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Background: Our research hypothesis was that most French indicators of quality of care have been validated by experts who are not clinicians and might not always be meaningful for clinicians. Our objective was to define a core set of measurable indicators of care quality during delivery and the immediate postpartum period relevant to clinical practice. Methods: A steering committee comprising nine specialists in obstetrics and/or public health conducted a literature review to develop potential indicators. A panel of obstetrician-gynecologists and midwives working in a delivery unit rated each indicator for appropriateness in a two-round Rand-modified Delphi procedure and a physical meeting. The consensus among the panelists was assessed. Results: In the first round, 145 panelists (110 obstetrician-gynecologists and 35 midwives) assessed 77 indicators and 3 definitions: 6 related to labor onset, 20 to delivery, 3 to pain management, 23 to neonatal morbidity/mortality, and 28 to maternal morbidity. In the second round, 132 panelists (98 obstetrician-gynecologists and 34 midwives) assessed 42 indicators and 1 definition. The final set comprised 50 indicators and 2 definitions. Conclusions: This Delphi procedure selected 50 indicators that reflect the quality of perinatal care. These indicators should be recorded in each French maternity ward's birth register for each delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mobile application has the potential to involve people with chronic NSLBP in their rehabilitation. To refine the design of a smartphone application for people with chronic NSLBP using mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches. We used a user-centred design approach involving people with chronic NSLBP and healthcare professionals (HCPs). We used a three-step methodology: developing consensus on the features, content, and design of the app; developing a user interface; and usability testing of the app and assessing users' experience. Transcripts of interviews of users were analyzed by qualitative content analysis. A total of 18 people (aged 45 [23–53] years old) with chronic NSLBP, and 7 HCPs (aged 29.5 [25–55] years old) involved in NSLBP management were interviewed. The overall experience of using the smartphone eLombactif app was initially assessed. Then, with close-ended questions we evaluated users' judgements on the content, its presentation and navigation. Finally, we asked for suggestions: "application content and functionality" and "content presentation" from participants regarding the use and development of the app analyzed by a qualitative methodology. This study described how we refined the design of our application for people with chronic NSLBP using a qualitative and quantitative approaches. This methodology allows for deepening the knowledge of the needs and expectations of potential users by measuring their user experience. Non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) is a major global public health issue leading to considerable economic cost and is primarily responsible for pain and disability. Mobile application has the potential to involve people with chronic NSLBP in their rehabilitation. This study described how we refined the design of our application for people with chronic NSLBP using a qualitative and quantitative approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have addressed health-related quality of life in community-dwelling individuals aged 80 years and above and very few self-assessment quality of life questionnaires have been formally validated in these populations. This study aimed to validate a French version of the LEIPAD, a self-administered questionnaire assessing the health-related quality of life of people aged 80 years and over. Method: A cross-sectional study of people aged 80 years and over living at home in France was conducted. All subjects recruited were sent a letter explaining the study and requesting their consent to take part. Those who accepted then received the questionnaires, including the LEIPAD, which assesses health-related quality of life in the subjects aged 65 years and above. We assessed its psychometric properties: data completeness, score distribution, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency, item-total correlations, inter-scale correlations, reliability and convergent validity with the Medical Outcome Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36). Results: The results obtained from 184 older people (mean age of 83.9 years, standard deviation 3.3) showed very good acceptability (missing data between 1.1% and 11.4% for LEIPAD scales) Factor analysis of the instrument confirmed the multi-dimensional structure in seven independent scales similar to the original version. Good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.68 to 0.87) and strong test-retest reliability of the LEIPAD scales (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.77 to 0.95) were found. Convergent validity with the SF-36 showed moderate to strong correlations, consistent with the hypotheses stated. Conclusions: The validation of this specific questionnaire will make it possible to investigate individually the health-related quality of life of French older people living at home and will enable French-speaking investigators to contribute to national and international research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Endometriosis and quality of life has been the subject of much research, however, there is little consensus on how best to evaluate quality of life in endometriosis, resulting in many and diverse scales being used. In our study, we aim to identify quality of life scales used in endometriosis, to review their strengths and weaknesses and to establish what would define an ideal scale in the evaluation of endometriosis-related quality of life. Materials and methods: A search of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases was carried out for publications in English and French for the period from 1980 to February 2017, using the words ‘endometriosis’ and ‘quality of life’. Publications were selected if they reported on quality of life in patients with endometriosis and specified use of a quality of life scale. A quantitative and a qualitative analysis of each scale was performed in order to establish the strengths and weaknesses for each scale (systematic registration number: PROSPERO 2014: CRD42014014210). Results: A total of 1538 articles publications were initially identified. After exclusion of duplicates and application of inclusion criteria, 201 studies were selected for analysis. The SF-36, a generic HRQoL measure, was found to be the most frequently used scale, followed by the EHP-30, a measure specific to endometriosis. Both perform well, when compared with other scales, with scale weaknesses offset by strengths. EHP-5 and EQ-5D also showed to be of good quality. All four were the only scales to report on MCID studied in endometriosis patients. Conclusion: For clinical practice, routine evaluation of HRQOL in women with endometriosis is essential both for health-care providers and patients. Both SF-36 and EHP-30 perform better overall with regard to their strengths and weaknesses when compared to other scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Employment conditions are associated with health inequities. In 2013, French young people had the highest unemployment rate and among those who worked as salaried workers most of them had temporary job. The purpose of the study was to assess mental health state of French young people through the prism of their occupational status and to measure whether occupational status is a determinant of health inequities. Methods: A cross-sectional multicentre observational survey was performed in June and July 2010 in 115 French Local Social Centres and 74 Health Examination Centres, who were available to participate. The survey was based on an anonymous self-administrated questionnaire delivered by social workers or healthcare professionals to young people age from 16 to 25 years old. The questionnaire was composed of 54 items. Several health outcomes were measured: self-perceived health, mental health, addictions and to be victim of violence. The association of occupational status and mental health was assessed by adjusting results on age and gender and by introducing other explanatory variables such as social deprivation. Results: A total of 4282 young people completed the questionnaire, a response rate of 83%, 1866 men and 2378 women, sex-ratio 0.79. French young people having a non-working occupational status or a non-permanent working status were more exposed to poor self-perceived health, poor mental health, addictions and violence. To be at school particularly secondary school was a protective factor for addiction. Conclusions: Occupational status of French young people was a determinant of mental health inequities. Young people not at work and not studying reported greater vulnerability and should be targeted therefore by appropriate and specific social and medical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aging population of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PLWH) is exposed to a widening spectrum of non-AIDS-defining diseases. Thus, our objective was to compare the health care offered to PLWH according to age. We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study on PLWH who consulted at one of 59 French HIV reference centers from 15th to 19th October 2012. Using our survey questionnaires, PLWH self-reported the medical care they received, whether or not tied to HIV infection monitoring, during the previous year. A total of 650 PLWH participated in the survey (median age 48 years, Interquartile range (IQR) 40–54), of which 95 were aged 60 years or over (14.5%). Compared to younger PLWH, 60-and-over PLWH were more often under complementary health insurance cover and less socially deprived based on the French EPICES (Evaluation of Precarity and Inequalities in Health Examination Centers) score. The elderly PLWH presented more comorbidities and less coinfections with hepatitis viruses. During health care, therapeutic education was less often offered to older PLWH (14% vs. 26%,p = .01), but this difference was mainly explained by sociodemographic factors and clinical status. Over the previous 6 months, 74% of PLWH who were followed up in hospital had also consulted another doctor, with a mean of 3.75 consultations (±4.18) without difference between age groups. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities, PLWH over 60 years were more likely to have consulted medical specialists as outpatients in the last 6 months (odds ratio [OR] = 2.63 [1.11–6.20]). Whatever their age, 13% of PLWH had been refused care on disclosure of their HIV status, and 27% of PLWH still did not disclose their HIV status to some caregivers. Coordinated health care throughout patients’ lives is crucial, as health-care pathways evolve toward outpatient care as the patients get older. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]