Daniela C. Gonçalves

Characteristics and effectiveness of diabetes self-management educational programs targeted to racial/ethnic minority groups: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.

BackgroundIt is not clear to what extent educational programs aimed at promoting diabetes self-management in ethnic minority groups are effective. The aim of this work was to systematically review the effectiveness of educational programs to promote the self-management of racial/ethnic minority groups with type 2 diabetes, and to identify programs’ characteristics associated with greater success.MethodsWe undertook a systematic literature review. Specific searches were designed and implemented for Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scirus, Current Contents and nine additional sources (from inception to October 2012). We included experimental and quasi-experimental studies assessing the impact of educational programs targeted to racial/ethnic minority groups with type 2 diabetes. We only included interventions conducted in countries members of the OECD. Two reviewers independently screened citations. Structured forms were used to extract information on intervention characteristics, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness. When possible, we conducted random-effects meta-analyses using standardized mean differences to obtain aggregate estimates of effect size with 95% confidence intervals. Two reviewers independently extracted all the information and critically appraised the studies.ResultsWe identified thirty-seven studies reporting on thirty-nine educational programs. Most of them were conducted in the US, with African American or Latino participants. Most programs obtained some benefits over standard care in improving diabetes knowledge, self-management behaviors and clinical outcomes. A meta-analysis of 20 randomized controlled trials (3,094 patients) indicated that the programs produced a reduction in glycated hemoglobin of -0.31% (95% CI -0.48% to -0.14%). Diabetes knowledge and self-management measures were too heterogeneous to pool. Meta-regressions showed larger reduction in glycated hemoglobin in individual and face to face delivered interventions, as well as in those involving peer educators, including cognitive reframing techniques, and a lower number of teaching methods. The long-term effects remain unknown and cost-effectiveness was rarely estimated.ConclusionsDiabetes self-management educational programs targeted to racial/ethnic minority groups can produce a positive effect on diabetes knowledge and on self-management behavior, ultimately improving glycemic control. Future programs should take into account the key characteristics identified in this review.

From Loving Grandma to Working with Older Adults: Promoting Positive Attitudes Towards Aging

The steady increase of population aging requires not only more people working within the field of aging but also the creation of new services. However, current students from areas such as medicine, nursing, psychology, and social work frequently have low interest in working with older adults. The low interest relates to this tasks lack of challenge, absence of social status, and lower incomes. Different variables explain pervasive negative attitudes and lack of interest to work with older cohorts. Change of direction in this trend involves the inclusion of age related topics in university curriculum as well as promoting direct contact with older adults.

Attitudes, knowledge, and interest: preparing university students to work in an aging world

BACKGROUND The underlying goals of the present study were (i) to assess knowledge of and attitudes towards aging in a sample of Portuguese undergraduate students undertaking various degrees in health and welfare subjects, and (ii) to analyze the extent to which knowledge, attitudes and other factors were associated with interest in working with older adults. METHODS The study was cross-sectional in design. The sample comprised 460 Portuguese undergraduate students enrolled in degrees in nursing, social work, and psychology. They were asked to complete questionnaires and quizzes, which were analyzed using contingency tables and one way analysis of variance for inter-group comparison, and then subjected to multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Significant differences emerged between groups on knowledge, attitudes towards aging and interest in working with older adults, with both nursing and social work students displaying more positive attitudes, knowledge, and interest in working with older adults, when compared with psychology students. A regression analysis indicated that attitudes, knowledge, and previous formal contact were significant predictors of interest. CONCLUSION Interest in working with older adults was significantly related to positive attitudes, more knowledge and formal previous contact. Positive attitudes towards older adults can be promoted through interaction with faculty members and experts, knowledge acquisition about normative changes with age, and contact with healthy and impaired older adults.

Who worries most? Worry prevalence and patterns across the lifespan

To examine the age‐related worry patterns in a population‐based sample of self‐reported worriers.

Prevalence and correlates of generalized anxiety disorder among older adults in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being

BACKGROUND Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) occurs commonly, with widespread consequences including decreased functioning and wellbeing, and increased consumption of health resources. Notwithstanding its prevalence and impact, knowledge about GAD in older adults is still scarce. Accordingly, the main goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence and analyze the correlates of 12-month DSM-IV GAD in older community-residing adults. METHODS The sample was drawn from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being and consisted of 3035 participants aged between 55 and 85years, assessed by lay interviewers with the fully-structured Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS Eighty-four participants were diagnosed with GAD, equivalent to a weighted 12-month population prevalence of 2.8% (95% CI: 2.0, 3.7). In a multivariate logistic regression model older age (OR=0.24, p=0.006), functional limitations (OR=1.07, p=0.001), lifetime depression comorbidity (OR=5.31, p<0.001), concerns about having a serious illness despite doctors reassurance (OR=2.29, p=0.021), and family history of anxiety or depression (OR=2.41, p=0.007) were the most significant predictors of 12-month GAD in older adults. LIMITATIONS This was a cross sectional study, limiting causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS In community-residing older adults GAD is highly prevalent and strongly associated with functional limitations, psychiatric comorbidity and increased medication intake. These findings suggest the need for greater clinical awareness of GAD among older adults.

Health care interventions to improve the quality of diabetes care in African Americans: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious, costly, and potentially preventable public health problem in the U.S., and both the prevalence and incidence of diabetes have increased rapidly since the mid-1990s (1). Currently, >7% of adults in the U.S. have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and diabetes-related care accounts for 11% of all U.S. health care expenditures (2). African Americans bear a disproportionate burden from diabetes and its complications. Compared with Caucasians, African Americans are almost twice as likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes and to experience diabetes-related blindness and lower-limb amputations, and two to six times more likely to have kidney disease (3). Furthermore, these disparities are enhanced when in tandem with other axes of inequality, such as geographic region, age, or sex (4). Health inequalities in diabetes care can be conceptualized as differences in the quality of diabetes self-management (DSM) and of the medical care received. African Americans with diabetes experience more difficulties in DSM than Caucasians (5,6). Several reasons contribute to the observed differences, namely that African Americans often present cultural beliefs about their medical care and difficulties with language or low health literacy, which interfere with the success of DSM activities. Additionally, racial disparities in health services access and delivery are also thought to contribute to the observed differences, as African Americans are less likely to have routine glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) testing, lipid panels, and retinopathy screening than their Caucasian counterparts (7,8). In the past decade, there has been a surge in the development and implementation of quality improvement interventions led by the health care sector, which aim to decrease the burden of social inequalities in diabetes care. According to the Chin et al. (9) conceptual framework, those interventions can be classified as targeted to the patients, …

Case finding in dementia: comparative utility of three brief instruments in the memory clinic setting

BACKGROUND The principal goal of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of three brief instruments in memory clinic attendees. Two of the instruments were based on face-to-face clinical assessment (Standardized Mini-mental State Examination and Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale), whereas the third group used proxy information from an informant (Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly). Dementia diagnosis as provided by a specialist physician (geriatrician, psychiatrist or neurologist) was used as the reference standard. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from 204 consecutive memory clinic attendees (M = 76.90, 56% female) and their family caregivers. Comparative utility was assessed through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. RESULTS One hundred and fifty-two patients (75%) were diagnosed as having dementia. Diagnostic accuracy, as indicated by the area under the ROC curve (AUC), was similar for the three instruments as follows: SMMSE (AUC = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.76, 0.87, p < 0.0001) and RUDAS (AUC = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.77, 0.88, p < 0.0001), and slightly lower for IQCODE (AUC = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.71, 0.83, p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference between the areas under the curve (χ2 = 2.57, df = 2, p = 0.28). CONCLUSIONS Diagnostic accuracy was similar for the three instruments, which all proved to be moderately useful tools for initial screening for cognitive impairment in the memory clinic environment. Being a proxy measure, the IQCODE had specific practical use in this context, where the patient might not be able to provide information. The RUDAS exhibited high specificity and proved to be less dependent upon cultural factors than the SMMSE, making it particularly valuable in a multicultural setting.

An overview of self-administered health literacy instruments.

With the increasing recognition of health literacy as a worldwide research priority, the development and refinement of indices to measure the construct is an important area of inquiry. Furthermore, the proliferation of online resources and research means that there is a growing need for self-administered instruments. We undertook a systematic overview to identify all published self-administered health literacy assessment indices to report their content and considerations associated with their administration. A primary aim of this study was to assist those seeking to employ a self-reported health literacy index to select one that has been developed and validated for an appropriate context, as well as with desired administration characteristics. Systematic searches were carried out in four electronic databases, and studies were included if they reported the development and/or validation of a novel health literacy assessment measure. Data were systematically extracted on key characteristics of the instruments: breadth of construct (“generic” vs. “content- or context- specific” health literacy), whether it was an original instrument or a derivative, country of origin, administration characteristics, age of target population (adult vs. pediatric), and evidence for validity. 35 articles met the inclusion criteria. There were 27 original instruments (27/35; 77.1%) and 8 derivative instruments (8/35; 22.9%). 22 indices measured “general” health literacy (22/35; 62.9%) while the remainder measured condition- or context- specific health literacy (13/35; 37.1%). Most health literacy measures were developed in the United States (22/35; 62.9%), and about half had adequate face, content, and construct validity (16/35; 45.7%). Given the number of measures available for many specific conditions and contexts, and that several have acceptable validity, our findings suggest that the research agenda should shift towards the investigation and elaboration of health literacy as a construct itself, in order for research in health literacy measurement to progress.

Life review with older women: an intervention to reduce depression and improve autobiographical memory

Background and aims: As life expectancy rises worldwide and the population grows older, psychopathology in older adults becomes a significant public health concern and intervention methods acquire renewed importance. The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy of Life Review as an intervention strategy in working with older women with depressive symptoms, specifically through promotion of the specificity of autobiographical memories. Methods: Twenty-two participants were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. Intervention consisted of four individual sessions of Life Review, structured along 14 questions aimed at prompting autobiographical memory specificity. Participants in the control condition did not receive intervention. Results: Results indicated a significant change in the experimental group, appearing as the reduction of depressive symptoms (t(20)=3.58, p<0.05) and an increase in life satisfaction (t(20)=−3.83, p<0.05), as well as a significant increase in the specificity (t(20)=−3.46, p<0.05) and positivity (t(20)=−4.23, p<0.05) of autobiographical memories. All variables reached high effect sizes, with an effect size of r=0.64 regarding depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Results suggest that Life Review is a valuable tool for use with older adults, and that promotion of specific autobiographical memories is a mechanism through which the strategy attains its effectiveness.

Measuring experiences and outcomes of patient safety in primary care: a systematic review of available instruments

BACKGROUND Despite the enormous potential for adverse events in primary care, the knowledge base about patient safety in this context is still sparse. The lack of appropriate measurement methods is a key factor limiting the development of research in this field. OBJECTIVE To identify and characterize available patient reported instruments to measure patient safety in primary care. METHODS We conducted a systematic literature review. We searched in bibliographic sources for empirical studies describing the development, evaluation or use of patient reported instruments assessing patient safety in primary care. Study selection and data extraction were independently conducted by two researchers. RESULTS We identified 28 studies reporting on 23 different instruments. Fifteen instruments were designed for paper-based self-administration, six for phone interview and two consisted in electronic reporting systems. Most instruments focused on specific aspects of patient safety, most commonly on experiences of adverse drug reactions. Face validity was assessed for 10 instruments (43%), three reported construct validity (13%) and three described reliability (13%). Responsiveness was not ascertained. CONCLUSIONS Although there is evidence of good psychometric properties for a reduced number of patient reported instruments, currently available instruments do not offer a comprehensive set of resources to measure the effects of interventions to improve patient safety in primary care from a patient perspective. Future research in the field should prioritize (i) the evaluation of the performance of already available instruments and (ii) the development of new instruments that enable an comprehensive assessment of patient safety at general practices.