1,721,199 research outputs found
Current issues and new direction in P<i>sychology and Health</i>: epidemiology and health psychology--please bridge the gap
No full textEpidemiology has and continues to play a vital role in furthering our understanding of risks for disease development. Large scale studies provide the necessary statistical power to identify biological and environmental factors associated with disease onset and severity. However, association does not confirm causality and in theoretical terms, epidemiology is somewhat limited. In this editorial, we argue that bringing together the methodological strengths of epidemiology with the theoretical rigour of psychology enables researchers to go beyond risk-finding and develop causative [or explanatory] models of disease development which pave the way for directed, evidence-based interventions to improve health
Personalized interventions for behaviour change: A scoping review of just‐in‐time adaptive interventions
No full textPurpose: Examine the development, implementation and evaluation of just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) in behaviour change and evaluate the quality of intervention reporting.Methods: A scoping review of JITAIs incorporating mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve health-related behaviours in adults. We searched MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO using terms related to JITAIs, mHealth, behaviour change and intervention methodology. Narrative analysis assessed theoretical foundations, real-time data capturing and processing methods, outcome evaluation and summarized JITAI efficacy. Quality of intervention reporting was assessed using the template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist.Results: Sixty-two JITAIs across physical activity, sedentary behaviour, dietary behaviour, substance use, sexual behaviour, fluid intake, treatment adherence, social skills, gambling behaviour and self-management skills were included. The majority (71%) aimed to evaluate feasibility, acceptability and/or usability. Supporting evidence for JITAI development was identified in 46 studies, with 67% applying this to develop tailored intervention content. Over half (55%) relied solely on self-reported data for tailoring, and 13 studies used only passive monitoring data. While data processing methods were commonly reported, 44% did not specify their techniques. 89% of JITAI designs achieved full marks on the TIDieR checklist and provided sufficient details on JITAI components. Overall, JITAIs proved to be feasible, acceptable and user-friendly across behaviours and settings. Randomized trials showed tailored interventions were efficacious, though outcomes varied by behaviour.Conclusions: JITAIs offer a promising approach to developing personalized interventions, with their potential effects continuously growing. The recommended checklist emphasizes the importance of reporting transparency in establishing robust intervention designs
The influence of behavioural and psychological factors on medication adherence over time in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a study in the biologics era.
No full textObjective: To investigate the level of self-reported adherence to biologic treatment and establish the contribution of demographic, physical and psychological factors to biologic medication adherence in a rheumatoid arthritis cohort. Method: Adalimumab (ADA) treated patients were recruited through the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register – Rheumatoid Arthritis (BSRBR-RA) between May 2007 and April 2009. Demographic and baseline psychological measures including illness and medication beliefs with baseline and follow up measures of disease activity (DAS28), physical function (HAQ) and quality of life (SF36) at 6, 12 and 18 months were collected. Adherence was assessed at each follow up using the validated 19-item patient self-completed Compliance Questionnaire Rheumatology (CQR). Multi-level mixed effects modelling analysis was performed to investigate predictors of adherence. Results: Of the 329 ADA patients included, a quarter reported only moderate adherence (CQR scor
“Seeing pain differently”::A qualitative investigation into the differences and similarities of pain and rheumatology specialists interpretation of multi-dimensional mhealth pain data from children and young people with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Full text linkBackgroundIn contrast to traditional uni-dimensional paper-based scales, mHealth assessment of pain in children and young people (CYP) with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) enables comprehensive and complex multidimensional pain data to be captured remotely by individuals with this long-term condition. However, we do not yet know how professionals use multidimensional pain data to interpret and synthesise pain reports gathered using mHealth tools.ObjectiveTo explore the salience and prioritisation of different mHealth pain features as interpreted by key stakeholders involved in research into and management of CYP with JIA. Methods Pain and rheumatology specialists were purposively recruited via professional organisations. We conducted face-to-face focus groups for each separate specialist group. Participants were asked to rank order nine static vignette scenarios created from real patient mHealth multidimensional pain data. These data had been collected by a researcher in a separate study using My Pain Tracker (MPT), a valid and acceptable mHealth iPad pain communication tool which collects information about intensity, severity, location, emotion and pictorial pain qualities. Specialists discussed their decision-making processes behind each rank order in the focus groups. The total group rank ordering of vignette scenarios were calculated. Qualitative data from discussions were analysed using latent thematic analysis. ResultsNine pain specialists took part in one focus group and ten rheumatology specialists in another. Within groups, consensus for the highest pain experience was poorer in pain specialists (42.86%) compared to their rankings of lowest pain experiences (57.14%). However in rheumatology specialists, consensus for highest pain experience (70%) was stronger than when ranking the lowest pain experience (50%). Pain intensity was a high priority for pain specialists, but intensity and severity taken together were prioritised high by rheumatology specialists. Pain spread was highly prioritised, with the number of pain locations (particular areas or joints) being a high priority for both groups and radiating pain a high priority for pain specialists only. Pain emotion was challenging for both groups and was only perceived to be a high priority when specialists had additional confirmatory evidence (such as information about pain interference or clinical observations) to validate this. Pain qualities such as particular word descriptors, use of the colour red and fire symbols were seen to be high priority by both groups in interpretation of CYP pain reports. ConclusionsPain interpretation is complex but findings from this study of specialists decision-making processes indicate which aspects of pain are prioritised and weighted more heavily than others by those interpreting mHealth data. These findings are useful for future research to develop electronic graphical summaries to assist specialists to interpret patient reported mHealth pain data more efficiently in clinical and research settings.<br/
Chronic widespread pain predicts physical inactivity: results from the prospective EPIFUND study
No full textThis study tested the hypothesis that chronic widespread pain (CWP) would predict low levels of physical activity (PA). Pain status and PA levels were ascertained at baseline and 32 months in community subjects. Three PA questions were used: “in comparison with others your own age, is your PA “the same” (referent), “more-much more” or “less-much less””, and “during the past month on average how many days/week have you taken exercise that has (i) lasted at least 20 min? and (ii) made you sweat?: “4–7” (referent), “1–3” or “none””. Multinomial logistic regression models quantified the relationship between baseline CWP and PA at follow-up (relative risk ratios (RRR) (95% confidence intervals)). Two thousands one hundred and eighty-two subjects participated and provided complete pain and PA information at both timepoints. CWP was reported by 18% (n = 429) of participants at baseline. Compared to subjects who were free of CWP at baseline, those with CWP had an increased odds of reporting “less-much less” PA at follow-up (RRR = 4.5 (3.2–6.2)). This relationship remained after adjustment for confounders (RRR = 1.9 (1.3–2.9)). A similar association was observed with exercise that lasted at least 20 min (RRR = 1.9 (1.3–2.8)). The current study suggests that low self-reported levels of physical activity are a consequence of having CWP
The relationship between psychological distress and multiple tender points across the adult lifespan
Full text linkMultiple tender points are common in the population and, in studies of mid-life adults, are strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress. Whether this relationship occurs in older adults is unclear. This cross-sectional study investigated whether high levels of psychological distress would be associated with a high tender point count and whether the relationship would be moderated by age. Three thousand three hundred and seventy-nine individuals were mailed a questionnaire which included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS), the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A random sample of approximately 10% of subjects who returned the questionnaire undertook a physical assessment, including a manual tender point count assessment.A total of 2385 (71%) subjects completed the questionnaire, of whom 798 (33%) were invited to take part in the physical assessment and 290 (12%) participated. Of the 290 participants the median age was 64 years (range 34-97) and 63% were female. The median HAD score was 9 (IQR 5-14) and the median number of tender points was 3 (range 0-7).Increasing HAD score was positively and significantly associated with tender point count, but this relationship was not moderated by age. In a final multivariable model, sex, HAD score and PSQI score were independent predictors of multiple tender points.Psychological distress was associated with multiple tender points independent of age. Psychological distress and trouble sleeping were important, potentially modifiable factors associated with the outcome
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
