Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Apr 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyA pilot cluster-randomized trial of a 20-week Tai Chi program in elders with cognitive impairment and osteoarthritic knee: effects on pain and other health outcomes.
Because Tai Chi (TC) is beneficial to elders without cognitive impairment (CI), it also may benefit elders with CI. But elders with CI have generally been excluded from TC studies because many measurement tools require verbal reports that some elders with CI are unable to provide. ⋯ Practicing TC can be efficacious in reducing pain and stiffness in elders with knee OA and CI.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Apr 2013
Multicenter StudyHow to analyze palliative care outcome data for patients in Sub-Saharan Africa: an international, multicenter, factor analytic examination of the APCA African POS.
The incidence of life-limiting progressive disease in sub-Saharan Africa presents a significant clinical and public health challenge. The ability to easily measure patient outcomes is essential to improving care. ⋯ This analysis presents an important new opportunity in the analysis of outcome data for patients with progressive disease. It has advantages over both the total scoring of multidimensional scaling (which masks differences between domains) and of item scoring (which requires repeated analyses). The three factors map well onto the underlying concept and clinical goals of palliative care, and will enable audit of facility care.