ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of parental education on the success of Asthma Educational Intervention (AEI). METHODS: AEI took place after the children's hospitalisation. Parental asthma knowledge was assessed at three time points: before AEI, immediately after, and 12 months later. The Intervention (I) group of parents (N=231) received complete AEI. The Control (C) group of parents (N=71) received instructions for proper use of asthma medications and the handbook. RESULTS: Asthma knowledge in I group increased immediately after the AEI (p<0.01), and had not changed (p>0.05) 12 months later. There were four subgroups in group I divided based on education level: elementary school, high school, college, and university degrees. Taking into account the parental education level, there were no differences in the baseline and final knowledge of asthma between subgroups (p>0.05). The number of asthma exacerbations decreased after AEI (5.96:2.50, p<0.01), regardless of the parental degree. Knowledge of asthma in group C did not improve during the study (p=0.17). Final asthma knowledge was higher in group I compared to group C (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The parental education level did not influence the level of asthma knowledge after the AEI. The motivation and the type of asthma education had the greatest input on the final results. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: All parents should be educated about asthma regardless of their general education.
Subject(s)
Allergy and Immunology/education , Asthma/epidemiology , Parents/education , Patient Education as Topic , Adolescent , Allergy and Immunology/statistics & numerical data , Child , Educational Status , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Male , Rural Population , Serbia/epidemiology , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of high body mass index (BMI) on patient-reported outcomes in sarcoidosis patients and healthy persons. METHODS: In this case-control study, we investigated symptoms of fatigue and dyspnoea, health status, BMI and spirometric tests in 184 sarcoidosis patients and the same number of sex- and age-matched healthy subjects. Fatigue was assessed using the fatigue scale (FS), dyspnoea was determined by the baseline dyspnoea index (BDI) and health status was measured using the respiratory-specific St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). RESULTS: There were significantly more subjects with increased BMI (≥25 kg/m(2)) among the sarcoidosis patients than among the healthy volunteers ((2) 37.675, P < 0.01). Sarcoidosis patients also had a greater probability of having a higher BMI (P < 0.01, OR 1.18, 95%CI 1.071.3). We found significantly lower BDI scores and forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity, as well as higher total SGRQ and total FS scores in sarcoidosis patients than in healthy individuals (P < 0.01 for all differences). CONCLUSION: Sarcoidosis significantly reduces patients' health status, both independently and also due to increased BMI. Reduction in BMI may contribute to improved spirometry results and health status of patients with sarcoidosis.
Subject(s)
Obesity/complications , Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary/complications , Adult , Body Mass Index , Case-Control Studies , Chi-Square Distribution , Dyspnea/etiology , Fatigue/etiology , Female , Forced Expiratory Volume , Health Status , Humans , Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use , Logistic Models , Lung/physiopathology , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Obesity/diagnosis , Odds Ratio , Predictive Value of Tests , Prognosis , Risk Factors , Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary/diagnosis , Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary/drug therapy , Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary/physiopathology , Serbia , Spirometry , Surveys and Questionnaires , Vital CapacityABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Improvement in patient satisfaction with healthcare services can be evaluated by satisfaction questionnaires of high construct validity. OBJECTIVES: To establish the dimensions and construct validity of a 20-item patient satisfaction questionnaire to assess satisfaction with general practice services. SUBJECTS: In total, 1314 adult patients of both genders, who were users of healthcare services at the General Medicine Department of Health Centre Valjevo in Serbia for two consecutive years, were included in the study. METHODS: Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was employed to identify similarities and dissimilarities among items comprising the satisfaction questionnaire. Patient satisfaction dimensions were estimated by principal component analysis for categorical data (CATAPCA). RESULTS: The MDS model configuration derived two dimensions: (1) patient satisfaction with the timeliness of healthcare service provision; and (2) patient centredness related to doctors' and nurses' commitment towards their health. In the CATAPCA model, two dimensions of patient satisfaction were found: the first dimension patient satisfaction with medical staff and the second dimension was indicative of contextual patient dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the applied patient satisfaction questionnaire has high validity and reliability. It also has high sensitivity for longitudinal measurements, as well as good discriminatory power in measuring the different levels of patient satisfaction.
Subject(s)
Patient Satisfaction , Primary Health Care/standards , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , SerbiaABSTRACT
SETTING: Children's Hospital for Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis, Belgrade, Serbia. OBJECTIVES: To compare parents' educational level and smoking habits with asthma in children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and in those not exposed. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 231 asthmatic children (average age 10.6 years, 49% boys) from smoking and non-smoking families were compared by birth weight, birth length, first episode of wheezing, number of respiratory infections and exacerbations per year, severity of asthma, number of hospitalisations, total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), skin prick tests and allergic manifestations. RESULTS: In our study, 77% of the children were from smoking families: 45.9% had active smoking mothers and 51% active smoking fathers. Smoking was more common among parents with lower education level. The mother being the only smoker in the family had a greater impact on respiratory infections and asthma exacerbations in the first years of life; however, after the third year, the effect of having both smoking parents was important. Children exposed to ETS had more allergic manifestations. The percentage of children with both non-smoking parents decreased and that of children with both smoking parents increased with increasing asthma severity (χ(2) = 17.73, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ETS has a negative impact on illness among children with asthma.
Subject(s)
Asthma/etiology , Educational Status , Parents/education , Smoking/adverse effects , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/adverse effects , Adolescent , Asthma/diagnosis , Asthma/epidemiology , Asthma/therapy , Birth Weight , Body Size , Chi-Square Distribution , Child , Comorbidity , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Hospitalization , Hospitals, Pediatric , Humans , Immunoglobulin E/blood , Intradermal Tests , Male , Risk Assessment , Risk Factors , Serbia/epidemiology , Severity of Illness Index , Smoking/epidemiology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The case of a 2-year-old boy with keratosis follicularis spinulosa decalvans is described. On of his sisters had keratosis follicularis of the upper arms, forearms, thighs and legs as well as blepharonconjunctivitis chronica catarrhalis bilateralis and was considered as forme fruste of the anomaly. His mother had sparse eyebrows. The mode of inheritance and the Lyon hypothesis are discussed.
