How Important Are Health Care Expenditures for Life Expectancy? A Comparative, European Analysis.

Objectives: The relationship between health care expenditures and health care outcomes, such as life expectancy and mortality, is complex. Research outcomes show different and contradictory results on this relationship. How and why health care expenditures affect health outcomes is not clear.

Value reorientation and intergenerational conflicts in ageing societies.

The Ageing of societies is a unique historical development of mankind. Today, such ageing is recognized as a threat for developed societies. There is fear of increasing inequality in health and in access to health care.

Assessment of care problems in Romania: feasibility and exploration.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the feasibility of a recently developed instrument, LPZ-International, which assesses care problems in health care, and to describe the prevalence of care problems in Romanian health care institutions. Large differences exist in care services in Europe. Data on quality of care are absent or incomplete in Central-Eastern European countries.

Assessment of Patient Participation in Physical Rehabilitation Activities: An Integrative Review.

Purpose: In addition to the amount and intensity of rehabilitation interventions and the number of therapies, the degree of patient participation in physical rehabilitation activities is key. For this reason, adequate information regarding participation is necessary to evaluate patient performance. This article reviews instruments designed to assess participation in physical rehabilitation activities.

Health status of independently living older adults in Romania.

Aim: Aging is affecting health care all over Europe, but it is expected to have a much greater impact in Eastern Europe. Reliable data on various indicators of health of older adults in Eastern Europe are lacking. The objectives of the present study were to describe the health of older Romanian adults, and to examine its relationship with sociodemographic, psychological and social factors.

Influence of adjustments to amputation and artificial limb on quality of life in patients following lower limb amputation.

The objectives of this study are to investigate the relationship between adjustments to amputation and artificial limb, and quality of life (QoL), and to analyse the influence of sociodemographic, medical and amputation-related factors on this relationship. Patients with unilateral and noncongenital lower limb amputation who were using artificial limb were interviewed (n=368) using structured questionnaires. The Trinity Amputation and Prosthesis Experience Scales (TAPES) were used to assess adjustments to amputation and artificial limb and the MOS Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to assess the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary of QoL.

Adjustments to amputation and an artificial limb in lower limb amputees.

Background: Positive adjustments to amputation and an artificial limb play important roles in the rehabilitation process.

Objectives: To study the different facets of adjustments to amputation and an artificial limb in lower limb amputees and to assess the possible role of different background and amputation-related factors that could potentially influence these adjustments.

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Validity and Reliability of MOS Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) for Use in India.

Background: Health is defined as the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being than just the absence of disease or infirmity. In order to measure health in the community, a reliable and validated instrument is required.

Objectives: To adapt and translate the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) for use in India, to study its validity and reliability and to explore its higher order factor structure.

Experienced discrimination amongst European old citizens.

This study analyses the experienced age discrimination of old European citizens and the factors related to this discrimination. Differences in experienced discrimination between old citizens of different European countries are explored. Data from the 2008 ESS survey are used.

Long-term health and work outcomes of renal transplantation and patterns of work status during the end-stage renal disease trajectory.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to examine the health- and work outcomes of renal transplant recipients long-term after transplantation as well as the pattern of work status, work ability and disability benefits during the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) trajectory that precedes transplantation.

Methods: 34 transplant recipients completed interviews 3, 13 months and >6 years posttransplantation. Health status (SF-36), work ability (WAI), and fatigue (CIS) were assessed by questionnaires, clinical data were derived from medical charts, and data on functional limitations were extracted from the social security system database.

Factors affecting quality of life in lower limb amputees.

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is increasingly being recognized as an important outcome for rehabilitation programs, and has mainly been used to compare the efficacy of interventions or to compare amputees with other diseased populations. There is relatively a limited number of studies primarily focusing on analyzing the multitude of factors influencing QoL in amputees.

Objectives: To identify important background and amputation related factors which affect quality of life (QoL) in lower limb amputees, and to compare QoL profile of amputees' to that of general population.

Effectiveness and implementation aspects of interventions for preventing falls in elderly people in long-term care facilities: a systematic review of RCTs.

Objectives: There is extensive literature on interventions to prevent or reduce falls in elderly people. These findings, however, were based mainly on studies of community-living persons. The primary aim of the present study was to report the effectiveness and implementation aspects of interventions aimed at reducing falls in elderly residents in long-term care facilities: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Environmental effects in the performance of daily tasks in healthy adults.

Objective: We examined the effect of switching from a familiar to an unfamiliar setting on household task performance in healthy adults. We also examined the influence of the cognitive functions abstract reasoning and memory on the ability to adapt to different environments.

Method: Thirty healthy adults were observed in two different settings while they performed two daily tasks.

The influence of work and treatment related factors on clinical status and disability in patients with non-specific work-related upper limb disorders.

Objective: To assess the influence of work- and treatment-related factors on clinical status and functional disability in patients with non-specific work-related upper limb disorders (WRULD).

Participants: 182 computer workers with non-specific WRULD, 18-50 years old, not having specific WRULD nor incomplete medical records.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study among computer workers with non-specific WRULD; average follow-up 4 years.

A systematic literature review of quality of life in lower limb amputees.

Purpose: To systematically review studies on quality of life (QoL) in lower limb amputees.

Method: Computerised literature search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, PUBMED and PsycINFO databases was performed using the keywords, amputee, leg, knee, foot, amputation, QoL, prosthesis, orthopaedic equipment, ADL, phantom, mobility, rehabilitation, psychosocial, psychology and social. Eligible studies published from database inception through March 2009 were selected.

The course of nonspecific work-related upper limb disorders and the influence of demographic factors, psychologic factors, and physical fitness on clinical status and disability.

Objective: To assess the course of nonspecific work-related upper limb disorders (WRULD) and the influence of sociodemographic factors, psychologic factors, and physical fitness on clinical status and functional disability.

Design: Retrospective cohort study with cross-sectional analysis among computer workers with several stages of nonspecific WRULD; average follow-up 4 years. Sociodemographic and medical characteristics were assessed based on medical records at onset and diagnosis.

An investigation into the social participation of stroke survivors with aphasia.

Purpose: Aphasia can profoundly affect a person's capacity for social participation. The purpose of this study is to describe how people with aphasia participate socially, and to investigate the factors which are related to social participation.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 150 people with aphasia using a structured interview format, adjusted to the communicative abilities of the participants.

The psychometric properties of three self-report screening instruments for identifying frail older people in the community.

Background: Frailty is highly prevalent in older people. Its serious adverse consequences, such as disability, are considered to be a public health problem. Therefore, disability prevention in community-dwelling frail older people is considered to be a priority for research and clinical practice in geriatric care.

Psychometric properties of the community integration questionnaire adjusted for people with aphasia.

Objectives: To describe the feasibility of the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) adjusted for use in people with aphasia and to report its psychometric properties in people with aphasia (internal consistency, factor analysis, test-retest reliability, convergent validity).

Design: A cross-sectional, interview-based psychometric study. Test-retest reliability was evaluated in 20 people (minimal to severe aphasia) by 2 different interviewers within a 2-week period.

Differences in perceived health status between kidney transplant recipients and dialyzed patients are based mainly on the selection process.

Kidney transplantation offers longer survival, less morbidity and lower costs than dialysis. It is also believed to improve quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare prospectively the perceived health status (PHS) of dialyzed patients on a waiting list with kidney transplant recipients after transplantation, matched for age, gender and comorbidity.

Facilitating the participation of people with aphasia in research: a description of strategies.

Background: People with aphasia are often excluded from research because of their communication impairments, especially when an investigation into the communication impairment is not the primary goal. In our research concerning social participation of people with aphasia, we wanted to include people with mild, moderate as well as severe aphasia.

Aim: To suggest strategies and techniques for research in people with aphasia based upon experiences in conducting research in this group of people.

A multifactorial intervention for the prevention of falls in psychogeriatric nursing home patients, a randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention on incidence of falls in psychogeriatric nursing home patients.

Design: cluster-randomised controlled 12-month trial.

Setting: psychogeriatric wards in 12 nursing homes in The Netherlands.

Measures for rating social participation in people with aphasia: a systematic review.

Background: Re-establishing participation in social life is an important aim of rehabilitation, but instruments to measure participation in people with aphasia are rare.

Aims: To identify and describe measures of social participation that may be specifically useful when measuring participation in people with aphasia.

Methods And Procedures: A systematic review of the literature concerning participation instruments was conducted.

No difference between postural exercises and strength and fitness exercises for early, non-specific, work-related upper limb disorders in visual display unit workers: a randomised trial.

Question: Are postural exercises delivered by Mensendieck/Cesar therapists more effective in decreasing pain, reducing disability and improving health-related quality of life in visual display unit workers with early non-specific work-related upper limb disorders than strength and fitness exercises delivered by physiotherapists?

Design: Randomised trial with concealed allocation and intention-to-treat analysis.

Participants: Eighty-eight (6 drop-outs) visual display unit workers with early non-specific work-related upper limb disorders.

Intervention: One group received 10 weeks of postural exercises while the other group received 10 weeks of strength and fitness exercises.