Health Qual Life Out
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Health Qual Life Out · Jan 2010
An instrument to assess quality of life in relation to nutrition: item generation, item reduction and initial validation.
It is arguable that modification of diet, given its potential for positive health outcomes, should be widely advocated and adopted. However, food intake, as a basic human need, and its modification may be accompanied by sensations of both pleasure and despondency and may consequently affect to quality of life (QoL). Thus, the feasibility and success of dietary changes will depend, at least partly, on whether potential negative influences on QoL can be avoided. This is of particular importance in the context of dietary intervention studies and in the development of new food products to improve health and well being. Instruments to measure the impact of nutrition on quality of life in the general population, however, are few and far between. Therefore, the aim of this project was to develop an instrument for measuring QoL related to nutrition in the general population. ⋯ We developed and validated an instrument with 29 items across 5 domains to assess quality of life related to nutrition and other aspects of food intake. The instrument demonstrated good face and construct validity as well as good reliability. Future work will focus on the evaluation of longitudinal construct validity and responsiveness.
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Health Qual Life Out · Jan 2010
Validation of a core outcome measure for palliative care in Africa: the APCA African Palliative Outcome Scale.
Despite the burden of progressive incurable disease in Africa, there is almost no evidence on patient care or outcomes. A primary reason has been the lack of appropriate locally-validated outcome tools. This study aimed to validate a multidimensional scale (the APCA African Palliative Outcome Scale) in a multi-centred international study. ⋯ The APCA African POS has sound psychometric properties, is well comprehended and brief to use. Application of this tool offers the opportunity to at last address the omissions of palliative care research in Africa.
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Health Qual Life Out · Jan 2010
Daily physical activity and its contribution to the health-related quality of life of ambulatory individuals with chronic stroke.
Participation in daily physical activity (PA) post-stroke has not previously been investigated as a possible explanatory variable of health-related quality of life (HRQL). The aims were 1) to determine the contribution of daily PA to the HRQL of individuals with chronic stroke and 2) to assess the relationship between the functional ability of these individuals to the amount of daily PA. ⋯ The results suggest that daily PA is associated with better HRQL (as assessed by the Physical composite score of the SF-36) for people living with stroke. Daily PA should be encouraged to potentially increase HRQL. Accelerometers in conjunction with a self-report questionnaire may provide important measures of PA which can be monitored and modified, and potentially influence HRQL.
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Health Qual Life Out · Jan 2010
Measuring health-related quality of life in Hungarian children with heart disease: psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the Cardiac Module.
The aim of the study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Generic Core Scales and Cardiac Module. ⋯ The findings generally support the feasibility, reliability and validity of the Hungarian translation of the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL 3.0 Cardiac Module in Hungarian children with heart disease.
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Health Qual Life Out · Jan 2010
Unmet needs, quality of life and support networks of people with dementia living at home.
There is lack of evidence about the unmet needs of people with dementia (PWD) living at home and the predictors of high levels of unmet needs. The main aim of this study was to identify the relationship between unmet needs, social networks and quality of life of PWD living at home. ⋯ Interventions aiming to reduce unmet needs, through the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms and the involvement of PWD in the community, would potentially improve PWD's quality of life.