Childhood burns in Sulaimaniyah province, Iraqi Kurdistan: a prospective study of admissions and outpatients.

Background: While it is globally observed that young children are at a higher risk of burn injuries, little is known about childhood burns in Iraqi Kurdistan. This study was undertaken to describe the epidemiology of burns amongst pre-school children in this region.

Methods: A prospective study was undertaken from November 2007 to November 2008 involving all children aged 0-5 years attending the burns centre in Sulaimaniyah province for a new burn injury whether treated as an outpatient or admitted to hospital.

Kurdish men's experiences of migration-related mental health issues.

Background: The migration process may impose stress on the mental health of immigrants.

Aim: To describe the experiences of immigrant men of Kurdish ethnicity during and after migration to Sweden with regard to mental health issues.

Method: Using the grounded theory method, we conducted a focus group interview with four Kurdish men and in-depth individual interviews with 10 other Kurdish men.

Acculturation strategies in migration stress among Kurdish men in Sweden: a narrative approach.

Acculturation is defined as cultural changes and consequences of long contact between two different cultural groups. A total of 10 Kurdish men, aged from 24 to 60 years, were interviewed face-to-face to explore the acculturation pattern reported by them through their individual life stories during the whole migration process. The analysis was based on the narrative methodology.

The impact of ethnicity and self-reported health on psychological well-being: a comparative study of Kurdish-born and Swedish-born people.

Unlabelled: Although immigrants generally have poorer health and higher psychological distress than the native population, information on Kurdish immigrants' psychological well-being is limited. The aims of the study were to examine the association between ethnicity and poor psychological well-being, and to assess the relationships between socio-demographic characteristics, self-reported health, somatic pain, gastrointestinal complaints and poor psychological well-being.

Methods: Immigrants with self-reported Kurdish ethnicity (men, n=111; women, n=86) in Sweden from the national sample of immigrants aged 27-60 and 1407 Swedes (1996) were studied.

Sickness absence poses a threat to the Swedish Welfare State: a cross-sectional study of sickness absence and self-reported illness.

Background: The increasing cost of public social sickness insurance poses a serious economic threat to the Swedish welfare state. In recent years, expenditures for social insurance in general, as well as social sickness insurance in particular, have risen steeply in Sweden. This cross-sectional study analyzed the association between sickness absence (SA) and self-reported reduced working capacity due to a longstanding illness (>3 months), as well between SA and a number of other health problems.

The influence of complaint symptoms on health care utilisation, medicine use, and sickness absence. A comparison between retrospective and prospective utilisation.

Objective: The main aim was to examine the impact of reported individual symptoms on health care utilisation (HCU) in a primary health care practice population and to evaluate the impact of these symptoms on utilisation over time.

Method: The study was performed in 1055 out of 1442 consecutive adult patients visiting a Swedish health care centre. Logistic regression analyses were applied to assess the relationships between symptoms and HCU outcomes.

Depression in general practice.

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of depression and to investigate factors related to depression in a multi-ethnic healthcare practice population. The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) was used to assess mental disorders in Jordbro Health District, Haninge municipality (JHC), Sweden; 470 adult patients were consecutively examined. A two-stage-screening questionnaire was applied to identify patients reporting five or more of the nine criteria for major depression listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV).

Detection and treatment of hypertension in general health-care practice: a patient-based study.

The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of blood pressure (BP) distribution in a multiethnic primary care practice in relation to sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and risk factors. Another aim was to analyse the quality of diagnosis and effectiveness of hypertension (HT) treatment. In all, 470 adult patients (> or =16 years old) who visited the Jordbro Health Centre (JHC), Haninge Municipality, participated in this study.

The relations between symptoms, somatic and psychiatric conditions, life satisfaction and perceived health. A primary care based study.

Background: In spite of the fact that self-rated health is such an important factor, little is known about the aetiological background to poor perceived health and also less is known about the impact of life satisfaction on health in a primary care practice population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, symptoms, somatic and psychiatric conditions as well as health status measures and life satisfaction on perceived health in a multi-ethnic Swedish health practice population.

Methods: Four-hundred and seventy adult patients, who visited the Jordbro Health Care Centre District (JHC), Haninge Municipality, participated in this study.

Determinants of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) use.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and identify the determinants of CAM use in a multi-ethnic Swedish primary health care practice population.

Methods: A questionnaire was handed out to 1433 patients aged 16 years and above who visited the Jordbro Health Centre (JHC) in Stockholm, Sweden, between 14 January and 30 June 2002. The results were linked to computerised medical records.

Determinants of medicine use in a Swedish primary health care practice population.

Background: Pharmaceuticals represent an increasing share of private and public health care expenditures. The aim of this study was to characterise users and to determine the pattern of uses of prescribed medicines and to identify determinants of medicine use in a multi-ethnic Swedish general practice population.

Methods: The study was performed in 1055 of 1442 consecutive adult patients visiting the Jordbro Health Centre (JHC) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Determinants of complaint symptoms in a Swedish health care practice--results of a questionnaire survey.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of complaint symptoms in an adult general practice population.

Method: The study was performed in 1055 out of 1442 consecutive adult patients visiting a Swedish health care centre. The relationship between complaint symptoms and sociodemographic characteristics, perceived health, and chronic disease was assessed using multiple regression analysis.

Predictors of herbal medicine use in a Swedish health practice.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterise users of herbal medicines and assess the effect of socio-demographic characteristics, perceived health and chronic disease on the use of herbal medicine in a multi-ethnic Swedish health practice population.

Methods: A questionnaire was completed by 1433 (out of a total of 1776) patients aged 16 years and above who visited the Jordbro Health Centre (JHC) in Stockholm, Sweden, between 14 January and 30 June 2002. The results were linked to computerised medical records.

Determinants of drug utilisation in a Swedish municipality.

Background: The cost for pharmaceuticals is rapidly increasing in most countries. Identification of the characteristics of the population that determine drug utilisation appears essential for the appropriate allocation of resources to caregivers. The primary aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic factors and measures of well-being and disease that were independently related to the use of drugs, including herbal, and self-care products in Håbo, a Swedish primary health care district.

The validity of a questionnaire on medicines used in health care practice: comparison of a questionnaire and computerized medical record survey.

Background: To assess the effect of sociodemographic characteristics, perceived health, chronic disease, and country of birth on use of medicines and the validity of a questionnaire survey on the use of medicines.

Methods: A questionnaire was handed out to all 1776 patients aged 16 years or over who had attended Jordbro Health Center, Haninge municipality, Sweden, during the preceding 6 months (response rate 81%), and the findings were linked to information obtained from the computerized prescriptions of medicines. Three measurements were used: medicine used, prescriptions, and medicines prescribed.

The influence of perceived well-being and reported symptoms on health care utilization: a population-based study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of reported well-being and symptoms on the utilization of health care, including alternative medicine. A random, age-stratified sample was drawn from the general population of Håbo, a municipality in mid-Sweden. Of the 1312 subjects sampled, 827 responded to a postal questionnaire, providing information on health care utilization during the previous year, on a number of well-being variables and on perceived symptoms during the past 3 months.

The relationship between age, gender, well-being and symptoms, and the use of pharmaceuticals, herbal medicines and self-care products in a Swedish municipality.

Background: A relatively small proportion of the population accounts for a substantial part of the public drug cost. Therefore, identifying the characteristics of high users of drugs is an important step towards limiting the cost of drugs. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between age, gender, well-being and symptoms, and the use of pharmaceutical specialities, herbal medicines and self-care products.

The influence of sociodemographic characteristics on well-being and symptoms in a Swedish community. Results from a postal questionnaire survey.

Study Objective: To assess the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on self-reported well-being and symptoms.

Design: A postal questionnaire was sent to a representative population sample drawn from the population census.

Setting: The municipality of Håbo, Sweden.