BACKGROUND Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) profoundly affects the quality of patients' lives. A systematic review was performed to evaluate critically the published literature and to examine what is known about health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with IPF. METHODS The MEDLINE, EMBASE, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to 1 Apri...

There is a strong relationship between neck pain (NP) and upper limb disability (ULD). Optimal management of NP should incorporate upper limb rehabilitation and therefore include the use of an ULD measure in the assessment and management process. Clear guidance regarding the suitability of available measures does not exist. The aim of this study was to identify all available measures of ULD for...

PURPOSE To compare the contributions of single vision (SVCL) and multifocal contact lenses (MFCL) to the relative peripheral refraction (RPR) profiles obtained via an autorefractor and an aberrometer in a pilot study. METHODS Two instruments, Shin-Nippon NVision K5001 (SN) and COAS-HD, were modified to permit open field PR measurements. Two myopic adults (CF, RB) were refracted (cycloplegia) ...

background: glasgow coma scale is considered as the common measuring tool of consciousness level. however, its utilization has been criticized in some cases and the use of alternative tools for determining consciousness level is recommended. so, this study was conducted to analyze correlation between the instruments with physiological indicators for determining the altered level of consciousnes...

INTRODUCTION With the introduction of new surgical equipment, there is always the need for new, more advanced training. The authors try to answer whether the use of the newest generation tools has an impact on achieving better results in single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) technique during the exercises in the surgical skills laboratory. MATERIAL AND METHODS There were 51 participants...

BACKGROUND There is an increasing drive to measure and so improve patients' experiences and outcomes of health care. This also applies to medicines, given their ubiquity as health care interventions. Patients' experiences of using medicines vary, and instruments which measure these are seen as an essential component to improve care. We aimed to identify generic measures of patients' experiences...

PURPOSE Public health professionals hypothesize that when community environments provide suitable walking and bicycling conditions, community members will be more active. Measurement indicators and assessment instruments are needed to evaluate suitability. This study determined the reliability and validity of two instruments to assess the suitability of sidewalks for walking and roads for bicyc...

PURPOSE To investigate what criteria medical students would value and use in assessing teaching skills. METHOD Fourth-year medical students at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine enrolled in a teaching elective course are required to design and use an evaluation instrument to assess effective teaching. Each class uses a similar process in developing their instruments. Since the ...

With an increasing number of paediatric quality of life (QOL) instruments being developed, it is becoming difficult for researchers and clinicians to select the most appropriate instrument. Reviews of QOL instruments tend to report only basic properties of the instruments such as domains and psychometric properties. This paper seeks to appraise critically the conceptual underpinnings of paediat...