SUMMARY THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF 16-18 YEAR OLD ATHLETIC AND NON-ATHLETIC SCHOOLCHILDREN Lately the biggest part of the studies of the quality of life is conducted in order to determine morbidity or the factors of the environment. The studies conducted in Lithuania are oriented to causal analysis of health factors’ influence to the quality of life, and in analyzing scientific literature the studies of healthy schoolchildren’s quality of life were not found. The aim. To determine the attitude of athletic and non-athletic schoolchildren aged 16-18 to their health, physical activity, and the quality of life. Methods. 300 schoolchildren (146 girls and 154 boys) of higher classes with different physical activity were studied. 200 of them were non-athletic (114 girls and 86 boys) and 100 took part in sports (32 girls and 68 boys) in sports schools (73), clubs (23), and independently (4). The age of the subjects was from 16 to 18 years, average age 17,1±0,4. The anonymous questionnaire, which was made according to A. Zaborskis’, J. Makari (2001) and S. Gradeckiene (2002) questionnaires for assessing the quality of life, was used in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of 57 questions designed to assess health and physical activity, external, interpersonal and personal quality of life. Results. The attitude of schoolchildren to their health determined that 55% of athletic and 63% of non-athletic schoolchildren evaluated it as good. Athletic schoolchildren were happier... [to full text]

Little is known about the impact of senior multipurpose facilities on the quality of life of African American elders. This thesis examined the context of African American elders’ participation in these facilities. Qualitative methods were used. Fifteen in-depth participant interviews, one facility program coordinator interview and eighteen weeks of participant observation were completed. The principles of grounded-theory method were used during data analysis. Findings reveal that racial experiences played an important role in participants’ sense of community. Female and male participants engaged in different types of activities. While some participants reported physical improvements, all participants recounted social and emotional benefits as a result of participation. Participation at the facility facilitated the construction of new self identities. This study increases the knowledge of African American seniors’ participation in senior multipurpose facilities. It also provides data to generate research questions for future comparative studies in predominantly black and white senior multipurpose facilities.

ABSTRACT The Benefits of Yoga Therapy for Heart Failure Patients by Paula R. Pullen STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The number of patients living with heart failure (HF) is on the rise. Yoga has been found to improve physical and psychological parameters amongst healthy individuals. The effects of yoga on HF patients are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of yoga on cardio-vascular endurance [functional capacity (FC)], flexibility, inflammatory markers, and quality of life (QoL) on medically stable HF patients. METHOD Forty HF patients with compensated systolic or diastolic HF participated in the study. A randomized control design created two groups, yoga (N=21). and control (N=19).The treatment intervention consisted of 16-yoga sessions conducted bi-weekly (YG) vs. standard medical care (control- CG) for two months. All participants were asked to follow a home walk program. Pre- and post-study measurements included a treadmill stress test to peak exertion, flexibility (FLEX), girth, interleukin-6 (IL-6), c- reactive protein (CRP), and extra-cellular dismutase (EC-SOD). Quality of life was assessed by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLwHFQ). RESULTS Forty patients were randomized to YG (N=21) or CG (N=19). The results were significant for favorable changes in the YG as compared to the CG for flexibility (P=0.012), treadmill time (P=0.002), ~VO2peak (P=0.003), and all biomarkers (IL-6, CRP, and EC-SOD) of inflammation. Within the YG, pre- to post- test scores for the total and physical sub- scale of the MLwHFQ were significant (P=0.02 and P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Yoga therapy offered additional benefits to the standard medical care of HF patients by improving QoL, exercise capacity, FLEX, and biomarkers of inflammation

Despite the rapid development of palliative care teams, evidence for their effectiveness in oncology care is lacking. This thesis reviews and contributes towards this evidence, focusing on the randomized controlled trial as a research method. We conducted a systematic review of 22 trials reviewed that measured effectiveness of specialized palliative care. Family satisfaction with care improved in seven of 10 studies, but only four of 13 trials assessing quality of life and one of 14 assessing symptoms showed a benefit of the intervention. Conclusions were limited by methodologic problems in all of the trials. We conducted a phase II study of the efficacy of a palliative care team for symptom control and satisfaction of 150 patients with advanced cancer. Symptom severity (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System Distress Score) improved at one week and one month, as did patient satisfaction (all p<0.0001). We investigated factors associated with symptom severity and response for patients enrolled in the phase II study. Symptoms at baseline were worse for women and those with worse performance status (both p<0.005); female gender and worse baseline symptom severity independently predicted symptom improvement (both p<0.05). We planned and initiated an RCT of the effectiveness of an early palliative care intervention for improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and satisfaction with care. Using baseline data from this RCT, we examined factors associated with HRQL in patients with advanced cancer. The strongest determinants of overall HRQL (combined FACT-G total score and FACIT-Sp Meaning and Peace subscore) were increased age (p<0.001), good performance status (p<0.001) and survival time >6 months (p=0.001). Compared to patients receiving cancer treatment, those awaiting new treatment had worse emotional well-being (p<0.001) while those on surveillance or whose treatment had been stopped had worse existential well-being (p=0.03). Male gender predicted better emotional and physical well-being and lower income predicted worse social well-being. Lastly, we developed recommendations for those planning an RCT in a palliative care population, incorporating information from the studies presented. Although such RCTs are challenging to conduct, they are feasible and necessary to improve the evidence base for the treatment of patients with advanced cancer.

Despite the rapid development of palliative care teams, evidence for their effectiveness in oncology care is lacking. This thesis reviews and contributes towards this evidence, focusing on the randomized controlled trial as a research method. We conducted a systematic review of 22 trials reviewed that measured effectiveness of specialized palliative care. Family satisfaction with care improved in seven of 10 studies, but only four of 13 trials assessing quality of life and one of 14 assessing symptoms showed a benefit of the intervention. Conclusions were limited by methodologic problems in all of the trials. We conducted a phase II study of the efficacy of a palliative care team for symptom control and satisfaction of 150 patients with advanced cancer. Symptom severity (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System Distress Score) improved at one week and one month, as did patient satisfaction (all p<0.0001). We investigated factors associated with symptom severity and response for patients enrolled in the phase II study. Symptoms at baseline were worse for women and those with worse performance status (both p<0.005); female gender and worse baseline symptom severity independently predicted symptom improvement (both p<0.05). We planned and initiated an RCT of the effectiveness of an early palliative care intervention for improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and satisfaction with care. Using baseline data from this RCT, we examined factors associated with HRQL in patients with advanced cancer. The strongest determinants of overall HRQL (combined FACT-G total score and FACIT-Sp Meaning and Peace subscore) were increased age (p<0.001), good performance status (p<0.001) and survival time >6 months (p=0.001). Compared to patients receiving cancer treatment, those awaiting new treatment had worse emotional well-being (p<0.001) while those on surveillance or whose treatment had been stopped had worse existential well-being (p=0.03). Male gender predicted better emotional and physical well-being and lower income predicted worse social well-being. Lastly, we developed recommendations for those planning an RCT in a palliative care population, incorporating information from the studies presented. Although such RCTs are challenging to conduct, they are feasible and necessary to improve the evidence base for the treatment of patients with advanced cancer.

Family is the least part of our society. At the same time it is the subject of the society, responsible for the prolongation of human genus and upbringing of children. Family has the right to property, organic relations with an ethnic group, nation, state. It is social reality which is supported and controlled by the state, without breaking the rights of parents and family. The quality of life is purely individual evaluation of your destination in life, evaluation of culture and the system of values, in which an individual person is living, connected with his aims, attitude, hopes, standards and interests. It is a wide conception, combining an individual’s physical health and psychological state, degree of independence, social relations and relations with environment. The quality of life includes different and various spheres: the criteria of physical state and functional possibilities, psychological state and wealth, social relations and economic state. The principle of the quality of life of the disabled is supported by the idea that we cannot separate the quality of life of the disabled from the conception of life of the other members of the society. Social politics must evaluate the disabled as common citizens. Observing the principle of standardization, families, which are growing the disabled children, must understand that the level of the quality of their lives must not greatly differ from those who have not got indisposition. In this work of magister the object of... [to full text]

Sammanfattning Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva hur individer som överlevt ett hjärtstopp samt individer som överlevt ett hjärtstopp och erhållit en ICD upplever sin livskvalitet utifrån ett fysiskt, psykiskt och socialt perspektiv. Vidare var syftet också att beskriva kvaliteten på de ingående artiklarna avseende undersökningsgrupp. Metod: Beskrivande litteraturstudie med 12 ingående resultatartiklar. Sökningar gjordes i databaserna Cinahl, PubMed och PsychINFO. Huvudresultat: Upplevelsen av livskvalitet påverkas ur flera aspekter hos individer som drabbats av hjärtstopp. Den fysiska förmågan var försämrad och med en för många uttalad trötthet försvårades det dagliga livet för dessa individer. Många upplevde oro och ångest och detta tillsammans med depression var en betydlig bidragande del till en minskad upplevelse av livskvalitet. Slutsats: Upplevelsen av livskvalitet är individuell och många upplever en sämre livskvalitet efter hjärtstoppet medan andra upplever att livet är lika bra som innan eller bättre efter hjärtstoppet. Sjuksköterskan har i sitt arbete ett stort ansvar att se till den enskilda individen och förmedla information, kunskap och hopp. / Abstract Aim: To describe how individuals who have survived a cardiac arrest, and individuals who have survived a cardiac arrest and received an ICD perceive their quality of life from a physical, psychological and social perspective. Furthermore, the aim was also to describe the quality of the included articles relating to the investigation group.Methods: Descriptive literature review study of 12 articles detailed results. Searches were made in the databases Cinahl, PubMed and PsychInfo. Main results: The perception of quality of life is affected by several aspects in individuals suffering from cardiac arrest. The physical ability was impaired and many experienced an extreme fatigue hampered the daily lives of these individuals. Many felt anxiety and this along with depression was a significant contributing factor to a reduced perceived quality of life. Conclusion: The experience of life is individual and many experience a poorer quality of life after cardiac arrest, while others feel that life is as good as before or even better after the arrest. The nurse has a large responsibility to the individual and to convey information, knowledge and hope.

Background: Marijuana is the most widely used illicit substance in the United States. Public approval of marijuana has driven its legalization in twenty states and the District of Columbia for medical use; and, this year alone (2013), two states have legalized recreational use of the drug. Despite the nation’s growing trend towards marijuana acceptance, the evidence regarding the health effects of its use remains vague. This study was designed to evaluate the health profile of marijuana users by determining the association of marijuana use with quality of life, defined in terms of perceived overall health and as self-reported medical conditions. Methods: The 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data was used to evaluate the health profile and quality of life of marijuana smokers. Chi-square and one-way ANOVA analyses were respectively used to compare prevalence and mean differences of select characteristics across different categories grouped by marijuana use. Logistic regression analyses were then performed to determine the association between the reported number of unhealthy days or medical conditions and marijuana use in the past month. All analyses were performed with SAS 9.2 software using weighted data, while 95% confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance. Results: In total, 7716 cases were included in the study analysis. The prevalence of lifetime marijuana use was 59% (N = 3632), while the prevalence of current (past month) marijuana use was 12.6% (N = 861). Current marijuana users differed significantly from never users with respect to age, gender, income-to-poverty ratio, cigarette smoking, and alcohol and drug use. Current marijuana users also reported more unhealthy days per month, but less frequently reported diagnosis of a medical condition. Results of logistic regression analysis demonstrated that after controlling for confounders, there was no significant association between unhealthy days and current marijuana use, but there was an inverse association with reporting 3+ medical conditions and current marijuana use. Conclusions: This study shows that marijuana users are more likely to engage in health risk behaviors, and report lower quality of life when compared to individuals who have never used marijuana. However, after controlling for confounders, marijuana use was not found to be associated with poor health outcomes.

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