Physical Impacts (physical + impact)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Pain Impact Inventory

PAIN PRACTICE, Issue 6 2009
Ulf Jakobsson PhD
Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument for measuring the impact of chronic pain on daily life. Methods: The study comprised 384 respondents (aged between 18,102 years) who reported chronic pain. The instrument "Pain Impact Inventory" (PII) was evaluated in terms of face, content, construct and criterion validity, as well as two reliability measures. Reliability was measured by means of test,retest (with a 2-week interval) while Cronbach's alpha was used to measure internal consistency. Results: The results showed that the PII had acceptable validity and reliability. The PII contains 20 items and was found to have a nested design with five sub-scales (Physical impact, Psychological impact, Impact on social life, Social support, and Control) and two overarching dimensions ("Impact" and "Support"). Conclusions: The initial tests showed that the PII seems to be a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring the impact of pain on daily life from a multidimensional perspective. [source]


The effectiveness of silver-releasing dressings in the management of non-healing chronic wounds: a meta-analysis

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 5 2009
Shu-Fen Lo
Aim., The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of silver-releasing dressings in the management of non-healing chronic wounds. Background., Non-healing chronic wounds often have a negative physical impact on patients and place a financial burden on healthcare systems. Silver dressings are wound products designed to control infection and provide a wound environment conducive to healing. However, validation of the clinical efficacy of these dressings is lacking. Design., Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods., A systematic search of the major electronic databases PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, MEDLINE, British Nursing Index, EBSCO, OCLC and Proquest between 1950,June 2007 was conducted. Hand searches of selected periodicals, textbooks and checking reference lists and contacting experts was also performed. Results., Eight studies were selected from a potentially relevant 1957 references screened. Analysis incorporated data from 1399 participants in the eight randomised control trials. We found that silver dressings significantly improved wound healing (CI95: 0·16,0·39, p < 0·001), reduced odour (CI95: 0·24,0·52, p < 0·001) and pain-related symptoms (CI95: 0·18,0·47, p < 0·001), decreased wound exudates (CI95: 0·17,0·44, p < 0·001) and had a prolonged dressing wear time (CI95: 0·19,0·48, p = 0·028) when compared with alternative wound management approaches. An analysis of sensitivity in these studies by subgroup analysis generally supported these associations. Furthermore, studies indicated an improvement in quality of life (CI95: 0·04,0·33, p = 0·013) using silver dressings in wound management with no associated severe adverse events. Conclusion., This meta-analysis confirms the effectiveness of silver dressings in wound healing and improving patients' quality of life. However, it also highlights the need for additional well-designed randomised controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of silver-related dressings further. Relevance to clinical practice., The results of this study provide objective data on the effectiveness of silver-related dressing when applied to non-healing chronic wounds. [source]


Prevalence of pigmentary disorders and their impact on quality of life: a prospective cohort study

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2008
Anne Taylor PA-S
Summary Background, Pigmentary disorders are commonly seen in dermatology practice and can have a negative psychosocial impact on patients. Objective, This study aims to examine the prevalence of pigmentary disorders and their level of psychological and physical impact on patients. Methods, A prospective cohort study involved a sample of 140 patients undergoing skin exams at a private dermatology practice in North Carolina. Patient demographics and pigmentary diagnoses were obtained, and participants were asked to fill out a skin discoloration impact evaluation questionnaire. Descriptive and frequency analyses were performed. Results, Around 80% of the participants were diagnosed with one or more pigmentary disorders. About 47.3% of patients admitted of feeling self-conscious about their skin to some degree, 21.8% felt others focused on their skin, 32.7% felt unattractive because of their skin, 32.7% put effort into hiding pigment changes, and 23.6% felt their skin affected their activities. A limitation was the lack of diversity in the population studied (gender and skin type). Conclusions, Pigmentary disorders such as melasma, vitiligo, and lentigo pose significant negative impact on a person's health-related quality of life. Hence, there is a need for effective treatments of pigmentary disorders based on their prevalence and effect on quality of life. Healthcare providers should consider the impact of pigmentary disorders on health-related quality of life and educate patients on possible treatments. [source]


Responses of a California annual grassland to litter manipulation

JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 5 2008
Kathryn L. Amatangelo
Abstract Question: What are the physical and chemical effects of plant litter on annual grassland community composition, above-ground net primary production (ANPP), and density? Location: California annual grassland. Methods: We manipulated litter and light levels independently and in concert. Litter removal and litter addition treatments tested both the physical and chemical impacts of litter's presence. We additionally simulated the effect of litter physical shading by using shade cloth, and added powdered litter to test for the chemical impacts of decomposing litter. Results: Increased whole litter and shading decreased grass germination and establishment, but not that of forbs or legumes. Species shifts occurred within all groups across treatments, including a transition from small-seeded to large-seeded grass and legume species with increased shading. ANPP was highest in control plots (473 ± 59 g/m2), and species richness was highest in litter removal plots. While the physical effects of litter via shading were significant, the chemical effects of adding powdered litter were negligible. Conclusions: This work suggests that over one growing season, the physical impacts of litter are more important than chemical impacts in shaping community structure and ANPP in annual grasslands. Changes in light availability with altered litter inputs drive shifts in species and functional group composition. Litter feedbacks to ANPP and species composition of local patches may help maintain diversity and stabilize ANPP in this grassland. [source]


Understanding ,hot-spot' problems in catchments: the need for scale-sensitive measures and mechanisms to secure effective solutions for river management and conservation

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue S1 2010
Malcolm Newson
Abstract 1.Regulatory progress in controlling point sources of chemical river pollution has progressively thrown the attention of public policy towards anthropogenic physical impacts, many of which are scaled to the catchment via the runoff/sediment system. At the same time, concern over diffuse chemical pollution has reinforced ,catchment consciousness': land-use and land-management planning and control must be considered to conserve or restore river ecosystem integrity. 2.The scientific, political and legal elements of this scale change are, however, complex and uncertain: ,myths' abound. Landscape-scale consideration of ,pressures' suggests an unequal distribution of regulatory costs and benefits and large uncertainties in the evidence from a ,land-use hydrology' and fluvial geomorphology perspective. 3.,Hydrological connectivity' brings together a number of knowledge themes about catchment spatial organization which facilitate applying mitigation measures to much smaller areas, helping to offset uncertainty and reduce costs. 4.Instead of blanket ,remedies', more practical use is needed of process evidence from hydrology and fluvial geomorphology; this tends to suggest that ,hot-spots' dominate risks and impacts of factors such as leaching, surface flow generation and silt entrainment. 5.Set in a realistic policy framework, from strategic spatial planning to grant-aided best practice, a ,catchment acupuncture' approach to measures provides a cost-effective contribution to improving ecological status and may also increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. 6.The European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD) encourages ,joined-up thinking' on this issue but it remains to be seen whether spatial scales, structures and concepts already enshrined in the WFD and the relevant UK national policies for land use and nature conservation can be exploited to permit the much-needed practical uptake of this new riparianism. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Potential impacts of projected sea-level rise on sea turtle rookeries

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 2 2010
MMPB Fuentes
Abstract 1.Projected sea-level rise (SLR) is expected to cause shoreline erosion, saline intrusion into the water table and inundation and flooding of beaches and coastal areas. Areas most vulnerable to these physical impacts include small, tropical low-lying islands, which are often key habitat for threatened and endemic species, such as sea turtles. 2.Successful conservation of threatened species relies upon the ability of managers to understand current threats and to quantify and mitigate future threats to these species. This study investigated how sea-level rise might affect key rookeries (nesting grounds) (n=8) for the northern Great Barrier Reef (nGBR) green turtle population, the largest green turtle population in the world. 3.3-D elevation models were developed and applied to three SLR scenarios projected by the IPCC 2007 and an additional scenario that incorporates ice melting. Results indicate that up to 38% of available nesting area across all the rookeries may be inundated as a result of SLR. 4.Flooding, as a result of higher wave run-up during storms, will increase egg mortality at these rookeries affecting the overall reproductive success of the nGBR green turtle population. Information provided will aid managers to prioritize conservation efforts and to use realistic measures to mitigate potential SLR threats to the nGBR green turtle population. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]