BACKGROUND A near-universal finding internationally is that patient valuations of their own health, represented using the EQ-5D system, are mostly higher than general population valuations of the same EQ-5D states. This paper investigates whether this result also applies to New Zealand. Despite the EQ-5D's widespread use for cost-utility analysis in New Zealand, in particular by the Pharmaceuti...

‘Quality improvement’ and ‘revalidation’ are processes which will be key considerations for the health service in the UK over the coming years and are likely to have considerable implications for both professional and public resources. They also have many common elements that are relevant to the delivery of quality in health-care worldwide. Clinical audit is a quality improvement initiative whi...

Although growing evidence supports the efficacy of social cognitive training interventions for schizophrenia, nearly all studies to date have been conducted in Westernized countries. In the current study, we translated and adapted an existing social cognitive skills training (SCST) program into Arabic and conducted a preliminary efficacy evaluation in schizophrenia outpatients in Egypt. Twenty-...

BACKGROUND Fatigue is a common symptom in cancer patients that can persist beyond the curative treatment phase. Some evidence has been reported for interventions for fatigue during active treatment. However, to date, there is no systematic review on psychological interventions for fatigue after the completion of curative treatment for cancer. This is a protocol for a systematic review that aims...

OBJECTIVES First, to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR)-based telerehabilitation program in the balance recovery of individuals with hemiparesis after stroke in comparison with an in-clinic program; second, to compare the subjective experiences; and third, to contrast the costs of both programs. DESIGN Single-blind, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING Neurorehab...

PURPOSE Stigma and lack of access to providers create barriers to mental health treatment for older adults living in the community. In order to address these barriers, we developed and evaluated a peer support intervention for older adults receiving Medicaid services. DESIGN AND METHODS Reclaiming Joy is a mental health intervention that pairs an older adult volunteer with a participant (olde...

BACKGROUND Although there are treatments that can alleviate stuttering in adults for clinically significant periods, in Australia there are barriers to the accessibility and availability of best-practice treatment. AIMS This parallel group, non-inferiority randomized controlled trial with multiple blinded outcome assessments investigated whether telehealth delivery of the Camperdown Program p...

BACKGROUND Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) has proven effective in increasing functional use of the affected arm in patients with chronic stroke. The mechanism of CIMT is not well understood. OBJECTIVE To demonstrate, in a proof-of-concept study, the feasibility of using kinematic measures in conjunction with clinical outcome measures to better understand the mechanism of recovery ...

OBJECTIVE In order to improve the dissemination of new expert-based treatments for adolescents with anorexia nervosa, we have developed an innovative 1-week intensive family-based evaluation and treatment programme. Ages of the adolescents in the programme ranged from 10 to 18 years (mean = 15.0, SD = 2.1). We report the outcomes of the first 19 cases. METHOD Data were obtained from a retrosp...

BACKGROUND Long-term survival of transfusion recipients has rarely been studied. This study examines short- and long-term mortality among transfusion recipients and reports these as absolute rates and rates relative to the general population. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Population-based cohort study of transfusion recipients in Denmark and Sweden followed for up to 20 years after their first blo...