AIM To elicit problem statements describing the consequences of vision impairment as a first step towards the development of a vision related quality of life instrument for use in India METHODS 46 focus groups were conducted in three regions of India. Separate focus groups were held for men and women and according to disease categories: cataract (24), glaucoma (six), diabetic retinopathy or m...

Condition-specific health status measures are commonly used as outcome measures in clinical trials and to assess patient progress in routine clinical practice. The expert panel that met to discuss this special issue of Spine recommended that, when possible, a condition-specific measure for back pain should be chosen from two widely used measures, the Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ)...

BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder afflicts an estimated 17% of individuals during their lifetimes at tremendous suffering and costs. Cognitive therapy may be an effective treatment option for major depressive disorder, but the effects have only had limited assessment in systematic reviews. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Cochrane systematic review methodology, with meta-analyses and trial seque...

OBJECTIVES The UK's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme uses the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, , J. Gen. Intern. Med., 16, 606) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7; Spitzer et al., Arch. Intern. Med., 166, 1092) to assess patients' symptoms of depression and anxiety respectively. Data are typically collecte...