Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Knee Osteoarthritis Fears and Beliefs Questionnaire.

This study aimed to adapt and validate the Knee Osteoarthritis Fears and Beliefs Questionnaire (KOFBeQ) for Chinese patients, thereby advancing the understanding of fear-avoidance behaviors. Adopting a cross-sectional design, data were collected for 241 subjects (78.8% women; mean age 68.0 ± 7.8 years) across various healthcare settings in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in an 11-item questionnaire with three distinct subscales, covering fears and beliefs related to physicians and disease (six items), daily living activities (three items), and sports and leisure activities (two items). The overall Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.86, indicating strong internal consistency. The questionnaire exhibited favorable convergent validity. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a good model fit. Test-retest reliability analysis indicated a high intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.88, 0.96), and a Bland-Altman plot revealed a slight bias in two measurements (0.97 [0.19]) without a systematic trend. The adapted Chinese version of the KOFBeQ demonstrated robust psychometric properties in terms of validity and reliability, providing an effective tool for surveying Chinese patients with knee osteoarthritis. These findings offer valuable insights for clinicians and patients, aiding in informed decision-making and improved rehabilitation strategies.

Self-stigma and stages of change as predictors of treatment adherence of individuals with schizophrenia.

The current study aimed at exploring the relationship between self-stigma, readiness for change and psychosocial treatment adherence among individuals with schizophrenia. Between March 2007 and January 2008, 105 adults with schizophrenia were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to assess participants' level of self-stigma, readiness for change, insight, and general self-efficacy. The corresponding case therapists reported participants' level of treatment adherence, psychopathology, and global functioning. Findings of stepwise multiple regression suggested that individuals with higher global functioning, better readiness for action, and lower level of self-stigma demonstrated better treatment participation. Individuals with lesser severity of psychiatric symptoms and female participants had better treatment attendance. The results of discriminant function analysis showed the combined score of self-stigma, stages of change, and global functioning measures correctly classified 76.2% participants into adherent/nonadherent group membership. Suggestions for further studies and development of self-stigma reduction program to facilitate recovery and treatment adherence were made.

The effectiveness of Long's manipulation on patients with chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Long's manipulation (LM) is a representative Chinese manipulation approach incorporating both spinal manipulation and traditional Chinese massage (TCM) techniques. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to compare the immediate and short-term relative effectiveness of LM to TCM on patients with chronic neck pain. Patients were randomly assigned to either LM group or TCM group. LM group was treated with Long's manipulation, while the TCM group received TCM therapy. Patients attended 8 sessions of treatment (one session every three days). Outcome measures included neck disability (Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire; NPQ), pain intensity (Numeric Pain Rating Scale; NPRS), patient perceived satisfaction of care (PPS) (11-point scale), craniovertebral angle (CV angle) and cervical range of motion (ROM). A blinded assessor performed assessment at baseline, immediate after treatment and 3 months post treatment. LM group achieved significantly greater improvement than TCM group in pain intensity (p < 0.001), neck disability (p = 0.049) and satisfaction (p < 0.001) up to 3-month follow-up. There was no significant difference in improvements in CV angle and most of cervical ROM between groups (p = 0.169 ∼ 0.888) with an exception of flexion at 3-month follow-up (p = 0.005). This study shows that LM could produce better effects than TCM in relieving pain and improving disability in the management of patients with chronic mechanical neck pain.