BACKGROUND It is a common belief that physical exercise at the workplace decreases subjective health complaints and reduces sickness absence, but this is not supported by previous randomized studies. AIMS To evaluate the effectiveness of physical exercise at the workplace. METHODS One hundred and twenty-nine employees in a community-based nursing home for the elderly were randomized into ph...

BACKGROUND Participants who completed a 3-month prescribed individualized exercise program in groups were followed-up prospectively. The aims were to describe the characteristics of the participants, their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical fitness at baseline, at completion and at 12-month follow-up, and to identify predictors of HRQoL and physical fitness at completion and at...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a Multidisciplinary Integrated Care (MIC) model compared to Usual Care (UC) in Dutch residential homes. METHODS The economic evaluation was conducted from a societal perspective alongside a 6 month, clustered, randomized controlled trial involving 10 Dutch residential homes. Outcome measures included a quality of ...

BACKGROUND There is evidence to support that the number of self-reported symptoms is a strong predictor of health outcomes. In studies examining the link between symptoms and functional status, focus has traditionally been on individual symptoms or specific groups of symptoms. We aim to identify associations between the number of self-reported symptoms and functional status. METHODS A questio...

Despite the huge differences between developing and developed countries, access is the major issue in rural health around the world. Even in the countries where the majority of the population lives in rural areas, the resources are concentrated in the cities. All countries have difficulties with transport and communication, and they all face the challenge of shortages of doctors and other healt...

BACKGROUND Together with care professionals, specific psychogeriatric care applications were developed for the seal robot Paro. OBJECTIVES This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of the developed Paro interventions, applying the robot in psychogeriatric care. DESIGN A multicenter quasi-experimental time series ABAB study (n = 91) with within-subject comparison was conducted to assess both ...

BACKGROUND Know what factors determine the poor mental health in the city of Madrid. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cross-sectional study Health Survey of the City of Madrid (ESCM'05), analyzed 5746, persons aged 16 to 64 years, in the years 2004-2005. Dependent variable was obtained from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), was considered score above 2. Independent variables included sociodemogr...

BACKGROUND Counselling in primary care settings remains largely unevaluated. Such evaluation has been strongly recommended. AIM To determine the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of generic counselling and usual general practitioner (GP) care for patients with minor mental health problems. METHOD A randomized controlled trial and health economic evaluation were carried out in ni...

INTRODUCTION To study the relationship between the objective variables of functionality and degree of life satisfaction in elderly people with an active lifestyle. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study took place using a sample of 340 elderly people, aged 60-85, who were all leading an active life. The tests applied were: Satisfaction with Life Scale, Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test, Memory Failure...