METHOD: Four hundred and twenty-three subjects were recruited from center records using a systematic random sampling technique. Subjects who consented were interviewed by telephone using a specially designed semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive as well as comparative analyses were carried out. Differences between groups were tested using the Chi-square test when applicable.
RESULTS: The majority of users surveyed (89.6%) had called the center from within Khartoum State and 10.4% of users had called from other states. Of the enquiries, 36.1% were from pharmacists, 29.5% from physicians, and 22.3% from laypersons. The vast majority (93.1%) of respondents were educated to degree level or higher. Approximately one fifth, one half, and one third of the users surveyed had consulted the center >5 times, 2-5 times, and once, respectively. More than 90% of users rated the services provided as good to excellent and 94.7% declared their probable intention to continue utilizing the center in the future.
CONCLUSION: The center succeeded in satisfying and retaining its users by providing an acceptable quality of service.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty chronic periodontitis patients completed this study and received periodontal treatment comprising scaling and root planing plus ultrasonic debridement. Clinical data were recorded at baseline, 6 weeks (R1) after treatment completion (full-mouth or quadrant-scaling and root planing) and 25 weeks after baseline (R2). Serum samples were taken at each time point and cytokines concentrations determined by ELISA.
RESULTS: Following treatment, statistically significant reductions were noted in clinical parameters. However, IL-17A and IL-17E concentrations were significantly greater than baseline values before- and after-adjusting for smoking. The IL-17A:IL-17E ratio was lower at R1 and R2. Serum IL-6 and TNF levels were significantly lower at R1 only. Also exclusively at R1, serum IL-17A and IL-17E correlated positively with clinical parameters, while the IL-17A:IL-17E ratio correlated negatively with probing pocket depth and clinical attachment.
CONCLUSION: Increased serum IL-17E and a reduced IL-17A:IL-17E ratio may be indicative and/or a consequence of periodontal therapy. Therefore, the role of IL-17E in periodontal disease progression and the healing process is worthy of further investigation.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: IL-17E may be a valuable biomarker to monitor the healing process following periodontal treatment as increased IL-17E levels and a reduced IL-17A:IL-17E ratio could reflect clinical improvements post-therapy. Therefore, monitoring serum IL-17E might be useful to identify individuals who require additional periodontal treatment.
METHODS: Two overlapping cohorts of adults who reported smoking factory- made cigarettes from Malaysia and Thailand were interviewed face-to-face (3189 were surveyed at baseline and 1781 re-contacted at Wave 2; 2361 current smokers were surveyed at Wave 2 and 1586 re-contacted at Wave 3). In Thailand at baseline, large text only warnings were assessed, while at Wave 2 new large graphic warnings were assessed. In Malaysia, during both waves small text only warnings were in effect. Reactions were used to predict interest in quitting, and to predict making quit attempts over the following inter-wave interval.
RESULTS: Multivariate predictors of "interest in quitting" were comparable across countries, but predictors of quit attempts varied. In both countries, cognitive reactions to warnings (adjusted ORs; 1.57 & 1.69 for Malaysia at wave 1 and wave 2 respectively and 1.29 & 1.19 for Thailand at wave 1 and wave 2 respectively), forgoing a cigarette (except Wave 2 in Malaysia) (adjusted ORs; 1.77 for Malaysia at wave 1 and 1.54 & 2.32 for Thailand at wave 1 and wave 2 respectively), and baseline knowledge (except wave 2 in both countries) (adjusted ORs; 1.71 & 1.51 for Malaysia and Thailand respectively) were positively associated with interest in quitting at that wave. In Thailand only, "cognitive reactions to warnings" (adjusted ORs; 1.12 & 1.23 at wave 1 and wave 2 respectively), "forgoing a cigarette" (adjusted OR = 1.55 at wave 2 only) and "an interest in quitting" (adjusted ORs; 1.61 & 2.85 at wave 1 and wave 2 respectively) were positively associated with quit attempts over the following inter-wave interval. Salience was negatively associated with subsequent quit attempts in both Malaysia and Thailand, but at Wave 2 only (adjusted ORs; 0.89 & 0.88 for Malaysia and Thailand respectively).
CONCLUSION: Warnings appear to have common mechanisms for influencing quitting regardless of warning strength. The larger and more informative Thai warnings were associated with higher levels of reactions predictive of quitting and stronger associations with subsequent quitting, demonstrating their greater potency.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between HRQoL and treatment satisfaction in a sample of Palestinian hypertensive patients.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, adopting the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM 1.4) for the assessment of treatment satisfaction and using the European Quality of Life scale (EQ-5D-5L) for the assessment of HRQoL. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to describe socio-demographic and disease-related characteristics of the patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS v 15.0.
RESULTS: Four hundred and ten hypertensive patients were enrolled in the study. This study findings indicate a positive correlation between all satisfaction domains and HRQoL. Significant differences were observed between this study variables (P < 0.001). After adjustment for covariates using multiple linear regression, an increase of one point in the global satisfaction scale was associated with a 0.16 increase in EQ-5D index scores (r = 0.16; P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with reportedly higher satisfaction scores have reported relatively higher EQ-5D-5L index values. These study findings could be helpful in clinical practice, mainly in the early treatment of hypertensive patients, at a point where improving treatment satisfaction and HRQoL is still possible.
Methods: It was a cross-sectional study performed during the period June 2013 to October 2013. The Arabic version of Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM 1.4) was used to assess treatment satisfaction, and the Arabic version of European Quality of Life scale (EQ-5D-5L) was used to assess HRQoL. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate which variables were the most important related to HRQoL.
Results: A total of 385 diabetic patients were included. There were modest positive correlations between the total score on the Overall Satisfaction domain and EQ-5D-5L (r = 0.14; p = 0.005). After adjusting multiple covariates by multiple linear regression, the association between the Overall Satisfaction and HRQoL was not statistically significant (p = 0.075); (R = 0.495; adjusted R(2) = 0.245; F = 10.3; df = 12; p