Assessment of multi-professional primary healthcare center quality by patients with multimorbidity.

BACKGROUND: The main aim of this study was to build an item bank for assessing the care quality of multi-professional healthcare centers (MPHCC) from the perspective of patients with multimorbidity. This study was part of the QUALSOPRIM (QUALité des SOins PRIMaires; primary healthcare quality) research project to create a psychometrically robust self-administered questionnaire to assess healthcare quality. METHODS: First, twelve experts built an item bank using data from a previous qualitative work and a systematic literature review. Second, the validity of each item was assessed in a sample of patients. Adult patients with multimorbidity were recruited from six French MPHCC. Items were assessed based on ceiling effects, the level of missing or neutral responses and patient feedback. Patient feedback was recorded after the item bank completion. Based on results, items were validated, improved, or removed during expert meetings. In case of disagreement the Delphi method was used to reach consensus. RESULTS: The study sample included 209 outpatients. The most frequent medical conditions were cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular diseases and rheumatological conditions. In total, a bank of 109 items classified in nine domains was built. The validity assessment led to the removal of 34 items. Retained items explored a variety of topics related to care quality: availability, accessibility, premises' layout and building, technical care, expertise, organization, relationships with caregivers and communication, involvement and personal relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This study allowed cross-validation of a bank of 75 items, leading to a complete picture of the patient perception of care quality items. Overall, patients were generally satisfied with their care at the MPHCC. Nonetheless, there were still numerous items on subjects for which patients' satisfaction could be improved.

Practical dietary interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease suitable for implementation in primary care: an ADAPTE-guided systematic review of international clinical guidelines.

PURPOSE: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death globally. The current model of care for high-income countries involves preventive medication and highly trained healthcare professionals, which is expensive and not transposable to low-income countries. An innovative, effective approach adapted to limited human, technical, and financial resources is required. Measures to reduce CVD risk factors, including diet, are proven to be effective. The survey "Scaling-up Packages of Interventions for Cardiovascular disease prevention in selected sites in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa" aims to develop non-pharmacological cardiovascular prevention and control programs in primary care and community settings in high, middle, and low-income countries. This review aims to identify the existing, validated dietary interventions for primary CVD prevention from national and international clinical guidelines that can be implemented in primary care and communities. METHODS: A systematic review of CVD prevention guidelines was conducted between September 2017 and March 2023 using the Turning Research Into Practice medical database, the Guidelines International Network, and a purposive search. The ADAPTE procedure was followed. Two researchers independently conducted the searches and appraisals. Guidelines published after 01/01/2012 addressing non-pharmacological, dietary interventions for primary CVD prevention or CVD risk factor management, in the adult general population in primary care or in community settings were included and appraised using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II score. Individual dietary recommendations and the studies supporting them were extracted. Then supporting data about each specific dietary intervention were extracted into a matrix. RESULTS: In total, 1375 guidelines were identified, of which 39 were included. From these, 383 recommendations, covering 10 CVD prevention themes were identified. From these recommendations, 165 studies for effective dietary interventions for CVD prevention were found. Among these, the DASH diet was the most effective on multiple CVD risk factors. Combining diet with other interventions such as exercise and smoking cessation increased efficacy. No guidelines provided detailed implementation strategies. CONCLUSION: The DASH diet combined with other interventions was the most effective on an individual basis. However, expansion in the wider population seems difficult, without government support to implement regulations such as reducing salt content in processed food. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT03886064.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death around the world. Strategies to prevent heart disease in high-income countries rely on medications and the skills of highly trained healthcare professionals. However, this is expensive and unsuitable for low-income countries. Consequently, an innovative, effective approach, which can be adapted to countries with limited human, technical and financial resources is needed. A program called SPICES was developed to identify strategies other than medication to prevent and control heart disease. This program reviewed the evidence for smoking cessation, physical activity, and dietary strategies, which may be useful to prevent heart disease in communities with limited resources.In this review, the investigators searched online databases to find clinical guidelines that recommended dietary strategies to manage heart disease worldwide. The information found from this search revealed that the DASH diet, inspired by the Mediterranean diet, helps with weight loss, and improves blood pressure and cholesterol levels making it the most effective diet for preventing heart disease. It is even more effective if it is combined with other strategies such as exercise, stopping smoking or reducing the amount of alcohol consumed. However, this works well for individuals but is difficult to expand to the wider population. Therefore, government support is needed to implement regulations such as reducing salt content in processed food.

A systematic literature review of patient self-assessment instruments concerning quality of primary care in multiprofessional clinics.

BACKGROUND: Quality of care remains a priority issue and is correlated with patient experience. Measuring multidimensional patient primary care experiences in multiprofessional clinics requires a robust instrument. Although many exist, little is known about their quality. OBJECTIVE: To identify patient perception instruments in multiprofessional primary care and evaluate their quality. METHODS: Systematic review using Medline, Pascal, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Scopus, and CAIRN. Eligible articles developed, evaluated, or validated 1 or more self-assessment instruments. The instruments had to measure primary care delivery, patient primary care experiences and assess at least 3 quality-of-care dimensions. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to assess methodological quality of included studies. Instrument measurement properties were appraised using 3 possible quality scores. Data were combined to provide best-evidence synthesis based on the number of studies, their methodological quality, measurement property appraisal, and result consistency. Subscales used to capture patient primary care experiences were extracted and grouped into the 9 Institute of Medicine dimensions. RESULTS: Twenty-nine articles were found. The included instruments captured many subscales illustrating the diverse conceptualization of patient primary care experiences. No included instrument demonstrated adequate validity and the lack of scientific methodology for assessing reliability made interpreting validity questionable. No study evaluated instrument responsiveness. CONCLUSION: Numerous patient self-assessment instruments were identified capturing a wide range of patient experiences, but their measurement properties were weak. Research is required to develop and validate a generic instrument for assessing quality of multiprofessional primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

Good quality health care should be safe, effective, timely, efficient, equitable, and patient-centred. Patients describing their health care experience provides information about the quality of health care. Patient health care experiences can be recorded using questionnaires. These questionnaires measure specific aspects of the health care experience such as communication and timeliness, as well as their experience within a multiprofessional clinic, where different health professionals work together. These specific measurements evaluate how health care affects the patient's experience. However, more information is needed to understand which questionnaires are the most appropriate to evaluate patient experience. The objective of this systematic review study is to identify the number of patient experience questionnaires available and evaluate their effectiveness. Researchers examined different literature databases to identify questionnaires which measure primary care delivery, patient primary care experiences and assess at least 3 aspects of quality of care. Twenty-nine questionnaires were found which measured a wide range of patient experiences but none of them were found to be sufficient to understand all aspects of patient experience. An effective questionnaire needs to be developed and validated to assess quality of primary care in multiprofessional practices.

Job satisfaction criteria to improve general practitioner recruitment: a Delphi consensus.

BACKGROUND: The clinical general practitioner (GP) workforce is decreasing. Many studies have analysed the negative aspects of the profession but, few examine the positive aspects and job satisfaction. A European collaborative group including 8 participating countries recently conducted a qualitative study to analyse the positive factors and found 31 job satisfaction factors. OBJECTIVES: To determine which of these 31 factors are important and applicable to future policies to improve family medicine attractiveness, recruitment, and retention in France. METHOD: The Delphi consensus method was chosen. Two Delphi rounds were conducted in March-April 2017 and retained satisfaction factors with at least 70% of scores ≥7. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to rank these retained factors. Participants assigned 5 points to the factor they considered most important, 3 points to the second, and 1 point to the third. Factors receiving at least 5% (10 points) of the total points (198 points) were included in the final list. The expert panel included GPs and non-GPs. RESULTS: Twenty-nine experts began the procedure and 22 completed it. Thirty factors were retained after the 2 Delphi rounds. The NGT resulted in 8 factors: (i) Engage in family medicine to take care of the patients; (ii) Care coordination, patient advocacy; (iii) Flexibility in work; (iv) Trying to be a person-centred doctor; (v) Involvement in healthcare organization; (vi) Benefiting from a well-managed practice; (vii) Being a teacher, a trainer; (viii) Efficient professional collaboration. CONCLUSION: These 8 job satisfaction factors are important to consider and apply to future policy development.

In Europe, general practitioner (GP) numbers are falling. Policies considering GP job satisfaction could be a solution. GPs with higher job satisfaction have lower levels of stress and burnout, are more interested in their job, and stay in their job for longer. Recently, a European study found 31 GP factors that influence job satisfaction. However, it is not clear which of these 31 factors policy makers could use to improve attractiveness, recruitment, and retention in family medicine in France. A panel of experts consisting of GPs and non-GPs used the Delphi consensus method to agree on which satisfaction factors were relevant and important. These factors were then ranked in order of importance. The experts agreed upon thirty satisfaction factors. From these, 8 were ranked as most important: (i) Engage in family medicine to take care of patients; (ii) Care coordination, patient advocacy; (iii) Flexibility in work; (iv) Trying to be a person-centred doctor; (v) Involvement in the healthcare organization; (vi) Benefiting from a well-managed practice; (vii) Being a teacher, a trainer; (viii) Efficient professional collaboration. These should be considered and applied to future policy development.

[Research on adolescent depression associated with parental depression]. / Une recherche sur la dépression de l'adolescent associée à la dépression parentale.

At the crossroads of a global pandemic, here and there where public discourse misuses the concepts of depression, research has begun on a public health issue, that of adolescent depression. The Adodesp study (adolescent depression associated with parental depression) aims to study the interest of a preventive identification of adolescent depression, based on that of parental figures, while evaluating the orientation towards a care system articulated between primary care and mental health devices. To date, this study has included 42 adolescents based on the identification of 30 depressed parents. Preliminary results show that 45% of adolescents are depressed and support the need for systematic identification of adolescent depression in children of depressed parents. They also underline the difficulties and pitfalls of this identification by general practitioners and conclude that it would be useful to strengthen the link between primary care and mental health services.

Innovative cardiovascular primary prevention population-based strategies: a 2-year hybrid type 1 implementation randomised control trial (RCT) which evaluates behavioural change conducted by community champions compared with brief advice only from the SPICES project (scaling-up packages of interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention in selected sites in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa).

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) caused 17.9 million deaths worldwide in 2016, being the world's leading cause of death. Prevention of CVD in high-income countries is expensive and fails to reach the population at risk. In low-income countries, it is under-developed. The SPICES project implements a community-based program to improve CVD prevention in 3 European countries and 2 Sub-Saharan countries, based on using community champions to effect behavioural changes. In France, the project operates in "Pays Centre Ouest Bretagne" (COB) which is the Central West Brittany area, and a vulnerable, rural setting. The aim of this study is to assess this innovative prevention strategy versus brief advice. METHODS: A two-step RCT hybrid type 1 implementation study will first of all screen a population using the Non-Laboratory INTERHEART Score (NL-IHRS) and will involve health-care students at public events in the COB area until 1000 participants have been recruited. Second, a RCT will be carried out. The research team will contact each participant with an intermediate NL-IHRS in order to include them. Participants will be over 18 years of age and work or live in the COB area. Participants will be equally randomised in two groups. The intervention group will receive brief advice plus behavioural change guidance carried out by community champions. The control group will receive brief advice only. The main objective for the RCT is to assess a difference of at least 15% in the NL-IHRS between the two groups after 24 months. The primary outcome will be analysed with intention to treat. Secondary outcomes for the RCT will be assessed using validated questionnaires: the WHOQOL-BREF, the DASH Q questionnaire, the IPAQ-short; smoking level will be assessed according to the NL-IHRS scoring system; a modified self-declared alcohol consumption questionnaire has been developed and gauges will be used to assess BMI. The implementation strategy will use mixed methods: qualitative research methods and quantitative epidemiological studies. DISCUSSION: A difference in the mean NL-IHRS of 15% will provide an argument in favour of reorganising prevention policies. A substantial change would favour relocating primary prevention from healthcare professionals to lay people and the community. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT03886064 - the study was recorded on ClinicalTrials.gov , the 22nd of March 2019.

The efficacy of a targeted PREVENTION programme for addictive behaviour (PREVENTURE) among vulnerable ADOlescents in France - study procotol.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use is a major public health challenge in France, where at the age of 17 half the young people report an episode of severe alcohol intoxication in the month preceding the survey. Numerous prevention programmes have a general objective, but in adolescence individual vulnerabilities towards addictions differ significantly with personality traits. Prevention targeting personality traits enables work on risk factors for addictive behaviours, and has shown genuine efficacy. Among existing programmes, PREVENTURE has shown an effect on the reduction in alcohol consumption by targeting four personality traits: impulsivity, sensation-seeking, negative thoughts and anxiety. This programme has been tested on samples recruited in adolescent populations in school environments, identifying adolescents at risk, but it has not been tested on a more targeted recruitment of adolescents seen in consultation. METHODS: The main hypothesis of this study is that the targeted prevention programme PREVENTURE will have an impact on the prevalence of binge-drinking episodes. The secondary hypotheses explore other factors such as associated substance use, anxiety and depression, as well as the acceptability of the programme. This article presents the study protocol of "PREVADO" study. We intend to assess the impact of the targeted intervention programme PREVENTURE on the prevalence of binge-drinking episodes among adolescents aged 14 to 17 years consulting in one of the participating centres or referred by a school doctor. The study will be prospective, randomised, controlled and open-label, and will comprise an intervention group and a control group. The adolescents will then be followed and assessed 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the intervention. The study needs to include 700 subjects in order to reach 340 adolescents randomised, 170 in each group. It will concern 33 centres. DISCUSSION: This project could favour the targeting of addictive behaviours among vulnerable adolescents, and its application on a larger scale could be envisaged. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Trial registration number is NCT04599270 , and it was registered on the ClinicalTrials.gov public website.

Impact of alcohol marketing on drinkers with Alcohol use disorders seeking treatment: a mixed-method study protocol.

BACKGROUND: The marketing of alcohol influences patterns of alcohol consumption. Existing studies have focused, for the most part, on adolescents and the links between exposure to marketing and alcohol initiation. In France, the Evin law, a French exception, was set up in 1991 with the aim of regulating this exposure to marketing, but since 2009 it has been severely compromised. Alcohol consumption causes severe damage, which may be seenfrom 1 standard unit per day and mostly among adults who are regular users of alcohol. In this at-risk population, studies analysing the impact of marketing are sparse. The specific objectives include (i) the evaluation of the perception of alcohol marketing by patients with an AUD (ii) gaining understanding of the links between alcohol marketing and patients with AUD behaviours (iii) the development of alcohol demarketing strategy in patients receiving AUD coaching. METHODS: Our main objective isto evaluate the impact of marketing on a population with an AUD. The methodology was in 4 steps: step 1 is a pre-test (N = 100) selecting type of alcohol consumed and type of marketing stimuli identified by patients aged 18 + with an AUD. Step 2 is a qualitative study (N = 20), with in-depth interview, to understand links between alcohol marketing and patients with AUD behaviours. Step 3 is a quantitative study(N = 600) to confirm these links and the impact of alcohol marketing on patients with AUD behaviours. Step 4 is an interventional step, including and testing the impact of demarketing intervention on patients with AUD while using the results of the three first steps (N = 120). DISCUSSION: This study will contribute to a better definition of the impact of alcohol marketing on patients with AUD and will enable identification of the determinants of this impact. These data will inform the development of interventions that take into account demarketingstrategies on patients under AUD management. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Trial registrationregistration number is NCT03876132, and it was registered on the 15th march 2019.

[Translation and cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish, Catalan and Galician of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 to identify depression in Primary Care]. / Traducción y adaptación transcultural al español, catalán y gallego de la escala Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 para la detección de depresión en Atención Primaria.

AIM: To describe the translation and cross-cultural adaptation process of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) scale into Spanish, Catalan and Galician. DESIGN: Translation, cross-cultural adaption and comprehensibility analysis through cognitive debriefing. LOCATION: Research Units of Primary Care in Barcelona and Vigo. PARTICIPANTS: Family doctors and Primary Care patients. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Following the guidelines of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR): 1) Direct translation. 2) Pilot study based on Delphi methodology with family doctors. 3) Back-translation. 4) Equivalence analysis. 5) Comprehension analysis of versions obtained in Spanish, Catalan and Galician through cognitive debriefing in a sample of patients. 6) Transcultural harmonization. RESULTS: 73 family doctors participated in the Delphi study. The consensus was established in the first round for the Spanish and Catalan translations, and in the second round for the Galician. The back-translations were similar in all 3languages. All versions were equivalent between them and compared to the original English version. In the cognitive interview, 10 patients participated for each language, without modifying the writing of the items. CONCLUSIONS: The translations of the HSCL-25 scale in Spanish, Catalan and Galician are semantically and conceptually equivalent to the original version. Translations are understandable and well accepted by patients.

Alcohol use by people in their seventies is not an exception: a preliminary prospective study.

The ageing population is rapidly increasing worldwide, and the alcohol-related disease burden in most Western countries is on the rise. However, very few studies assess alcohol use in older people. Here, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to all individuals aged 70 years or more who visited a social centre for older people in western France. The average age of the 98 subjects included in the survey was 79 years (range, 70-97 years; SD=6), and 57.1% (n=56) reported weekly alcohol consumption. An average consumption of over two standard units each day during weekends was reported by 53% subjects (n=52), and the same on each weekday was reported by 34% (n=33). Thus, a significant proportion of subjects aged 70 years or over consumed more alcohol than is recommended in current guidelines. The participants also reported that they rarely discussed alcohol consumption with their general practitioners. Alcohol use should be assessed regularly. District nurses and members of the primary care team should recommend strategies to help older people reduce their alcohol consumption.

Exploring dementia management attitudes in primary care: a key informant survey to primary care physicians in 25 European countries.

BACKGROUND: Strategies for the involvement of primary care in the management of patients with presumed or diagnosed dementia are heterogeneous across Europe. We wanted to explore attitudes of primary care physicians (PCPs) when managing dementia: (i) the most popular cognitive tests, (ii) who had the right to initiate or continue cholinesterase inhibitor or memantine treatment, and (iii) the relationship between the permissiveness of these rules/guidelines and PCP's approach in the dementia investigations and assessment. METHODS: Key informant survey. SETTING: Primary care practices across 25 European countries. SUBJECTS: Four hundred forty-five PCPs responded to a self-administered questionnaire. Two-step cluster analysis was performed using characteristics of the informants and the responses to the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two by two contingency tables with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the association between categorical variables. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to assess the association of multiple variables (age class, gender, and perceived prescription rules) with the PCPs' attitude of "trying to establish a diagnosis of dementia on their own." RESULTS: Discrepancies between rules/guidelines and attitudes to dementia management was found in many countries. There was a strong association between the authorization to prescribe dementia drugs and pursuing dementia diagnostic work-up (odds ratio, 3.45; 95% CI 2.28-5.23). CONCLUSIONS: Differing regulations about who does what in dementia management seemed to affect PCP's engagement in dementia investigations and assessment. PCPs who were allowed to prescribe dementia drugs also claimed higher engagement in dementia work-up than PCPs who were not allowed to prescribe.

[Gambling in elderly patients]. / Les jeux de hasard et d'argent chez les sujets âgés.

Behavioural addictions concern behaviour which generate pleasure (shopping, gambling, sex, etc.). Pathological gambling is the most common behavioural addiction in elderly people. It can be severely harmful causing psychological, financial and family problems and increasing the risk of suicide. Gambling addiction is underestimated in the elderly. Psychological, social and family support is important whatever the age, with treatment aiming to improve the person's quality of life, help them regain control of their gambling or stop altogether.

Evaluating the validity of the French version of the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire with differential item functioning analysis.

BACKGROUND: GPs are daily confronted with mental disorders and psychosomatic problems. The Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ), measuring distress, depression, anxiety and somatization, was purposively developed for primary care. It has been translated into 12 languages and is commonly used in several countries. It was translated into French in 2008, by forward and backward translation, but it has not been validated for a primary care population. AIM: This study aimed to establish whether the French 4DSQ measured the same constructs in the same way as the original Dutch 4DSQ. METHOD: Two samples of French general practice patients were recruited during routine care to obtain as much variability as possible. One sample included consecutive patients, from the waiting room of rural GPs, over a period of 2 weeks and the other sample included patients with suspected psychological problems or unexplained symptoms. This population was compared to a matched Dutch sample using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and differential item functioning (DIF) analysis. RESULTS: A total of 231 patients, from 15 French GPs, completed the questionnaire (Dutch reference group: 231). Mean age was 42.9 years (Dutch: 42.1); females numbered 71% in both samples. The multigroup CFA assessed configural invariance of one-factor models per 4DSQ scale. Thirteen of the total of 50 items in the 4DSQ, in three scales, were detected with DIF. However, DIF did not impact on the scale scores. CONCLUSION: French 4DSQ scales have the same latent structures and measure the same traits as the original Dutch 4DSQ.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Definition of Multimorbidity in the Bulgarian Language.

INTRODUCTION: Multimorbidity is a health issue with growing importance. During the last few decades the populations of most countries in the world have been ageing rapidly. Bulgaria is affected by the issue because of the high prevalence of ageing population in the country with multiple chronic conditions. The AIM of the present study was to validate the translated definition of multimorbidity from English into the Bulgarian language. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is part of an international project involving 8 national groups. We performed a forward and backward translation of the original English definition of multimorbidity using a Delphi consensus procedure. RESULTS: The physicians involved accepted the definition with a high percentage of agreement in the first round. The backward translation was accepted by the scientific committee using the Nominal group technique. DISCUSSION: Some of the GPs provided comments on the linguistic expressions which arose in order to improve understanding in Bulgarian. The remarks were not relevant to the content. The conclusion of the discussion, using a meta-ethnographic approach, was that the differences were acceptable and no further changes were required. CONCLUSIONS: A native version of the published English multimorbidity definition has been finalized. This definition is a prerequisite for better management of multimorbidity by clinicians, researchers and policy makers.

Patient education in chronic heart failure in primary care (ETIC) and its impact on patient quality of life: design of a cluster randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Chronic heart failure, is increasing due to the aging population and improvements in heart disease detection and management. The prevalence is estimated at ~10% of the French general practice patient population over 59 years old. The primary objective of this study is to improve the quality of life for heart failure patients though a complex intervention involving patient and general practitioner (GP) education in primary care. METHODS: A randomised, cluster controlled trial, stratified over 4 areas of the Auvergne region in France comparing intervention and control groups. The inclusion criteria are: patients older than 50 years with New York Heart Association (NYHA) stage I, II, or III heart failure, with reduced ejection fraction or with preserved ejection fraction. Heart failure should be confirmed by the patient's cardiologist according to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines criteria. The exclusion criteria include: severe cognitive disorders, living in an institution, participating in another clinical trial, having NYHA stage IV heart failure, or a lack of French language skills. The complex intervention consists of training at the GP practice with an interactive 2-day workshop to provide a patient's education programme. GPs are trained to perform case management, lifestyle counselling and motivational interviewing, to educate patients on the main topics including clinical alarm signs, physical activity, diet and cardiovascular risk factors. The patients' education sessions are scheduled at 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 and 19 months following the start of the trial. The primary outcome to be assessed is the impact on the quality of life as determined using two questionnaires: the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire and SF-36. To detect a difference in the mean quality of life at 19 months, we anticipate studying a minimum of 400 patients from 80 GPs. DISCUSSION: This trial will provide insight into the effectiveness of a complex intervention to educate patients with heart failure including a 2-day GP workshop and patients' education programme in the setting of a GP consultation to improve the quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure. This complex intervention tool could be used during initial and further medical training. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ETIC is a cluster-randomised, controlled trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov [ NCT01065142 , 2010, Feb 8] and the French drug agency [Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des produits de santé; registration number: 2009-A01142-55, on March 5th, 2010].

Say it in Croatian--Croatian translation of the EGPRN definition of multimorbidity using a Delphi consensus technique.

Patients coming to their family physician (FP) usually have more than one condition or problem. Multimorbidity as well as dealing with it, is challenging for FPs even as a mere concept. The World Health Organization (WHO) has simply defined multimorbidity as two or more chronic conditions existing in one patient. However, this definition seems inadequate for a holistic approach to patient care within Family Medicine. Using systematic literature review the European General Practitioners Research Network (EGPRN) developed a comprehensive definition of multimorbidity. For practical and wider use, this definition had to be translated into other languages, including Croatian. Here presented is the Croatian translation of this comprehensive definition using a Delphi consensus procedure for forward/backward translation. 23 expert FPs fluent in English were asked to rank the translation from 1 (absolutely disagreeable) to 9 (fully agreeable) and to explain each score under 7. It was previously defined that consensus would be reached when 70% of the scores are above 6. Finally, a backward translation from Croatian into English was undertaken and approved by the authors of the English definition. Consensus was reached after the first Delphi round with 100% of the scores above 6; therefore the Croatian translation was immediately accepted. The authors of the English definition accepted the backward translation. A comprehensive definition of multimorbidity is now available in English and Croatian, as well as other European languages which will surely make further implications for clinicians, researchers or policy makers.

There are considerable drawbacks to oral anticoagulant for monitoring patients at home which should lead family physicians to discuss alternative or enhanced solutions: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: INR (International Normalized Ratio) is the biological reference test for the monitoring of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy. Overdosage of VKAs causes about 17,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths each year in France. To avoid these complications, monitoring and blood sampling conditions must be rigorous. In France, more than half of INRs are carried out at home. The aim was to determine blood-sampling conditions at home, transit time and the quality of the laboratory reagents used. METHOD: Questionnaire-based, descriptive epidemiological cross-sectional prevalence study involving home care nurses, family physicians (FPs) and clinical laboratories. SETTING: Brittany, France, 2008. Study of the pre-analytical phase of INRs sampled at home and its influence on INR results. RESULTS: The study included 291 FPs, 249 home care nurses, and 49 laboratories. 32.5% of reported INRs were outside the therapeutic range. Samples were drawn into unsuitable tubes in 5.5% of cases and delivered in a chilled condition in 9% of cases. In urban areas 50% of the tubes took more than 2 hours to reach the laboratory compared with 71% from rural areas. The average International Sensitivity Index (ISI) of the thromboplastin was 1.62. The INRs provided by the laboratories were not analyzable in 64.7% of cases where blood samples had been taken at home. CONCLUSION: Blood sample quality, transit time and the reagents used are currently inadequate. The majority of INRs taken at home are not reliable. FPs should consider these drawbacks in comparison with alternative solutions to increase patient safety.

40 years of biannual family medicine research meetings--the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN).

OBJECTIVE: To document family medicine research in the 25 EGPRN member countries in 2010. DESIGN: Semi-structured survey with open-ended questions. SETTING: Academic family medicine in 23 European countries, Israel, and Turkey. SUBJECTS: 25 EGPRN national representatives. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographics of the general population and family medicine. Assessments, opinions, and suggestions. RESULTS: EGPRN has represented family medicine for almost half a billion people and > 300,000 general practitioners (GPs). Turkey had the largest number of family medicine departments and highest density of GPs, 2.1/1000 people, Belgium had 1.7, Austria 1.6, and France 1.5. Lowest GP density was reported from Israel 0.17, Greece 0.18, and Slovenia 0.4 GPs per 1000 people. Family medicine research networks were reported by 22 of 25 and undergraduate family medicine research education in 20 of the 25 member countries, and in 10 countries students were required to do research projects. Postgraduate family medicine research was reported by 18 of the member countries. Open-ended responses showed that EGPRN meetings promoted stimulating and interesting research questions such as comparative studies of chronic pain management, sleep disorders, elderly care, healthy lifestyle promotion, mental health, clinical competence, and appropriateness of specialist referrals. Many respondents reported a lack of interest in family medicine research related to poor incentives and low family medicine status in general and among medical students in particular. It was suggested that EGPRN exert political lobbying for family medicine research. CONCLUSION: Since 1974, EGPRN organizes biannual conferences that unite and promote primary care practice, clinical research and academic family medicine in 25 member countries.

Association between Hpa Axis Functioning and Mental Health in Maltreated Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that children who experience maltreatment show a more elevated risk of psychopathological disorders than children from the general population. The HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis is not mature at birth and undergoes strong social regulation during the first years of life. Consequently, early exposure to stress could modify the usual adaptative response to stress. In stressful situations, perturbations in both cortisol response and cortisol circadian rhythm have been observed. Nevertheless, studies that have evaluated the links between child abuse, dysregulation of the HPA axis, and mental disorders have shown diverse results. Because of the variety of methods employed in the different studies, no formal comparisons have been made. In this systematic review, we have brought together these results. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of studies analyzing the correlation between child abuse, mental disorders, and HPA axis activity in patients aged between 6 and 16 years. PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were searched using relevant keywords and inclusion/exclusion criteria (from 2000 to 2020). RESULTS: Fifteen studies from the 351 identified were included. Most patients were children in the child welfare system. Children who had experienced child abuse presented with more severe mental disorders (particularly in the dimensional measure) than children who had not been abused. HPA axis activity was assessed by measuring basal cortisol for some studies and cortisol reactivity for other studies. For children experiencing child abuse, there was a possible association between abuse and a decrease in the reactivity of the HPA axis. In addition, early life stress could be associated with lower matinal cortisol. However, the association between mental disorders and cortisol secretion in maltreated children did not seem obvious. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review demonstrates that mental disorders are more frequent and severe in cases where child abuse has occurred. Moreover, children who experienced child abuse seem to present changes in the reactivity of the HPA axis. Nevertheless, the potential correlation between these changes in the reactivity of the HPA axis and mental disorders in this population needs to be evaluated in further studies.

Translation of the working alliance inventory short revised into Italian using a Delphi procedure and a forward-backward translation.

Introduction: Enhancing treatment adherence, especially for chronic diseases, can be achieved through therapeutic alliance, potentially elevating the quality of care. An instrument to evaluate the therapeutic alliance could be beneficial in routine clinical settings, educational environments, and extensive research efforts at national and European levels. In this study, we translated therapist and patient versions of the Working Alliance Inventory Short Revised (WAI-SR) into Italian. Methodology: An email-based Delphi method was employed for the English-to-Italian translation, incorporating a forward-backward process. The initial translation team comprised two Italian family physicians proficient in English, a linguist, and a psychiatrist. The forward translation was then reviewed by 18 Italian family physicians through a Delphi process and was subjected to a backward translation by two Italian English teachers. A cultural correspondence was subsequently identified to adjust translations within a national and international framework. Results: All 18 experts fully engaged in the Delphi process, and consensus was achieved by the second Delphi round. A cultural check checked for discrepancies regarding linguistic consistency with other translations and found no difference. Conclusion: This Italian translation of the WAI-SR is expected to support Italian family physicians aiming to enhance their clinical practice and therapeutic outcomes. It could also be a valuable tool for Italian medical students to foster therapeutic relationships and improve their communication skills.