OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of a publicly funded domestic heating programme on self-reported health. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A prospective controlled study of 1281 households in Scotland receiving new central heating under a publicly funded initiative, and 1084 comparison households not receiving new heating. The main outcome measures were self-reported diagnosis of asthma, bronch...

Backround—To assess the quality of life in patients with iliac artery occlusive disease, we compared primary stent placement versus primary angioplasty followed by selective stent placement in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Methods and Results—Quality-of-life assessments were completed by 254 patients in a telephone interview. Assessment measures consisted of the RAND 36-Item Health...

OBJECTIVES Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is known to be an effective treatment for a range of neuropathic pain (NeP) conditions, although further clinical evidence is required. Clinical observations suggest that 1 aspect of the treatment effect is a reduction in the area with spontaneous NeP. The aim of this study was to quantify the areas of spontaneous NeP in SCS patients and to correlate the...

The health-related QOL (HRQOL) has been used extensively in clinical and epidemiological research and health service studies. Especially, the Medical Outcome Study Short-form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) is a widely used health status measure. However, a Korean version has not been developed and tested yet. The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Short-form Health Surv...

OBJECTIVE Refine the understanding of the desirable skills for health sciences librarians as a basis for developing a training program model that reflects the fundamental changes in health care delivery and information technology. DESIGN A four-step needs assessment process: focus groups developed lists of desirable skills; the research team organized candidate skills into a taxonomy; a surve...

OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of daily use of Gerovital H3 (G.H.3.) tablets on relieving mental symptoms and improving health-related quality of life among Chinese older adults population. METHODS In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study, totally 100 eligible participants were randomly allocated into the G.H.3. group or the placebo group, administered either G.H.3. or plac...

BACKGROUND In China, the number of left-behind wives in rural areas has reached 47 million. Left-behind wives might have more psychological stress and lower life quality. This study was to examine the health-related quality of life and influencing social and cognitive factors in a sample of left-behind wives in rural areas of China. METHODS The demographic data questionnaire, the Short Form 3...

The construct validity and construct responsiveness of the performance scale of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was measured in 87 newly admitted patients with chronic pain attending an outpatient rehabilitation clinic. At admission and after 12 wk, patients completed a COPM interview, the Pain Disability Index (PDI), and the RAND 36-Item Health Survey (RAND-36). We determi...

OBJECTIVE To characterize treatment-seeking young adults (16-25 years) with severe obesity, particularly mental health problems. STUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS Cross-sectional study of 165 participants (132 women, 33 men) with BMI ≥35 kg/m2 or ≥30 kg/m2 with comorbidities, enrolling in a multidisciplinary obesity treatment program. METHOD Data collection at admission of present and life-time...