BACKGROUND Because atopic dermatitis (AD) is a relapsing remitting disease, assessing long-term control is important. Well-controlled weeks (WCWs) have been used to assess asthma long-term control but have never been validated for AD. OBJECTIVES We sought to assess the feasibility, validity, and interpretability of WCWs in patients with AD. METHODS Three studies of patients with moderate-to...

STUDY OBJECTIVES The majority of adolescent sleep research has utilized self-reported sleep duration and some have based information on a solitary question. Whilst some have claimed to have validated sleep survey data with objective actigraphy measures in adolescents, the statistical approach applied only demonstrates the strength of the association between subjective and objective sleep durati...

OBJECTIVES Disability in older age has been related to several psychosocial characteristics, including social networks, social engagement, and depression. However, the exact role of these characteristics in the disablement process remains uncertain. METHOD Data come from a population-based study of black and white adults aged ≥65 years (N = 5,306), with up to 9 yearly data on the primary outc...

OBJECTIVES Clinical psychology trainees (CPTs) are vulnerable to high stress, which can adversely affect their personal and professional functioning. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) informed stress management intervention for CPTs. DESIGN Outcome measures were work-related stress, distress, life satisfaction, counseling self-efficacy, ...

PURPOSE Utilization of the Recovery Knowledge Inventory (RKI) and Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ) in southeastern Australia raised questions about the RAQ, including links between attitudes, faith, and culture in supporting the recovery journey. These questions are particularly important when considered in the context of people with mental illness who live in secular multicultural societ...

The purpose of this paper is to review the methods used to measure quality of stroke care. Relevant articles were searched for on Medline using the following key words: stroke, quality, outcome of care, process of care, structure of care. Articles that examined how to measure the quality of stroke care and that examined difficulties in the measurement of care outcomes, processes, and structures...

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are assessments of health status from the patient's perspective. The systematic and routine collection and use of PROMs in healthcare settings adds value in several ways, including quality improvement and service evaluation. We address the issue of instrument selection for use in primary and/or community settings. Specifically, from the large number of ...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to measure hearing aid satisfaction and usage for extended periods of time, up to 2 yr after hearing aid delivery, to determine whether longitudinal changes occur in the elderly for these outcome measures. DESIGN A longitudinal study of hearing aid satisfaction and usage was performed in a group comprised of 134 elderly hearing aid wearers with these ...

G Measuring health utilities involves two main steps: defining a set of health states of interest, and valuing those health states. There are direct or indirect methods of utility valuation. G The methods that have been used to collect data on utilities include the standard gamble approach, the time trade-off approach and the visual analogue approach. G The main indirect methods of utility meas...

Although evidence suggests that the benefits of psychodynamic treatments are sustained over time, presently it is unclear whether these sustained benefits are superior to non-psychodynamic treatments. Additionally, the extant literature comparing the sustained benefits of psychodynamic treatments compared to alternative treatments is limited with methodological shortcomings. The purpose of the ...