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Caregivers' Quality (caregiver + quality)
Selected AbstractsDepressive symptoms amongst asthmatic children's caregiversPEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 4p2 2010Alexandra Szabó Szabó A, Mezei G, K,vári É, Cserháti E. Depressive symptoms amongst asthmatic children's caregivers. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010: 21: e667,e673. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S We wanted to find out, whether the number of depressive symptoms is higher amongst asthmatic children's caregivers, compared to international data, to the Hungarian population average, and to parents of children with chronic renal disease. Are these depressive symptoms connected to the children's psychological status, asthma severity or current asthma symptoms? One-hundred and eight, 7- to 17-yr-old asthmatic children were enrolled, who have been treated at the Semmelweis University, First Department of Pediatrics. Children were suffering from asthma for at least 1 yr, with a median of 8 yr (1,16 yr), they started to develop asthmatic symptoms between the age of 0.5,14 yr (median: 3 yr). We also identified 27 children with chronic renal diseases and their caregivers, who functioned as a control group. Children were asked to complete the Hungarian-validated versions of the Child Depression Inventory, the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Juniper Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire. Asthma severity and current symptoms were also documented, 56% had no symptoms on the preceding week. Caregivers were asked to complete the Hungarian versions of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) short form, the Spielberger Anxiety Inventory and the Juniper Pediatric Asthma Caregivers' Quality of Life Questionnaire. Caregivers of asthmatic children had significantly more depressive symptoms (7.73 ± 6.69 s.d.) than the age-specific normal population (p < 0.01). Caregivers of renal patients also experience more depressive symptoms (9.61 ± 7.43 s.d.) than their healthy peers, but difference between the two chronic diseases' group did not prove to be significant. Asthmatic children's caregivers who scored more points on the BDI than the population average suffer from more anxiety symptoms, but their quality of life is not worse than the caregivers' with less depressive points. Depressive symptoms were neither connected to the children's psychological and asthmatic symptoms nor quality of life. Amongst caregivers of asthmatic children, at least mild depressive symptoms were represented amongst 39% of men and 33% of women. Gender difference was not significant, despite observations in the normal Hungarian population. Amongst caregivers of renal patients, depressive symptoms were represented in 14% of men and 50% of women. Gender difference was significant. (p = 0.05). Significant difference was observed between male asthmatic and renal caregivers, albeit difference was not significant between the female groups. No difference was found in depressive symptoms according to caregivers' level of education. Caregivers of children with asthma have more depressive symptoms than the average Hungarian population, but their results do not differ from caregivers taking care of children with chronic renal diseases. Caregivers of asthmatic children having at least mild depressive symptoms tend to have higher anxiety symptoms as well. Up to date, childhood chronic disease management and long-term care should also focus on parental psychology, mainly on depression and anxiety, as prevalence is higher than in the average population. [source] Needs assessment of family caregivers of cancer survivors: three cohorts comparison,PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2010Youngmee Kim Abstract Purpose/Background: Caregivers' quality of life (QOL) may be maximized when the caregivers' needs in the context of cancer care are met. Therefore, determining what needs are not being satisfied for family caregivers should be the first step in the development of programs designed to enhance caregivers' QOL. Method: The 28-item Needs Assessment of Family Caregivers-Cancer (NAFC-C) scale was developed and validated with caregivers at three different survivorship phases: at 2 months (n=162), 2 years (n=896), and 5 years (n=608) post-diagnosis. Results: The NAFC-C helped to identify caregivers whose needs were less likely to be met, based on their age and ethnicity. Furthermore, the extent to which caregivers' psychosocial needs were not being met was a consistent and strong predictor of poor mental health across all phases of survivorship, beyond the effects of a host of demographic characteristics. Conclusion: Findings suggest that interventions designed to help caregivers manage their own emotional distress as well as the survivors' distress, find meaning in the cancer caregiving experience, and foster supportive familial relationship will benefit caregivers by improving their QOL, not only during the time of diagnosis and treatment but years after. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Patient and caregiver quality of life in Huntington's diseaseMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 5 2008Rebecca E. Ready PhD Abstract Little is known about subjective perceptions of quality of life (QOL) in Huntington's disease (HD). The current study determined correlates of patient and caregiver QOL and assessed change over time. Participants were 22 patient-caregiver dyads, who rated QOL at baseline and 6 months later. Overall, patients' functional and cognitive impairment were significantly correlated with patient and caregiver QOL. Neuropsychiatric symptoms had differential impact on patient and caregiver QOL. Furthermore, when patients recalled their QOL about a previous time, their recall may have been negatively biased. Clinical implications of results are discussed. Future work is needed because subjective QOL is an important outcome measure in therapeutic trials. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society [source] Using School Staff to Establish a Preventive Network of Care to Improve Elementary School Students' Control of AsthmaJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 6 2006Jean-Marie Bruzzese To address these problems, Columbia University and the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene undertook a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a comprehensive school-based asthma program. In this intervention, school nurses were trained to facilitate the establishment of a preventive network of care for children with asthma by coordinating communications and fostering relationships between families, PCPs, and school personnel. PCPs also received training regarding asthma management. There was limited support for this model. While case detection helped nurses identify additional students with asthma and nurses increased the amount of time spent on asthma-related tasks, PCPs did not change their medical management of asthma. Few improvements in health outcomes were achieved. Relative to controls, 12-months posttest intervention students had a reduction in activity limitations due to asthma (,35% vs ,9%, p < .05) and days with symptoms (26% vs 39%, p = .06). The intervention had no impact on the use of urgent health care services, school attendance, or caregiver's quality of life. There were also no improvements at 24-months postintervention. We faced many challenges related to case detection, training, and implementing preventive care activities, which may have hindered our success. We present these challenges, describe how we coped with them, and discuss the lessons we learned. (J Sch Health. 2006;76(6):307-312) [source] | ||||||||||