Breaking down barriers to mental healthcare access in prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated males in Norway.

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are highly prevalent in prison populations. Incarcerated persons generally come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are living under extraordinary conditions while in prison. Their healthcare needs are complex compared to the general population. Studies have found that incarcerated individuals are reluctant to seek help and that they experience challenges in accessing mental healthcare services. To some extent, seeking treatment depends on the degree of fit between potential users and health services, and actual use might be a better indication of accessibility than the fact that services are available. This study aimed to explore individual and systemic facilitators and barriers to accessing mental healthcare in a prison context. METHODS: An analytical approach drawing on elements of constructivist Grounded theory was the methodological basis of this study. Fifteen male participants were recruited from three prisons in Northern Norway. Data was collected through in-depth interviews on topics such as help-seeking experiences, perceived access to services and availability of health information. RESULTS: We found that distrust in the system, challenges with the referral routines, worries about negative consequences, and perceived limited access to mental healthcare were barriers to help-seeking among incarcerated individuals. How prison officers, and healthcare personnel respond to incarcerated persons reporting mental distress could also be critical for their future willingness to seek help. Providing information about mental health and available services, initiating outreaching mental health services, and integrating mental health interventions into treatment programs are examples of efforts that might reduce barriers to accessing services. CONCLUSIONS: Facilitating access to mental health services is crucial to accommodate the mental health needs of those incarcerated. This study provides insights into the complex interplay of individual, social and systemic factors that may contribute to the utilization of mental health care among incarcerated persons. We suggest that correctional and healthcare systems review their practices to facilitate access to healthcare for people in prison.

Psychometric evaluation of the Coronary Revascularisation Outcome Questionnaire (CROQ) in Norwegian patients admitted to elective coronary angiography and possible percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The Coronary Revascularisation Outcome Questionnaire (CROQ) measures health-related quality of life and outcome of invasive revascularization procedures such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The CROQ has not been properly validated in Norwegian patient populations. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Norwegian CROQ in patients admitted to elective coronary angiographic assessment and receiving PCI. Moreover, to examine its discriminative ability to detect disease severity and effects of invasive coronary treatment. METHODS: The patients (N = 280, Mage = 66.9, SDage = 8.91) completed the CROQ, prior to an elective coronary angiography and at one year follow-up. Analyses included internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects, and confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses of the CROQ. Convergent validity was evaluated by comparing CROQ scores with the RAND-12 measure. Sensitivity to treatment was examined by comparing pre-post effect size differences between the PCI treatment and non-treatment group. RESULTS: Significant stenosis qualifying for a PCI was detected in 121 (35.1%) patients. The model fit of the original CROQ factor model was inadequate in the PCI group. All but one of the CROQ items demonstrated ceiling effects. The CROQ failed to discriminate between patients' disease severity prior to the coronary angiography, or improvement in those receiving versus not receiving PCI. CONCLUSION: The present study of the Norwegian version of the CROQ identified serious problems with the factor structure, ceiling effects, and lack of sensitivity for disease severity and effects of invasive treatment. Currently, one cannot recommend the use of CROQ in clinical practice.

Epidemiology of comorbid hazardous alcohol use and insomnia in 19 185 women and men attending the population-based Tromsø Study 2015-2016.

BACKGROUND: Hazardous alcohol use is known to be comorbid with insomnia problems. The present study examined the prevalence of insomnia and if the odds of insomnia differed between women and men with a hazardous alcohol use. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the seventh survey of the Norwegian population-based Tromsø Study 2015-2016 (participation 65%). The sample included 19 185 women and men 40-96 years. Hazardous alcohol use was defined by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and insomnia by the Bergen Insomnia Scale. Covariates included socio-demographics, shift work, somatic conditions and mental distress defined by Hopkins Symptom Check List-10 (HSCL-10). Mental distress was also included as a moderator. RESULTS: Insomnia was more prevalent among participants with a hazardous alcohol use (24.1%) than without (18.9%), and participants who had hazardous alcohol use had higher odds of insomnia (odds ratio = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.20, 1.85). The association turned non-significant after adjustment for mental distress. Adding mental distress as a moderator variable revealed a higher odds of insomnia among hazardous alcohol users having no or low-to-medium levels of mental distress, but not among participants with high levels of mental distress. CONCLUSION: Insomnia was more prevalent among women and men reporting hazardous alcohol use. When mental distress was treated as a moderator, hazardous alcohol use did not yield higher odds for insomnia among those with high levels of mental distress. This suggests that mental distress may play an important role in the association between hazardous alcohol use and insomnia. And that the impact of alcohol on insomnia may differ depending on the severity of mental distress.

Daily associations between sleep and pain in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Patients with chronic pain commonly report sleep problems, and the evidence for a relationship between sleep disturbance and pain seems robust. The day-to-day associations between these constructs are less well studied, particularly with objective sleep measures such as actigraphy. Moreover, the concurrent presence of negative affective symptoms, as well as seasonality effects at extreme latitudes may complicate it further. Here, we studied 56 patients with chronic primary musculoskeletal pain conditions, contributing data in two separate 7-day data-collection periods during the summer and winter, respectively. The effect of self-reported sleep quality, and actigraphy measured sleep duration, efficiency and timing on next-day pain, as well as the effect of pain on the same sleep indices were estimated by generalised linear mixed regression models. The models were additionally adjusted for age, sex, education, data collection period, weekend, season and mental distress, with the latter two also specified as moderators. We observed a significant effect of pain as a predictor of next-night sleep quality (p = .003) and marginally of next-night sleep duration (p = .079). Conversely, sleep quality tentatively predicted next-day pain (p = .063). No other day-to-day associations were present. Mental distress was the strongest predictor of pain, but it did not modify the sleep-pain associations, nor did season. In conclusion pain, sleep quality and mental distress are closely related, underscoring the importance of encompassing this complexity in assessment and treatment of patients with chronic pain.

Impact of the Use of Electronic Health Tools on the Psychological and Emotional Well-Being of Electronic Health Service Users (The Seventh Tromsø Study - Part 3): Population-Based Questionnaire Study.

BACKGROUND: Electronic health (eHealth) has been described as a silver bullet for addressing how challenges of the current health care system may be solved by technological solutions in future strategies and visions for modern health care. However, the evidence of its effects on service quality and cost effectiveness remains unclear. In addition, patients' psychological and emotional reactions to using eHealth tools are rarely addressed by the scientific literature. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess how the psychological and emotional well-being of eHealth service users is affected by the use of eHealth tools. METHODS: We analyzed data from a population-based survey in Norway, conducted in the years 2015-2016 and representing 10,604 eHealth users aged over 40 years, to identify how the use of eHealth tools was associated with feeling anxious, confused, knowledgeable, or reassured. Associations between these four emotional outcomes and the use of four types of eHealth services (Web search engines, video search engines, health apps, and social media) were analyzed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: The use of eHealth tools made 72.41% (6740/9308) of the participants feel more knowledgeable and 47.49% (4421/9308) of the participants feel more reassured about their health status. However, 25.69% (2392/9308) reported feeling more anxious and 27.88% (2595/9308) reported feeling more confused using eHealth tools. A high level of education and not having a full-time job were associated with positive reactions and emotions (feeling more knowledgeable and reassured), whereas low self-reported health status and not having enough friends who could provide help and support predicted negative reactions and emotions (ie, feeling anxious and confused). Overall, the positive emotional effects of eHealth use (feeling knowledgeable and reassured) were relatively more prevalent among users aged over 40 years than the negative emotional effects (ie, feeling anxious and confused). About one-fourth of eHealth users reported being more confused and anxious after using eHealth services. CONCLUSIONS: The search for health information on the internet can be motivated by a range of factors and needs (not studied in this study), and people may experience a range of reactions and feelings following health information searching on the Web. Drawing on prior studies, we categorized reactions as positive and negative reactions. Some participants had negative reactions, which is challenging to resolve and should be taken into consideration by eHealth service providers when designing services (ie, including concrete information about how users can get more help and support). There is a need for more studies examining a greater range of reactions to online health information and factors that might predict negative reactions to health information on the Web.

Gender differences in the bidirectional relationship between alcohol consumption and sleeplessness: the Tromsø study.

BACKGROUND: The degree to which the relationship between alcohol use and sleeplessness is unidirectional or reciprocal is unclear due to great variation among the results of previous studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the relationship between alcohol use and sleeplessness is bidirectional by exploring how the change in and stability of alcohol use were related to sleeplessness, and vice versa, how the change in and stability of sleeplessness were related to alcohol use, in a longitudinal study spanning 13 years. METHOD: Data were collected from 9941 adults who participated in two waves (T1: 1994-1995, and T2: 2007-2008) of the Tromsø Study, a Norwegian general population health study. Alcohol use was measured by questions asking about the frequency of drinking, amounts of alcohol normally consumed and the frequency of binge drinking, whereas sleeplessness was measured by one item asking about the frequency of experiencing sleeplessness. Variables representing change in and stability of consumption of alcohol and sleeplessness from T1 to T2 were created. Logistic regression analyses, stratified by gender, were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Men reporting stable high (OR = 2.11, p. < .001) or increasing (OR = 1.94, p. < .01) consumption of alcohol from T1 to T2 had a significantly higher risk of reporting sleeplessness at T2. Likewise, men experiencing stable (OR = 1.84, p. < .01) or increasing (OR = 1.78, p. < .001) sleeplessness from T1 to T2 had a significantly higher risk of reporting high consumption of alcohol at T2. No significant effects were detected among women. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate a bidirectional relationship between high consumption of alcohol and sleeplessness only among men. Thus, healthcare professionals ought to be informed about the health risks associated with excessive drinking and struggling with sleeplessness, especially in men.

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): Informant Agreement Between Children Born With Cleft Lip and/or Palate and Their Parents.

OBJECTIVE: Informant discrepancies on psychological measures may affect the assessment, classification, and treatment of children's mental health. Concordance between different informants has been shown to be low to moderately correlated. The present study examined the agreement between children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) and their parents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data from 7 consecutive birth cohorts based on routine psychological assessments at age 10 with comparisons to national reference groups. SETTING: Centralized and multidisciplinary treatment setting. PARTICIPANTS: 323 children age 10, born with CL/P and their parents (participation rate: 89%). OUTCOME MEASURES: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). RESULTS: Children born with CL/P and their parents tend to follow similar patterns of disagreement on the SDQ as reported in the general population, with children reporting more symptoms than their parents, and boys having more problems than girls on most subscales. Child and parent reports were low to moderately correlated, and not affected by the child's gender or the presence of conditions additional to the cleft. CONCLUSIONS: Differences between informants on the SDQ reflect different perspectives of the child's adjustment, and both informants are important in the assessment of mental health. Children with CL/P and their parents do not significantly differ from children and parents in the general population on their agreement of the child's psychological adjustment. As with the general population, clinical assessments should be based on a mixture of both informants' reports.

Adapting an Australian question prompt list in oncology to a Norwegian setting-a combined method approach.

PURPOSE: A question prompt list (QPL) is an inexpensive communication aid that has been proved effective in encouraging patients to ask questions during medical consultations. The aim of this project was to develop a QPL for Norwegian cancer patients. METHODS: A multimethod approach was chosen combining literature review, focus groups, and a survey in the process of culturally adjusting an Australian QPL for the Norwegian setting. Participants were recruited from the University Hospital of North Norway. They were asked to review and comment on iterative drafts of the QPL. RESULTS: Eighteen patients, mean age 54, participated in the focus groups, and 31 patients, mean age 55, participated in the survey. Focus groups suggested that topics related to accompanying relatives, children as next of kin, and rehabilitation were important and should be added to the original QPL. The survey revealed that most questions from the original QPL were considered both useful and understandable. Although half of the patients found some questions about prognosis unpleasant, the vast majority considered the same questions useful. Questions regarding clinical studies, multidisciplinary teams, and public versus private hospitals had lower ratings of usefulness. CONCLUSION: QPLs require some adjustment to the local cultural context, and a mixed method approach may provide a useful model for future cultural adaptation of QPLs. The present QPL has been adjusted to the needs of oncology patients in the Norwegian health care setting.

Parent-child attachment, academic performance and the process of high-school dropout: a narrative review.

Poor academic performance is a strong predictor of school dropout. Researchers have tried to disentangle variables influencing academic performance. However, studies on preschool and early care variables are seldom examined when explaining the school dropout process. We reviewed the literature on the relationship between caregiver-child attachment and academic performance, including attachment studies from preschool years, seeking out potential contributions to academic performance and the dropout process. The review was organized according to a model of four main mediating hypotheses: the attachment-teaching hypothesis, the social network hypothesis, the attachment-cooperation hypothesis, and the attachment self-regulation hypothesis. The results of the review are summed up in a model. There is some support for all four hypotheses. The review indicates that attachment and early care contribute substantially to dropout and graduation processes. Mediation effects should be given far more attention in future research.

Health-Related Quality of Life in FKRP-Related Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy R9.

BACKGROUND: Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy R9 (LGMDR9) is a chronic progressive hereditary muscle disease, related to the Fukutin Related Protein (FKRP) gene, that may cause major disabilities, cardiomyopathy, and ventilatory failure. Knowledge of how LGMDR9 affects health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is relevant in treatment and care. OBJECTIVE: To investigate HRQoL in the Norwegian LGMDR9 population over 14 months and relation to fatigue and sleep quality. METHODS: Participants (16+ years) of the Norwegian LGMDR9 cohort study completed two HRQoL measures, i.e., Individualized Neuromuscular Quality of Life questionnaire (INQoL) and the 36-item Short Form (SF-36) at baseline, 8, and 14 months and measures of fatigue and sleep quality at 9 months. RESULTS: HRQoL response rate was 84/90 (75 c.826 C > A homozygotes and nine c.826 C > A compound heterozygotes). Compared to Norwegian normative data, all SF-36 domain scores were impaired (p≤0.006) except mental health in males (p = 0.05) and pain scores. During 14 months, perceived muscle weakness and the INQoL index (disease burden) worsened in c.826 C > A homozygotes. Compound heterozygotes reported more dysphagia and physical difficulties than homozygotes and showed a tendency towards worsening in weakness over time but some improvement on the INQoL index. Homozygous females reported generally poorer HRQoL and a higher burden than males. The INQoL index was related to perceived muscle weakness and fatigue, and fatigue to myalgia and mental distress. The prevalence of fatigue and poor sleep was 40% and 49%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The 14-month follow-up period shows a worsening of perceived weakness and burden in c.826 C > A homozygotes, which can then be expected. The prevalence and impact of fatigue indicate a need for awareness and treatment of fatigue. Myalgia and mental distress are potential targets in the treatment of fatigue, which future studies need to establish. Sleep issues and gender-specific care needs also require attention in LGMDR9.

Beliefs about mental health in incarcerated males: a qualitative interview study.

Introduction: Beliefs about mental health are shaped by the sociocultural context. Prisons have unique environmental and social features, and the prevalence of mental health problems in incarcerated populations is exceptionally high. These features make prisons especially interesting settings for exploring health beliefs. The aim of this study was to explore the conceptualizations of mental health and coping preferences in a prison environment. Methods: Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen incarcerated males from three prisons in Northern Norway. The design draws on central elements from Grounded Theory. Results: Mental health was perceived as distinct from mental illness by many of the participants. They coped with the prison environment by focusing on the things that gave them a sense of meaning and autonomy - this also formed their conceptualization of mental health. Furthermore, social interaction and activities were perceived as important to enhance and maintain mental well-being, however there were institutional barriers to using these coping strategies. The prison environment was integrated in the participants conceptualizations of mental health problems, and psychosocial stressors were emphasized in causal attributions. Biological and dispositional factors were less frequently mentioned. The participants preferred non-medical management for mental health problems and most displayed a reserved attitude towards psychotropic medications. The exception was attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which they held neurobiological causal beliefs, together with a corresponding preference for medication as treatment. Conclusion: The main finding was a firm integration of the prison context in in the participants' beliefs about mental health. We theorize that fusion of prison conditions and mental health beliefs were brought on by the processes of prisonization, observing mental distress in peers and attempts to protect self-esteem by externalizing the causes for mental health problems. Access to activities, social time, and "someone to talk to" were perceived to be crucial for improving and preserving mental health.

Clinicians' experiences with videoconferencing in psychiatry.

Videoconferencing may help reduce traveling and may save time and money for patients and the health care system. Despite the fact that studies have found videoconferencing as good as face-to-face interactions for certain therapies, few in northern Norway use this tool routinely for the assessment and treatment of patients. We examined clinicians' experiences with videoconferencing and their attitudes to using this tool for psychiatric consultations, and discussed the findings in light of the Technology Acceptance Model. Obstacles to use and how they may be overcome are discussed.

Psychometric properties of the Type D scale (DS14) in Norwegian cardiac patients.

The combination of negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) - the Type D Personality - is associated with poor outcomes in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. A Norwegian translation of the standard instrument measuring Type D (DS14) was tested on 432 CAD patients receiving coronary revascularization treatment. Factor analysis produced two factors with high inter-item reliability, indicating that the Norwegian DS14 has acceptable psychometric properties. Eighteen percent were classified as Type D, lower than has been reported elsewhere. Type D was associated with anxiety, depression, and passive coping. NA correlated positively with depression, anxiety, and passive coping. SI correlated positively with depression and anxiety, and negatively with active coping. The prevalence of Type D was higher among women, and negatively correlated with time since treatment. The variation in Type D prevalence among studies needs further elucidation as does the predictive power of continuous scoring of the Type D trait.

Seasonality in pain, sleep and mental distress in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain at latitude 69° N.

Seasonality is evident in several aspects of human health and behavior, whereas seasonality in chronic pain is less well studied. We examined seasonal variation in pain severity and pain dissemination, as well as in pain-associated conditions, such as sleep impairment, sleep timing, mental distress, fatigue and physical activity. We also examined if any of these associated conditions moderated the seasonality in pain. This prospective study was conducted in the subarctic municipality of Tromsø, Norway (69º North), on a sample of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain (N = 56). Data were collected with self-report questionnaires and objective actigraphy measures (7 days) twice: winter and summer. Mixed linear regression models were fitted. A modest seasonality effect was observed in pain severity (highest in summer), but not in pain dissemination. Seasonality with increased physical activity and delayed sleep timing in the summer was also present. The remaining pain-associated self-report or objective measures indicated no seasonality. The season-pain association was not significantly moderated by any of the pain-associated conditions. Previous studies on healthy individuals residing in polar areas have suggested an opposite seasonal effect with delay of the sleep-wake rhythm in winter. Our results based on a clinical sample thus represent a novel finding that needs to be examined further with regard to seasonal circadian entrainment and alignment in pain populations. These results may have clinical value for the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal pain as seasonality may require seasonal adjustments of pain treatment strategies.

Mediators of Pain and Physical Function in Female and Male Patients with Chronic Pain.

PURPOSE: Chronic pain is often multifactorial and accompanied by psychological distress, catastrophizing thoughts, reduced physical function, and socio-economic worries. In this explorative study, we investigated potential mediators in the relationships of psychological and demographic variables with chronic pain and physical function in women and men. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 301 patients admitted to a multidisciplinary pain clinic. Prior to their first consultation, patients completed a questionnaire including items on demographics (age, education, occupational and financial situation), catastrophizing thoughts, psychological distress, pain intensity, and physical function. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined demographic and psychological factors associated with pain intensity and physical function. Mediation and reversed mediation models were tested and developed based on calculated relations in the regression analyses between demographic, psychological, pain intensity and physical function variables. RESULTS: Fifty-eight percent were females and mean age 43.8 and 46.0 years for women and men, respectively. In the regression analyses, psychological factors accounted better for pain intensity than demographic variables, while physical function was best accounted for by demographic variables. Among women, catastrophizing thoughts mediated significantly the relationships between education and pain intensity, and between education and physical function. Psychological distress mediated significantly the relationships between financial situation and pain intensity, and between financial situation and physical function in women. In men, the only significant mediation model was psychological distress mediating the relationship between financial situation and pain intensity. Some of the reversed models revealed indirect effects, indicating bidirectionality. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that there might be gender-specific mediators in how demographic variables are associated with pain intensity and physical function. This suggests an awareness among clinicians of potential gender-specific factors mediating pain problems, and the need for a gender-specific, multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of chronic pain.

Sleep Characteristics in Adults With and Without Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: The Role of Mental Distress and Pain Catastrophizing.

OBJECTIVES: Sleep disturbance is associated with persistence and exacerbation of chronic pain. As this relationship seems to be bidirectional, factors underpinning sleep disturbance may prove important in multimodal rehabilitation approaches. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the impact of psychological symptoms on subjective and objective sleep measures in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP), as compared with pain-free controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sleep was assessed by self-report questionnaires, actigraphy, and polysomnography recordings in 56 patients (75.0% female; M age=41.7 y, SD=10.8 y) with CMP and compared with 53 matched pain-free controls (71.7% female; M age=41.8 y, SD=10.7). Mental distress (Hopkins Symptoms Checklist [HSCL]) and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) were tested as predictors of objective and subjective sleep measures in multiple regression models, and their indirect effects were tested in bootstrapped mediation models. RESULTS: The sleep data revealed substantially more subjective sleep disturbance (Hedge g: 1.32 to 1.47, P<0.001), moderately worse sleep efficiency in the actigraphy measures (Hedges g: 0.5 to 0.6, P<0.01), and less polysomnography measured slow wave sleep (Hedges g: 0.43, P<0.05) in patients, as compared with controls. HSCL was strongly associated with the self-reported measures Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). HSCL also partially explained the association between pain and sleep, but HSCL was not associated with any of the objective sleep measures. More pain catastrophizing was related to less slow wave sleep. DISCUSSION: The differences in subjective and objective sleep measures indicate that they probe different aspects of sleep functioning in patients with musculoskeletal pain, and their combined application may be valuable in clinical practice. Self-reported sleep disturbance seems to overlap with affective dimensions reflected by the HSCL questionnaire.

Nurse training of a patient-centered information procedure for CABG patients.

OBJECTIVE: At the study hospital, all elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients were given similar, standardized information by the nurses. The nurses reported problems in establishing contact and interacting with patients when using this approach. To help remedy communication problems between nurses and CABG patients, a programme training nurses in a patient-centred information procedure was developed and implemented. This article describes how challenging interactions were recorded and analysed for training nurses in the patient-centred approach. METHOD: In group training for patient-centeredness, nurses presented audio-recordings of nurse-patient interactions they found problematic. These were used as a basis for discussions and training in the patient-centered approach. A set of cases was developed using a qualitative phenomenological approach, illustrating how the patient-centered approach could be applied to the difficult situations. RESULTS: The nurses found the patient-centered approach particularly useful in situations when patients frequently asked questions, seemed to have difficulties expressing their worries, frequently complained, or when spouses expressed worries. CONCLUSION: Nurses found the patient-centered approach and the training procedure used in this study useful in their clinical work with CABG patients. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This training which requires minimal resources and can be easily implemented, may guide the nurses in their interaction with patients. Providing a patient-centered approach to the CABG patients may enhance the nurse-patient contact and improve patients' hospital experience and subjective health.

Is patient behavior during consultation associated with shared decision-making? A study of patients' questions, cues and concerns in relation to observed shared decision-making in a cancer outpatient clinic.

OBJECTIVES: To explore how cancer patients actively participate in consultations by asking questions and expressing emotional cues/concerns and to what extent this is associated with physician shared decision making (SDM) behavior. METHODS: This observational study included audio recordings of 31 primary consultation with patients at the Oncology Outpatient Clinic at the University Hospital of North Norway. The content (topics) and frequency of health related questions from patients/caregivers were registered along with emotional cues and concerns (VR-CoDES) and observed shared decision-making (OPTION). Patient reported outcomes were measured before and one week after the consultation. RESULTS: On average, 17 (SD 15) questions were asked, and 1.9 (SD 1.9) emotional cues and concerns were expressed by patients per consultation. The questions mainly pertained to treatment and practical issues. The mean OPTION score was 12 (SD 7.9) and was neither associated with questions nor emotional cues and concerns from patients. CONCLUSION: Although patients were active by asking questions, observed physician SDM behavior measured by OPTION was low and not associated with patient behavior during consultation. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Further research on patients influence on physician SDM behavior is needed.

Supporting doctor-patient communication: Providing a question prompt list and audio recording of the consultation as communication aids to outpatients in a cancer clinic.

OBJECTIVE: To document the effect of a cancer specific question prompt list (QPL) on patients question asking and shared decision-making (SDM), and to evaluate the combined effect of the QPL and consultation audio recording (CAR) on patient outcomes. METHOD: This exploratory study compared two groups of patients receiving either a QPL or combined QPL/CAR, to a control group. Measurements included number/types of questions asked, and physician SDM behavior (OPTION score). Questionnaire data included anxiety/depression and quality of life (QoL). RESULTS: A total of 93 patients participated (31 Control, 30 QPL and 32 Combined). Patients in the intervention groups asked more questions concerning prognosis (p < .0001), the disease (p = .006) and quality of treatment (p < .001) than patients in the control group, but no impact was found on the OPTION score. An increase in mean consultation length was observed in the intervention groups compared to the control group (44 vs. 36 min; p = .028). Patients rated both interventions positively. CONCLUSION: Provision of the QPL facilitates patients to ask a broader range of questions, but does not increase physician SDM behavior. PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION: The combination of QPL and CAR seems feasible and should be tested in an implementation study following the disease trajectory.

The use of short message service (SMS) among hospitalized coronary patients.

OBJECTIVE: The use of cell phones and short message service (SMS, also called "texting") has become pervasive in Western society and increasingly throughout the world. Despite the importance of this technology in everyday life, little is known about how patients draw on SMS to keep in contact with family and friends during their hospitalization. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to patients with coronary artery disease discharged from a Norwegian university hospital during the period from June 2005 to June 2006. In addition to questions pertaining to demographics, illness and treatment, mental distress, personality traits, perceived control, Internet usage and lifestyle, respondents were asked if they had contact with family and friends by SMS while in the hospital. RESULTS: Four hundred twelve responded (59%), of which 216 had undergone surgery and 196 had undergone percutaneous coronary interventions. Sixty-three percent had used SMS to keep in touch with family and friends during their stay at the hospital. Use of SMS was positively predicted by Internet usage, gender and the personality trait of Openness, and was negatively predicted by the belief that illness and health were caused by luck or destiny. CONCLUSIONS: SMS is an important means of communication during hospitalization for a majority of coronary disease inpatients.