Active clinical trials for "Chronic Disease"

The management of chronic conditions is a challenge for health systems worldwide, particularly in the context of an aging population, and requires urgent improvement of health services. Integrated care and patient empowerment represent promising solutions: offering tailored self-management support in a collaborative framework led to good results in several clinical contexts. Yet, large scale implementation remains a challenge. An important limitation of existing solutions is a lack of utilization of behavioural and communication theory for identifying the dynamics of pluridisciplinary collaboration and the interactive effects of the activities performed by several actors involved in self-management support in a given chronic condition. A second limitation is not involving all relevant actors in the development of health service improvement solutions, which leads to limited programme adoption and sustainability in routine care. This study is part of a project that proposes to address these limitations and develop and interdisciplinary model of collaborative care in the self-management of chronic conditions (CoSMaS) that adopts a community-based participative approach. CoSMaS-ql is a qualitative study that will consist of semi-structured interviews with several types of stakeholders: patients, caregivers, and health care professionals of different specialties (e.g. general practitioners, nurses, specialist consultants, pharmacists). The main objective of the study is to explore the experiences and of patients, caregivers, and HCPs on how self-management support is currently delivered in asthma, cancer and stroke (content, communication, organisation of care), their needs related to self-management support provision, and envisaged solutions for improving current practice. Three different chronic conditions will be targeted: asthma, breast cancer and stroke. The qualitative data will be analysed via grounded-theory and template analysis. It will inform the development of a theoretical model of collaborative self-management support in chronic conditions. It will also result in three profiles describing 'real' versus 'ideal' care processes, which will represent needs assessment stages for future health services improvement interventions in the three conditions.

In the past two decades, as a result of population aging and shifts in patient needs, we have seen an increased demand for chronic disease management (CDM) delivered in the community. The Hong Kong Government introduced six nurse allied health clinics (NAHC) programme to assist the delivery of care to facilitate the increased demand on chronic disease management (CDM) in the community, which are currently being piloted within the government funded general outpatient clinics (GOPC) of the Hospital Authority (HA). These programmes are designed to enhance CDM in primary care through patient empowerment and use of multi-disciplinary nurse and allied health led teams, and aim for secondary prevention and treat-to-target for specific health conditions. This model of care has already been established in a number of countries, namely United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and United States, where multi-disciplinary allied-health clinics, nurse practitioners and nurse-led clinics have already been integrated into routine practice in primary care (Thomas, Cullum et al. 2000; Laurant, Reeves et al. 2005). The six NAHC programmes which have been developed to date address falls prevention (FP), continence care (CC), mental wellness (MW), wound care (WC), respiratory disease management (respiratory clinic) and medication management and compliance (MMCC). The evaluation on the QOC is an essential part of the programme in order to inform future policy. he Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care (FMPC) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has been appointed by the HA to carry out the evaluation of the QOC of the programme. The Action Learning and Audit Spiral methodologies to measure whether the target standard of care intended by the NAHC programme is achieved. Each NAHC participating clinic will be invited to complete a structured evaluation questionnaire. Anonymized data of all patients who have enrolled into the NAHC programme for more than 6 months will be included in the evaluation on the process and outcomes of care. Data on the process of care will be retrieved from the HA medical records. In-depth study of NAHC CC programme: In order to compare the outcomes over time between subjects who have and who have not participated in the NAHC Continence Care Programme, three hundred and sixty control patients who have not been enrolled into the NAHC CC programme will be selected for the comparison in the outcomes of care. Subjects will be followed up by telephone to evaluate the effect of the programme in quality of life (QOL), patient enablement, and global rating of change in health condition at baseline , 12-month and 24-month after enrollment. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcomes are the proportion of participants who have received the planned process of care and have improvement in clinical outcomes. Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics on proportions meeting the QOC criteria will be calculated. The changes in clinical, service and patient reported outcomes between baseline and discharge will assessed by paired sample t-test. The audit cycle will be repeated 4 times over a period of 5 years. In-depth study of NAHC CC programme: the clinical outcomes between NAHC CC subjects and control group will be compared by independent sample t-test or Chi-square test. Results: The QOC of the NAHC programme will be determined. Areas of deficiency and possible areas for quality enhancement will be identified. Conclusion: The results of this study will provide empirical evidence on whether the HA's NAHC programmes enhance the QOC of their participating patients. This information will be used to guide service planning and policy decision making.

The investigators hypothesize that an intervention, within an established patient-centered medical home, aimed at reducing modifiable risks for hospitalization, can decrease hospital utilization among medically complex children.

This study plans to learn about how to measure symptoms (like tiredness or rash) in children with special healthcare needs who take 5 or more medications. Sometimes symptoms change in severity over time or new symptoms develop. This can happen after a new medication is started. This can also happen after the dose of an existing medication is changed. The Investigators believe that parents will be able to provide the best assessment of any symptoms that their child might be experiencing. This study asks parents to report any symptoms their child is currently experiencing.

The objectives were (1) to evaluate the characteristics of the patients referred, and (2) the effect of a community-based Exercise on Prescription program on their physical capacities and their quality of life. The program consisted in 30 supervised physical activity (PA) group sessions (75 min) over a 4-month period and participant were prescribed the program by their doctors. The participants had chronic diseases among type 2 diabetes, mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, childhood and adult obesity and stabilized cardiovascular diseases. Tests and questionnaires were completed before and after the program. Physical tests were the 6-minute walk test, the timed up & go, the 30-s stand up chair, the single leg support test and the back scratch and toe-touch tests. Questionnaires were the self-administered Ricci and Gagnon questionnaire about PA level and the 12-Item Short Form Survey for measuring quality of life. Personal goal from the participants and medical objective from their doctors were collected before the program.

This survey will address important research, practice, and policy questions: How does Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) impact participants' general health, their health behaviors, and their need for health care utilization? Who benefits most from the CDSMP program? Are predicted gains maintained over a six and twelve month period? Can critical clinical changes be seen for those who are diabetic?

Airway macrophage impairment is a central feature in the immunopathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, regardless of smoking status.

Care coordination, disease management, geriatric care management, and preventive programs for chronically ill older adults vary in design and their impact on long-term health outcomes is not well established. This study investigates whether a community-based nursing intervention improves longevity and impact on cardiovascular risk factors in this population. The results reflect the impact of one of the study sites (Health Quality Partners) selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration, a national demonstration designed to identify promising models of care coordination for chronically ill older adults. The study began in April 2002.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness a 13-week community based nutrition education program to assist participants program in improving in physical and emotional well being and to assess if there are differences in outcomes based on a participant's socioeconomic status.

The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility and impact of delivering mobile health self-management interventions to improve adherence to the prescribed treatment in a multimorbid population returning home after hospital discharge.