Evaluation of a self-management patient education programme for fibromyalgia-results of a cluster-RCT in inpatient rehabilitation.

The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-management patient education programme for fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) as compared with usual care education in inpatient rehabilitation. In a multicentre cluster-randomized controlled trial, 583 inpatients in 3 rehabilitation centres received an advanced self-management patient education programme or usual care education. Patients completed questionnaires at admission, discharge and after 6 and 12 months. Primary outcomes were disease- and treatment-specific knowledge at discharge, and self-management-competencies after 6 months. Secondary outcomes included satisfaction, attitudes, coping competencies, psychological distress and health impairment. We found a medium-sized effect on disease- and treatment-specific knowledge at discharge (P < 0.05, Cohen's d = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.27-0.63), and small effects for subjective knowledge, pain-related control, self-monitoring and insight, communication about disease, action planning for physical activity and treatment satisfaction (all P < 0.05). Only the effect on knowledge persisted for 6 and 12 months. This advanced education programme seemed to be more effective in the short term than usual education. However, intermediate- and long-term effects did not emerge. While superior long-term effects on knowledge as well as short-term effects on self-management skills may suggest implementation, additional long-term effects on other patient-relevant outcomes would be desirable. Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00008782, Registered 8 July 2015.

[Evaluation of effectiveness of education in rheumatology : Recommendations according to a patient education model]. / Wirksamkeitsprüfung rheumatologischer Schulungen : Empfehlungen nach einem Wirkmodell der Patientenschulung.

Patient education in rheumatology should be evidence-based. As recommended by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) the outcomes of evaluation studies should be based on the goals of the education program. In Germany the goals of education programs have been described for all relevant rheumatological indications, various education programs have been published and evaluated. Our model of patient education outcomes distinguishes proximal and distal outcomes that should be used in effectiveness studies. Proximal goals include health literacy (e.g. knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivation) and empowerment. These can be directly influenced by the educational elements of a program. Distal outcomes include self-management behavior (e.g. health behavior, adherence, coping and emotion regulation), morbidity, functioning, quality of life and participation. The latter can be influenced by proximal outcomes and moderated by a number of personal and environmental factors. The results of a literature search summarize appropriate measurements for these outcomes. For distal outcomes, valid instruments exist in the German language for some rheumatological indications. To assess proximal goals there are still developmental needs. We recommend choosing proximal and distal outcomes for evaluation according to the model of patient education outcomes and to test the relationships between these outcomes.

Measurement of stable changes of self-management skills after rehabilitation: a latent state-trait analysis of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ™).

PURPOSE: To assess stable effects of self-management programs, measurement instruments should primarily capture the attributes of interest, for example, the self-management skills of the measured persons. However, measurements of psychological constructs are always influenced by both aspects of the situation (states) and aspects of the person (traits). This study tests whether the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ™), an instrument assessing a wide range of proximal outcomes of self-management programs, is primarily influenced by person factors instead of situational factors. Furthermore, measurement invariance over time, changes in traits and predictors of change for each heiQ™ scale were examined. METHODS: Subjects were N = 580 patients with rheumatism, asthma, orthopedic conditions or inflammatory bowel disease, who filled out the heiQ™ at the beginning, the end of and 3 months after a disease-specific inpatient rehabilitation program in Germany. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to estimate latent trait-change models and test for measurement invariance in each heiQ™ scale. Coefficients of consistency, occasion specificity and reliability were computed. RESULTS: All scales showed scalar invariance over time. Reliability coefficients were high (0.80-0.94), and consistency coefficients (0.49-0.79) were always substantially higher than occasion specificity coefficients (0.14-0.38), indicating that the heiQ™ scales primarily capture person factors. Trait-changes with small to medium effect sizes were shown in five scales and were affected by sex, age and diagnostic group. CONCLUSION: The heiQ™ can be used to assess stable effects in important outcomes of self-management programs over time, e.g., changes in self-management skills or emotional well-being.

[The 'ideal therapy process': testing a new approach for assessing process quality in inpatient parent-child facilities]. / Der "ideale Behandlungsprozess": Erprobung eines neuen Ansatzes zur Prüfung der Prozessqualität in Mutter-/Vater-Kind-Einrichtungen.

Instruments for external quality assurance in inpatient parent-child rehabilitation and prevention facilities were developed in 2 projects. For the assessment of process quality, we sought an alternative test to the peer review procedure which also places a stronger emphasis on patient perspectives. The aim was to define an "ideal process" as a standard, to develop quantifiable criteria, and to test a multimethod approach which involves different data levels. On the basis of different sources, the "ideal process" for parent-child rehabilitation and prevention and associated criteria were defined by involving an accompanying expert group during a consensus process. Criteria were assessed on different levels: on the rehabilitation/prevention centre level, a questionnaire of process-relevant structural features was used; on the patient level, a case-related routine documentation filled in by clinic staff and an incident-related patient questionnaire were applied. Data were collected in 37 centres (prevention: 19; rehabilitation: 11; 7 offering both types of programmes). Analysis of patient-related data is based on a sample of 1 513 prevention patients and 286 rehabilitation patients. The resulting "ideal process" consists of the stages "preparation", "arrival", "treatment planning", "treatment", "completion of treatment", and "organisation", each containing specific criteria. Exemplarily, the outcomes for the stages "treatment planning" and "treatment" are presented. There is variability both between features and between clinics. The majority of the patients report that the criteria are fulfilled while there are medium to high levels of fulfillment regarding the routine documentation. The criteria of the questionnaire of process-relevant structural features are mostly fulfilled according to the clinics. Agreement between the 3 data levels can be observed. On the basis of the defined "ideal process", the methods that were tested seem to be appropriate to illustrate process-relevant features from different perspectives. The exemplary measured process quality of the pilot clinics can be judged as predominantly good. Individual deficits of process quality and limitations of the chosen methods are discussed.

[External quality assurance in inpatient medical rehabilitation and prevention centers for mothers, fathers and children: comparative outcome quality analyses across rehabilitation/prevention centers]. / Externe Qualitätssicherung in Einrichtungen der stationären Vorsorge und Rehabilitation für Mütter und Väter einschließlich Mutter-/Vater-Kind-Einrichtungen: Einrichtungsvergleichende Analysen im Bereich Ergebnisqualität.

To date, there are no programs for external quality assurance for inpatient prevention and rehabilitation programs for mothers, fathers and children. Instruments for outcome quality assessment were evaluated with the goal of determining their ability to document differences between prevention/rehabilitation centers in quality-relevant outcome parameters. Referring to the ICF, relevant outcome variables were specified and operationalized using established questionnaires. Data from 45 inpatient prevention and rehabilitation centers for mothers, fathers and children were analyzed using multilevel modeling with risk adjustment. Intra-class correlations were computed to determine in which parameters differences between institutions could be found. The percentage of variability accounted for by patient vs. institution characteristics was computed while statistically controlling for relevant confounders. For prevention centers, substantial variation on the institutional level was found in 9 out of 15 parameters. Almost all institutions did not deviate significantly from the grand mean of the respective parameter. For rehabilitation centers, significant variability was found in 2 out of 10 parameters. The differences between most institutions remained within a range of expectable variability. The results imply that comparative analyses across hospitals are better suited to identify institutions with low quality rather than establish quality-based rankings of institutions.

[External quality assurance in inpatient medical rehabilitation and prevention centers for mothers, fathers and children: development of instruments for assessing structural quality]. / Externe Qualitätssicherung in Mutter-/Vater-Kind-Einrichtungen: Entwicklung von Instrumenten im Bereich Strukturqualität.

AIM OF THE STUDY: As required by German law, inpatient institutions offering prevention and rehabilitation measures for mothers, fathers and children are obliged to implement external quality assurance measures. In 2 pilot projects funded by the German federal association of health insurance funds, external quality assurance procedures for in-hospital prevention and rehabilitation of mothers and fathers were analyzed with the aim of developing a set of instruments for the description of structural characteristics in this area of health care and to evaluate its appropriateness. Concerning structure-related quality, the project included a) designing and evaluating a questionnaire, b) the definition of assessment criteria for subsequent comparative data analyses, and c) the description and documentation of the current state in the field of rehabilitation and prevention for mothers, fathers and children. METHOD: To document structural quality comprehensively, a modular questionnaire was developed and tested in a survey of 115 inpatient prevention and rehabilitation institutions for mothers, fathers and children. Involving an expert panel, preliminary basic and selection criteria were defined in order to assure a conducive assessment with regard to structural attributes. RESULTS: The majority of institutions had provider agreements for both prevention and rehabilitation. Measures for mothers/fathers with children were predominant; only 7 institutions exclusively treated mothers and fathers. Institution sizes varied strongly. Major indications included psychosomatics, dermatology, and pneumology. Overall, structural conditions of the institutions showed a high standard. Potential for development was found with regard to some aspects of the conceptual framework of institutional practice and the implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in diagnostics. In this article, the degrees of fulfillment with relation to the structural dimensions are presented, referring to the analysis of the preliminary basic criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The developed modular questionnaire tapping structural features of inpatient mother/father-child institutions has proven to be a useful instrument to describe the structural quality in future routine practice of quality assurance. In addition, the data can be used for the definition of the final set of criteria.

[Development of methods and instruments for external quality assurance in inpatient parent-child rehabilitation and prevention]. / Entwicklung von Verfahrensweisen und Instrumenten zur externen Qualitätssicherung in Einrichtungen der stationären Vorsorge und Rehabilitation für Mütter und Väter einschließlich Mutter-/Vater-Kind-Einrichtungen.

OBJECTIVE: There so far is no standardized program for external quality assurance in inpatient parent-child prevention and rehabilitation in Germany. Therefore, instruments and methods of external quality assurance were developed and evaluated on behalf of the federal-level health insurance institutions. METHODS: On the level of structure quality, a modular questionnaire for assessing structural features of rehabilitation/prevention centers, basic and allocation criteria as well as a checklist for visitations were developed. Structural data were collected in a nationwide survey of parent-child prevention and rehabilitation centers. Process and outcome quality data were collected in n=38 centers. Process quality was assessed using multiple methods (process-related structural features, case-related routine documentation, and incident-related patient questionnaires). Outcome quality was measured via patient questionnaires (n=1 799 patients). We used a multi-level modelling approach by adjusting relevant confounders on institutional and patient levels. RESULTS: The methods, instruments and analyzing procedures developed for measuring quality on the level of structure, processes and outcomes were adjusted in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders. Results are exemplarily presented for all quality assurance tools. For most of the risk-adjusted outcome parameters, we found no significant differences between institutions. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, a comprehensive, standardized and generally applicable set of methods and instruments for routine use in comparative quality measurement of inpatient parent-child prevention and rehabilitation is available. However, it should be considered that the very heterogeneous field of family-oriented measures can not be covered entirely by an external quality assurance program. Therefore, methods and instruments have to be adapted continuously to the specifics of this area of health care and to new developments.

[A view Down Under. Self-management initiatives and patient education in Australia]. / Ein Blick Down Under. Selbstmanagementinitiativen und Patientenschulungen in Australien.

The growing burden of chronic disease and the current nature of healthcare systems which are structurally ill-equipped to cater to the complex needs of patients with chronic conditions has led to governments and healthcare providers seeking alternative ways to improve patients own capacity to actively self-manage their chronic condition. In Australia, there has been a focus on patient education and self-management programs within the healthcare system to achieve this. These programs aim to empower patients through providing information and teaching skills and techniques to improve self-care and doctor-patient interaction with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life. Patient education and self-management programs have been supported through several national government initiatives and implemented within the healthcare setting. This paper describes the current position of patient education and self-management within the Australian healthcare system. It further describes a new collaboration project between an Australian and a German research team which aims at translating an assessment questionnaire used in Australia for the evaluation of self-management programs, the "Health Education Impact Questionnaire" ("heiQ"); this instrument is expected to be of significant use in the German rehabilitative system.