How health care professionals handle limited resources in primary care - an interview study.

INTRODUCTION: Health care systems around the world are struggling with limited resources, in relation to the prevailing health care need. An accessible primary care is an important part of the solution for how to provide affordable care for the population and reduce pressure on the overall health care system such as unnecessary hospital stays and associated costs. As primary care constitutes an important first line of healthcare, the task of prioritising and deciding what to do and for whom lies in practice, primarily with the primary care professionals. Thus, the decisions and behaviour of primary care professionals have a central role in achieving good and equal health in the population. The aim of this study is to explore how primary health care professionals handle situations with limited resources and enhance our knowledge of priorities in practice.  METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 14 health care professionals (7 nurses, 7 physicians) working in Swedish primary care were interviewed. Data were analysed inductively with content analysis. FINDINGS: Three main categories were found: Influx of patients; Structural conditions; and Actions. Each category illustrates an important aspect for what primary care professionals do to achieve good and equal care. The influx of patients concerned what the professionals handled in terms of patients' healthcare needs and patient behaviour. Structural conditions consisted of policies and goals set for primary care, competence availability, technical systems, and organisational culture. To handle situations due to limited resources, professionals performed different actions: matching health care needs with professionals' competency, defining care needs to suit booking systems appointments, giving care at the inappropriate health care level, rearranging workhours, and passing on the decision making. CONCLUSION: Priorities in primary care are not, "one fits all" solution. Our study shows that priorities in primary care comprise of ongoing daily processes that are adapted to the situation, context of patient influx, and structural conditions. Healthcare professional's actions for how influx of patients' is handled in relation to limited resources, are created, and shaped within this context which also sets the boundaries for their actions.

Policy Narratives on Palliative Care in Sweden 1974-2018.

In Sweden, efforts to govern end-of-life care through policies have been ongoing since the 1970s. The aim of this study is to analyse how policy narratives on palliative care in Sweden have been formulated and have changed over time since the 1970s up to 2018. We have analysed 65 different policy-documents. After having analysed the empirical material, three policy episodes were identified. In Episode 1, focus was on the need for norms, standards and a psychological end-of-life care with the main goal of solving the alleged deficiencies within end-of-life care in hospital settings. Episode 2 was characterised by an emphasis on prioritising end-of-life care and dying at home, and on the fact that the hospice care philosophy should serve as inspiration. In Episode 3, the need for a palliative care philosophy that transcended all palliative care and the importance of systematic follow-ups and indicators was endorsed. Furthermore, human value and freedom of choice were emphasised. In conclusion, the increase of policy-documents produced by the welfare-state illustrate that death and dying have become matters of public concern and responsibility. Furthermore, significant shifts in policy narratives display how notions of good palliative care change, which in turn may affect both the practice and the content of care at the end of life.

Family members' long-term grief management: A prospective study of factors during ongoing palliative care and bereavement.

OBJECTIVES: Up to 10% of bereaved individuals can develop prolonged grief disorder. Several risk factors for prolonged grief symptom severity in family members have been identified, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding the multivariable effects between family members coping with loss and patient-related factors for prolonged grief symptom severity during bereavement. The aim was to identify risk factors for prolonged grief symptom severity in family members 1 year after patient death in relation to (1) the family member and the patient during ongoing palliative care and (2) the family member during bereavement. METHODS: The participants consisted of family members (n = 99) of patients admitted to palliative home care in Sweden. The participants completed a survey during ongoing palliative care and at a follow-up 1 year after the patient's death. RESULTS: The model selection chose 4 demographic and 4 preloss variables: family member's nervousness and stress, the patient's sense of security during palliative care, family members' sense of security during palliative care, and a family member attachment security anxiety dimension. Two postloss variables were positively associated with prolonged grief symptom severity: family members' continuing bond - internalized and continuing bond - externalized. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: How family members coped depended on (i) variables linked to the family members themselves, (ii) the relationship to the patient, and (iii) some patient-specific variables. There was also a link between preloss variables and postloss prolonged grief symptom severity. Hence, it should be possible to identify family members with a heightened risk for longer-term prolonged grief symptoms.

Treatment decision-making process after an anterior cruciate ligament injury: patients', orthopaedic surgeons' and physiotherapists' perspectives.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the treatment decision-making process after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury from patients', orthopaedic surgeons' and physiotherapists' perspectives. METHODS: The study is a part of the NACOX study, which is designed to describe the natural corollaries after ACL injury. For the present study, a subgroup 101 patients were included. Patients, their orthopaedic surgeons and their physiotherapists, answered a Shared Decision-Making Process (SDMP) questionnaire, when treatment decision for ACL reconstruction surgery (ACLR) or non-reconstruction (non-ACLR) was taken. The SDMP questionnaire covers four topics: " informed patient", " to be heard", " involvement" and " agreement". RESULTS: Most (75-98%) patients considered their needs met in terms of being heard and agreement with the treatment decision. However, fewer in the non-ACLR group compared to the ACLR group reported satisfaction with information from the orthopaedic surgeon (67% and 79%), or for their own involvement in the treatment decision process (67% and 97%). CONCLUSION AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Most patients and caregivers considered that patients' needs to be informed, heard and involved, and to agree with the decision about the treatment process, were fulfilled to a high extent. However, patients where a non-ACLR decision was taken experienced being involved in the treatment decision to a lower extent. This implies that the non-ACLR treatment decision process needs further clarification, especially from the patient involvement perspective.

Study protocol for a modified antenatal care program for pregnant women with a low risk for adverse outcomes-a stepped wedge cluster non-inferiority randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: It is crucial to provide care based on individual needs. Swedish health care is obliged to give care on equal conditions for the entire population. The person with the greatest need should be given the most care, and the health care system should strive to be cost-efficient. Medical and technical advances have been significant during the last decades and the recent Covid-19 pandemic has caused a shift in health care, from in-person visits to virtual visits. The majority of pregnant women with a low risk assessment have an uncomplicated antenatal course without adverse events. These women probably receive excessive and unnecessary antenatal care. This study will investigate if an antenatal care program for healthy pregnant women with a low risk for adverse outcomes could be safely monitored with fewer in-person visits to a midwife, and with some of them replaced by virtual visits. METHODS: This is a non-inferiority trial where a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled design will be used. Data collection includes register data and questionnaires that concern antenatal, obstetric and neonatal outcomes, patient- and caregiver-reported experiences, healthcare-economy, and implementation aspects. The modified antenatal care (MAC) study is performed in parts of the southeast of Sweden, which has approximately 8200 childbirths annually. At the start of the study, all antenatal care centers included in the study will use the same standard antenatal care (SAC) program. In the MAC program the in-person visits to a midwife will be reduced to four instead of eight, with two additional virtual meetings compared with the SAC program. DISCUSSION: This presented study protocol is informed by research knowledge. The protocol is expected to provide a good structure for future studies on changed antenatal care programs that introduce virtual visits for healthy pregnant women with a low risk for adverse outcomes, without risking quality, safety, and increased costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered the 21th of April 2021 in the ISRCTN registry with trial ID: ISRCTN14422582 , retrospectively registered.

Clinical Priority Setting and Decision-Making in Sweden: A Cross-sectional Survey Among Physicians.

BACKGROUND: Priority setting in healthcare that aims to achieve a fair and efficient allocation of limited resources is a worldwide challenge. Sweden has developed a sophisticated approach. Still, there is a need for a more detailed insight on how measures permeate clinical life. This study aimed to assess physicians' views regarding (1) impact of scarce resources on patient care, (2) clinical decision-making, and (3) the ethical platform and national guidelines for healthcare by the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW). METHODS: An online cross-sectional questionnaire was sent to two groups in Sweden, 2016 and 2017. Group 1 represented 331 physicians from different departments at one University hospital and group 2 consisted of 923 members of the Society of Cardiology. RESULTS: Overall, a 26% (328/1254) response rate was achieved, 49% in group 1 (162/331), 18% in group 2 (166/923). Scarcity of resources was perceived by 59% more often than 'at least once per month,' whilst 60% felt less than 'well-prepared' to address this issue. Guidelines in general had a lot of influence and 19% perceived them as limiting decision-making. 86% professed to be mostly independent in decision-making. 36% knew the ethical platform 'well' and 'very well' and 64% NBHW's national guidelines. 57% expressed a wish for further knowledge and training regarding the ethical platform and 51% for support in applying NBHW's national guidelines. CONCLUSION: There was a need for more support to deal with scarcity of resources and for increased knowledge about the ethical platform and NBHW's national guidelines. Independence in clinical decision-making was perceived as high and guidelines in general as important. Priority setting as one potential pathway to fair and transparent decision-making should be highlighted more in Swedish clinical settings, with special emphasis on the ethical platform.

Dying within dyads: Stress, sense of security and support during palliative home care.

OBJECTIVES: To examine similarities and dissimilarities in patient and family caregiver dyads in their experience of stress, support, and sense of security. METHODS: 144 patients and their family caregivers participated. Patients were admitted to six Swedish specialist palliative home care units and diagnosed with a non-curable disease with an expected short survival. We analysed similarity patterns of answers within dyads (correlations) as well as dissimilarities, expressed as the difference between within-dyad responses. The latter were subjected to a model-building procedure using GLM, with 13 sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as independent variables. RESULTS: Within dyads, patients and family caregivers scored similar in their perception of support and sense of security with care. There was also dissimilarity within dyad responses in their perception of stress and support that could be attributed to sociodemographic or clinical characteristics. When patients scored higher levels of stress than family caregivers, the family caregiver was more likely to be male. Also family caregiver attachment style (attachment anxiety), patient age and the relationship of the family caregiver to the patient explained dissimilarities within the dyads. CONCLUSIONS: Patients and family caregivers within the dyads often, but not always, had similar scores. We suggest that it is important that the healthcare staff identify situations in which perceptions within the dyads regarding stress and perception of support differ, such that they can recognise patients' and family caregivers' unique needs in different situations, to be able to provide adequate support and facilitate dyadic coping.

Dying as an issue of public concern: cultural scripts on palliative care in Sweden.

In Sweden, palliative care has, over the past decades, been object to policies and guidelines with focus on how to achieve "good palliative care". The aim of this study has been to analyse how experts make sense of the development and the current state of palliative care. Departing from this aim, focus has been on identifying how personal experiences of 'the self' are intertwined with culturally available meta-level concepts and how experts contribute to construct new scripts on palliative care. Twelve qualitative interviews were conducted. Four scripts were identified after analysing the empirical material: 1. script of paths towards working within palliative care; 2. script of desirable and deterrent reference points; 3. script of tensions between improvement and bureaucracy; and 4. script of low status and uncertain definitions. The findings of this study illustrate how experts in complex ways intertwine experiences of 'the self' with meta-levels concepts in order to make sense of the field of palliative care. The participants did not endorse one "right way" of "good" deaths. Instead, palliative care was considered to be located in a complex state where the historical development, consisting of both desirable ideals, death denials and lack of guidelines, and more recent developments of strives towards universal concepts, "improvement" and increased bureaucracy altogether played a significant role for how palliative care has developed and is organised and conducted today.

Cost-effectiveness of caries preventive interventions - a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of caries preventive interventions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review was conducted, following the PRISMA Statement. Four electronic databases were searched (final search 16 March 2020). Studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were independently critically appraised, by two reviewers in parallel. Data from each included study were extracted and tabulated: the analysis used a narrative approach to present the results of the estimated cost-effectiveness. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-six publications fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were of low or moderate risk of bias. Ten publications were economic evaluations, directly based on empirical studies, and the other 16 were modelling studies. Most of the studies concerned interventions for children and the most common were analyses of fluoride varnish and risk-based programs. Some of the studies showed both reduced cost and improved outcomes, but most studies reported that the improved outcome came with an additional cost. The results disclosed several cost-effectiveness evaluations of caries preventive interventions in the literature, but these target primarily children at high risk. There is a scarcity of studies specifically targeting adults and especially the elderly.

Sense of support within the family: a cross-sectional study of family members in palliative home care.

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that family members' support to each other can be of importance to its members, there are limited studies of factors related to family members' sense of such support during palliative care. AIM: Based on the family systems approach, we evaluated which factors were associated with family members' sense of support within their closest family in a palliative home care context and developed a model that predicts such sense of support. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used. We interviewed 209 adult family members (69% of eligible) of adult patients with expected short survival receiving palliative home care. METHODS: Generalised linear models were used to evaluate individual factors related to family members' sense of support within their closest family during palliative care. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was applied in the model-building analyses. RESULTS: Nineteen variables were identified that were significantly associated with the family members' sense of support within the closest family. Model building selected six variables for predicting this sense of support (decreasing Wald values): family member perceiving support from other more distant family members; feeling secure with the provided palliative home care; possibility of respite if family member needed a break; family member living alone; being a child of the patient (inverse relationship); perceiving that the patient was supported by other family members. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support clinical application of the Family Systems Theory in the context of palliative care. The factors identified may be of value in assisting practitioners in detecting and treating family members sensing a low level of support within the closest family.

Factors associated with health-related quality of life and burden on relatives of older people with multi-morbidity: a dyadic data study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the burden on the relatives of older people with multi-morbidity. METHODS: A secondary analysis of baseline data from 296 dyads, including older patients with multimorbidity and their relatives, which were previously collected in a randomized study. The analysis was conducted to select correlated independent variables to enter a final linear regression analysis of two models with different endpoints: the relatives' HRQoL (EQ5D index) and burden (COPE index: Negative impact scale). RESULTS: Sixteen variables correlated with the relatives' HRQoL, and 15 with the relatives' burden. Both the HRQoL and burden correlated with both patient and relative variables. A high HRQoL was associated with relatives' working/studying. A high burden was associated with caring for an older person with changed behaviour. A low burden was associated with the relatives' high scores on positive values of caring, quality of support and HRQoL. CONCLUSION: Older persons and their relatives should be considered as a unit in the development of support of older people in order to increase the health and quality of life of both groups. To support and protect relatives from a high burden, potential measures could include improving the relative's HRQoL and strengthening their ability to find positive values in care and strengthening reliable and good support from others. The relatives' HRQoL explained the variation in the burden. However, the burden did not explain the variation in the HRQoL, which suggests that the relatives' HRQoL is not so readily affected by their burden, whereas the relatives' HRQoL can influence their burden. The variables used in the regression analyses where chosen to reflect important aspects of the relatives' and older persons' situations. The final models explained 38% of the variation in the relatives' burden but only 10% of the variation in their HRQoL. This could be important to consider when choosing outcome assessments in future studies.

Experiences of men living with Dupuytren's disease-Consequences of the disease for hand function and daily activities.

STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive. INTRODUCTION: Dupuytren's disease (DD) is a chronic hand condition causing impairment in hand function. Research describing persons' experiences of living with DD is limited. Understanding the subjective experience of illness is valuable for planning and implementing health-care services. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To explore experiences among men living with an impaired hand function due to DD and the consequences of the disease for daily activities. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 21 men before surgery. The model of the patient evaluation process guided data collection. Data were analyzed using problem-driven content analysis. RESULTS: Participants described DD as a chronic disease caused by heredity, previous injury, hard work, or aging. DD was, according to the participants, an uncomfortable and sometimes painful condition, causing a feeling of constant stiffness in the affected hand. DD could cause participants to have fear of hurting the hand, feelings of shame or embarrassment, and a sense of being old. Participants handled the deteriorating hand function by avoiding or refraining from activities, adapting their performance, or performing activities with less quality. The ideal hand function was seen as being able to use the hands without effort. DISCUSSION: The diverse experiences of DD and if the hand is experienced as something that causes distress can be understood further using body-self dialectic and Gadow's states of embodiment, as well as the process of adapting and learning to live with the functional limitations. CONCLUSIONS: A clinical implication for hand therapy is to acknowledge patients' individual experiences and support self-modifications and development of new skills.

Factors related to health-related quality of life in older people with multimorbidity and high health care consumption over a two-year period.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of multimorbidity is increasing worldwide, and older people with multimorbidity are frequent users of health care services. Since multimorbidity has a significant negative impact on Health-related Quality of Life (HrQoL) and is more common in older age it would be expected that factors related to HrQoL in this group might have been thoroughly researched, but this is not the case. Furthermore, it is important to look at old people living at home, considering the shift from residential to home-based care. Therefore, we aim to investigate factors that are related to HrQoL in older people with multimorbidity and high health care consumption, living at home. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a RCT study conducted in a municipality in south-eastern Sweden. The study had a longitudinal design with a two-year follow-up period assessing HrQoL, symptom burden, activities of daily living, physical activity and depression. RESULTS: In total, 238 older people with multimorbidity and high health care consumption, living at home were included (mean age 82, 52% female). A multiple linear regression model including symptom burden, activities of daily living and depression as independent variables explained 64% of the HrQoL. Higher symptom burden, lower ability in activities of daily living and a higher degree of depression were negatively related to HrQoL. Depression at baseline and a change in symptom burden over a two-year period explained 28% of the change in HrQoL over a two-year period variability. A higher degree of depression at baseline and negative change in higher symptom burden were related to a decrease in HrQoL over a two-year period. CONCLUSION: In order to facilitate better delivery of appropriate health care to older people with high health care consumption living at home it is important to assess HrQoL, and HrQoL over time. Symptom burden, activities of daily living, depression and change in symptom burden over time are important indicators for HrQoL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01446757 , the trial was registered prospectively with the date of trial registration October 5th, 2011.

Can a single question about family members' sense of security during palliative care predict their well-being during bereavement? A longitudinal study during ongoing care and one year after the patient's death.

BACKGROUND: It has been recognised that more evidence about important aspects of family members' sense of security during palliative care is needed. The objectives of the study was: i) to discover what variables are associated with family members feeling secure during palliative care; ii) to develop a model of family members' sense of security during palliative care, and iii) to evaluate if family members' sense of security during ongoing palliative care predicts well-being during bereavement. METHODS: Between September 2009 and October 2010, 227 family members (of patients admitted to six Swedish palliative home care units) participated in the study (participation rate 75%) during ongoing care and 158 participated also 1 year after the patient's death (70%). They answered a single question regarding the family members' sense of security during the palliative care period. The question was constructed and validated by the researchers. Data were also collected using other questions and validated instruments and analysed stepwise with Generalized Linear Models (ordinal multinomial distribution and logit link). RESULTS: Sixteen variables were positively related to family members' sense of security during ongoing palliative care. The five variables with the highest importance were selected into the model (listed in decreasing importance): Family members' mastery; nervousness and stress; self-efficacy; patient having gynaecological cancer; family members' perceived quality of life. Moreover, the family members' sense of security during ongoing palliative care predicted ten variables indicating their well-being 1 year after the patient's death, e.g. psychological well-being, complicated grief symptoms, health related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reveal possibilities to identify family members at risk of negative adjustment to bereavement in clinical practice and may help to develop interventions to support family members during ongoing palliative care.

Patients' needs during a surgical intervention process for Dupuytren's disease.

PURPOSE: To explore and describe clients' needs during a surgical intervention process for Dupuytren's disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Design: Interview study with 21 men undergoing surgical intervention for Dupuytren's disease. Qualitative content analysis was performed with the model of Patient Evaluation Process as a theoretical framework. RESULTS: The primary reason for seeking medical care was to receive an intervention to improve hand function. The need for knowledge was evident during the care process, and was connected to involvement in decision-making. During surgery and rehabilitation, participants needed support with pain relief, a sense of security, support for self-care, or sick leave. There was also a need for participation in the evaluation and improvement of care. Clients' life situations contributed to the occurrence of needs or were a resource for handling them. Depending on patient character, clients handled their perceived needs differently. CONCLUSIONS: Clients' needs during a surgical intervention process include needs for improvement of hand function, knowledge, and support during treatment, and participation in evaluation. Clients' needs change during the care process and can be influenced by their life situation or their character. The identified needs ought to be included in quality assessments from the carers' perspective, to ensure that important needs of the clients are met by the surgical intervention process. Communication and interaction between client and health care provider is a key aspect of fulfilling clients' needs. Implications for rehabilitation Patients have need for knowledge throughout the care process: about the disease, risk factors, treatment options, practical and medical information related to the treatment and recovery, and about the care process as a whole. Need for knowledge is closely connected to patients' experience of being involved in decision making. Patients need support with both general human and specific medical issues during surgery and rehabilitation. Patients' needs change during the care process and can be influenced by the patient's life situation or character. From the carers' perspective, the identified needs ought to be included in quality assessments to ensure that important needs of the clients are met by the surgical intervention process.

The meaning of severity - do citizens views correspond to a severity framework based on ethical principles for priority setting?

The importance for governments of establishing ethical principles and criteria for priority setting in line with social values, has been emphasised. The risk of such criteria not being operationalised and instead replaced by de-contextualised priority-setting tools, has been noted. The aim of this article was to compare whether citizens views are in line with how a criterion derived from parliamentary-decided ethical principles have been interpreted into a framework for evaluating severity levels, in resource allocation situations in Sweden. Interviews were conducted with 15 citizens and analysed by directed content analysis. The results showed that the multi-factorial aspects that participants considered as relevant for evaluating severity, were similar to those used by professionals in the Severity Framework, but added some refinements on what to consider when taking these aspects into account. Findings of similarities, such as in our study, could have the potential to strengthen the internal legitimacy among professionals, to use such a priority-setting tool, and enable politicians to communicate the justifiability of how severity is decided. The study also disclosed new aspects regarding severity, of which some are ethically disputed, implying that our results also reveal the need for ongoing ethical discussions in publicly-funded healthcare systems.

For better or worse: Factors predicting outcomes of family care of older people over a one-year period. A six-country European study.

OBJECTIVES: Demographic change has led to an increase of older people in need of long-term care in nearly all European countries. Informal carers primarily provide the care and support needed by dependent people. The supply and willingness of individuals to act as carers are critical to sustain informal care resources as part of the home health care provision. This paper describes a longitudinal study of informal care in six European countries and reports analyses that determine those factors predicting the outcomes of family care over a one-year period. METHODS: Analyses are based on data from the EUROFAMCARE project, a longitudinal survey study of family carers of older people with baseline data collection in 2004 and follow-up data collection a year later in six European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), N = 3,348. Descriptive statistics of the sample characteristics are reported. Binary logistic random-intercept regressions were computed, predicting the outcome of change of the care dyad's status at follow-up. RESULTS: Where care is provided by a more distant family member or by a friend or neighbour, the care-recipient is significantly more likely to be cared for by someone else (OR 1.62) or to be in residential care (OR 3.37) after one year. The same holds true if the care-recipient has memory problems with a dementia diagnosis (OR 1.79/OR 1.84). Higher dependency (OR 1.22) and behavioural problems (OR 1.76) in the care-recipient also lead to a change of care dyad status. Country of residence explained a relatively small amount of variance (8%) in whether a care-recipient was cared for by someone else after one year, but explained a substantial amount of variance (52%) in whether a care-recipient was in residential care. Particularly in Sweden, care-recipients are much more likely to be cared for by another family or professional carer or to be in residential care, whereas in Greece the status of the care dyad is much less likely to change. DISCUSSION: The majority of family carers continued to provide care to their respective older relatives over a one-year period, despite often high levels of functional, cognitive and behavioural problems in the care-recipient. Those family carers could benefit most from appropriate support. The carer/care-recipient relationship plays an important role in whether or not a family care dyad remains intact over a one-year period. The support of health and social care services should be particularly targeted toward those care dyads where there is no partner or spouse acting as carer, or no extended family network that might absorb the caring role when required. Distant relatives, friends or acquaintances who are acting as carers might need substantial intervention if their caregiving role is to be maintained.

Important aspects in relation to patients' attendance at exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation - facilitators, barriers and physiotherapist's role: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: In order to improve attendance at exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR), a greater insight into patients' perspectives is necessary. The aim of the study was to explore aspects that influence patients' attendance at exercise-based CR after acute coronary artery disease (CAD) and the role of the physiotherapist in patients' attendance at exercise-based CR. METHODS: A total of 16 informants, (5 women; median age 64.5, range 47-79 years), diagnosed with CAD, were included in the study at the Cardiology Department, Linköping University Hospital, Sweden. Qualitative interviews were conducted and analysed according to inductive content analysis. RESULTS: Four main categories were identified: (i) previous experience of exercise, (ii) needs in the acute phase, (iii) important prerequisites for attending exercise-based CR and (iv) future ambitions. The categories demonstrate that there are connections between the past, the present and the future, in terms of attitudes to facilitators, barriers and the use of strategies for managing exercise. An overall theme, defined as existential thoughts, had a major impact on the patients' attitudes to attending exercise-based CR. The interaction and meetings with the physiotherapists in the acute phase were described as important factors for attending exercise-based CR. Moreover, informants could feel that the physiotherapists supported them in learning the right level of effort during exercise and reducing the fear of exercise. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to previous knowledge of barriers and facilitators for exercise-based CR that patients with CAD get existential thoughts both related to exercise during the rehabilitation process and for future attitudes to exercise. This knowledge might necessitate greater attention to the physiotherapist-patient interaction. To be able to tailor exercise-based CR for patients, physiotherapists need to be aware of patients' past experiences of exercise and previous phases of the rehabilitation process as these are important for how patients' perceive their need and ability of exercise.

Patients' perspective on surgical intervention for Dupuytren's disease - experiences, expectations and appraisal of results.

PURPOSE: To explore patients' perspectives on surgical intervention for Dupuytren's disease (DD), focusing on patients' appraisal of results, involving previous experiences, expectations and patient characters. METHOD: The participants were 21 men, mean age 66 years, scheduled for DD surgery. Qualitative interviews were conducted 2-4 weeks before surgery and 6-8 months after surgery. The model of the Patient Evaluation Process was used as theoretical framework. Data were analyzed using problem-driven content analysis. RESULTS: Five categories are described: previous experiences, expectations before surgery, appraisal of results, expectations of the future and patient character. Previous experiences influenced participants' expectations, and these were used along with other aspects as references for appraisal of results. Participants' appraisal of results concerned perceived changes in hand function, care process, competency and organization, and could vary in relation to patient character. The appraisal of results influenced participants' expectations of future hand function, health and care. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' appraisal of results involved multidimensional reasoning reflecting on hand function, interaction with staff and organizational matters. Thus, it is not enough to evaluate results after DD surgery only by health outcomes as this provides only a limited perspective. Rather, evaluation of results should also cover process and structure aspects of care. Implications for Rehabilitation To improve health care services, it is important to be aware of the role played by patient's previous experiences, expectations as well as staff and organizational aspects of care. Knowledge about patients' experience and view of the results from surgery and rehabilitation should be established by assessment of care effects on health as well as structure and process aspects of care. Evaluation of structure and process aspects of care can be done by using questions about if the patient felt listened to, received clear information and explanations, was included in decision-making, and their view of waiting time or continuity of care. Improving health care services means not only providing the best treatment method available but also developing individualized care by ensuring good interaction with the patient, providing accurate information, and working to improve the structure of the care process. Before treatment, health care providers should have a dialogue with the patient and consider previous experiences and expectations in order to ensure the patient has balanced expectations of the outcome.

Long-Term Evaluation of the Ambulatory Geriatric Assessment: A Frailty Intervention Trial (AGe-FIT): Clinical Outcomes and Total Costs After 36 Months.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of care based on comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) as a complement to usual care in an outpatient setting with those of usual care alone. The assessment was performed 36 months after study inclusion. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded, single-center trial. SETTING: A geriatric ambulatory unit in a municipality in the southeast of Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 75 years who had received inpatient hospital care 3 or more times in the past 12 months and had 3 or more concomitant medical diagnoses were eligible for study inclusion. Participants were randomized to the intervention group (IG) or control group (CG). INTERVENTION: Participants in the IG received CGA-based care for 24 to 31 months at the geriatric ambulatory unit in addition to usual care. OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality, transfer to nursing home, days in hospital, and total costs of health and social care after 36 months. RESULTS: Mean age (SD) of participants was 82.5 (4.9) years. Participants in the IG (n = 208) lived 69 days longer than did those in the CG (n = 174); 27.9% (n = 58) of participants in the IG and 38.5% (n = 67) in the CG died (hazard ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.05-2.12, P = .026). The mean number of inpatient days was lower in the IG (15.1 [SD 18.4]) than in the CG (21.0 [SD 25.0], P = .01). Mean overall costs during the 36-month period did not differ between the IG and CG (USD 71,905 [SD 85,560] and USD 65,626 [SD 66,338], P = .43). CONCLUSIONS: CGA-based care resulted in longer survival and fewer days in hospital, without significantly higher cost, at 3 years after baseline. These findings add to the evidence of CGA's superiority over usual care in outpatient settings. As CGA-based care leads to important positive outcomes, this method should be used more extensively in the treatment of older people to meet their needs.