Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation
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Comparative Study
The relationship between gender, social support, and health-related quality of life in a community-based study in Washington County, Maryland.
Men tend to report higher health-related quality of life (HRQOL) than women of the same age, despite higher mortality rates and lower life expectancy. Social support is one factor related to HRQOL that may contribute to the observed gender difference. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with HRQOL, especially levels of social support, and variation by gender. ⋯ Our findings show that social support is an important correlate of HRQOL for both men and women. However, the gender differences in HRQOL are not explained by social support or the other factors examined.
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Many changes occur as people enter old age (e.g., declining productivity), and these changes may at times decrease quality of life. Do some people maintain high subjective quality of life despite these changes? This study investigated the influence of psychological acceptance (PA) on quality of life in a sample of 187 elderly from a home nursing service, a retirement village and various community groups. Average age was 78 years old with a range from 65 to 96. ⋯ As hypothesised, people higher in PA also had higher quality of life in the areas of health, safety, community participation and emotional well-being. In addition, individuals high in PA had less adverse psychological reactions to decreasing productivity. Interventions that increase PA may lead to improved quality of life and resilience amongst the elderly.
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The aim of this study was to describe health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) in patients with diabetic foot ulcers by comparing their HRQL with that of a sample from the general population without diabetes (general population) and a subgroup with diabetes (diabetes population), and to examine the differences between groups by sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle factors. ⋯ Diabetic foot ulcer patients had much worse HRQL compared with the diabetes population and the general population, especially in physical health. Foot ulcer patients were more often men living alone, and obesity was a problem in both the foot ulcer patients and the diabetes population.
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The Asthma Impact Survey (AIS-6) is a new six question asthma outcome tool for which information on validity has not been published. ⋯ These data support the validity of the short six-question AIS-6 as an asthma-specific quality of life tool.
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Methods based on item response theory (IRT) that can be used to examine differential item functioning (DIF) are illustrated. An IRT-based approach to the detection of DIF was applied to physical function and general distress item sets. DIF was examined with respect to gender, age and race. The method used for DIF detection was the item response theory log-likelihood ratio (IRTLR) approach. DIF magnitude was measured using the differences in the expected item scores, expressed as the unsigned probability differences, and calculated using the non-compensatory DIF index (NCDIF). Finally, impact was assessed using expected scale scores, expressed as group differences in the total test (measure) response functions. ⋯ The fact that many physical function items showed DIF with respect to age, even after adjustment for multiple comparisons, indicates that the instrument may be performing differently for these groups. While the magnitude and impact of DIF at the item and scale level was minimal, caution should be exercised in the use of subsets of these items, as might occur with selection for clinical decisions or computerized adaptive testing. The issues of selection of anchor items, and of criteria for DIF detection, including the integration of significance and magnitude measures remain as issues requiring investigation. Further research is needed regarding the criteria and guidelines appropriate for DIF detection in the context of health-related items.