Comparison of Yoga with exercise in ankylosing spondylitis on mobility and functional capacity.

AIM: To compare the effects of Yoga with traditional exercise on the mobility and functional capacity of individuals with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: The participants of the study were recruited at the rheumatology department, adhering to the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants were randomized into two groups (Group A - Yoga, and Group B - exercise).The candidates participated in an 8-week intervention consisting of 3 weekly sessions of either Yoga or Exercise intervention. Outcomes were collected at pre-treatment, at 8 weeks, and at 12 weeks. RESULTS: The within-group comparison showed an improvement in all outcome measures with p < .05 between post-treatment and the follow-up. In the yoga group, there was an improvement in the measures of BASMI (p = .001), BASFI (p = .005), PSQI (p = .021), CE (p = .053) and NPRS (p = .001). Similarly, in the exercise group, there was an improvement in BASMI (p = .002), BASFI (p = .003), PSQI (p = .010), CE (p = .004) and NPRS (p = .001). In the between group comparison at post-treatment, there were no statistically significant differences in BASMI (yoga = 3.0 ± 1.50, exercise = 2.3 ± 1.38), PSQI (yoga = 5.3 ± 1.50, exercise = 4.9 ± 1.17) and NPRS (yoga = 1.3 ± 2.22, exercise = 0.4 ± 0.50) CE (yoga = 4.0 ± 1.18, exercise = 3.4 ± 0.96), BASFI (yoga = 1.8 ± 2.14, exercise = 2.1 ± 1.87). CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in within-group scores of mobility, functional capacity, sleep quality and pain in AS patients of both intervention programs but there were no significant differences between the groups.

Study of Nurses' Knowledge about Palliative Care: A Quantitative Cross-sectional Survey.

CONTEXT: Studies have documented that nurses and other health care professionals are inadequately prepared to care for patients in palliative care. Several reasons have been identified including inadequacies in nursing education, absence of curriculum content related to pain management, and knowledge related to pain and palliative care. AIMS: The objective of this paper was to assess the knowledge about palliative care amongst nursing professionals using the palliative care knowledge test (PCKT). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of 363 nurses in a multispecialty hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study utilized a self-report questionnaire- PCKT developed by Nakazawa et al., which had 20 items (statements about palliative care) for each of which the person had to indicate 'correct', 'incorrect', or 'unsure.' The PCKT had 5 subscales (philosophy- 2 items, pain- 6 items, dyspnea- 4 items, psychiatric problems- 4 items, and gastro-intestinal problems- 4 items). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Comparison across individual and professional variables for both dimensions were done using one-way ANOVA, and correlations were done using Karl-Pearson's co-efficient using SPSS version 16.0 for Windows. RESULTS: The overall total score of PCKT was 7.16 ± 2.69 (35.8%). The philosophy score was 73 ± .65 (36.5%), pain score was 2.09 ± 1.19 (34.83%), dyspnea score was 1.13 ± .95 (28.25%), psychiatric problems score was 1.83 ± 1.02 (45.75%), and gastro-intestinal problems score was 1.36 ± .97 (34%). (P = .00). The female nurses scored higher than their male counterparts, but the difference was not significant (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Overall level of knowledge about palliative care was poor, and nurses had a greater knowledge about psychiatric problems and philosophy than the other aspects indicated in PCKT.

Attitudes and Beliefs About Chronic Pain Among Nurses-Biomedical or Behavioral? A Cross-sectional Survey.

CONTEXT: Studies have documented that nurses and other health care professionals are inadequately prepared to care for patients in chronic pain. Several reasons have been identified including inadequacies in nursing education, absence of curriculum content related to pain management, and attitudes and beliefs related to chronic pain. AIMS: The objective of this paper was to assess the chronic pain-related attitudes and beliefs among nursing professionals in order to evaluate the biomedical and behavioral dimensions of their perceptions on pain. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of 363 nurses in a multispecialty hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study utilized a self-report questionnaire - pain attitudes and beliefs scale (PABS) - which had 31 items (statements about pain) for each of which the person had to indicate the level at which he or she agreed or disagreed with each statement. Factor 1 score indicated a biomedical dimension while factor 2 score indicated a behavioral dimension to pain. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Comparisons across individual and professional variables for both dimensions were done using one-way ANOVA and correlations were done using the Karl-Pearson co-efficient using SPSS version 11.5 for Windows. RESULTS: The overall factor 1 score was 52.95 ± 10.23 and factor 2 score was 20.93 ± 4.72 (P = 0.00). The female nurses had a higher behavioral dimension score (21.1 ± 4.81) than their male counterparts (19.55 ± 3.67) which was significant at P < 0.05 level. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses had a greater orientation toward the biomedical dimension of chronic pain than the behavioral dimension. This difference was more pronounced in female nurses and those nurses who reported very "good" general health had higher behavioral dimension scores than those who had good general health. The study findings have important curricular implications for nurses and practical implications in palliative care.