Psychology & health
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Psychology & health · Jan 2015
Longitudinal associations between social connections and subjective wellbeing in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.
The role of social relationships in determining well-being may be particularly salient in ageing populations. There is only limited longitudinal research examining the relationship between different dimensions of social relationships and change in well-being over time. The present analysis explores the association between isolation, loneliness and two measures of subjective well-being over six years using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. ⋯ Social isolation and loneliness show different associations with changes in evaluative and hedonic well-being over time.
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Psychology & health · Jan 2014
Illness representations, psychological distress and non-cardiac chest pain in patients attending an emergency department.
Many patients who attend an emergency department (ED) with chest pain receive a diagnosis of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP), and often suffer poor psychological outcomes and continued pain. This study assessed the role of illness representations in explaining psychological distress and continued chest pain in patients attending an ED. ⋯ The findings suggest that (i) continued chest pain is related to psychological distress and poor QoL, (ii) interventions should be aimed at reducing psychological distress and improving QoL and (iii) given the associations between perceived psychological causes and psychological distress/QoL, NCCP patients in the ED might benefit from psychological therapies to manage their chest pain.
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Psychology & health · Jan 2014
Profiling patient attitudes to phosphate binding medication: a route to personalising treatment and adherence support.
Nonadherence to phosphate binding medication (PBM) compromises the efficacy of treatment for chronic kidney disease, but its causes are poorly understood. This study sought to explore patient attitudes towards PBM and to evaluate the utility of the necessity-concerns framework for understanding adherence to PBM. ⋯ Strategies to improve adherence to PBM should aim to elicit and address patients' beliefs about their personal need for PBM and their concerns about this medication.
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Psychology & health · Jan 2014
The impact of social support on the acceptance process among RA patients: a qualitative study.
Acceptance is an important component of pain management, being associated with improved quality of life and lower levels of pain and depression. In enabling patients with chronic diseases to accept unpleasant consequences and to establish a new way of living, the support they receive from their social environment may play a decisive role. In this article, we identify the key sources and types of social support that are relevant for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and explore when and how those sources are important across the different stages of the acceptance process. ⋯ While three sources of support - family, physicians and the external social context - are fundamental for RA patients, all three may inhibit as well as encourage acceptance, due to the invisible and unpredictable character of the disease. There is a pervasive risk either of underestimating patients' suffering or of over-supporting, both of which prevent patients accepting the disease and developing a new 'normal' life. We conclude that sources of social support need to find a middle way between scepticism and solicitousness.
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Psychology & health · Jan 2014
The relative importance of patients' decisional control preferences and experiences.
Patients' role in treatment decision-making can influence psychosocial and health-related outcomes (i.e. satisfaction, felt respect, adherence). We examined decisional control in a surgical context, identifying correlates of patients' preferences and experiences. ⋯ Decisional control predicts better outcomes for patients, regardless of their preferences for control over treatment decisions. These findings suggest that interventions should aim to increase patients' degree of decisional control when feasible and appropriate.