The patient
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Patients with advanced cancer benefit from early goals-of-care (GoC) conversations, but few facilitators are known. ⋯ Stakeholder input informed the development of a novel intervention that physicians seemed to find both valuable and in sync with their needs and their practice schedules. Where communication about difficult subjects and shared decision making are involved, including multiple stakeholder groups in study design, implementation, and outcomes measurement may have far-reaching effects.
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Review Meta Analysis
A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis of Patients' Experiences and Perceptions of Seeking and Using Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs: Towards Safer Prescribing.
Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs are used to treat complaints like insomnia, anxiety and pain. These drugs are recommended for short-term use only, but many studies report long-term use, particularly in older people. ⋯ Inappropriate use and prescribing of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs is perpetuated by psychological dependence, absence of support and patients' denial/lack of knowledge of side effects. Education strategies, increased availability of alternatives, and targeted extended dialogue with patients could support safer prescribing.
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Varicose veins are common and can impact patients' quality of life, but consensus regarding the evaluation of varicose vein symptoms is lacking and existing measures have limitations. ⋯ Content validity was established for the VVSymQ® instrument, which assesses the five HASTI™ symptoms of varicose veins daily via an electronic diary and has promise for use in research and practice.
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To evaluate the psychometric properties of the VVSymQ(®) instrument, a new 5-item patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure for symptoms of varicose veins. ⋯ The 5-item VVSymQ(®) instrument is a brief, psychometrically sound, useful tool for evaluating patient-reported varicose veins symptoms.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Validation of the Chinese Version of the Quality of Recovery-15 Score and Its Comparison with the Post-Operative Quality Recovery Scale.
The Quality of Recovery-15 scale (QoR-15) is an easy-to-use score for assessing the quality of post-operative recovery. ⋯ Similar to the original English version, the QoR-15C reveals satisfactory psychometric properties. Furthermore, it may be a more valid, reliable, and easy-to-use scale than the PQRS.