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Objective: To examine the use of the term ‘metric’ in health and social sciences’ literature, focusing on the interval scale implication of the term in Modern Test Theory (MTT).
Materials and methods: A systematic search and review on MTT studies including ‘metric’ or ‘interval scale’ was performed in the health and social sciences literature. The search was restricted to 2001–2005 and 2011–2015. A Text Mining algorithm was employed to operationalize the eligibility criteria and to explore the uses of ‘metric’. The paradigm of each included article (Rasch Measurement Theory (RMT), Item Response Theory (IRT) or both), as well as its type (Theoretical, Methodological, Teaching, Application, Miscellaneous) were determined. An inductive thematic analysis on the first three types was performed.
Results: 70.6% of the 1337 included articles were allocated to RMT, and 68.4% were application papers. Among the number of uses of ‘metric’, it was predominantly a synonym of ‘scale’; as adjective, it referred to measurement or quantification. Three incompatible themes ‘only RMT/all MTT/no MTT models can provide interval measures’ were identified, but ‘interval scale’ was considerably more mentioned in RMT than in IRT.
Conclusion: ‘Metric’ is used in many different ways, and there is no consensus on which MTT metric has interval scale properties. Nevertheless, when using the term ‘metric’, the authors should specify the level of the metric being used (ordinal, ordered, interval, ratio), and justify why according to them the metric is at that level.
Background: Existing instruments measuring participation may vary with respect to various aspects. This study aimed to examine the comparability of existing instruments measuring participation based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) by considering aspects of content, the perspective adopted and the categorization of response options.
Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify instruments that have been commonly used to measure participation. Concepts of identified instruments were then linked to the ICF following the refined ICF Linking Rules. Aspects of content, perspective adopted and categorization of response options were documented.
Results: Out of 315 instruments identified in the full-text screening, 41 instruments were included. Concepts of six instruments were linked entirely to the ICF component Activities and Participation; of 10 instruments still 80% of their concepts. A descriptive perspective was adopted in most items across instruments (75%), mostly in combination with an intensity rating. An appraisal perspective was found in 18% and questions from a need or dependency perspective were least frequent (7%).
Conclusion: Accounting for aspects of content, perspective and categorization of responses in the linking of instruments to the ICF provides detailed information for the comparison of instruments and guidance on narrowing down the choices of suitable instruments from a content point of view.
Implications for Rehabilitation
For clinicians and researchers who need to identify a specific instrument for a given purpose, the findings of this review can serve as a screening tool for instruments measuring participation in terms of the following:
• Their content covered based on the ICF.
• The perspective adopted in the instrument (e.g., descriptive, need/dependency or appraisal).
• The categorization of their response options (e.g., intensity or frequency).
Background: Joint contractures are a common health problem in older persons with significant impact on activities of daily living. We aimed to retrieve outcome measures applied in studies on older persons with joint contractures and to identify and categorise the concepts contained in these outcome measures using the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) as a reference.
Methods: Electronic searches of Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Pedro and the Cochrane Library were conducted (1/2002-8/2012). We included studies in the geriatric rehabilitation and nursing home settings with participants aged ≥ 65 years and with acquired joint contractures. Two independent reviewers extracted the outcome measures and transferred them to concepts using predefined conceptual frameworks. Concepts were subsequently linked to the ICF categories.
Results: From the 1057 abstracts retrieved, 60 studies met the inclusion criteria. We identified 52 single outcome measures and 24 standardised assessment instruments. A total of 1353 concepts were revealed from the outcome measures; 96.2 % could be linked to 50 ICF categories in the 2nd level; 3.8 % were not categorised. Fourteen of the 50 categories (28 %) belonged to the component Body Functions, 4 (8 %) to the component Body Structures, 26 (52 %) to the component Activities and Participation, and 6 (12 %) to the component Environmental Factors.
Conclusions: The ICF is a valuable reference for identifying and quantifying the concepts of outcome measures on joint contractures in older people. The revealed ICF categories remain to be validated in populations with joint contractures in terms of clinical relevance and personal impact.
Introduction
Joint contractures are characterized as impairment of the physiological movement of joints due to deformity, disuse or pain and have major impact especially for older individuals in geriatric care. Some measures for the assessment of the impact of joint contractures exist. However, there is no consensus on which aspects should constantly be measured. Our objective was to develop a standard-set based on the ICF for describing functioning and disability in older individuals with joint contractures in geriatric care settings, giving special emphasis to activities and participation.
Methods
The ICF-based standard set was developed in a formal decision-making and consensus process and based on an adapted version of the protocol to develop ICF Core Sets. These are sets of categories from the ICF, serving as standards for the assessment, communication and reporting of functioning and health for clinical studies, clinical encounters and multi-professional comprehensive assessment and management.
Results
Twenty-three experts from Germany and Switzerland selected 105 categories of the ICF component Activities and Participation for the ICF-based standard set. The largest number of categories was selected from the chapter Mobility (50 categories, 47.6%).
Conclusions
The standard set for older individuals with joint contractures provides health professionals with a standard for describing patients’ activity limitations and participation restrictions. The standard set also provides a common basis for the development of patient-centered measures and intervention programs. The preliminary version of the ICF-based standard set will be tested in subsequent studies with regard to its psychometric properties.
Objective
To identify the most important and relevant concepts of daily functioning from the perspective of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods
We conducted a consensus‐building, 3‐round, electronic mail survey with SLE patients using the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique is a structured communication process with 4 key characteristics: anonymity, iteration with controlled feedback, statistical group response, and informed input. The concepts contained in the answers of the patients were extracted and linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
Results
Of the total 225 participants, 194 (86.2%) completed the questionnaires from all 3 Delphi rounds. In total, after the third Delphi round, 307 concepts were identified. Ninety concepts (55 in the domain body functions and structures, 16 in activities and participation, and 19 in environmental factors) were considered relevant by at least 50% of the participants in the third round and linked to the ICF. Twelve concepts were considered important by at least 75% of the participants.
Conclusion
The high number of concepts resulting from this large‐scale patient Delphi approach underlines the great variety of SLE patients' problems in daily functioning. The results of this patient Delphi project supplement the findings of our focus‐group study in establishing a comprehensive overview of the patient perspective in SLE.
Predictive Modeling (PM) techniques are gaining importance in the worldwide health insurance business. Modern PM methods are used for customer relationship management, risk evaluation or medical management. This article illustrates a PM approach that enables the economic potential of (cost-)effective disease management programs (DMPs) to be fully exploited by optimized candidate selection as an example of successful data-driven business management. The approach is based on a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) that is easy to apply for health insurance companies. By means of a small portfolio from an emerging country, we show that our GLM approach is stable compared to more sophisticated regression techniques in spite of the difficult data environment. Additionally, we demonstrate for this example of a setting that our model can compete with the expensive solutions offered by professional PM vendors and outperforms non-predictive standard approaches for DMP selection commonly used in the market.
We examine the interaction in the market for physician services when the total budget for reimbursement is fixed. Physicians obtain points for the services they render. At the end of the period the budget is divided by the sum of all points submitted, which determines the price per point. We show that this retrospective payment system involves – compared to a fee-for-service remuneration system – a severe coordination problem, which potentially leads to the “treadmill effect”. We argue that when market entry is possible, a budget can be efficiency enhancing, if in addition a price floor is used.
BACKGROUND: Active performance is crucial for motor learning, and, together with motivation, is believed to be associated with a better rehabilitation outcome. Virtual reality (VR) is an innovative approach to engage and motivate patients during training. There is promising evidence for its efficiency in retraining upper limb function. However, there is insufficient proof for its effectiveness in gait training.
AIM: To evaluate the acceptability of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) with and without VR and the feasibility of potential outcome measures to guide the planning of a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT).
DESIGN: Single-blind randomized controlled pilot trial with two parallel arms.
SETTING: Rehabilitation hospital.
POPULATION: Twenty subacute stroke patients (64±9 years) with a Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC) ≤2.
METHODS: Twelve sessions (over 4 weeks) of either VR-augmented RAGT (intervention group) or standard RAGT (control group). Acceptability of the interventions (drop-out rate, questionnaire), patients’ motivation (Intrinsic Motivation Inventory [IMI], individual mean walking time), and feasibility of potential outcome measures (completion rate and response to interventions) were determined.
RESULTS: We found high acceptability of repetitive VR-augmented RAGT. The drop-out rate was 1/11 in the intervention and 4/14 in the control group. Patients of the intervention group spent significantly more time walking in the robot than the control group (per session and total walking time; P<0.03). In both groups, motivation measured with the IMI was high over the entire intervention period. The felt pressure and tension significantly decreased in the intervention group (P<0.01) and was significantly lower than in the control group at the last therapy session (r=-0.66, P=0.005). The FAC is suggested as a potential primary outcome measure for a definitive RCT, as it could be assessed in all patients and showed significant response to interventions (P<0.01). We estimated a sample size of 44 for a future RCT.
CONCLUSIONS: VR-augmented RAGT resulted in high acceptability and motivation, and in a reduced drop-out rate and an extended training time compared to standard RAGT. This pilot trial provides guidance for a prospective RCT on the effectiveness of VR-augmented RAGT.
CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: VR might be a promising approach to enrich and improve gait rehabilitation after stroke.
Objective:
Patient reported outcomes (PROs) are relevant in rheumatology. Variable accessibility and validity of commonly used PROs are obstacles to homogeneity in evidence synthesis. The objective of this project was to provide a comprehensive library of “validated PROs”.
Methods:
A launch meeting with rheumatologists, PROs methodological experts, and patients, was held to define the library’s aims and scope, and basic requirements. To feed the library we performed systematic reviews on selected diseases and domains. Relevant information on PROs was collected using standardised data collection forms based on the COSMIN checklist.
Results:
The EULAR Outcomes Measures Library (OML), whose aims are to provide and to advise on PROs on a user-friendly manner albeit based on scientific grounds, has been launched and made accessible to all. PROs currently included cover any domain and, are generic or specifically target to the following diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, spondyloarthritis, low back pain, systemic lupus erythematosus, gout, osteoporosis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and fibromyalgia. Up to 236 instruments (106 generic and 130 specific) have been identified, evaluated, and included. The systematic review for SLE, which yielded 10 specific instruments, is presented here as an example.
The OML website includes, for each PRO, information on the construct being measured and the extent of validation, recommendations for use, and available versions; it also contains a glossary on common validation terms.
Conclusion:
The OML is an in progress library led by rheumatologists, related professionals and patients, that will help to better understand and apply PROs in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
Purpose
The content of and methods for collecting health information often vary across settings and challenge the comparability of health information across time, individuals or populations. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) contains an exhaustive set of categories of information which constitutes a unified and consistent language of human functioning suitable as a reference for comparing health information.
Methods and results In two earlier papers, we have proposed rules for linking existing health information to the ICF. Further refinements to these existing ICF Linking Rules are presented in this paper to enhance the transparency of the linking process. The refinements involve preparing information for linking, perspectives from which information is collected and the categorization of response options. Issues regarding the linking of information not covered or unspecified within the ICF are also revisited in this paper.
Conclusion:
The ICF Linking Rules are valuable for enhancing comparability of health information to ensure that information is available in a consistent manner to serve as a foundation for evidence-based decision-making across all levels of health systems. The refinements presented in this paper enhance transparency in, and ultimately reliability of the process of, linking health information to the ICF.
Implications for Rehabilitation
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) constitutes a unified and consistent language of human functioning suitable as a reference for comparing health information.
Comparability of information is essential to ensure that the widest range of information is available in a consistent manner for any decision-maker at all levels of the health system.
The refined ICF Linking Rules presented in this article outline the method to establish comparability of health information based on the ICF.
Making one's own choices is an important part of leading a fulfilling life within society. However, people with IDs often face significant obstacles when making their own decisions. Article 12 (Equal recognition before the law) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) aims to ensure firstly that people with IDs and others with compromised capacity are nonetheless recognized as legal individuals, and secondly that assistance is provided in the form of supported decision‐making in order to exercise this resulting legal capacity. It is unclear whether current national legislation in any country satisfies these requirements in practice. This study utilizes institutional ethnography to reveal how decision‐making is coordinated in practice for people with mild to moderate IDs living in supported residential environments in England, and to determine whether these processes are compliant with Article 12 of the CRPD. Data collection was based on observations, semi‐structured interviews, and documentary analysis, involving 29 participants including people with mild to moderate IDs. The results point to the complexity of supported decision‐making and identify three main categories of decision‐making: spontaneous decisions, mid‐term decisions, and strategic decisions. The data also show that people with mild to moderate IDs are able to exercise their legal capacity through support decision‐making in their everyday life. Immediate and informal supported decision‐making exists in daily practice for people with mild to moderate IDs living in supported residential environments. Although there are structures in place for implementing supported decision‐making, various barriers persist that limit the overall efficacy and consistency of the realization of supported decision‐making, for example, multiple use of mental capacity assessments. Such practices move away from the supported decision‐making model toward substituted decision‐making.
Quality issue
Responding to person's health and related needs requires the availability of health information that reflects relevant aspects of a health condition and how this health condition impacts on a person's daily life.
Initial assessment
Health information is routinely collected at different time points by diverse professionals, in different settings for various purposes with varying methods. Consequently, health information is not always comparable, posing a challenge to the regular monitoring of quality.
Choice of solution
The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD), International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), and International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI; under development) are complementary and serve as meaningful reference classifications for comparing data on persons’ health and related interventions across health systems.
Implementation
We developed a systematic approach of translating routinely collected information into a standardized report based on the three WHO reference classifications and the Rehab-Cycle®. Subsequently, we have demonstrated its application using five random case records of individuals attending a rehabilitation program.
Evaluation
All identified concepts were able to be linked to WHO's reference classifications. The ICF served as a tool to standardize information on rehabilitation goals and their achievement. The ICHI served as the basis for reporting the interventions that were documented in the case records, including the intervention targets that were derived from the ICF codes.
Lessons learned
Our experience shows that, it is possible to translate routinely collected information into standardized reports by linking existing narrative records with WHO's reference classifications.
Living with spinal cord injury in Mongolia: A qualitative study on perceived environmental barriers
(2020)
Context: Environmental factors play a key role in the lives of individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI). This study identifies environmental barriers and their impacts on daily lives as perceived by individuals living with SCI in Mongolia.
Design: A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted. A topic guide for the interviews was structured around the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health.
Setting: Urban and rural areas of Mongolia.
Participants: A purposive sample of 16 persons with traumatic SCI.
Interventions: Not applicable.
Outcome Measures: Not applicable.
Results: Seven categories of environmental barriers were mentioned, such as poor access to the physical environment, absence of wheelchair-friendly transportation, negative societal attitudes, inadequate health and rehabilitation services, lack of access to assistive devices and medicines, limited financial resources for healthcare, and inaccurate categorization of disabilities in laws. These barriers were claimed to have an impact on physical and psychological health, limit activities, and restrict participation in almost all areas of life.
Conclusion: This study contributes to the identification of targets for interventions aimed at improving the lived experience of persons with SCI in a low-resource context. The findings reveal that while the Mongolian government already has laws and policies in place to improve access to the physical environment, transportation, assistive devices and employment, much more has to be done in terms of enforcement. Specialized SCI care and rehabilitation services are highly demanded in Mongolia.
Background
Self-reported outcome instruments in health research have become increasingly important over the last decades. Occupational therapy interventions often focus on occupational balance. However, instruments to measure occupational balance are scarce. The aim of the study was therefore to develop a generic self-reported outcome instrument to assess occupational balance based on the experiences of patients and healthy people including an examination of its psychometric properties.
Methods
We conducted a qualitative analysis of the life stories of 90 people with and without chronic autoimmune diseases to identify components of occupational balance. Based on these components, the Occupational Balance-Questionnaire (OB-Quest) was developed. Construct validity and internal consistency of the OB-Quest were examined in quantitative data. We used Rasch analyses to determine overall fit of the items to the Rasch model, person separation index and potential differential item functioning. Dimensionality testing was conducted by the use of t-tests and Cronbach’s alpha.
Results
The following components emerged from the qualitative analyses: challenging and relaxing activities, activities with acknowledgement by the individual and by the sociocultural context, impact of health condition on activities, involvement in stressful activities and fewer stressing activities, rest and sleep, variety of activities, adaptation of activities according to changed living conditions and activities intended to care for oneself and for others. Based on these, the seven items of the questionnaire (OB-Quest) were developed. 251 people (132 with rheumatoid arthritis, 43 with systematic lupus erythematous and 76 healthy) filled in the OB-Quest. Dimensionality testing indicated multidimensionality of the questionnaire (t = 0.58, and 1.66 after item reduction, non-significant). The item on the component rest and sleep showed differential item functioning (health condition and age). Person separation index was 0.51. Cronbach’s alpha changed from 0.38 to 0.57 after deleting two items.
Conclusions
This questionnaire includes new items addressing components of occupational balance meaningful to patients and healthy people which have not been measured so far. The reduction of two items of the OB-Quest showed improved internal consistency. The multidimensionality of the questionnaire indicates the need for a summary of several components into subscales.
Growing evidence shows interrelations of psychological factors, neurological and immunological processes. Therefore, constructs like a balance of activities, the so called “occupational balance”, could also have biological correlates. The aim of this study was to investigate potential associations between occupational balance, functioning, cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients suffering from a chronic inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy people. Moreover, we wanted to explore potential differences in gender and employment status.
A descriptive study in patients with RA and healthy people was conducted using the Occupational Balance-Questionnaire (OB-Quest) and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Serum levels of cytokines, such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) and 8 (IL-8), interferon alpha (INFα), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), rheumatoid factor (RF) and of CRP were measured. Descriptive statistics, as well as Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearmen's rank correlation coefficients (rs) were calculated.
One-hundred-thirty-two patients with RA and 76 healthy people participated. Occupational balance was associated with functioning, cytokines and CRP. The strongest associations were identified in the unemployed healthy-people sample with cytokines and CRP being within the normal range. For example, the OB-Quest item challenging activities was associated with IL-8 (rs = − 0.63, p = 0.04) and the SF-36 sub-scale bodily pain was associated with IFNα (rs = − 0.69, p = 0.02). The items rest and sleep (rs = − 0.71, p = 0.01) and variety of different activities (rs = − 0.74, p < 0.01) correlated with the SF-36 sub-scale social functioning. Employed and unemployed people differed in their age and CRP levels. Additionally, gender differences were found in two OB-Quest items in that fewer women were able to adapt their activities to changing living conditions and fewer men were overstressed. In conclusion, we found preliminary biological evidence for the link between occupation and health in that the concepts encompassed in the construct of occupational balance were associated with functioning, cytokines and CRP.
Impact of spasticity on functioning in spinal cord injury: an application of graphical modelling
(2020)
Abstract
Objective: To identify the impact of moderate-to-severe spasticity on functioning in people living with spinal cord injury.
Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data using graphical modelling.
Subjects: Individuals (n = 1,436) with spinal cord injury aged over 16 years with reported spasticity problems.
Methods: Spasticity and 13 other impairments in body functions were assessed using the spinal cord injury Secondary Conditions Scale. Impairments in mental functions were assessed using the Mental Health subscale of the 36-item Short Form (SF-36). Independence in activities was measured with the Spinal Cord Injury Independence Measure Self-Report. Restrictions in participation were measured with the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation Rehabilitation – Participation.
Results: Fifty-one percent of participants reported moderate-to-severe spasticity. Graphical modelling showed that Chronic pain, Contractures, Tiredness, Doing housework, and Respiratory functions were associated with spasticity and were the top 5 potential targets for interventions to improve the experience of spasticity. The associations and intervention targets were dependent on the level and completeness of the lesion.
Conclusion: This is the first application of graphical modelling in studying spasticity in people living with spinal cord injury. The results can be used as a basis for studies aiming to optimize rehabilitation interventions in people with moderate-to-severe spasticity.
Lay Abstract
Spasticity is one of the most common complications of spinal cord injury. It influences limitations in functioning. Comprehensive evidence on the impact of spasticity on all domains of functioning may be beneficial to optimize rehabilitation interventions aimed at reducing the effects of spasticity. This is the first application of graphical modelling to study and visualize the impact of moderate-to-severe spasticity on functioning in people living with spinal cord injury. The results show that chronic pain, contractures, tiredness, doing housework, and respiratory functions were the functioning domains associated with spasticity. These are therefore the top 5 potential targets for interventions to improve the experience of spasticity. In addition, the level and completeness of lesions should be considered when studying spasticity in relation to all domains of functioning. These results should be used as a basis for studies aiming to optimize rehabilitation interventions in people with moderate-to-severe spasticity.
Objectives: To examine metric properties and responsiveness of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Generic Set when used in routine clinical practice to assess functioning.
Design: Prospective multicentre study.
Setting: 50 hospitals from 20 provinces of Mainland China.
Participants: 4510 adult inpatients admitted to the departments of Pulmonology, Cardiology, Neurology, Orthopaedics, Cerebral Surgery or Rehabilitation Medicine.
Main outcome measures: The ICF Generic Set (ICF Generic 6 Set) applied with an 11-point numeric rating scale (0-no problem to 10-complete problem) was fit to the Partial Credit Model (PCM) to create an interval score of functioning.
Results: PCM assumptions were found to be fulfilled after accounting for Differential Item Functioning. With an average improvement by 7.86 points of the metric ICF Generic 6 score (95% CI 7.53 to 8.19), the ICF Generic 6 Set proved sensitive to change (Cohen’s f2=0.41). Ceiling and floor effects on detecting change in functioning were cancelled or reduced by using the metric score.
Conclusion: The ICF Generic 6 Set can be used for the assessment of functioning in routine clinical practice and an interval score can be derived which is sensitive to change.
Objective: To describe functioning in people living with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in Switzerland.
Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data. Setting Community, Switzerland.
Participants: Individuals (N=1549) 16 years of age or older with a history of traumatic or nontraumatic SCI and permanently residing in Switzerland.
Interventions: Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures: Functioning was operationalized through 4 domains: (1) impairments in body functions; (2) impairments in mental functions; (3) independence in performing activities; and (4) performance problems in participation.
Results: Univariate analysis indicated a high prevalence of problems in 5 areas: (1) housework; (2) climbing stairs; (3) tiredness; (4) spasticity; and (5) chronic pain. Graphical modeling showed a strong association among the four domains of functioning. Moreover, we found that the differences in the dependence structures were significant between the paraplegia SCI population and the tetraplegia SCI population.
Conclusions: This study is a first study in the epidemiology of functioning of people living with SCI in Switzerland. Using univariate and graphical modeling approaches, we proposed an empirical foundation for developing hypotheses on functioning in each domain and category that could inform health systems on people’s health needs.
The International Spinal Cord Injury (InSCI) community survey has been developed to collect internationally comparable data on the lived experience of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in all 6 WHO regions.
The InSCI survey provides a crucial first step to generate evidence on functioning, health maintenance, and subjective well-being in persons with SCI globally.
A major challenge in setting up the InSCI community survey was to develop a data model and questionnaire that comprehensively captures what matters to people and, at the same time, is feasible and parsimonious in terms of participant’s burden.
This paper outlines the components of the InSCI data model and presents the question selection to operationalize the data model along the 4 guiding principles of efficiency, feasibility, comparability, and truth and discrimination.
The data model consists of 6 components operationalized with 125 questions including functioning (n = 28 body functions and structures; n = 42 activities and participation), contextual factors (n = 26 environmental; n = 19 personal factors), lesion characteristics (n = 2), and appraisal of health and well-being (n = 8).
The InSCI questionnaire presents an efficient and feasible solution with satisfying comparability to other populations; however, its validity and reliability still needs to be confirmed.
The Impact of Missing Values and Single Imputation upon Rasch Analysis Outcomes: A Simulation Study
(2018)
Imputation becomes common practice through availability of easy-to-use algorithms and software. This study aims to determine if different imputation strategies are robust to the extent and type of missingness, local item dependencies (LID), differential item functioning (DIF), and misfit when doing a Rasch analysis. Four samples were simulated and represented a sample with good metric properties, a sample with LID, a sample with DIF, and a sample with LID and DIF. Missing values were generated with increasing proportion and were either missing at random or completely at random. Four imputation techniques were applied before Rasch analysis and deviation of the results and the quality of fit compared. Imputation strategies showed good performance with less than 15% of missingness. The analysis with missing values performed best in recovering statistical estimates. The best strategy, when doing a Rasch analysis, is the analysis with missing values. If for some reason imputation is necessary, we recommend using the expectation-maximization algorithm.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify health-relevant aspects of functioning and disability of persons aged 65 years or older with joint contractures, to link the findings to corresponding ICF categories and to describe the patients’ perspective.
Methods: We conducted 43 qualitative, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with affected persons in two different locations (Witten, Munich) and in three different settings. Data were analyzed using the “meaning condensation procedure” and then linked to ICF categories.
Results: From all interviews a total of 2499 single meaning-concepts were extracted which were linked to 324 different ICF categories. The participants in all settings mainly reported problems related to “Mobility of a single joint (b710)”, “Sensation of pain (b280)” and problems related to “Walking (d450)”. Almost all participants reported “Products and technology for personal indoor and outdoor mobility and transportation (e120)” as a relevant environmental factor. Conclusions: From the patients’ perspective, joint contractures have an impact on multifaceted aspects of functioning and disability, mainly body functions, environmental factors and activities and participation. The results of this study will contribute to the development of a standard instrument for measuring functioning, disability and health-relevant aspects for patients with joint contractures.
Implications for Rehabilitation
Joint contractures are a major cause for the development of disability in older people.
Patients’ perspectives and their personal experiences have to be considered when assessing the impact of joint contractures.
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is an appropriate framework for describing the patients’ multifaceted experience of joint contractures.
Purpose
The aim of this study was to identify disease‐related aspects of functioning and disability in people with joint contractures from a health professionals' perspective and to describe the findings, using categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF).
Design
An Internet‐based expert survey.
Methods
We asked international health professionals for typical problems in functioning and important contextual factors of individuals with joint contractures using an Internet‐based open‐ended questionnaire. All answers were linked to the ICF according to established rules. Absolute and relative frequencies of the linked ICF categories were reported.
Findings
Eighty experts named 1785 meaning units which could be linked to 256 ICF categories. Among the categories, 24.2% belonged to the component Body Functions, 20.7% to Body Structures, 36.3% to Activities and Participation, and 18.8% to Environmental Factors.
Conclusion
Health professionals addressed a large variety of functional problems and multifaceted aspects due to the symptom joint contractures.
Clinical Relevance
International health professionals reported a large variety of aspects of functioning and health, which are related to joint contractures
Introduction: In Germany, all new, innovative medicines are subject to an early benefit assessment by the German Federal Joint Committee with subsequent price negotiation and optional arbitration. The purpose of this study was to identify drivers of negotiated (including arbitrated) prices of new, non-orphan innovative medicines in Germany.
Methods: The analysis considered all non-orphan drugs that underwent a benefit appraisal between January 2011 and June 2016, and displayed a reimbursement price in the German Drug Directory (Lauer-Taxe®) in November 2017. Negotiated annual treatment costs were analyzed with respect to 11 explanatory variables in regression models.
Results: The total sample included 106 non-orphan drugs. The analysis showed a significant and positive association of log-transformed negotiated annual treatment cost of new medicines with log-transformed annual treatment cost of its comparator(s), extent of added benefit, and log-transformed size of the target population. Analyzing the effects of specific endpoints instead of the overall added benefit revealed that the single endpoint with the largest impact on price is adverse events (AEs). Surprisingly, an increase in AEs significantly increased the price. Various subgroup and sensitivity analyses demonstrated the robustness of the results. The adjusted R squared for all models was above 80%.
Conclusions: The analysis was able to confirm that variables whose consideration is mandated by law are, in fact, the key drivers of negotiated prices. Somewhat puzzling, the analysis also found an increase in AEs to move prices significantly upward.
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Generic- 30 Set (previously referred to as Rehabilitation Set) is a minimal set of ICF categories for reporting and assessing functioning and disability in clinical populations with different health conditions along the continuum of care. Recently, the Italian Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (SIMFER) developed an Italian modification of the simple and intuitive descriptions (SID) of these categories. This study was the first one to implement the use of the SID in practice.1)
To implement the use of the ICF in clinical practice and research among Italian Residents in PRM. 2) To verify if the SID made the application of ICF Generic 30 Set more user-friendly than the original descriptions. 3) To examine the prevalence of functioning problems of patients accessing Rehabilitation Services to serve as reference for the development of an ICF-based clinical data collection tool.Multicenter cross-sectional study.
Italian Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PRM) outpatient rehabilitation services. Patients referring to Italian PRM outpatient rehabilitation services and Italian Residents in PRM.Each School of Specialization involved, randomly, received the ICF Generic-30 Set with the original descriptions or with the SID.
Residents collected over a 4-month period (April-July 2016) patients data related to the ICF Generic-30 Set categories. Moreover, the residents self- assessed their difficulty in using the ICF Generic-30 Set with the original descriptions or with the SID, through a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS).Ninety-three residents collected functioning data of 864 patients (mean aged 57.7±19.3) with ICF Generic-30 Set: 304 with the original descriptions and 560 with SID. The difficulty in using the ICF Generic-30 Set with SID was rated as lower than using the original descriptions (NRS = 2.8±2.5 vs 3.5±3.1; p<0.001).
The most common disease was the back pain (9.6%) and the most common altered ICF categories were b280 (76.3%) and b710 (72.9%).This multicenter cross-sectional study shown that the ICF Generic-30 Set is a valuable instrument for reporting and assessing functioning and disability in clinical populations with different health conditions and along the continuum of care and that SID facilitate the understanding of the ICF categories and therefore their use in clinical practice.
This National survey, improving the knowledge of ICF among Italian PRM residents, represents an important step towards the system-wide implementation of ICF in the healthcare system.
This study investigates the impact of generative AI systems like ChatGPT on semi-structured decision-making, specifically in evaluating undergraduate dissertations. We propose using Davis’ technology acceptance model (TAM) and Schulz von Thun’s four-sides communication model to understand human–AI interaction and necessary adaptations for acceptance in dissertation grading. Utilizing an inductive research design, we conducted ten interviews with respondents having varying levels of AI and management expertise, employing four escalating-consequence scenarios mirroring higher education dissertation grading. In all scenarios, the AI functioned as a sender, based on the four-sides model. Findings reveal that technology acceptance for human–AI interaction is adaptive but requires modifications, particularly regarding AI’s transparency. Testing the four-sides model showed support for three sides, with the appeal side receiving negative feedback for AI acceptance as a sender. Respondents struggled to accept the idea of AI, suggesting a grading decision through an appeal. Consequently, transparency about AI’s role emerged as vital. When AI supports instructors transparently, acceptance levels are higher. These results encourage further research on AI as a receiver and the impartiality of AI decision-making without instructor influence. This study emphasizes communication modes in learning-ecosystems, especially in semi-structured decision-making situations with AI as a sender, while highlighting the potential to enhance AI-based decision-making acceptance.
Vertigo, dizziness and balance disorders have major impact on independence, employability, activities and participation. There are many measures for the assessment of the impact of vertigo, but no consensus exists on which aspects should be measured.
The objective of this study was to develop international standards (ICF Core Sets) for patients with vertigo and dizziness to describe functioning. The development of the ICF Core Sets involved a formal decision-making and consensus process, integrating evidence from preparatory studies including qualitative interviews with patients, a systematic review of the literature, a survey with health professionals, and empirical data collection from patients.
Twenty-seven experts selected 100 second level categories for the comprehensive Core Set and 29 second level categories for the Brief Core Set. The largest number of categories was selected from the ICF component Activities and Participation (40). Twenty-five categories were selected from the component Body Functions, six from Body Structures, and 29 from Environmental Factors.
The ICF Core Set for vertigo is designed for physicians, nurses, therapists and other health professionals working in inpatient or ambulatory settings. ICF Core Sets create patient-relevant outcomes that can be used as evidence for the success of treatments.
Symptom frequency and severity in vestibular disorders often do not correlate well with patients' restrictions of activities of daily living and limitations of participation.
Due to the lack of appropriate patient reported outcome measures (PRO), the extent of limitations and restrictions is mostly unknown. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a conceptual framework and classification to evaluate all aspects of health and disability. An ICF-based measure, the Vestibular and Participation Measure (VAP), was recently proposed.
Also, an ICF Core Set for vertigo, dizziness and balance disorders was developed to describe what aspects of functioning should be measured. This study protocol describes the development and cross-cultural validation of a new measure, the VAP-extended (VAP-e), based on VAP and ICF Core Set on three continents.
To determine objectivity and cross-cultural validity of the VAP and to find potentially redundant items, Rasch models will be used. The VAP-e will be created by modifying or adding items from the Activities and Participation and Environmental Factors component of the ICF Core Set. Reliability, objectivity and responsiveness of the VAP-e will be tested.
Objective: To identify candidate categories for brief International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for the reporting and measurement of functioning in patients in the acute hospital.
Design: Prospective multi-centre cohort study.
Patients: Patients receiving rehabilitation interventions for musculoskeletal, neurological or cardiopulmonary injury or disease in acute hospitals.
Methods: Functioning and contextual factors were coded using the ICF. The criterion for selecting candidate categories for the brief ICF Core Sets was based on their ability to discriminate between patients with high or low functioning status. Discrimination was assessed using multivariable regression models, the independent variables being all of the ICF categories of the respective comprehensive ICF Core Set. Analogue ratings of overall functioning as reported by patients and health professionals were used as dependent variables.
Results: A total of 391 patients were included in the study (91 neurological, 109 cardiopulmonary, 191 musculoskeletal), mean age 63.4 years, 50.1% female. Selection yielded 33 categories for neurological, 31 for cardiopulmonary, and 30 for musculoskeletal.
Conclusion: The present selection of categories can be considered an initial proposal, serving to identify the ICF categories most relevant for the practical assessment and monitoring of functioning in patients with acute neurological, cardiopulmonary, and musculoskeletal conditions.
Objective: To identify candidate categories for International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for the reporting and measurement of functioning in patients in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Design: Prospective multi-centre cohort study.
Patients: Patients receiving rehabilitation interventions for musculoskeletal, neurological or cardiopulmonary injury or disease in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Methods: Functioning was coded using the ICF. The criterion for selecting candidate categories for the ICF Core Sets was based on their ability to discriminate between patients with high or low functioning status. Discrimination was assessed using multivariable regression models, the independent variables being all of the ICF categories of the respective comprehensive ICF Core Set. Analogue ratings of overall functioning as reported by patients and health professionals were used as dependent variables.
Results: A total of 165 patients were included in the study (67 neurological, 37 cardiopulmonary, 61 musculoskeletal), mean age 67.5 years, 46.1% female. Selection yielded 38 categories for neurological, 32 for cardiopulmonary, and 31 for musculoskeletal.
Conclusion: The present selection of categories can be considered an initial proposal, serving to identify the issues most relevant for the assessment and monitoring of functioning in patients undergoing early post-acute rehabilitation for neurological, cardiopulmonary, and musculoskeletal conditions.
Health services utilization of patients with vertigo in primary care: a retrospective cohort study
(2014)
Vertigo and dizziness count among the most frequent symptoms in outpatient practices. Although most vestibular disorders are manageable, they are often under- and misdiagnosed in primary care. This may result in prolonged absence from work, increased resource use and, potentially, in chronification.
Reliable information on health services utilization of patients with vertigo in primary care is scarce. Retrospective cohort study in patients referred to a tertiary care balance clinic. Included patients had a confirmed diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Menière’s disease (MD), vestibular paroxysmia (VP), bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP), vestibular migraine (VM), or psychogenic vertigo (PSY).
All previous diagnostic and therapeutic measures prior to the first visit to the clinic were recorded. 2,374 patients were included (19.7 % BPPV, 12.7 % MD, 5.8 % VP, 7.2 % BVP, 14.1 % VM, 40.6 % PSY), 61.3 % with more than two consultations. Most frequent diagnostic measures were magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 76.2 %, 71 % in BPPV) and electrocardiography (53.5 %). Most frequent therapies were medication (61.0 %) and physical therapy (41.3 %). 37.3 % had received homoeopathic medication (39 % in BPPV), and 25.9 % were treated with betahistine (20 % in BPPV).
Patients had undergone on average 3.2 (median 3.0, maximum 6) diagnostic measures, had received 1.8 (median 2.0, maximum 8) therapies and 1.8 (median 1.0, maximum 17) different drugs. Diagnostic subgroups differed significantly regarding number of diagnostic measures, therapies and drugs.
The results emphasize the need for establishing systematic training to improve oto-neurological skills in primary care services not specialized on the treatment of dizzy patients.
Health is a complex process with potentially interacting components from the molecular to the societal and environmental level. Adequate research designs and data analysis methods are needed to improve our understanding of this complexity, to ultimately derive high quality evidence to inform patients, health professionals, and health policy decision makers. Also, effective patient-centred health care has to address the complexity of health, functioning, and disability, not only by implementing interventions, but also by using information technologythatrepresentsthecomplexityofhealthcaretoinformallactors. Given this background, we developed the concept of our conference HEC2016 as an interdisciplinary European event in beautiful Bavaria, in the city of Mu ¨nchen. Quite ironically this is the place, where William of Ockham, whose ideas of parsimony are the very opposite of complexity, accused of heresy, spent 17 years under the protection of the Bavarian King Ludwig IV. Furthermore, our local public health hero Max von Pettenkofer (1818–1901) contributed a lot to the basic systemic understanding of health, especially the relevance of a healthy environment. Under the joint theme of health as a complex system we joined the activities of five scientific disciplines: Medical Informatics, Medical Biometry, Bioinformatics, Epidemiology and Health Data Management. The mission behind this interdisciplinary effort was to serve as an important scientific forum for the exchange of new ideas and applications to strengthen health sciences on a national and international level. The analysis of health as a complex system opens needed perspectives on a challenging reality: filtering current hypotheses, resolving controversies, and tailoring interventions to the need of the individual within a health system environment. The conference encouraged the dialogue of the disciplines in order to advance our understanding of health and to decrease burden of disease. HEC2016 brought together the annual conferences of the German Association for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS), the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi), the International Epidemiological Association- European Region (IEA-EEF) and the European Federation for Medical Informatics Association
(EFMI, MIE 2016). HEC2016 took place in Mu ¨nchen, Germany, in the main building of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universita ¨t (LMU) from 28 August to 2 September 2016 under the auspices of the Institute for MedicalInformationProcessing,BiometryandEpidemiologyofLMU. The conference received 832 contributions for oral and poster presentation (Table 1). Fourteen percent of them were from outside Europe with the largest group of 10 % from Asia (Table 2). Scientific program committees and reviewers selected 408 submissions as oral contributions and 303 for poster presentations. The program was surrounded by twelve tutorials held by international renowned scientists and covered a broad spectrum from innovative biostatistical and epidemiological methods to tutorials in application of innovative software, scientific writing and data protection issues. Over 50 panel discussions and workshops allowed in-depth exchange of ideas on specific topics and underscored the interactive nature of HEC2016. A special focus of HEC2016 was on the promotion of young scientists from all disciplines whose participation was supported by numerous travel grants. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the colleagues who supported us as speakers, committee members and reviewers, lent us a hand before, during and after the conference, gave critical but friendly comments at all stages of the preparations, supported us by providing coffee, audience or Butterbrezen, and specifically to those who submitted contributions to the conference and attended the conference and its many tutorials, lectures and sessions. We extend our gratitude to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for generous financial support (grant no. GR 3608/4-1). Last not least we would like to thank our families who allowed us to spend most of our weekends with organizing this conference, to William of Ockham for lending us his razor (from time to time) and to Max von Pettenkofer for guidance.
Background
To date, targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been approved for FGFR2 and FGFR3 fusions (pemigatinib and erdafitinib, respectively), but the importance of FGFR2 mutations for transformation activity and as a druggable gene variant with response to different FGFR inhibitors is poorly understood. FGFR2 inhibitors present a mainstay of treatment for locally advanced or metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocellular carcinoma (iCCA).
Methods
A 74-year-old male was diagnosed with iCCA in liver segments seven and eight with infiltration of the hepatic veins and inferior vena cava revealed a C382R mutation of the intramembrane domain of FGRR2 receptor. We performed an in-silico study to understand the potential mode-of-action of the mutant FGFR2 targets. Based on experimentally determined structures we then used a structure generated by AlphaFold2 as the variation in question is located at a position not determined well in the experiments. This revealed that the C382R mutation is located in the trans-membranal domain at a position crucial for signal transduction, both for activation and inhibition of downstream-signaling. The Molecular Tumor Board decided to start the treatment with 13.5 mg pemigatinib once daily for 14 days, followed by 7 days of free therapy interval resulting in a sustained partial response. The patient continues to be treated of 13.5 mg as described above.
Results
In our case report, we were able to show that the patient in whom an C382R mutation was detected responded to the therapy with pemigatinib. This shows that real-world scenarios differ from the data of the approval studies, thereby illustrating how complex data on patients with FGFR mutations is. One of the main problems of large approval studies is that the functionality of the respective alterations is often disregarded.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that respective mutation may be successfully targeted by FGFR-selective tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, demonstrating the importance of the functional characterization of mutations.
no conflicts of interest.
Point mutations of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)2 receptor in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCC) are mainly of unknown functional significance compared to FGFR2 fusions. Pemigatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR2 fusion/rearrangement. Although it is hypothesized that FGFR2 mutations may cause uncontrolled activation of the signaling pathway, the data for targeted therapies for FGFR2 mutations remain unclear. In vitro analyses demonstrated the importance of the p.C382R mutation for ligand-independent constitutive activation of FGFR2 with transforming potential. The following report describes the clinical case of a patient diagnosed with an iCC carrying a FGFR2 p.C382R point mutation which was detected in liquid, as well as in tissue-based biopsies. The patient was treated with pemigatinib, resulting in a sustained complete functional remission in fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography over 10 months to date. The reported case is the first description of a complete functional remission under the treatment with pemigatinib in a patient with p.C383R mutation.
In the era of personalized medicine, the identification of driver mutations has paved the way towards targeted therapy. With the identification of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) as an oncogenic driver mutation, ALK rearrangements became druggable by tyrosine kinase inhibitors and, thus, have improved the prognosis for patients. Nevertheless, these approaches are limited by resistances occurring within the first or second year of administering ALK inhibitors. Among the different ALK resistant mutations, G1202R is the most common mutation, located in the kinase domain of the ALK protein resulting in resistance to treatment with the first- and second-generation kinase inhibitors (e.g., crizotinib, ceritinib, brigatenib and alectinib). Conflicting reports exist regarding the efficacy of lorlatinib, a next generation ALK inhibitor. The aim of this study is to access the potential impact of lorlatinib as a second-line treatment for a metastatic progressive NSCLC disease harboring genomic alteration of ALK G1202R, an AKLi-resistant mutation. The case of a patient with advanced lung cancer and the mentioned mutation is described.
Background:
Data on SARS-CoV-2 infections in oncological patients in the outpatient settings are scarce.
Methods:
During the spread of the delta variant between April 2021 and September 2021, a total of 10.677 patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection by RT-qPCR in seven outpatient clinics in Bavaria, Germany.
Results:
Within the tested patient cohort, 4.960 patients (46.5%) suffered from a malignant disease (74% solid tumors and 26% malignant hematological diseases). This group was compared with 5.717 patients (53.5%) without a malignant disease (33.1% with other hematological diseases and 66.9% patients without a hematological or oncological disease). During the observation period, 119 (2.4%) patients with malignancies were tested positive (88 patients with solid tumors; 31 patients with malignant hematological diseases) compared to 115 positive patients (2.0%) in the control group. 32 of 119 positively tested patients (26.9%) suffering from malignant disease required hospitalization and 9/32 patients (28.1%) died during the clinical course.
Conclusions:
These observations are in clear contrast to data from patients we evaluated during the pre-delta variants period between 15 and 26 April 2020 in the same seven outpatient clinics. In this period, a total of 1.227 patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR. 78/1227 patients (6.3%) were tested positive in RT-qPCR and most showed mild symptoms of infection. None of the SARS-CoV-2 infected patients died. These data were analyzed when no vaccination was available. These data were evaluated during a period where no vaccine was available. Vaccination of patients with malignancies with BiontechPfizer's mRNA vaccines was started in April 2021. The response to the vaccine was tested by an antibody assay (Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-immunoassay, Roche) at the earliest four weeks after the second vaccination. To assess the response, we compared five patient cohorts: Patients who received (i) B cell depleting antibodies, (ii) checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), (iii) chemotherapy, or (iv) tyrosin kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and (v) healthy controls. The patients treated with ICI or TKI showed a comparable vaccination response to the healthy patients, while patients receiving Rituximab/Obinutuzumab showed no significant humoral vaccination response at all. The more severe disease course of patients infected by the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant compared to the initial waves of infections strongly underline the importance of vaccination in cancer patients.
After several years of negative phase III trials in gastric and esophageal cancer, a significant breakthrough in the treatment of metastatic adenocarcinomas of the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and stomach (GC) is now becoming evident with the emerging of precision oncology and implementation of molecular targets in tumor treatment. In addition, new generation studies such as umbrella and basket trials are focused on these molecular targets, which makes an early molecular diagnosis based on IHC/ISH and NGS necessary. The required companion diagnostics of Her2neu overamplification or PD-L1 expression is based on immunohistochemistry (IHC) or additionally in situ hybridization (ISH) in case of an IHC Her2neu score of 2+. However, there are investigator-dependent differences in the assessment of Her2neu amplification and different PD-L1 scoring systems obtained by IHC/ISH. The use of high-throughput technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) holds the potential to standardize the analysis and thus make them more comparable. In the presented study, real-world multigene sequencing data of 72 Caucasian patients diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinomas of GEJ and stomach were analyzed. In the clinical companion diagnostics, we found ESCAT level I molecular targets in one-third of our patients, which directly determined the therapy. In addition, we found potential targets in 14/72 patients (19.4%) who potentially qualify for precision therapies in corresponding molecular studies. The study highlights the importance of comprehensive molecular profiling for precision treatment of GEJ/GC and indicates that a biomarker evaluation should be performed for all patients with metastatic adenocarcinomas before the initiation of first-line treatment and during second-line or subsequent treatment.
Objective: To test subgroups of a community-based sample of individuals with spinal cord injury, categorized by the application of current recommendations by the International Spinal Cord Society.
Design: Community survey.
Participants: Individuals with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury residing in Switzerland.
Methods: Recommended subgroups of age, gender, years since injury, severity of injury and aetiology were tested against the following criteria: (i) distribution of participants across categories; (ii) within- and between-group variability with regard to selected outcomes of functioning and quality of life.
Results: Data-sets for 1,549 participants (28.5% women; mean age 52 ± 15 years) were available for analyses. There was a number of participants in every subgroup, yet numbers were relatively small in the group with the shortest time since injury (< 1 year; n = 23) and in the oldest age group (≥76; n = 94). A high variability in some outcomes was detected between categories. All variables were predictive for most of the endpoints investigated.
Conclusion: Recommended categorization could well fit the present sample. A minor concern was the low numbers of participants in some subgroups.
Objectives: To identify classes of functioning trajectories in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) undergoing initial rehabilitation after injury and to examine potential predictors of class membership to inform clinical planning of the rehabilitation process.
Design: Longitudinal analysis of the individual's rehabilitation stay using data from the Inception Cohort of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI).
Setting: Initial rehabilitation in specialized centers in Switzerland.
Participants: Individuals with newly acquired SCI (N=748; mean age, 54.66±18.38y) who completed initial rehabilitation between May 2013 and September 2019. The cohort was primarily composed of men (67.51%), persons with paraplegia (56.15%), incomplete injuries (67.51%), and traumatic etiologies (55.48%).
Interventions: Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures: Functioning was operationalized with the interval-based sum score of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure version III (SCIM III). For each individual, the SCIM III sum score was assessed at up to 4 time points during rehabilitation stay. The corresponding time of assessment was recorded by the difference in days between the SCIM III assessment and admission to the rehabilitation program.
Results: Latent process mixed model analysis revealed 4 classes of functioning trajectories within the present sample. Class-specific predicted mean functioning trajectories describe stable high functioning (n=307; 41.04%), early functioning improvement (n=39; 5.21%), moderate functioning improvement (n=287; 38.37%), and slow functioning improvement (n=115; 15.37%), respectively. Out of 12 tested factors, multinomial logistic regression showed that age, injury level, injury severity, and ventilator assistance were robust predictors that could distinguish between identified classes of functioning trajectories in the present sample.
Conclusions: The current study establishes a foundation for future research on the course of functioning of individuals with SCI in initial rehabilitation by identifying classes of functioning trajectories. This supports the development of specifically tailored rehabilitation programs and prediction models, which can be integrated into clinical rehabilitation planning.
Objective: The study aimed to explore existing prediction models of functioning in spinal cord injury (SCI).
Study design and setting: The databases PubMed, EBSCOhost CINAHL Complete, and IEEE Xplore were searched for relevant literature. The search strategy included published search filters for prediction model and impact studies, index terms and keywords for SCI, and relevant outcome measures able to assess functioning as reflected in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The search was completed in October 2020.
Results: We identified seven prediction model studies reporting twelve prediction models of functioning. The identified prediction models were mainly envisioned to be used for rehabilitation planning, however, also other possible applications were stated. The method predominantly used was regression analysis and the investigated predictors covered mainly the ICF components of body functions and activities and participation, next to characteristics of the health condition and health interventions.
Conclusion: Findings suggest that the development of prediction models of functioning for use in clinical practice remains to be fully exploited. By providing a comprehensive overview of what has been done, this review informs future research on prediction models of functioning in SCI and contributes to an efficient use of research evidence.
Background: Current health systems are increasingly challenged to meet the needs of a growing number of patients living with chronic and often multiple health conditions. The primary outcome of care, it is argued, is not merely curing disease but also optimizing functioning over a person’s life span. According to the World Health Organization, functioning can serve as foundation for a comprehensive picture of health and augment the biomedical perspective with a broader and more comprehensive picture of health as it plays out in people’s lives. The crucial importance of information about patient’s functioning for a well-performing health system, however, has yet to be sufficiently appreciated.
Methods: This paper argues that functioning information is fundamental in all components of health systems and enhances the capacity of health systems to optimize patients’ health and health-related needs.
Results and conclusion: Beyond making sense of biomedical disease patterns, health systems can profit from using functioning information to improve interprofessional collaboration and achieve cross-cutting disease treatment outcomes.
- Implications for rehabilitation
- Functioning is a key health outcome for rehabilitation within health systems.
- Information on restoring, maintaining, and optimizing human functioning can strengthen health system response to patients’ health and rehabilitative needs.
- Functioning information guides health systems to achieve cross-cutting health outcomes that respond to the needs of the growing number of individuals living with chronic and multiple health conditions.
- Accounting for individuals functioning helps to overcome fragmentation of care and to improve interprofessional collaboration across settings
Background
Contemporary casemix systems for health services need to ensure that payment rates adequately account for actual resource consumption based on patients’ needs for services. It has been argued that functioning information, as one important determinant of health service provision and resource use, should be taken into account when developing casemix systems. However, there has to date been little systematic collation of the evidence on the extent to which the addition of functioning information into existing casemix systems adds value to those systems with regard to the predictive power and resource variation explained by the groupings of these systems. Thus, the objective of this research was to examine the value of adding functioning information into casemix systems with respect to the prediction of resource use as measured by costs and length of stay.
Methods
A systematic literature review was performed. Peer-reviewed studies, published before May 2014 were retrieved from CINAHL, EconLit, Embase, JSTOR, PubMed and Sociological Abstracts using keywords related to functioning (‘Functioning’, ‘Functional status’, ‘Function*, ‘ICF’, ‘International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health’, ‘Activities of Daily Living’ or ‘ADL’) and casemix systems (‘Casemix’, ‘case mix’, ‘Diagnosis Related Groups’, ‘Function Related Groups’, ‘Resource Utilization Groups’ or ‘AN-SNAP’). In addition, a hand search of reference lists of included articles was conducted. Information about study aims, design, country, setting, methods, outcome variables, study results, and information regarding the authors’ discussion of results, study limitations and implications was extracted.
Results
Ten included studies provided evidence demonstrating that adding functioning information into casemix systems improves predictive ability and fosters homogeneity in casemix groups with regard to costs and length of stay. Collection and integration of functioning information varied across studies. Results suggest that, in particular, DRG casemix systems can be improved in predicting resource use and capturing outcomes for frail elderly or severely functioning-impaired patients.
Conclusion
Further exploration of the value of adding functioning information into casemix systems is one promising approach to improve casemix systems ability to adequately capture the differences in patient’s needs for services and to better predict resource use.
Functioning information constitutes a relevant component for determining patients’ service needs and respective resource use. Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) systems can be optimized by integrating functioning information.
First steps toward accounting for functioning information in the German DRG (G-DRG) system have been made; yet, there is no systematic integration of functioning information. The G-DRG system is part of the health system; it is embedded in and as such dependent on various stakeholders and vested interests.
This study explores the stakeholder’s perspective on integrating functioning information in the G-DRG system. A qualitative interview study was conducted with national stakeholders in 4 groups of the G-DRG system (health policy, administration, development, and consultations).
Interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. In total, 14 interviews were conducted (4 administration and 10 consultation group). Three main themes were identified: (1) functioning information in the G-DRG system: opportunities and obstacles, (2) general aspects concerning optimizing G-DRG systems by integrating additional information, and (3) ideas and requirements on how to proceed.
The study offers insights into the opportunities and obstacles of integrating functioning information in the G-DRG system. The relevance of functioning information was evident. However, the value of functioning information for the G-DRG system was seen critically. Integrating functioning information alone does not seem to be sufficient and a systems approach is needed.
Exploring stakeholder perspectives: Enhancing robot acceptance for sustainable healthcare solutions
(2023)
The pandemic has highlighted the fact that healthcare systems around the world are under pressure. Demographic change is leading to an increasing shortage of care workers in most countries, and the demographic challenge is only just beginning in most societies. While robots are widely used in industry, robotic support in healthcare is still limited to very specialized robots in the operating theatre. The question of what type of deployment is likely to be successful in a healthcare scenario is not only a technological or economical question but also one of technology acceptance. The answer to this question supports entrepreneurial opportunities to develop sustainable healthcare solutions.
In this paper, we analyze the acceptance of robots in elderly care from the perspective of patients, patient families, and geriatric care professionals. To understand the various positions and to identify the suitability of existing acceptance models, we applied stakeholder mapping to conduct qualitative interviews with 14 people with different knowledge backgrounds and levels of involvement in care situations, based on 9 videos showing different robots and application scenarios.
The results confirmed that existing technology acceptance models need to be extended by factors such as robot appearance. We found that the background knowledge of the respondents influences the results of the questions about e.g. safety concerns. In addition, we found that the contribution to patients' self-determination and independence is an important factor that is not included in existing technology acceptance models. Finally, the discovery of a significant discrepancy between the self-perception and the external perception of the different stakeholders regarding the acceptance of a service robot can be explained by the stakeholder positions involved in caring for the benefit of a specific patient.
These findings encourage further research, especially with the underlying assumption that technology acceptance in healthcare is not just a patient issue, but a stakeholder issue. Stakeholder mapping is a valid tool to analyze the interdependencies for the acceptance of robots. Therefore, we suggest using a tool such as stakeholder mapping to further analyze these issues.
Background:
3D gait analysis (3DGA) is a common assessment in Cerebral Palsy (CP) to quantify the extent of movement abnormalities. Yet, 3DGA is performed in laboratories and may thus be of debatable significance to everyday life.
Aim
The aim was to assess the relationship between kinematic gait abnormality and everyday mobility in ambulatory children and youth with spastic CP.
Methods:
73 paediatric and juvenile patients with uni- or bilateral spastic CP (N = 21 USCP, N = 52, BSCP, age: 4–20 y, GMFCS I-III) underwent a 3DGA, while the MobQues47 Questionnaire quantified caregiver-reported mobility. We calculated the Gait Profile Score (GPS), a metric that summarizes how far the lower limb joint angles during walking deviate from those of matched controls.
Results:
The GPS correlated well with indoor and outdoor mobility (rho = −0.69 and −0.70, both p < 0.001) and the relationships were not significantly different for USCP and BSCP. Still, mobility was lower in BSCP (p < 0.001) and more compromised outdoors (p = 0.002). Indoor mobility could be predicted by walking speed, GPS and age (adj. R2 = 0.62). Outdoor mobility was best predicted by walking speed and GPS (adj. R2 = 0.60). The additive explained variance by the GPS was even higher outdoors than indoors (17.1% vs. 11.4%).
Conclusions:
Measuring movement deviations with 3DGA seems equally meaningful in uni- and bilaterally affected children and has considerable relevance for real-life ambulation, particurlarly outdoors, where children with spastic CP typically face greater difficulties. Therapeutic strategies that achieve faster walking and reduction of kinematic deviations may increase outdoor mobility.
Die Gesundheitswirtschaft ist im hohen Maße von Technisierung und Digitalisierung betroffen, welche neue Kompetenzen bei den verantwortlichen Akteur:innen erfordert. Die Fähigkeiten, die für den professionellen Umgang mit diesen Entwicklungspro zessen relevant sind, werden in der Literatur mit verschiedenen Begriffen umschrieben: Inhalte wie Technik, Digitalität, Medien, Informatik, Computer oder Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) werden mit Fähigkeiten und Fertigkeiten re präsentierenden Begriffen wie Kompetenzen, Literacy oder Skills verknüpft. Deutlich wird bisher jedoch nicht, welche spezifi schen Fähigkeiten die im Diskurs geforderten Konstrukte jeweils adressieren, worin sie sich unterscheiden und welchen Beitrag sie zum Ziel beruflicher Handlungskompetenz leisten.
Introduction Mobility limitations have a multitude of different negative consequences on elderly patients including decreasing opportunities for social participation, increasing the risk for morbidity and mortality.
However, current healthcare has several shortcomings regarding mobility sustainment of older adults, namely a narrow focus on the underlying pathology, fragmentation of care across services and health professions and deficiencies in personalising care based on patients’ needs and experiences. A tailored healthcare strategy targeted at mobility of older adults is still missing.
Objective The objective is to develop multiprofessional care pathways targeted at mobility sustainment and social participation in patients with vertigo/dizziness/balance disorders (VDB) and osteoarthritis (OA) .
Methods Data regarding quality of life, mobility limitation, pain, stiffness and physical function is collected in a longitudinal observational study between 2017 and 2019. General practitioners (GPs) recruit their patients with VDB or OA.
Patients who visited their GP in the last quarter will be identified in the practice software based on VDB and OA-related International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision. Study material will be sent from the practice to patients by mail. Six months and 12 months after baseline, all patients will receive a mail directly from the study team containing the follow-up questionnaire. GPs fill out questionnaires regarding patient diagnostics, therapy and referrals.
Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the ethical committee of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and of the Technische Universität Dresden. Results will be published in scientific, peer-reviewed journals and at national and international conferences. Results will be disseminated via newsletters, the project website and a regional conference for representatives of local and national authorities.
Introduction
Mobility limitations have a multitude of different negative consequences on elderly patients including decreasing opportunities for social participation, increasing the risk for morbidity and mortality. However, current healthcare has several shortcomings regarding mobility sustainment of older adults, namely a narrow focus on the underlying pathology, fragmentation of care across services and health professions and deficiencies in personalising care based on patients’ needs and experiences. A tailored healthcare strategy targeted at mobility of older adults is still missing.
Objective
The objective is to develop multiprofessional care pathways targeted at mobility sustainment and social participation in patients with vertigo/dizziness/balance disorders (VDB) and osteoarthritis (OA) .
Methods
Data regarding quality of life, mobility limitation, pain, stiffness and physical function is collected in a longitudinal observational study between 2017 and 2019. General practitioners (GPs) recruit their patients with VDB or OA. Patients who visited their GP in the last quarter will be identified in the practice software based on VDB and OA-related International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision. Study material will be sent from the practice to patients by mail. Six months and 12 months after baseline, all patients will receive a mail directly from the study team containing the follow-up questionnaire. GPs fill out questionnaires regarding patient diagnostics, therapy and referrals.
Ethics and dissemination
The study was approved by the ethical committee of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and of the Technische Universität Dresden. Results will be published in scientific, peer-reviewed journals and at national and international conferences. Results will be disseminated via newsletters, the project website and a regional conference for representatives of local and national authorities.
Background
A multitude of different rehabilitation interventions and other specific health care services are offered for individuals with disorders of consciousness in long-term care settings. To investigate the association of those services and patient-relevant outcomes, a specific instrument to document the utilization of those services is needed. The purpose of this study was to develop such a questionnaire administered to caregivers in epidemiological studies or patient registries in Germany.
Methods
The development process of the RECAPDOC questionnaire was carried out in three steps. Step 1 consisted of a systematic literature review and an online-based expert survey to define the general content. Step 2 was an expert interview to evaluate the preliminary content of the questionnaire. Step 3 was a pretest including cognitive interviews with caregivers. After each step, the results were combined into a new version of the questionnaire.
Results
The first version of the questionnaire included items on utilization of medical care, medical aids, nursing and therapeutic care. The results of the expert interview led to the integration of five new items and the modification of six other items. The pretest led to some minor modifications of the questionnaire since it was rated as feasible and acceptable. The final questionnaire consisted of 29 items covering the domains “living situation”, “social insurance status”, “utilisation of home health care”, “domestic services”, “outpatient health care”, “specific diagnostic measures”, “adaptive technologies”, “medical aids” and “utilization of therapies”. Also the experience of family support and multidisciplinary collaboration of health professionals is covered.
Conclusions
The developed questionnaire is a first step to make the situation of patients with disorders of consciousness in the long-term care setting accessible for evaluation in epidemiological studies and in the context of patient registries. However, further reliability and validity studies are needed.
Background
As clinical practice guidelines represent the most important evidence-based decision support tool, several strategies have been applied to improve their implementation into the primary health care system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of intervention methods on the guideline adherence of primary care providers (PCPs).
Methods
The studies selected through a systematic search in Medline and Embase were categorised according to intervention schemes and outcome indicator categories. Harvest plots and forest plots were applied to integrate results.
Results
The 36 studies covered six intervention schemes, with single interventions being the most effective and distribution of materials the least. The harvest plot displayed 27 groups having no effect, 14 a moderate and 21 a strong effect on the outcome indicators in the categories of knowledge transfer, diagnostic behaviour, prescription, counselling and patient-level results. The forest plot revealed a moderate overall effect size of 0.22 [0.15, 0.29] where single interventions were more effective (0.27 [0.17, 0.38]) than multifaceted interventions (0.13 [0.06, 0.19]).
Discussion
Guideline implementation strategies are heterogeneous. Reducing the complexity of strategies and tailoring to the local conditions and PCPs’ needs may improve implementation and clinical practice.
Objective: Research has shown that comparatively few adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS) participate in the competitive work force. The purpose of this study was to gain in-depth knowledge about contextual factors, which contribute to successful labor market participation in some adults with AS. Participants: This study was conducted by indepth-interviewing six adults with AS working in the competitive job market in Switzerland. Methods: A developmental and hermeneutic narrative approach was used for data collection and analysis. Two in-depth narrative interviews were conducted with each participant. A narrative analysis according to the theories of Paul Ricoeur was performed. Results: Results showed that participants received pre-vocational requisites during their childhood through parents and friends that provided a feeling of security in social contexts. For participants, a supportive school setting resulted in academic achievements. The narratives reveal participants' capacities for understanding and adapting to social norms. Participants' understanding of their own needs was essential to the successful labor market participation. However, disclosure is rare and social stigma is still present. Conclusions: This study showed that successful labor participation of adults with AS can be enhanced through adequate social support already in the early stages of an individual's lifetime.
Objectives
To examine which professionals administered which assessment instruments in which patient in clinical practice during first rehabilitation after newly acquired spinal cord injury (SCI) and the differences in the frequencies of different assessments between patient groups.
Setting
Specialized SCI acute care and rehabilitation clinic.
Methods
Patients after SCI, aged 18 years and above, admitted for first rehabilitation between December 2014 and December 2015 were analyzed. Descriptive statistics of 54 selected assessments. p values based on the χ 2 test were calculated for assessments used in both paraplegic and tetraplegic patients.
Results
One hundred and nineteen patients were screened. Forty-one assessments were administered, of which 10 on average more than once per patient. The most frequently used assessments were Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (7.7 times per patient), Skin Assessment (3.6 times), and Manual Muscle Test (3.2 times for Lower Extremities; 2.5 times for Upper Extremities). The American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale was administered on average 1.9 times per patient. More variation in the number of assessments per patient was observed in patients with complete and incomplete lesions compared to patients with paraplegia and tetraplegia.
Conclusion
Assessments covering neurological functioning, mobility, and self-care are used in clinical practice during first rehabilitation of patients with SCI, while others covering autonomic functioning, pain, participation, or quality of life are still missing. Based on these observations and national and international requirements, a meaningful standard for an assessment toolkit, applicable in general and in specific subgroups, needs to be defined and implemented.
In 2011 the Chinese leadership in rehabilitation, in collaboration with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Research Branch, embarked on an effort towards the system-wide implementation of the ICF in the healthcare system in China. We report here on the lessons learned from the pilot phase of testing the ICF Generic Set, a parsimonious set of 7 ICF categories, which have been shown to best describe functioning across the general population and people with various health conditions, for use in routine clinical practice in China. The paper discusses whether classification and measurement are compatible, what number of ICF categories should be included in data collection in routine practice, and the usefulness of a functioning profile and functioning score in clinical practice and health research planning. In addition, the paper reflects on the use of ICF qualifiers in a rating scale and the particularities of certain ICF categories contained in the ICF Generic Set when used as items in the context of Chinese rehabilitation and healthcare. Finally, the steps required to enhance the utility of system-wide implementation of the ICF in rehabilitation and healthcare services are set out.
Die Pflegewissenschaft in Deutschland steht vor der Herausforderung, wissenschaftliche Strukturen und Karrierewege auszubilden. Erschwert wird dies durch einen Mangel an wissenschaftlichem Nachwuchs, der das Potential hat, pflegewissenschaftliche Professuren mit wissenschaftlicher Exzellenz und praktischer Erfahrung zu füllen.
Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, darzustellen, was auslösende Momente für wissenschaftliche Karrieren sind, die in Professuren pflegebezogener Studiengänge münden, und welche Kontextbedingungen diese Karrieren beeinflussen. Es soll auch aufgezeigt werden, wie wissenschaftliche Nachwuchskräfte vorgehen, um ihre Ziele zu erreichen und welche Konsequenzen sich daraus für sie und für die Pflegewissenschaft ergeben. Auf dieser Grundlage sollen Empfehlungen für die Nachwuchsförderung entwickelt werden, um mehr geeignete Personen für Professuren in pflegebezogenen Studiengängen zu gewinnen.
Vorhandene Daten teilnarrativer Interviews mit ProfessorInnen (n=11) und Masterstudierenden (n=11) sowie Promovierenden (n=10) pflegebezogener Studiengänge wurden im Rahmen einer retrospektiven Datenanalyse mit dem dreistufigen Codierverfahren der Grounded Theory Methodologie ausgewertet.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass in der Pflegepraxis gewonnene Erfahrungen auslösende Momente wissenschaftlicher Karrieren sind. Diese lösen den Drang aus, die dort herrschende Situation zu verändern, wobei sich vier Karrieretypen unterscheiden lassen: Typ A forscht, weil er erlebt hat, dass es für pflegerische Phänomene keine geeigneten Pflegeinterventionen gab. Typ B lehrt, um dazu beizutragen, dass Pflegende zukünftig besser ausgebildet werden. Typ C ist als Pflegeperson von ÄrztInnen nicht ausreichend anerkannt worden und absolviert eine wissenschaftliche Qualifikation, um mit ihnen auf Augenhöhe zu gelangen. Typ D wollte in der Praxis bleiben, ist aber bei Weiterentwicklungsprozessen blockiert worden und nimmt als Kompromiss eine Professur an.
Identifizierte Kontextfaktoren sind u.a. mangelnde Wertschätzung für wissenschaftliches Handeln in der Pflege und das Fehlen von Stellen für hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegepersonen in der Praxis. Angesichts der bestehenden Bedingungen können hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegende in der Praxis nicht Fuß fassen. Als Konsequenz für die Pflegewissenschaft als Disziplin zeigt sich, dass in der Pflegepraxis Vorbilder fehlen, die zukünftige Generationen Pflegender dazu anregen könnten, selbst eine wissenschaftliche Karriere in der Pflege einzuschlagen. Dadurch besteht die Gefahr einer Verkümmerung der Pflegewissenschaft.
Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse wird die durchgängige Implementierung geeigneter Stellen für hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegepersonen in der Pflegepraxis als Ausgangsbasis wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchsförderung betrachtet. Als Konzept werden Hochschul-Praxis-Partnerschaften skizziert, die beginnend auf Bachelorniveau bis zur Post-doc-Phase Strukturen zu einem systematischen praxisbezogenen wissenschaftlichen Kompetenzauf- und -ausbau für akademisch qualifizierte Pflegende etablieren.
Die Pflegewissenschaft in Deutschland steht vor der Herausforderung, wissenschaftliche Strukturen und Karrierewege auszubilden. Erschwert wird dies durch einen Mangel an wissenschaftlichem Nachwuchs, der das Potential hat, pflegewissenschaftliche Professuren mit wissenschaftlicher Exzellenz und praktischer Erfahrung zu füllen.
Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, darzustellen, was auslösende Momente für wissenschaftliche Karrieren sind, die in Professuren pflegebezogener Studiengänge münden, und welche Kontextbedingungen diese Karrieren beeinflussen. Es soll auch aufgezeigt werden, wie wissenschaftliche Nachwuchskräfte vorgehen, um ihre Ziele zu erreichen und welche Konsequenzen sich daraus für sie und für die Pflegewissenschaft ergeben. Auf dieser Grundlage sollen Empfehlungen für die Nachwuchsförderung entwickelt werden, um mehr geeignete Personen für Professuren in pflegebezogenen Studiengängen zu gewinnen.
Vorhandene Daten teilnarrativer Interviews mit ProfessorInnen (n=11) und Masterstudierenden (n=11) sowie Promovierenden (n=10) pflegebezogener Studiengänge wurden im Rahmen einer retrospektiven Datenanalyse mit dem dreistufigen Codierverfahren der Grounded Theory Methodologie ausgewertet.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass in der Pflegepraxis gewonnene Erfahrungen auslösende Momente wissenschaftlicher Karrieren sind. Diese lösen den Drang aus, die dort herrschende Situation zu verändern, wobei sich vier Karrieretypen unterscheiden lassen: Typ A forscht, weil er erlebt hat, dass es für pflegerische Phänomene keine geeigneten Pflegeinterventionen gab. Typ B lehrt, um dazu beizutragen, dass Pflegende zukünftig besser ausgebildet werden. Typ C ist als Pflegeperson von ÄrztInnen nicht ausreichend anerkannt worden und absolviert eine wissenschaftliche Qualifikation, um mit ihnen auf Augenhöhe zu gelangen. Typ D wollte in der Praxis bleiben, ist aber bei Weiterentwicklungsprozessen blockiert worden und nimmt als Kompromiss eine Professur an.
Identifizierte Kontextfaktoren sind u.a. mangelnde Wertschätzung für wissenschaftliches Handeln in der Pflege und das Fehlen von Stellen für hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegepersonen in der Praxis. Angesichts der bestehenden Bedingungen können hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegende in der Praxis nicht Fuß fassen. Als Konsequenz für die Pflegewissenschaft als Disziplin zeigt sich, dass in der Pflegepraxis Vorbilder fehlen, die zukünftige Generationen Pflegender dazu anregen könnten, selbst eine wissenschaftliche Karriere in der Pflege einzuschlagen. Dadurch besteht die Gefahr einer Verkümmerung der Pflegewissenschaft.
Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse wird die durchgängige Implementierung geeigneter Stellen für hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegepersonen in der Pflegepraxis als Ausgangsbasis wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchsförderung betrachtet. Als Konzept werden Hochschul-Praxis-Partnerschaften skizziert, die beginnend auf Bachelorniveau bis zur Post-doc-Phase Strukturen zu einem systematischen praxisbezogenen wissenschaftlichen Kompetenzauf- und -ausbau für akademisch qualifizierte Pflegende etablieren.
Objective
To validate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Generic-6 in daily routine clinical practice in Mainland China. Specific objectives were to analyze (1) interrater reliability, (2) convergent validity, (3) known group validity, and (4) predictive validity of the ICF Generic-6.
Design
Multicenter prospective cohort study.
Setting
Fifty hospitals from 20 provinces of Mainland China.
Participants
A total of 4510 patients from departments of rehabilitation, orthopedics, neurology, cardiology, pneumology, and cerebral surgery of the participating hospitals with different health conditions were included in this study.
Intervention
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
The assessment was undertaken by nurses with ICF Generic-6 in combination with a numeric rating scale. Interrater reliability was evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Convergent validity was evaluated with Spearman correlation coefficients between ICF Generic-6 and Medical Outcomes Short Form (SF)-12 items. Known group validity was examined by comparing discharge scores between different discharge destinations. Predictive validity was determined by using ICF Generic-6 baseline scores for estimating length of hospital stay with a loglogistic survival model with gamma shared frailty and cost of in-hospital treatment with a mixed effects generalized linear regression model of the gamma family.
Results
The interrater reliability of items and score of ICF Generic-6 was good with ICCs ranging from 0.67-0.87. ICF Generic-6 items were further correlated with respective SF-12 items. Discharge scores of patients differed significantly by discharge destination. The ICF Generic-6 admission score was a significant predictor of length of stay and treatment cost.
Conclusions
The ICF Generic-6 administered in combination with a 0-10 numeric rating scale is a reliable and valid tool for the collection of minimal information on functioning across various clinical settings.
Purpose: To illustrate how routinely written narrative admission and discharge reports of a rehabilitation program for eight youths with chronic neurological health conditions can be transformed to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.
Methods: First, a qualitative content analysis was conducted by building meaningful units with text segments assigned of the reports to the five elements of the Rehab-Cycle®: goal; assessment; assignment; intervention; evaluation. Second, the meaningful units were then linked to the ICF using the refined ICF Linking Rules.
Results: With the first step of transformation, the emphasis of the narrative reports changed to a process oriented interdisciplinary layout, revealing three thematic blocks of goals: mobility, self-care, mental, and social functions.
The linked 95 unique ICF codes could be grouped in clinically meaningful goal-centered ICF codes. Between the two independent linkers, the agreement rate was improved after complementing the rules with additional agreements.
Conclusions: The ICF Linking Rules can be used to compile standardized health information from narrative reports if prior structured. The process requires time and expertise. To implement the ICF into common practice, the findings provide the starting point for reporting rehabilitation that builds upon existing practice and adheres to international standards.
Implications for Rehabilitation
This study provides evidence that routinely collected health information from rehabilitation practice can be transformed to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health by using the “ICF Linking Rules”, however, this requires time and expertise.
The Rehab-Cycle®, including assessments, assignments, goal setting, interventions and goal evaluation, serves as feasible framework for structuring this rehabilitation program and ensures that the complexity of local practice is appropriately reflected.
The refined “ICF Linking Rules” lead to a standardized transformation process of narrative text and thus a higher quality with increased transparency.
As a next step, the resulting format of goal codes supplemented by goal-clarifying codes could be validated to strengthen the implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health into rehabilitation routine by respecting the variety of clinical practice.
Wenn sich Berufsfachschulen für Gesundheits- und Krankenpflege an ausbildungsintegrierenden Bachelorstudiengängen beteiligen, lernen Studierende dort häufig gemeinsam mit Auszubildenden der traditi-onellen Ausbildung in heterogen zusammengesetzten Berufsfachschulklassen. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie bestand darin, die Lernvoraussetzungen von Auszubildenden und Studierenden sowie die Auswir-kungen des gemeinsamen Lernens aus der Sicht von Pflegelehrenden darzustellen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die Lernvoraussetzungen von Auszubildenden und Studierenden unterscheiden. Zudem verweisen die Ergebnisse darauf, dass das gemeinsame Lernen von Auszubildenden und Studierenden bereichernde Effekte für das Lernklima hat.
Das Pflegeberufegesetz eröffnet Chancen zur Weiterentwicklung der praktischen Ausbildung. Eine Chance besteht darin, die neuen zeitlichen Ressourcen in der Praxisanleiterqualifikation dafür zu nutzen, mehr Methodenkompetenz in handlungsorientierten Anleitungsmethoden aufzubauen. Es zeigt sich nämlich, der Einsatz handlungsorientierter Methoden zur Entwicklung beruflicher Handlungskompetenz nötig ist, diese in der praktischen Pflegeausbildung aber kaum Anwendung finden.
An der TH Rosenheim haben Studierende des Bachelorstudienganges Pflege die Möglichkeit, die Praxisanleiterqualifikation zu erwerben, wenn sie im achten Semester ein zusätzliches Modul zu berufspädagogischen Grundlagen der Praxisanleitung absolvieren. Im Sommersemester 2019 wurde der Schwerpunkt dieses Moduls auf handlungsorientierte Anleitungsmethoden und deren Implementierung gelegt. Bei der Leittextmethode bearbeiten Lernende über einen längeren Zeitraum, anhand zur Verfügung gestellter Medien und unter Nutzung weiterer Ressourcen der Praxis einen Leitfragenkatalog, der z.B. dazu dient, sie auf die selbständige Durchführung einer pflegerischen Aufgabe vorzubereiten oder ein neues Arbeitsfeld zu erkunden. Da der Leittextmethode nicht nur das Potenzial zugeschrieben wird, berufliche Handlungskompetenz zu fördern sondern auch Praxisanleitende zu entlasten, erhielten die Studierenden den Auftrag, Leittexte zu selbstgewählten Themen der praktischen Pflegeausbildung zu entwickeln.
Background: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is the World Health Organization’s standard for describing health and health-related states. Examples of how the ICF has been used in Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have not been systematically summarized and described yet.
Objectives: To provide a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature about the ICF’s use in EHRs, including related challenges and benefits.
Methods: Peer-reviewed literature, published between January 2001 and July 2015 was retrieved from Medline®, CINAHL®, Scopus®, and ProQuest® Social Sciences using search terms related to ICF and EHR concepts. Publications were categorized according to three groups: Requirement specification, development and implementation. Information extraction was conducted according to a qualitative content analysis method, deductively informed by the evaluation framework for Health Information Systems: Human, Organization and Technology-fit (HOT-fit).
Results: Of 325 retrieved articles, 17 publications were included; 4 were categorized as requirement specification, 7 as development, and 6 as implementation publications. Information regarding the HOT-fit evaluation framework was summarized. Main benefits of using the ICF in EHRs were its unique comprehensive perspective on health and its interdisciplinary focus.
Main challenges included the fact that the ICF is not structured as a formal terminology as well as the need for a reduced number of ICF codes for more feasible and practical use.
Conclusion: Different approaches and technical solutions exist for integrating the ICF in EHRs, such as combining the ICF with other existing standards for EHR or selecting ICF codes with natural language processing.
Though the use of the ICF in EHRs is beneficial as this review revealed, the ICF could profit from further improvements such as formalizing the knowledge representation in the ICF to support and enhance interoperability.
Background
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) can serve as reference for standardized documentation of health in clinical practice.
Purpose
This study aims to bridge the gap between the ICF and occupational therapy specific concepts, represented by occupational therapy models and their derived assessments.
Method
Occupational therapy assessments in relation to their models were systematically linked to the ICF, and a compatibility analysis was conducted. To strengthen reliability of the linkings, feedback from the respective assessment hosts was obtained.
Findings
Linking tables were developed for the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, and the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool. Similarities and differences between the ICF and the three assessments and their associated models show how they differ from and complement each other.
Implications
The findings of this study lay the foundation for standardized documentation in occupational therapy and enhance the practicability of the ICF.
Objective
To demonstrate the influence and added value of a Standardized Assessment and Reporting System (StARS) upon the reporting of functioning outcomes for national rehabilitation quality reports. A StARS builds upon an ICF-based (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) and interval-scaled common metric.
Design
Comparison of current ordinal-scaled Swiss national rehabilitation outcome reports including an expert-consensus-based transformation scale with StARS-based reports through descriptive statistical methods and content exploration of further development areas of the reports with relevant ICF Core Sets.
Setting
Swiss national public rehabilitation outcome quality reports on the clinic level.
Participants
A total of 29 Swiss rehabilitation clinics provided their quality report datasets including 18 047 patients.
Interventions
Neurological or musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
Main outcome measures
Functional Independence Measure™ or Extended Barthel Index.
Results
Outcomes reported with a StARS tended to be smaller but more precise than in the current ordinal-scaled reports, indicating an overestimation of achieved outcomes in the latter. The comparison of the common metric’s content with ICF Core Sets suggests to include ‘energy and drive functions’ or ‘maintaining a basic body position’ to enhance the content of functioning as an indicator.
Conclusions
A StARS supports the comparison of outcomes assessed with different measures on the same interval-scaled ICF-based common metric. Careful consideration is needed whether an ordinal-scaled or interval-scaled reporting system is applied as the magnitude and precision of reported outcomes is influenced. The StARS’ ICF basis brings an added value by informing further development of functioning as a relevant indicator for national outcome quality reports in rehabilitation.
Study design
Mapping of the National Spinal Cord Injury Model System (SCIMS) Database (NSCID) to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
Objectives
To link the content of the latest two versions of the NSCID to the ICF; more specifically (1) to compare the content of the current NSCID 2016–2021 version to its predecessor (NSCID 2011–2016) using the ICF as a neutral reference framework, and (2) to compare the content contained in the NSCID 2016–2021 version with relevant ICF Sets.
Setting
The forms of the NSCID 2016–2021 and 2011–2016 versions were linked to the ICF and contrasted. Comparability of the current version of the NSCID with the ICF Core Set for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in the post-acute and long-term context and the two generic ICF sets— ICF Generic-7 and ICF Generic-30 was then examined.
Methods
ICF Linking Rules and descriptive statistics.
Results
The current NSCID 2016–2021 version covers functioning as classified in the ICF with 8 ICF categories more comprehensively than its predecessor does. More than 50% of ICF categories contained in the two ICF Generic Sets were covered. The coverage of the brief ICF Core Sets for SCI by the NSCID 2016–2021 was more than 50%, but the coverage of the comprehensive core sets was low. Results showed the best coverage in the ICF component Activities and Participation.
Conclusions
This study emphasizes how the ICF and its Sets can serve as a reference framework to foster comparability of existing data sets from both clinical practice and research.
Background: The Extended Barthel Index (EBI), consisting of the original Barthel Index plus 6 cognitive items, provides a tool to monitor patients’ outcomes in rehabilitation. Whether the EBI provides a unidimensional metric, thus can be reported as a valid sum-score, remains to be examined.
Objective: To examine whether the EBI can be reported as unidimensional interval-scaled metric for neurological and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
Methods: Rasch analysis of a calibration sample of 800 cases from neurological or musculoskeletal rehabilitation in 2016 in Switzerland.
Results: In the baseline analysis no fit to the Rasch Model was achieved. When accommodating local dependencies with a testlet approach satisfactory fit to the Rasch Model was achieved, and an interval scale transformation table was created.
Conclusion: The results support the reporting of adapted EBI total scores for both rehabilitation groups by applying the interval scaled transformation table presented in this study.
Abstract
Objective: Since the 1990s the Functional Independence Measure (FIM™) was believed to measure 2 different constructs, represented by its motor and cognitive subscales. The practice of reporting FIM™ total scores, together with recent developments in the understanding of the influence of locally dependent items on fit to the Rasch model, raises the question of whether the FIM™ 18-item version can be reported as a unidimensional interval-scaled metric.
Design: Rasch analysis of the FIM™ using testlet approaches to accommodate local response dependency.
Patients: A calibration sample containing 946 cases of data from 11,103 patients undergoing neurological or musculoskeletal rehabilitation in Switzerland in 2016.
Results: Baseline analysis and the traditional testlet approach showed no fit with the Rasch model. When items were grouped into 2 testlets, fit to the Rasch model was achieved, indicating unidimensionality across all 18 items. A transformation table to convert FIM™ raw ordinal scores to the corresponding Rasch interval scaled values was created.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence that FIM™ total scores represent a unidimensional set of items, supporting their use in clinical practice and outcome reporting when applying the respective transformation table. This provides a basis for standardized reporting of functioning.
Lay Abstract
The aim of this study was to look in detail at the FIM™, an assessment tool often used for patients undergoing rehabilitation. Some users report the FIM™ as 2 scores: one related to motor tasks, the other to cognitive tasks; others recommend reporting it as a single score including both motor and cognitive tasks. This study explored whether it is statistically meaningful to sum all the points into a single FIM™ total score. The results support the current practice of summing the points into a single total score for patients undergoing musculo-skeletal and neurological rehabilitation. The results also allowed an interval scale to be derived from the FIM™, enabling a broad range of calculations to be made using the FIM™ score, such as calculating the change in FIM™ outcomes from the time a patient is admitted to a rehabilitation clinic until their discharge.
This scoping review aimed to generate an overview of existing quality management (QM) models for inpatient healthcare published in peer-reviewed literature.
Data sources
Peer-reviewed publications published until June 2016 were retrieved from the databases Medline, PubMed, CINAHL and Cochrane Library using search terms related to QM and models.
Study selection
Publications mentioning a QM model for general application in healthcare or inpatient care in their title or abstract were included. Languages considered were: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Data extraction was 3-fold. First, publication characteristics were summarized. Second, the frequency of each identified model was documented and the publications were divided into conceptual and implementation publications. Third, relevant QM models were identified and information regarding the model, including content and relationship with other models, was extracted.
Of 925 retrieved publications, 213 were included. The included publications reported on 64 different QM models that were suitable for or used in inpatient care. Seventeen models were identified as being relevant. The 17 models were then categorized into three different levels: conceptual quality improvement models, concrete application models and country specific adaptations.
This scoping review provides an overview of 17 existing QM models for inpatient care and their relationships with each other. Various types of models with differing aspects and components exist. In searching for QM models, many different concepts like QM system, accreditation or methodologies appeared. For future investigation, concepts of interest should be clarified.
Objective: Many different assessment tools are used to assess functioning in rehabilitation; this limits the comparability and aggregation of respective data. The aim of this study was to outline the development of an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)-based interval-scaled common metric for 2 assessment tools assessing activities of daily living: the Functional Independence Measure (FIMTM) and the Extended Barthel Index (EBI), used in Swiss national rehabilitation quality reports.
Methods: The conceptual equivalence of the 2 tools was assessed through their linking to the ICF. The Rasch measurement model was then applied to create a common metric including FIMTM and EBI.
Subjects: Secondary analysis of a sample of 265 neurological patients from 5 Swiss clinics.
Results: ICF linking found conceptual coherency of the tools. An interval-scaled common metric, including FIMTM and EBI, could be established, given fit to the Rasch model in the related analyses.
Conclusion: The ICF-based and interval-scaled common metric enables comparison of patients and clinics functioning outcomes when different activities of daily living tools are used. The common metric can be included in a Standardized Assessment and Reporting System for functioning information in order to enable data aggregation and comparability.
Keywords: Barthel Index; Functional Independence Measure; Rasch Measurement Model; activities of daily living; outcome assessment (healthcare); psychometrics; quality in healthcare; rehabilitation.
Usability is considered a major success factor for current and future decision support systems. Such systems are increasingly used to assist human decision-makers in high-stakes tasks in complex domains such as health care, jurisdiction or finance. Yet, many if not most expert systems—especially in health care—fail to deliver the degree of quality in terms of usability that its expert users are used to from their personal digital consumer products. In this article, we focus on clinical decision support systems (CDSS) as an example for how important a human-centered design approach is when designing complex software in complex contexts. We provide an overview of CDSS classes, discuss the importance of systematically exploring mental models of users, and formulate challenges and opportunities of future design work on CDSS. We further provide a case study from a current research project to illustrate how we used codesign as a practical approach to produce usable software in a real-world context.
Practical Relevance: We make a point for usability to be considered a major success factor and non-negotiable characteristic of expert software. With software evolving into virtual coworkers in terms of supporting human decision-making in complex, high-risk domains, the necessity of and demand for systems that are unambiguously understandable and interpretable for their expert users have never been higher. We show that this is a real-world problem with high practical relevance by describing our work in the domain of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) as an example. We introduce the topic and a classification of CDSS. Thus, we highlight a conceptual framework of how to approach complex domains from a technology designer’s point of view. We continue by explaining why usability must be regarded as a major goal in software development. We derive challenges and opportunities that may well be transferred to other domains. Finally, be including a real-world example from our own professional work we propose a practical approach towards taking the challenges and exploiting the associated opportunities.
Background
Modification of the home environment, together with rehabilitative interventions, is important for maximizing the level of functioning after an individual with disability undergoes rehabilitation in the hospital.
Objectives
We developed a simple screening scale – the home environment checklist (HEC) – to identify any mismatch between an individual's abilities and their home environment to help clinicians monitor the appropriateness of the home environment to which individuals with disability will be discharged. We also examined the psychometric properties of the HEC.
Methods
The HEC was developed by a multidisciplinary panel of rehabilitation experts using information routinely collected in rehabilitation clinics before discharge. The reliability of the checklist was assessed in 60 individuals undergoing rehabilitation. The inter-rater agreement and internal consistency of the scale were assessed by weighted kappa statistics and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. Rasch analysis was performed with 244 rehabilitation individuals to evaluate the internal construct validity, and the known-groups validity was confirmed by a comparison of the daily activity levels of 30 individuals with disabilities under rehabilitation to the HEC score.
Results
The HEC was developed as a simple, 10-item checklist. The weighted kappa statistics ranged from 0.73 to 0.93, indicating excellent inter-rater reliability. Cronbach's alpha was 0.92, indicating high internal consistency. Rasch analysis with a testlet approach on 3 subscales demonstrated a good fit with the Rasch model (χ2 = 13.2, P = 0.153), and the demonstrated unidimensionality and absence of differential item functioning supported the internal construct validity of the HEC. HEC scores were significantly different (P < .01) among individuals with disability and 3 levels of restrictions in their activities (no limitation, home-bound, and bed-bound), which demonstrates the known-groups validity of the HEC.
Conclusions
The HEC has good reliability and validity, which supports its utility in rehabilitation clinics.
Background
The World Health Organization developed the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) in 2001 and has been in the process of implementing it in clinics since then. Current international efforts to implement ICF in rehabilitation clinics include the implementation of ICF Core Sets and the development of simple, intuitive descriptions for the ICF Generic-30 Set (also called Rehabilitation Set). The present study was designed to operationalize these ICF tools for clinical practice in Japan. This work included 1) the development of the Japanese version of the simple, intuitive descriptions for the ICF Generic-30 Set, 2) the development of a rating reference guide for Activity and Participation categories, and 3) the examination of the interrater reliability of rating Activity and Participation categories.
Methods
The Japanese version of the simple, intuitive descriptions for the ICF Generic-30 Set was developed following the process employed to develop the Chinese and Italian versions.
For further operationalization of this ICF Set in practice, a rating reference guide was developed. The development of the rating reference guide involved the following steps: 1) a trial of rating patients by several raters, 2) cognitive interviewing of the raters to analyse the thinking process involved in rating, 3) drafting of the rating reference guide, and 4) review by ICF specialists to confirm consistency with the original ICF concepts.
After the rating reference guide was developed, interrater reliability of the rating with the reference guide was determined. Interrater reliability was examined using weighted kappa statistics with linear weight.
Results
Through the pre-defined process, the Japanese version of the simple, intuitive descriptions for 30 categories of the ICF Generic-30 Set and the rating reference guides for 21 Activity and Participation categories were successfully developed. The weighted kappa statistics ranged from 0.61 to 0.85, showing substantial to excellent agreement of the ratings between raters.
Conclusions
The present study demonstrates that ICF categories can be translated into clinical practice. Collaboration between clinicians and researchers would further enhance the implementation of the ICF in Japan.
Background Vertigo and dizziness are among the most common health problems in medical practice [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Vertigo and dizziness include both consequences of disease as well as definable disease entities such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Meniere?s disease, or vestibular migraine.
Irrespective of the various causes and underlying health conditions, vertigo and dizziness have significant impact on functioning and overall quality of life of the affected individuals To give some examples, the most common peripheral-vestibular disorder benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo - which is also the most frequent type of vestibular disorder - causes brief rotatory vertigo attacks, mainly triggered by rapid head movements, e.g. when turning around in the bed or lacing shoes.
Central-peripheral disorders, which may be caused by brain ischemia, multiple sclerosis, or other permanent or transient brain lesions, can make vertigo attacks lasting from minutes to even weeks [6]. In addition, vertigo and dizziness are a considerable burden to economy and health care [4, 7, 8]. Precondition of effective management and treatment of potentially disabling conditions like vertigo is - besides careful diagnosis of the underlying condition -the assessment of outcomes which are relevant to the patient.
This is not only important to monitor treatment effects but also to set goals and to plan therapy [6]. As summarized by Morris et al. [9] outcome measures in vertigo vary by the entities they are addressing, such as subjective experience of disability or signs and symptoms. Most of them reflect either the patients? or health professionals? experience.
As an example, the frequently used Dizziness Handicap Inventory [10] addresses the patients? experience of the consequences of vertigo on daily living. Most outcome measures are developed and validated on the basis of empirical findings or professional experience [11].
However, none of them refer to a common theoretical framework. A theoretical framework is fundamental for defining an Outcome measurement and helps to ensure that the whole potential spectrum of issues is reflected [12]. In addition to the lack of theoretical foundation there is still no agreement on standards used to measure outcomes in patients with vertigo.
This is illustrated by a recently published Cochrane Review in the field of vestibular rehabilitation which noted 15 different outcome measures of patients? complaints in 21 studies [13]. To address both these issues, the Integrated Center for Research and Treatment of Vertigo, Balance and Ocular Motor Disorders ( IFB LMU ) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich set up a project that aims to develop an international standard for the description of functioning and disability in patients with vertigo and dizziness based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
With the ICF, which is part of the family of international classifications of the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is a common theoretical framework for describing and measuring health and disability.
The ICF models the individuals' functioning and health as a complex interaction between a health condition.
Background: Joint contractures are common problems in frail older people in nursing homes. Irrespective of the exact extent of older individuals in geriatric care settings living with joint contractures, they appear to be a relevant problem. Also, the new emphasis on the syndrome of joint contractures, e. g. by the German statutory long term care insurance, led to an increase in assessment and documentation efforts and preventive interventions in clinical care.
However, more attention should be paid to the actual situation of older individuals in nursing homes with prevalent joint contractures, particularly their experience of related activity limitations and participation restrictions.
Thus, the aim of this study is 1) to develop a tailored intervention to improve functioning, and especially participation and quality of life in older residents with joint contractures in nursing homes and 2) to test the feasibility of the intervention accompanied by a rigorous process evaluation.
Methods: The complex intervention, which will be developed in this project follows the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) framework and integrates the perspectives of all potentially relevant user groups, from the affected individuals to clinicians and researchers. The development process will comprise a systematic literature review, reanalysis of existing data and the integration of the knowledge of the affected individuals and experts.
The developed intervention including a comprehensive process evaluation will be pilot tested with residents with joint contractures in three nursing homes.
Discussion: The projected study will provide a tailored intervention to improve functioning, participation and quality of life in older residents with joint contractures in nursing homes. With this focus, the intervention will support patient relevant outcomes. The pilot study including process evaluation will offer a first opportunity to indicate the size of the intervention’s effect and prepare further studies.
Background
Joint contractures are frequent in older individuals in geriatric care settings. Even though they are used as indicator of quality of care, there is neither a common standard to describe functioning and disability in patients nor an established standardized assessment to describe and quantify the impact of joint contractures on patients’ functioning. Thus, the aim of our study is (1) to develop a standard set for the assessment of the impact of joint contractures on functioning and social participation in older individuals and (2) to develop and validate a standardized assessment instrument for describing and quantifying the impact of joint contractures on the individuals’ functioning.
Methods
The standard set for joint contractures integrate the perspectives of all potentially relevant user groups, from the affected individuals to clinicians and researchers. The development of this set follows the methodology to develop an International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set and involves a formal decision-making and consensus process. Evidence from four preparatory studies will be integrated including qualitative interviews with patients, a systematic review of the literature, a survey with health professionals, and a cross sectional study with patients affected by joint contractures. The assessment instrument will be developed using item-response-theory models. The instrument will be validated.
Discussion
The standard set for joint contractures will provide a list of aspects of functioning and health most relevant for older individuals in geriatric care settings with joint contractures. This list will describe body functions, body structures, activities and participation and related environmental factors. This standard set will define what aspects of functioning should be assessed in individuals with joint contractures and will be the basis of the new assessment instrument to evaluate the impact of joint contractures on functioning and social participation.
Background Free movement of the limbs is a prerequisite of mobility and autonomy in old age. Joint contractures, i.e. restrictions in full range of motion of any joint due to deformity, disuse or pain, are common problems of frail older people, particularly in nursing home residents.
Contractures are among the most unexplored and underreported syndromes in clinical and homecare settings. Epidemiological studies indicate a wide range of prevalence of joint contractures in older individuals between 20% and 80%. This variation is due to different definitions of contracture and varying diagnostic criteria or data collection methods, different research settings, sample size and study participants? characteristics.
The aetiology of joint contractures is multifaceted. In older people contractures may be caused by a variety of health conditions and situations, but immobility due to an acute injury or disease seems to be the major risk factor. Upper limb joint contractures may result in loss of ability to dress or eat independently while lower limb contractures may lead to instability and inability to walk independently and higher risk of bed confinement.
Joint contractures further increase the risk of other adverse patient outcomes like pain, pressure ulcers and risk of falls. Thus, joint contractures are a major cause for excess disability in older people with a significant impact on overall quality of life and functioning. Preventive and rehabilitation interventions targeting joint contractures may decrease morbidity, increase functioning and quality of life, and, ultimately, prevent long-term disability. In the United States of America, presence of joint contractures is an established indicator of quality of care in nursing facilities.
In Germany, joint contracture risk assessment and prevention have recently been defined as a quality indicator of nursing home care that should be regularly monitored by experts from the statutory health insurance system. Nursing homes are obliged to report whether they regularly assess the risk of joint contracture and administer relevant preventive measures. In clinical settings, joint contractures are assessed by measuring the range of motion.
However, from a patient- and nursing-oriented perspective the relevance of a systematic registration of contractures in care-dependent older people is unclear unless their impact on functioning is understood. Contracture assessment is only an intermediate step in the evaluation of patient-relevant outcomes such as quality of life, functioning, and the ability to participate in everyday life and social participation. Arguably, a clinical definition of joint contracture is difficult because the contracture?s severity is determined by the consequences on activities of daily living, quality of life and social participation. In addition, there is no consensus on aspects most relevant to the affected individuals.
A variety of functional measures is currently used for the assessment and evaluation of geriatric patients. To date, there is no consensus on common concepts for the choice of outcome measures specifically for evaluating the impact of interventions targeted on joint
Symptom frequency and severity in vestibular disorders often do not correlate well with patients' restrictions of activities of daily living and limitations of participation. Due to the lack of appropriate patient reported outcome measures (PRO), the extent of limitations and restrictions is mostly unknown.
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is a conceptual framework and classification to evaluate all aspects of health and disability. An ICF-based measure, the Vestibular and Participation Measure (VAP), was recently proposed. Also, an ICF Core Set for vertigo, dizziness and balance disorders was developed to describe what aspects of functioning should be measured.
This study protocol describes the development and cross-cultural validation of a new measure, the VAP-extended (VAP-e), based on VAP and ICF Core Set on three continents. To determine objectivity and cross-cultural validity of the VAP and to find potentially redundant items, Rasch models will be used. The VAP-e will be created by modifying or adding items from the Activities and Participation and Environmental Factors component of the ICF Core Set.
Reliability, objectivity and responsiveness of the VAP-e will be tested.
Objective: To identify candidate categories for International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for the reporting and clinical measurement of functioning in older patients in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Design: Prospective multi-centre cohort study. Patients: Older patients receiving rehabilitation interventions in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Methods: Functioning was coded using the ICF. The criterion for selecting candidate categories for the brief ICF Core Sets was based on their ability to discriminate between patients with high or low functioning status. Discrimination was assessed using multivariable regression models, the independent variables being all of the ICF categories of the respective comprehensive ICF Core Set. Analogue ratings of overall functioning as reported by patients and health professionals were used as dependent variables.
Results: A total of 209 patients were included in the study, mean age 80.4 years, 67.0% female. Selection yielded a total of 29 categories for the functioning part and 9 categories for the contextual part of the ICF.
Conclusion: The present selection of categories can be considered an initial proposal, serving to identify the issues most relevant for the clinical assessment and monitoring of functioning in older patients undergoing early post-acute rehabilitation.
Objective: To examine the relevance and completeness of the comprehensive International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for patients with rehabilitation needs in acute hospital care.
Design: Multi-centre cohort study.
Patients: A total of 391 patients (50.1% female, mean age 63.4 years) from 4 university hospitals in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and one Austrian general hospital.
Methods: Data on functioning were collected using the respective comprehensive acute ICF Core Sets. Data were extracted from patients' medical record sheets and interviews with health professionals and patients.
Results: Most of the categories of the comprehensive ICF Core Sets describing impairments, limitations or restrictions occurred in a considerable proportion of the study population. The most outstanding limitations and restrictions of the patients were problems with sleep and blood vessel functions, walking and moving and self-care. Thirty-eight aspects of functioning not previously covered by the comprehensive ICF Core Sets were ranked as relevant.
Conclusion: Categories of the comprehensive ICF Core Sets for the acute hospital situation were confirmed. Some additional categories not covered by the Set in its present version emerged from the interviews, and should be considered for inclusion in a finalized version.
Objective: To identify candidate categories for International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for the reporting and measurement of functioning in patients in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Design: Prospective multi-centre cohort study.
Patients: Patients receiving rehabilitation interventions for musculoskeletal, neurological or cardiopulmonary injury or disease in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.
Methods: Functioning was coded using the ICF. The criterion for selecting candidate categories for the ICF Core Sets was based on their ability to discriminate between patients with high or low functioning status. Discrimination was assessed using multivariable regression models, the independent variables being all of the ICF categories of the respective comprehensive ICF Core Set. Analogue ratings of overall functioning as reported by patients and health professionals were used as dependent variables.
Results: A total of 165 patients were included in the study (67 neurological, 37 cardiopulmonary, 61 musculoskeletal), mean age 67.5 years, 46.1% female. Selection yielded 38 categories for neurological, 32 for cardiopulmonary, and 31 for musculoskeletal.
Conclusion: The present selection of categories can be considered an initial proposal, serving to identify the issues most relevant for the assessment and monitoring of functioning in patients undergoing early post-acute rehabilitation for neurological, cardiopulmonary, and musculoskeletal conditions.
Objective: To identify goals of patients with rehabilitation needs in the acute hospital setting using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), to examine association of goal achievement with improvement in overall functioning, and to examine whether ICF Core Sets for the acute hospital cover patients goals.
Design: Multi-centre cohort study.
Patients: A total of 397 patients (50% female, mean age 63 years) from 5 hospitals in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess patient goals and goal achievement. Overall functioning from the patients' and health professionals' perspective was assessed on a numerical rating scale. Improvement in functioning was calculated using a residualized gain score. Association between goal achievement and improvement in overall functioning was assessed with logistic regression.
Results: A total of 397 patients reported achievement of at least 1 goal. Eighty-eight percent of the goals were translated into categories of the ICF. Logistic regression analyses revealed significant association between goal achievement and overall functioning.
Conclusion: The ICF might be useful to identify and structure patient's goals in acute hospital care. The association between goal achievement and improved functioning underlines that it is essential to involve the patient in the process of planning rehabilitation interventions in acute hospitals.
Background
Joint contractures are frequent conditions in individuals in geriatric care settings and are associated with activity limitations and participation restrictions. As such, relevant intervention programs should address these aspects, and the effectiveness of such programs should be determined by assessing improvement in activities and participation. However, no patient-centred and psychometrically sound outcome measures for this purpose are available so far.
Objectives
The objectives of this study were to develop and to validate a new outcome measure, the PaArticular Scales, to quantify activities and participation in older individuals with joint contractures. Specific aims were (A) to operationalize the content of an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-based standard set towards meaningful questions and to combine them to a questionnaire and (B) to assess the psychometric properties of the developed questionnaire, in detail to evaluate test–retest reliability, objectivity, internal consistency reliability and criterion validity.
Design
Operationalization was reached by an expert consensus conference and a subsequent expert Delphi survey. Psychometric properties were assessed in a cross-sectional study.
Settings
Nursing homes, geriatric rehabilitation facilities.
Participants
23 experts (nurses, physicians, physical and occupational therapists) participated in the consensus conference and the Delphi survey. A total of 191 individuals with joint contractures (as confirmed by physician, nurse or physical therapist) between 65 and 102 years, living in nursing homes or as patients in geriatric rehabilitation were enrolled in the cross-sectional study.
Methods
Rasch Partial Credit Modelling.
Results
The consensus conference and Delphi survey resulted in a questionnaire with 86 items of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Test–retest-reliability among those was acceptable (Cohen's weighted kappa: 0.779). The Rasch analysis revealed two independent interval-scaled scales with 24 items for the Activities scale and 11 items for the Participation scale with high internal consistency reliability. Cronbach's alpha was 0.96 for the Activities scale and 0.92 for the Participation scale. Criterion validity was −0.40 and −0.30 for the Activities scale and for the Participation scale, respectively.
Conclusions
The PaArticular Scales, a new patient-centred and psychometric sound outcome measures to comprehensively assess the impact of joint contractures in geriatric care, are available now. These developed scales will serve as primary outcomes in a scheduled evaluation of a complex intervention to improve participation and quality of life in nursing home residents with joint contractures.
Background
Multimorbidity in the older population is well acknowledged to negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQL). Several studies have examined the independent effects of single diseases; however, little research has focused on interaction between diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of six self-reported major conditions and their combinations on HRQL measured by the EQ-5D.
Methods
The EQ-5D was administered in the population-based KORA-Age study of 4,565 Germans aged 65 years or older. A generalised additive regression model was used to assess the effects of chronic conditions on HRQL and to account for the nonlinear associations with age and body mass index (BMI). Disease interactions were identified by a forward variable selection method.
Results
The conditions with the greatest negative impact on the EQ-5D index were the history of a stroke (regression coefficient -11.3, p < 0.0001) and chronic bronchitis (regression coefficient -8.1, p < 0.0001). Patients with both diabetes and coronary disorders showed more impaired HRQL than could be expected from their separate effects (coefficient of interaction term -8.1, p < 0.0001). A synergistic effect on HRQL was also found for the combination of coronary disorders and stroke. The effect of BMI on the mean EQ-5D index was inverse U-shaped with a maximum at around 24.8 kg/m2.
Conclusions
There are important interactions between coronary problems, diabetes mellitus, and the history of a stroke that negatively affect HRQL in the older German population. Not only high but also low BMI is associated with impairments in health status.
Purpose
The impact of vertigo and dizziness on healthy ageing, and especially on participation, is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of vertigo and dizziness with self-perceived participation and autonomy in older non-institutionalised individuals, adjusted for the presence of other health conditions. Specifically, we wanted to investigate the different effects of vertigo and dizziness on specific components of participation, i.e. restrictions in indoor and outdoor autonomy, family role, social life and relationships, and work and education.
Methods
Data originate from the second wave of the German KORA-Age cohort study collected in 2012. Participation and autonomy was investigated with the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire. We used robust regression to analyse the association of vertigo and dizziness with self-perceived participation and autonomy adjusted for covariates.
Results
A total of 822 participants (49.6 % female) had a mean age of 78.1 years (SD 6.39). Participation and autonomy were significantly lower in participants with vertigo and dizziness across all domains. Adjusted for age, sex, and chronic conditions, vertigo and dizziness were significantly associated with participation restrictions in all domains except social life and relationships.
Conclusion
The results of our study indicate that vertigo and dizziness contribute to restrictions in participation and autonomy in individuals of older age. Recognising vertigo and dizziness as independent contributors to loss of autonomy and decreased chances for independent living may create new options for patient care and population health, such as the designing of complex interventions to maintain participation and autonomy.
Background: Complaints of vertigo and dizziness are common in primary care in the aged. They can be caused by distinct vestibular disorders, but can also be a symptom in other conditions like non-vestibular sensory loss, vascular encephalopathy or anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the specific contribution of vertigo and dizziness to the total burden of disability in aged persons when controlling for the presence of other health conditions. Methods: Data originate from the MONICA/KORA study, a population-based cohort. Survivors of the original cohorts who were 65 years and older were examined by telephone interview in 2009. Disability was assessed with the Health Assessment Questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders and additive regression to estimate the contribution of vertigo and dizziness to disability prevalence. Results: Adjusted for age, sex and other chronic conditions, vertigo and dizziness were associated with disability (odds ratio 1.66, 95% confidence intervals 1.40–1.98). In both men and women between 65 and 79 years, vertigo and dizziness were among the strongest contributors to the burden of disability with a prevalence of 10.5% (6.6 to 15.1) in men and 9.0% (5.7 to 13.0) in women. In men, this effect is stable across all age-groups, whereas it decreases with age in women. Conclusions: Vertigo and dizziness independently and relevantly contribute to population-attributable disability in the aged. They are not inevitable consequences of ageing but arise from distinct disease entities. Careful management of vertigo and dizziness might increase population health and reduce disability.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to assess the objectivity, cross-cultural validity, and convergent validity of the Vestibular Activities and Participation (VAP) questionnaire among four countries, Germany, United States, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Study Design and Setting
This was a cross-sectional study conducted in four specialized outpatient dizziness clinics in Germany, United States, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Results
A total of 453 participants were included in the study. The Rasch analysis revealed two separate subscales. Subscale 1 items included focusing attention, lying down, standing, bending, lifting and carrying objects, and sports. Subscale 2 items included walking long distances, climbing, running, moving around within buildings other than home, using transportation, and driving. The Pearson product–moment correlation between the Dizziness Handicap Inventory and the summary score of the VAP subscale 1 was 0.66 and was 0.64 for subscale 2.
Conclusion
Owing to its shortness and intercultural adaptability, the new two-scale version of the VAP questionnaire lends itself to clinical practice and research across countries to estimate the effect of vertigo and dizziness on activity limitation and participation restrictions. Psychometrically sound summary scores can be calculated. More extended versions of the VAP can be used for comprehensive clinical assessment where summary scores are not needed or a more detailed documentation is warranted.
Zielsetzung
In den letzten Jahren konnte eine Steigerung der Anzahl privater Krankenhäuser und Betten festgestellt werden. Die Probleme der Investitionsfinanzierung deutscher Krankenhäuser in Kombination mit verstärkenden Faktoren wie der Einführung der DRGs, aber auch die Erwartung einer höheren Effizienz nach der Privatisierung einer Klinik können als Hauptgründe bei Privatisierungsentscheidungen genannt werden. Es soll untersucht werden, wie ehemalige öffentliche Krankenhausträger den Erfolg der Privatisierung einschätzen.
Methodik
Alle 99 identifizierten ehemaligen öffentlichen Träger, die ihr Krankenhaus in den Jahren 2003–2013 an einen privaten Eigentümer verkauft hatten, wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Einschätzung von Zielen sowie Befürchtungen vor und nach der Privatisierung anonym und schriftlich befragt.
Ergebnisse und Schlussfolgerung
Zusammenfassend lässt sich feststellen, dass bei einer ausreichenden Finanzierung der Krankenhäuser aus Krankenkassenbeiträgen (Betriebsmittel) und Ländermittel (Investitionskosten) der Privatisierungsdruck rapide sinken würde. Wenn jedoch privatisiert wurde, hatte dies aus Sicht der ehemaligen Träger weder einen negativen Einfluss auf die medizinische Versorgung in der Region, noch auf die Qualität der medizinischen Behandlung und auf den Umgang mit den Mitarbeitern.
Die Einschätzungen der ehemaligen Träger weisen eine statistisch überprüfte Übereinstimmung auf. Die mit einer Privatisierung verbundenen Erwartungen und Ziele werden prinzipiell als erfüllt wahrgenommen
Background: Nursing home residents are frequently affected by joint contractures, which impacts their participation and daily activities. A complex intervention, the Participation Enabling Care in Nursing (PECAN), was previously developed and pilot tested to address their needs. Its effectiveness and safety will be evaluated in the present study.
Methods/design: This multicentre cluster-randomised controlled trial will be conducted in 32 nursing homes spread over two regions of Germany. A total of 578 residents over 65 years old with joint contractures will be included. To compare the effect of the PECAN intervention with optimised standard care (usual care and an information session), randomisation will take place at a cluster level.
The individually tailored intervention was designed using the biopsychosocial model in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to reduce activity limitations and participation restrictions resulting from existing joint contractures by addressing barriers and by strengthening supportive factors on an individual level and an organisational level.
The implementation strategy comprises a facilitators’ workshop, a peer mentoring approach including a peer mentor visit and telephone peer counselling, an in-house information event, an information session for the nursing team and a training session on collegial consultation for the facilitators. The in-house information event will also take place in the nursing homes of the control group. The primary outcome is the residents’ participation and activities after 12 months of follow-up as assessed using the PaArticular Scales. The secondary outcome is the residents’ quality of life. A cost-effectiveness analysis (costs per additional resident who experienced a decrease of ten points in the participation or activities subscale of the PaArticular Scales) and a cost–utility analysis (costs per additional quality adjusted life year) will be conducted. We will investigate barriers and facilitators in a comprehensive process evaluation.
Discussion: We expect a clinically relevant improvement of participation and activities in residents with joint contractures. Our findings will provide important insights regarding participation in the situation of the affected individuals.
The objective of this study was to catalogue items from instruments used to measure functioning, disability, and contextual factors in patients with low back pain (LBP) treated with manual medicine (manipulation and mobilization) according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This catalogue will be used to inform the development of an ICF-based assessment schedule for LBP patients treated with manual medicine. In this scoping review we systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL. We identified instruments (questionnaires, clinical tests, single questions) used to measure functioning, disability and contextual factors, extracted the relevant items and then linked these items to the ICF. We included 95 articles and identified 1510 meaningful concepts. All but 70 items were linked to the ICF. Of the concepts linked to the ICF, body functions accounted for 34.7%, body structures accounted for 0%, activities and participation accounted for 41%, environmental factors accounted for 3.6%, and personal factors accounted for 16%. Most items used to measure functioning and disability in LBP patient treated with manual medicine focus on body functions, and activities and participation. The lack of measures that address environmental factors warrants further investigation.