There is a scarcity of prospective long-term studies on work disability caused by depression. We investigated predictors for disability pension among psychiatric patients with MDD.
The Vantaa Depression Study followed up prospectively 269 psychiatric in- and out-patients with DSM-IV MDD for 5 years with a life chart, including 230 (91.3%) patients belonging to labour force. Information on disability pensions was obtained from interviews, patient records and registers.
Within 5 years, 20% of the patients belonging to labour force at baseline were granted a disability pension. In multivariate analyses, the significant baseline predictors for granted disability pension were age =50 years (HR = 3.91, P
A 10-year population-based study of people with multiple sclerosis in Stockholm, Sweden: use of and satisfaction with care and the value of different factors in predicting use of care.
The national strategy for treatment of chronic diseases - including MS - and changes in the Swedish welfare system, call for analyses of the use of, and patient satisfaction with, care in a long-term perspective. The aim was therefore to explore the use of care and the predictive value of personal factors, disease-specific factors and functioning on the use of care and to explore patient satisfaction with care in a 10-year perspective.
Information regarding personal factors, disease-specific factors, functioning and satisfaction with care was collected by home-visits; use of care was collected from the Stockholm County Council computerised register.
Data from 121 people with MS (PwMS) was collected. Primary care accounted for the majority of all care. Neurology and Rehabilitation Departments together accounted for two-thirds of all hospital outpatient care. Rehabilitation Departments accounted for one-third of the total number of inpatient days. Lower coping capacity, impaired manual dexterity and activity of daily living dependency at baseline, together with progress in MS disability predicted a higher use of care. Overall, patient satisfaction with care was stable over time.
The extensive use of care offers challenges to care coordination. Implementation of person-centred care could be a strategy to increase efficacy/outcome of care.
Health prevention seeks to avoid the onset of disease or symptoms by eliminating or at least minimizing environmental factors that increase the risk of illness. This article describes Ability OnLine, an innovative program designed to reduce the isolation young people can experience in a healthcare facility or when confined to their home. The electronic bulletin board is a friendly platform for disabled and chronically ill children to easily communicate with their peers and adult and teen mentors.
According to previous studies, abstinence from alcohol increases the risk of disability retirement (DR). We studied whether former alcohol users' poor mental or physical health might have contributed to this result.
Prospective population-based study of 3621 occupationally active Finns aged 30-55 years at baseline. Disability pension data for 2000-2011 was retrieved from national pension records. We examined medically certified disability retirement due to all causes and due to mental disorders among lifelong abstainers, former drinkers, those with an alcohol use disorder irrespective of consumption and current users, further classified according to weekly intake of alcohol. Chronic somatic diseases were evaluated in a clinical examination and common mental and alcohol use disorders using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Cox regression was used.
Neither lifelong abstinence nor alcohol consumption, even at hazardous levels, without alcohol use disorder was associated with disability retirement. Compared with light drinkers, former drinkers' hazard ratio for DR due to mental disorders was 2.67 (95% CI 1.39-5.13), allowing for somatic and mental morbidity, physical and psychosocial workload, health behaviour and socio-demographic factors. The respective hazard ratio of DR due to all causes for those with alcohol use disorder was 2.17 (1.49-3.16) and of DR due to mental disorders 4.04 (2.02 to 8.06).
Lifelong abstinence did not predict disability retirement. Former drinkers and people with alcohol use disorders were at a multi-fold risk of work disability due to mental disorders compared with light drinkers, thus it is important to support their work ability.
The main purpose of this pilot study was instrument development, focused on personal adjustment following ostomy surgery. Two instruments were used: a translated and revised version of the Acceptance of Disability Scale, Modified (ADM), and Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence (SOC) questionnaire. A sample of 26 patients enrolled consecutively at the Ostomy Care Centre at a Swedish hospital were included in the study. A Cronbach's coefficient alpha of 0.95 was obtained for the ADM Scale, Swedish version, which is consistent with the results of similar studies. A significant difference between the ADM scores and type of ostomy surgery indicated that persons with a continent ostomy had a greater acceptance of ostomy surgery than had subjects with conventional ostomy surgery. A close correlation between ADM and SOC was obtained, indicating that persons who accept ostomy surgery will also have a good sense of coherence. The result of this pilot study indicates that further research using both measures may be useful in order to identify which factors are of relevance for nursing practice.
Owing to physical inaccessibility persons with mobility restrictions and other functional limitations often face problems in public environments, leading to restrictions in activity and participation. To investigate general accessibility and perceived problems of accessibility to the public environment in a town centre, as well as visiting preferences to public facilities, among teenagers with functional limitations.
An interview questionnaire specific to a south Swedish town was constructed and used with 33 Swedish teenagers with functional limitations.
To a varying degree, all 33 teenagers commented on accessibility problems, e.g. concerning uneven surface material outdoors, steps at entrances, heavy doors and restricted space indoors. The results also indicated that teenagers with functional limitations to a high extent want to visit the same environments as other teenagers, but that it is often impossible owing to accessibility problems. Furthermore, because of accessibility problems, many of the teenagers were dependent on personal assistance.
Inaccessibility results in dependence, which might affect personal development negatively, and much effort are required in order to ensure activity and societal participation. Efficient priorities in public environment accessibility matters and discussions with the actors involved require valid and reliable data on local accessibility problems.
OBJECTIVE: To study Icelandic citizens' perception, attitude and preferences regarding access to own health information and interactive services at the State Social Security Institute of Iceland (SSSI). Hypotheses regarding differences between disability pensioners and other citizens were put forward. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive mail survey was performed with a random sample from the Icelandic population, 1400 individuals, age 16 to 67, divided into two groups of 700 each: (1) persons entitled to disability pension (2) other citizens in Iceland. The questionnaire consisted of 56 questions, descriptive statistics were used and Chi square for comparison with 95% as confidence level of significance. Response rate was 34.9%. RESULTS: Perception of rights to access own's health information was significantly higher by pensioners than other citizens. Attitude concerning impact of access was in general positive, with pensioners significantly more positive about effectiveness, perception of health, communication and decisions owing to services, access at SSSI, maintaining health records and controlling access. CONCLUSIONS: The study, the first of its kind in Iceland, supports previous research. The results, as well as foreign models of research projects, are recommended to be used for evolution of electronic health services and researching employees' viewpoints. Future research in Iceland should address the impact of interactive health communication on quality of life, health and services' efficiency.
Arthritis Community Research and Evaluation Unit, Toronto Western Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. wang@uhnres.utoronto.ca
This study examines whether the relationships between activity limitations and independence are mediated by coping efficacy.
Data come from a cross-sectional survey of 286 adults, aged 55 or older, with osteoarthritis (OA) and/or osteoporosis (OP). Physical independence was assessed by asking to what extent respondents' OA/OP had affected their independence on a 5-point scale from 'not at all' to 'a great deal'. Activity limitations were examined in three domains: personal care, community mobility, and household activity. A coping efficacy scale was derived from three items scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Structural equation modelling was used to test the model.
Activity limitation in household activities was directly associated with perceptions of independence, with a statistically significant standardized path coefficients of -0.32. The effect of activity limitation in personal care was partially mediated by coping efficacy with a direct effect of -0.41 which was partially offset by coping efficacy to give a net effect of -0.308. The effect of community mobility on independence was completely mediated through coping efficacy with significant standardized path coefficients of -0.85 (community mobility to coping efficacy) and -0.14 (coping efficacy to independence). The overall model's goodness of fit was excellent (R =0.59, ch-square/df=1.4, CFI=0.97, and NNFI=0.97).
Activity limitation had a detrimental effect on the level of self-perceived independence. Coping efficacy showed a significant mediating effect between activity limitation and self-perceived independence for the domains of personal care and community mobility, but not household tasks. This study suggests that how activity limitation affects perceptions of independence varies across activity limitation domains, and indicates the importance of incorporating activity limitation domains in future studies.
This study extends understanding of the relationship between disability and independence in older adults with COPD.
An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to examine disability, adaptation, perceptions of independence, and self-efficacy in a sample of 50 community-dwelling older adults. Odds ratios were used to investigate relationships between variables.
Participants used a wide range of behavioural strategies to adapt to their disability including: limiting activities, optimizing performance (e.g. taking rests), compensating for lost function (e.g. using equipment), and obtaining help from others. The relative use of these adaptations varied across five domains of activity: personal care, in-home mobility, household activities, community mobility, and valued activities. Most participants felt very or extremely independent in all domains. In personal care, those who reported greater disability (O.R. = 0.26), more frequent attempts to optimize performance (O.R. = 0.57), or greater reliance on help from others (O.R. = 0.79) were significantly (p
