1,721,228 research outputs found
Singing for Lung Health: evaluation of the British Lung Foundation programme
No full textIntroduction: Singing for Lung Health (SLH) is a novel intervention for people with respiratory disease, including physical and vocal warm ups, rhythm and pitch games, repertoire and cool down/relaxation exercises. Groups are run by leaders who have received quality assured British Lung Foundation (BLF) training (Lewis A. et al, bmjresp 2017; 000216). Qualitative results suggest benefits to physical, mental and emotional health. Limited data also suggest objective improvements in measures of quality of life with SLH are achievable (Lewis A. et al, npjpcrm 2016;80). It is not known how effective the SLH groups supported by the BLF in the UK are.Aims and objectives: to understand the clinical impact SLH has on people with respiratory disease.Methods: the BLF conducted a questionnaire survey of 228 singers with respiratory disease from its SLH groups in 2016-2017. Questionnaires were administered prior to participants’ first session and after 12 weeks of singing.Results: 113 (49.5%) of participants provided 12 week data. There were significant improvements in CAT score (Mean -1.4 CI: (0.25 - -2.48) (p = 0.017). Furthermore, 45% of singers reported reduced GP visits (p = 0.00002) and 18% reported reduced hospital admissions (p = 0.01). However, there were no significant improvements in general quality of life, anxiety, patient activation, breathlessness or inhaler use.Conclusion: this evaluation found that participants in SLH groups report improvement in respiratory health-related quality of life and a reduction in healthcare utilisation. SLH has potential economic and health benefits. Therefore, to confirm these findings these endpoints should be evaluated further in large scale randomised controlled trials
Music and dance in chronic lung disease
Full text linkArts in Health interventions show potential to improve the quality of life of people with chronic lung disease. Listening to music, making music, and dance have accepted and established roles in the lives of people without chronic disease. However, their potential utility in chronic disease management is infrequently considered by medical professionals. The aim of this review is to examine the use of music and dance in the treatment and self-management of chronic lung disease. Although the evidence base is currently limited, existing research suggests a range of biopsychosocial benefits. As personalised medicine and social prescribing become more prominent, further research is required to establish the role of arts interventions in chronic lung disease
Singing for Lung Health: a qualitative assessment of a British Lung Foundation programme for group leaders
Full text linkSinging for Lung Health (SLH) is a novel intervention for individuals with respiratory disease. Qualitative results have been positive for benefits to physical, mental and emotional health. Limited existing data suggest objective improvements in measures of quality of life with SLH are also achievable. Researchers investigated whether SLH groups supported by the British Lung Foundation (BLF) in the UK provide clinical benefit for individuals with respiratory disease.
The BLF conducted a questionnaire survey of 171 singers with respiratory disease from its SLH groups in 2016-2017. Questionnaires were administered prior to participants’ first session of singing and at 12 weeks following singing. There were significant improvements in CAT score (Mean -1.2 CI: 0.16-2.54 (P: 0.027)) PAM score: Median 2.5 (P: 0.049) and EQ VAS: Median 5 (P: 0.023) Furthermore, there were significant reductions in GP visits (P: 0.0009) and hospital admissions (P: 0.049).
This evaluation found that participants in singing for lung health groups report improvement in health-related quality of life and a reduction in healthcare utilisation. This suggests that these endpoints should be evaluated further in randomised control trials
Eligibility for lung volume reduction in patients with COPD attending pulmonary rehabilitation
No full textBackground: lung volume reduction (LVR) therapies are highly effective in appropriately selected patients with COPD. NICE (2018) guidance recommends offering a respiratory review for LVR assessment at the end of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), if certain criteria apply. Few data exist on likely numbers potentially eligible according to these criteria [1].Methods: data from the 2015 and 2017 UK Royal College of Physicians National Asthma and COPD Audits were used to identify numbers of patients completing PR potentially eligible to be assessed for LVR based on NICE guidelines; FEV1<50%, 6 Minute Walk Distance (6MWD) ≥140m, ex or non smoker and limiting breathlessness [1]. We used a cut off of >80m for the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) and breathlessness criteria of either MRC dyspnoea score >3 or ≥3.Results: 8,295 (55.7%) of 14,889 patients in programs using ISWT or 6MWD to assess change in exercise capacity completed PR, and 4,856 (32.6%) had complete data recorded. Of these 310 (6.4%) were eligible to be considered for LVR assessment, at a breathlessness threshold of MRC score >3. Relaxing the criteria to include MRC≥3, meant 881 (18.1%) would be eligible.Conclusions: a systematic approach to identify potential candidates for LVR, during and at the end of PR, is desirable. Approaches for the appropriate evaluation of non-completers also need to be considered
Physiotherapy assessment of breathlessness and disordered patterns of breathing: defining a consensus on terminology and assessment
No full textIntroduction: Abnormal breathing patterns unexplained by pathophysiology are typically referred to using terms including chronic breathlessness syndrome or complex breathlessness. Often patients with these conditions are referred to physiotherapy for an assessment of this breathlessness, where some are diagnosed with breathing pattern disorder (BrPD) or dysfunctional breathing (DB). The condition seen in physiotherapy occurs in at least 10% of the general population, increasing to 29−40% with coexisting conditions. Inconsistency in the nomenclature and physiotherapy assessment reduces recognition of the condition and hinders development in this area. Aims of the study: To establish expert physiotherapists' consensus on terminology to describe this condition and provide guidance for its physiotherapy assessment. Participants and methods: The opinions and experiences of ten respiratory physiotherapists, nine other clinicians (doctors, nurses, and speech and language therapists), and five patients diagnosed with BrPD were explored in focus groups or interviews regarding the terminology used and assessment experience. A second separate purposive sample of clinical expert physiotherapists (n = 11) took part in a nominal group technique (NGT) process to build consensus on the following questions: Question 1: What is your preferred term for this condition? Question 2: What are the most important assessment components to be included in all assessments? Results: One focus group (n = 10) and 14 interviews were completed. Framework analysis of the data from focus groups and interviews was undertaken and these results were shared with the participants in the nominal group. Consensus (71%) for the term breathing pattern disorder (BrPD) was achieved and an assessment guide was created. Conclusion: With improved consistency in its description and assessment, the adoption of breathing pattern disorder may help to further develop clinical and research priorities in this area within physiotherapy services
The physiology of singing and implications for ‘Singing for Lung Health’ as a therapy for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
No full textSinging is an increasingly popular activity for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Research to date suggests that ‘Singing for Lung Health’ may improve various health measures, including health-related quality-of-life. Singing and breathing are closely linked processes affecting one another. In this narrative review, we explore the physiological rationale for ‘Singing for Lung Health’ as an intervention, focusing on the abnormalities of pulmonary mechanics seen in COPD and how these might be impacted by singing. The potential beneficial physiological mechanisms outlined here require further in-depth evaluation
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
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