ABSTRACT
We aimed to evaluate the potential impact of a cataract surgery programme at the Good Shepherd Hospital, Siteki, Swaziland, on the care of orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland. We studied consecutive patients aged 50 years and older undergoing surgery for age-related cataract who reported having children living in their household. Of 131 subjects recruited, 65 (49.6%) were the primary caregivers for the child(ren) in their household. Visual acuities measured 2 weeks after surgery significantly improved. Four weeks after surgery, there was a sizable increase in the proportions of subjects who were able to undertake self-care activities, attend to activities of daily living, undertake income-generating activities and care for children. Cataract surgery on elderly visually impaired patients has the potential to impact positively on the care of orphans and vulnerable children.
Subject(s)
Caregivers , Cataract Extraction , Cataract , Child of Impaired Parents/statistics & numerical data , Child, Orphaned , HIV Infections/epidemiology , Activities of Daily Living , Aged , Caregivers/psychology , Caregivers/standards , Cataract/physiopathology , Cataract/psychology , Cataract/therapy , Cataract Extraction/methods , Cataract Extraction/rehabilitation , Child , Eswatini/epidemiology , Family Characteristics , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Recovery of Function , Self Care/psychology , Self Care/standards , Time Factors , Treatment Outcome , Visual AcuityABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate college-age students' awareness of and involvement in hospice and to ascertain information regarding their own experiences with death and their preferences about death and dying. Our data were gathered through a mailed survey to 521 biology majors at an undergraduate college in the southeastern United States (122 responded or 23%). The majority of respondents were aware of hospice, yet less than 25% had any involvement with hospice. Over 90% of the respondents had seen a dead body, and one-third had witnessed a death. Statistically significant differences by gender were found only with awareness of hospice, with women being more knowledgeable. With health professions as the goal for most of these students, a similar study with a cohort of non-college students, or even non-health-profession-bound college students, would serve as an interesting "control" group.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Death , Hospice Care , Students , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Southeastern United States , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Satisfaction with care is an important outcome for evaluating the effectiveness of medical care. Many factors can influence satisfaction, including disease state, healthcare utilization, and health-status changes. However, few studies have investigated the association between these factors and changes in satisfaction. DESIGN: This study examined the influence of personal characteristics, type of health plan, disease states, and healthcare utilization on changes in satisfaction with care in a prospective cohort over a 12-month period through two surveys, baseline and follow-up. PARTICIPANTS: Enrollees in one of three different commercial health plans: point-of-service product, an unrestricted fee-for-service product, and a preferred-provider organization product. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two multivariate logistic regression models were constructed. The first model evaluated factors that predicted increased satisfaction with care between the two surveys. Compared with respondents who reported no change in health status, both those with improved health status (odds ratio [OR], 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI95], 1.03-1.61) and those with declines in health (OR, 1.29, CI95, 1.03-1.61) were significantly more likely to report an increase in satisfaction with care. Those with a history of hospitalization were also more likely to report an increase in satisfaction with care (OR, 1.27, CI95, 1.01-1.59). The second multivariate logit model evaluated factors that predicted decreases in satisfaction with care from the baseline survey. Those with reported declines in health status were more likely to report decreases in satisfaction with medical care (OR, 1.43, CI95, 1.13-1.79). Neither age, gender, race, type of health plan, disease state, nor doctor's office visits were related to observed changes in satisfaction with medical care. CONCLUSION: Changes in satisfaction with care appear to be related to changes in health status. However, the relation between these two attributes is not intuitively apparent.
