritis: results from the EURIDISS longitudinal study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the quality of life (QoL) profiles of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to relate these to disease and impairment variables as indicated, respectively, by erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and by tender joint count (Ritchie Articular Index), fatigue, and pain.

Methods: The present study uses part of the European Research on Incapacitating Disease and Social Support data of 573 patients with recently diagnosed RA (268 from the Netherlands, 216 from Norway, and 89 from France). A series of clinical and psychosocial data were collected on 4 (the Netherlands, France) and 3 (Norway) occasions, with 1-year intervals separating the waves of data collection.

Drug consumption in the first years of rheumatoid arthritis in France, The Netherlands, and Norway. A longitudinal study in the early nineties.

Objective: To analyse drug consumption in the first years of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in France, the Netherlands, and Norway, in a longitudinal study between 1991 and 1993.

Patients And Methods: The EURIDISS cohort followed up over three years included 695 RA subjects with less than 5 years disease duration. Clinical and biological parameters, drug consumption according to ATC classification, and use of local treatment were recorded.

Health care utilization by people with multiple sclerosis in The Netherlands: results of two separate studies.

Purpose: For chronically ill persons it is assumed that they make heavy demands on health care services. In the literature one hardly finds any publications to substantiate or refute this assumption. The main purpose of our study is to describe the health care utilization of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Netherlands and its relationships with severity and duration of the disease.

Compliance with drug therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. A longitudinal European study.

Objective: To delineate compliance with drug therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients, determine specific characteristics of compliant and noncompliant patients, and look for changes in compliance over time.

Patients And Methods: A prospective European cohort study (EURIDISS) recruited 556 patients in four countries over three years. Compliance with drug dosages and dosing times was evaluated yearly using a questionnaire.

Compliance to drug treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a 3 year longitudinal study.

Objective: Patient compliance is considered necessary for the success of drug treatment in chronic diseases. We document compliance with drug treatment and the factors affecting it in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A prospective cohort study of 556 patients with RA followed for 3 years in 4 counties: Oslo, Norway; Groningen, The Netherlands; and Nancy and Reims, France.

Life events and disability in rheumatoid arthritis: a European cohort.

The objective was to study the relationship between life events (LE) and the clinical status of patients suffering from recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a 2 yr follow-up. As part of a multicentre European cohort study, 370 French and Dutch patients were questioned three times at 1 yr intervals about LE which had occurred in the previous year. Three criteria were used to quantify the degree of disease activity (Ritchie's index), the level of functional disability [Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)] and perceived health [Overall Evaluation of Health (OEH)].

An international study on measuring social support: interactions and satisfaction.

Recently, a new instrument was developed to measure social support. It consists of two parts; the Social Support Questionnaire for Transactions (SSQT) and the Social Support Questionnaire for Satisfaction with the supportive transactions (SSQS). The SSQT measures the number of supportive interactions and has proved to have good psychometric properties.

Correlates of functional disability in early rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional study of 706 patients in four European countries.

In this cross-sectional study of 706 European patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of < or = 4 yr duration, we examined possible correlates of functional disability assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire. First, we examined a subsample of 237 Norwegian patients. The Ritchie index, sex, age, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and disease duration correlated significantly with disability, whereas serum rheumatoid factor, hand X-ray changes and educational level did not.

The assessment of functional status in rheumatoid arthritis: a cross cultural, longitudinal comparison of the Health Assessment Questionnaire and the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale.

Objective: To compare a disease specific measure of functional status, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) with a generic measure of functional status, the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS) in a cross cultural and longitudinal setting. Besides the comparison of psychometric properties, sex differences were also studied.

Methods: In a sample of 634 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (290 from The Netherlands, 116 from France, 228 from Norway), the psychometric properties (Cronbach's alpha and rho) of the GARS and the HAQ were compared among countries.