No description available.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Den svenska statistiken visar att ungefär 7000 pacemakeroperationer sker per år i Sverige. Det är viktigt att, som sjuksköterska, ge rådgivning och utbildning till patient och närstående före implantationen, vid utskrivning och vid uppföljningarna. För att bedriva en personcentrerad omvårdnad och uppnå en fördjupad kunskap inom vården av patienter med pacemaker krävs en utökad förståelse för patientens upplevelse och livskvalitet. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva patienters upplevelse av att leva med en pacemaker, och deras hälsorelaterade livskvalitet. Metod: En icke-systematisk litteraturöversikt gjordes, med sökningar i PubMed och i CINAHL. Sökningarna ledde till 12 vetenskapliga originalartiklar, varav 11 artiklar hade en kvantitativ metod och en artikel hade en kvalitativ ansats. Artiklarna genomgick kvalitetsgranskning via Sophiahemmet Högskolas bedömningsunderlag för vetenskaplig klassificering och kvalitet och därefter gjordes en integrerad dataanalys av artiklarna. Resultat: Den integrerade dataanalys resulterade i två huvudkategorier: Erfarenheter av att leva med pacemaker och Livskvalitet vid pacemaker. Patienter kunde känna en oro över hur bra pacemakern skulle fungera och det framkom att det varierade hur mycket informerade patienterna var. Den hälsorelaterade livskvaliteten förbättrades för de flesta personerna ett år efter pacemakerimplantationen. Resultatet visade även att faktorer som påverkar livskvaliteten var bland annat kön, ålder, graden av information och om de gick på uppföljningarna. Slutsats: Denna studie visade att patienter kan ha olika upplevelser efter en pacemakerimplantation, både positiva och negativa. Dessutom framkom att patienter kan känna att de och deras närstående skulle behöva mer information om pacemakern. Med ökad kunskap om patienternas upplevelse och med förbättrad och ökad patient- och familjeutbildning skulle oro kunna reduceras och patienters livskvalitet och upplevelse skulle kunna förbättras. / Background: The Swedish statistics show that approximately 7,000 pacemaker surgeries take place yearly in Sweden. It is important, as a nurse, to provide counseling and education to the patient and relatives before the implantation, upon discharge and during the follow-ups. To conduct person-centred care and achieve in-depth knowledge of the care of patients with a pacemaker, an expanded understanding of the patient's experience and quality of life is required. Aim: The aim was to describe patients' experience of living with a pacemaker, and their healthrelated quality of life. Method: A non-systematic literature review was done, with searches in PubMed and in CINAHL. The searches led to 12 original scientific articles, of which 11 articles had a quantitative method and one article had a qualitative approach. The articles underwent a quality-review through Sophiahemmet University's assessment document for scientific classification and quality, and then an integrated data-analysis of the articles was made. Results: The integrated data analysis resulted in two main categories: Experiences of living with a pacemaker and Quality of life with a pacemaker. Patients could feel a concern about how well the pacemaker would work and it appeared that it varied how much informed patients were. The health-related quality of life improved for most people one year after pacemaker implantation. The results also showed that factors affecting the quality of life included gender, age, level of information and whether they went for follow-up. Conclusions: This study showed that patients can have different experiences after a pacemaker implantation, both positive and negative. In addition, it emerged that patients may feel that they and their relatives need more information about the pacemaker. With increased knowledge about the patients' experience and with improved and increased patient- and family-education, anxiety could be reduced, and the patients' quality of life and experience could be improved.

Background: Children require a nurturing environment to develop optimally and reach their full potential. A critical component of this environment is the health and well-being of caregivers so that they can provide responsive caregiving. It is believed that parents or caregivers of children with ASD will have poorer health and well-being than parents or caregivers of children without ASD. Therefore, parents of children with ASD may require more support to enable them to provide responsive caregiving to these children. Methods: This study was a quantitative study that employed an analytical, comparative design. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a significant difference in the health and well-being of parents with children with ASD and parents of children without ASD in the South African context. Two hundred and eight participants from two schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal completed a paper-based survey containing 3 questionnaires relating to health-related quality of life; stress, anxiety and depression and parental self-efficacy. Parenting constructs such as stress, anxiety and parental self-efficacy are measured and described, and the association between Health-related Quality of Life and constructs such as stress, anxiety and parental self-efficacy is explored. It took place at a special needs school in KZN and mainstream school in the same district. Results: The results of this study demonstrated a poorer HRQOL in some of the areas of parents of a child with ASD compared to parents of a child without ASD. The results from this study demonstrate the importance for health practitioners to focus on the parents' health and well-being as part of the child's intervention. Conclusion: Intervention is mainly child-focussed however it is important for practitioners to understand the caregiver's health and well-being as this will have a positive influence of the child and in turn, lead to successful intervention. It is therefore important to have a family-centred approach. The QOL of the parents or caregivers of children with ASD will improve through support and intervention which will positively impact on the child's development. If the caregiver is receiving the appropriate support, their QOL will improve and they will be able to provide nurturing care that the child needs.

No description available.

No description available.

Recent changes in health care policy, which mandate the monitoring of illness symptoms and improving the satisfaction of medical patients, may shed light on possible points of intervention to improve patient-centered outcomes. Health-related quality of life (HRQL), or one’s appraisal of their mental and physical functioning, is a frequently-used metric relevant to improved health care outcomes. HRQL may be impacted by multiple inter- and intra-personal factors, whether an adaptive (e.g., social problem solving ability) or maladaptive effect (e.g., thwarted interpersonal needs, depression). We examined the association between social problem solving ability and mental and physical HRQL, and the potential mediating roles of thwarted interpersonal needs and depressive symptoms. Participants (N=223) were middle-aged and recruited from a primary care clinic. Our hypotheses that thwarted interpersonal needs and depressive symptoms would sequentially mediate the association between independent scales of social problem solving (negative problem orientation, positive problem orientation, rational problem solving, impulsive/careless style, avoidant style) and HRQL (mental and physical), were largely supported. Our findings highlight the importance of social problem solving ability as a potential point of intervention to improve mood, interpersonal functioning, and mental and physical health in an integrated care setting. Strategies such as Social Problem Solving Therapy might be particularly effective in bolstering social problem solving, with consequent beneficial effects on interpersonal functioning and mood, thereby improving overall health-related quality of life.

The present study used a mixed methodology approach to understand factors that predict and promote health related quality of life (HRQOL) for parents of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The first component of the study used quantitative analyses to determine the extent to which study variables predict HRQOL for parents of youth with ASD (N = 365). Findings show that HRQOL is positively impacted by increased total annual household income, increased age of the child with ASD, male gender, and tangible support. HRQOL was negatively impacted by increased age of the parent, increased parental perceptions of burden, and use of maladaptive coping strategies. The second phase of the study incorporated qualitative methodology to describe the lived experience of parents (N = 8). Qualitative interviews solicited perceptions of parents regarding HRQOL. Further, qualitative analyses identified sources of parental support, how parents feel about support from varying professionals, and potential supportive interventions toward which they are amenable but cannot currently access. Directions for future research and implications for improving HRQOL for parents of youth with ASD are discussed. The results of the current study can be used to guide and inform supportive services targeted at parents of youth with ASD to improve their HRQOL.

Bakgrund: Hjärt- och kärlsystemet kan drabbas av ett stort antal sjukdomar som tar miljoner människors liv i hela världen varje år. Patientens dagliga liv påverkas negativt av dessa sjukdomar och symtom som uppkommer i samband med dessa sjukdomar. Pacemakeroperation är en av behandlingsalternativ med syfte till att förbättra hjärtats funktion och rytm. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa patienters erfarenheter av att leva med pacemaker. Metod: En litteraturbaserad metod baserat på fem kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar med inriktning på patientperspektivet. Resultat: Patienter upplever oro och rädsla direkt efter pacemakerimplantation, efter en viss tid dessa problem försvinner. Första året efter implantationen patienter får stöd av sina familjemedlemmar. Pacemakerimplantation var ett sätt att behålla patientens krafter och skydda deras liv. Pacemaker var en trygghets apparat för ett bra liv utan yrsel och svimningsanfall . Patienter upplever förändringar i deras kropps utseende, och har obekväma känsla. Begränsningar och förändringar i patientens roll i familjen efter pacemakerimplantation. Patienter upplever oro över sina familjemedlemmar. Ingen förtroende för pacemakers och dess teknik en del patienter upplevde. Vissa patienter accepterar pacemaker och upplever den som en del av deras kropp. Konklusion: Erfarenheter som patienter med pacemaker har är individuell, därför är det viktigt att sjuksköterskan bemöter dessa erfarenheter och utformar omvårdnaden utifrån patientens individuella behov. / Background: The cardiovascular system can be affected by a large number of diseases that take the lives of millions yearly. Patients' lives are affected by symptoms that occur in connection with these diseases. Pacemaker surgery is one of the treatment options that aims to improve the heart's function and rhythm. Aim: Patients' experiences of living with pacemakers. Method: A literature based method on five qualitative scientific articles focusing on the patient perspective. Findings: Patients experience anxiety and fear immediately after pacemaker implantation, which after a certain time disappear. Pacemaker implantation was a way to retain the patient's strength and protect their lives. It was a safety device for a good life without dizziness and fainting spells. Patients experience changes in their body appearance, and feel uncomfortable. Limitations and changes in the patient's role in the family after pacemaker implantation were seen as well as anxiety about their family members. Little confidence in pacemakers and its technology was experienced by a few patients, while others accept the pacemaker and experience it as part of their body. Conclusion: Experience that patients with pacemakers have is individual, therefore it is important that the nurse responds to these experiences and designs the care based on the patient's individual needs.

Hyperpigmentation is a common dermatological complaint that can have profound effect on appearance and quality of life.  Disorders of hyperpigmentation comprise a large group of skin conditions characterized by an increase of melanin production, increase in density of active melanocytes, abnormal melanin distribution, and/or deposition of exogenous pigments. This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the impact hyperpigmentation disorders on health-related quality of life and to better understand patient knowledge, approaches, and experiences. The study was conducted on 298 consenting adult patients with a skin related disorder of hyperpigmentation who sought dermatological care at Boston Medical Center (BMC) or East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) from February of 2015 to March of 2016. Patients were anonymously surveyed in order to collect an assortment of information including demographic characteristics, skin condition, health practices, knowledge base, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measured with the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) (Finlay and Khan 1994) and SDIEQ, a five-item , non-validated, brief health-related quality of life questionnaire (A. Taylor et al. 2008). Disease severity was assessed by Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI), Post Acne Hyperpigmentation Index (PAHPI) and body surface area when appropriate. The mean overall DLQI was 6.56 (SD 5.35). In sub-analysis, the mean DLQI in those diagnosed with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation was 7.89 (SD 0.61), melasma 6.75 (SD 0.45), and other hyperpigmentation disorders 4.5 (SD 0.55). The disease type and duration were both factors associated with a change in DLQI scores. The factors associated with a higher likelihood of patients’ knowledge of their diagnosis included a higher level of formal education, younger age, longer duration of having the condition, and current use of sunscreen, which were found to have 2.4, 2, 3.7, and 2.4 significantly higher odds of knowing their diagnosis, respectively. This study found that the overall impact of hyperpigmentation on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was small to moderate; however, about 22% reported a very large affect on quality of life. Patients with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) and melasma have significantly lower quality of life when compared with other hyperpigmentation disorders. MASI had a significantly weak correlation with DLQI and SDIEQ, demonstrating that disease severity does not predict patient perception and impact on quality of life.