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Zusammenfassung Hintergrund: Hausmittel (HM) gelten als Ressource der Selbstfürsorge bei chronischen Erkrankungen. In der BMBF-geförderten, cluster-randomisierten HoPES3-Studie wurde die Nutzung von HM durch ältere Patient/-innen untersucht. Ziel war es, die Aspekte Spiritualität, soziale Aktivität und Selbstfürsorge (durch Beratung zu HM) in der hausärztlichen Versorgung zu stärken. Fragestellungen: Welche Maßnahmen sind zur Selbstfürsorge älterer Menschen geeignet? Wie hoch ist die Anzahl der HM Nutzer/-innen? Welche HM Arten werden angewendet? Welche Einstellungen und Beweggründe haben ältere Patient/-innen hinsichtlich HM Anwendung? Methode: Entwicklung von Infozepten (Anleitungen zur Selbstanwendung von Hausmitteln), Fragebogengestützte Erhebung der teilnehmenden Patient/-innen (n= 297). Leitfadengestützte Interviews mit Patient/-innen (n=29). Ergebnisse: Es wurden 17 Infozepte entwickelt. Zu Studienbeginn nutzten 33 % der Patient/-innen der Interventionsgruppe (IG) und 39 % der Kontrollgruppe (KG) HM. Nach sechs Monaten waren es 47 % (IG) und 35 % (KG). Zentrale Beweggründe scheinen die Stärkung der Selbstwirksamkeit, das Gefühl der Selbstbestimmtheit im Umgang mit der eigenen Gesundheit und die Vermeidung von Medikamenten zu sein. Diskussion und Schlussfolgerung: Die Ergebnisse können dazu beitragen die Ressource HM besser in die Therapieentscheidung bei älteren Patient/-innen einzubeziehen. Die Beratung zu HM in der hausärztlichen Praxis könnte eine niederschwellige Maßnahme zur gezielten Stärkung der Selbstwirksamkeit und Lebensqualität von älteren Patient/-innen sein.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund: Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojektes „Ganzheitliches Versorgungsprogramm für ältere Patienten zur Stärkung von spirituellen Bedürfnissen, sozialer Aktivität und Selbstfürsorge in der hausärztlichen Versorgung (HoPES3)“ wird die Implementierung von Spiritual Care in allgemeinärztlichen Praxen untersucht. Forschungsfragen: Wie reagieren kranke ältere Menschen auf das Angebot einer spirituellen Anamnese? Was sind hinderliche Faktoren für spirituelle Gespräche in Hausarztpraxen? Methode: Ärzte und Ärztinnen aus 24 Praxen boten 164 ihrer Patienten und Patientinnen eine spirituelle Anamnese an. Mit 29 der Patienten bzw. Patientinnen wurden bis zu sechs Monate später qualitative leitfadengestützte Interviews geführt. Die Interviews wurden mittels Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) ausgewertet. Ergebnisse: Insgesamt hatten von den 29 befragten Patienten/Patientinnen nur elf das vollständige Anamnesegespräch geführt, die Mehrheit hatte das Gespräch abgelehnt. Als Gründe werden angegeben: Vorbehalte gegenüber religiösen Institutionen, Einschätzung der Thematik als „zu persönlich“ und ein Bedürfnis nach Selbstwirksamkeit. Die Beziehung zum Arzt oder der Ärztin wird mehrheitlich positiv geschildert, gleichzeitig wird ein allgemeines Bedürfnis nach einem Austausch auf Augenhöhe deutlich. Diskussion: In den Reaktionen der Patienten/Patientinnen kann die Wirkung einer Machtasymmetrie in der Arzt-Patienten-Beziehung beobachtet werden, verstärkt durch das strukturelle Setting der Praxis sowie durch Parallelen des Gesundheitssystems mit religiösen Systemen, die bei der spirituellen Anamnese zum Tragen kommen können. Schlussfolgerung: Bei Weiterbildungen im Feld Spiritual Care sollte die Sensibilität für das Thema Machtasymmetrien gestärkt werden.

Introduction: Prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) and weaning failure are factors associated with prolonged hospital length of stay and increased morbidity and mortality. In addition to the burden these places on patients and their families, it also imposes high costs on the public health system. The aim of this systematic review was to identify risk factors for PMV and weaning failure. Methods: The study was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. After a comprehensive search of the COCHRANE Library, CINHAL, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and the LILACS Database a PubMed request was made on June 8, 2020. Studies that examined risk factors for PMV, defined as mechanical ventilation ≥96 h, weaning failure, and prolonged weaning in German and English were considered eligible; reviews, meta-analyses, and studies in very specific patient populations whose results are not necessarily applicable to the majority of ICU patients as well as pediatric studies were excluded from the analysis. This systematic review was registered in the PROSPERO register under the number CRD42021271038. Results: Of 532 articles identified, 23 studies with a total of 23,418 patients met the inclusion criteria. Fourteen studies investigated risk factors of PMV including prolonged weaning, 9 studies analyzed risk factors of weaning failure. The concrete definitions of these outcomes varied considerably between studies. For PMV, a variety of risk factors were identified, including comorbidities, site of intubation, various laboratory or blood gas parameters, ventilator settings, functional parameters, and critical care scoring systems. The risk of weaning failure was mainly related to age, previous home mechanical ventilation (HMV), cause of ventilation, and preexisting underlying diseases. Elevated PaCO2 values during spontaneous breathing trials were indicative of prolonged weaning and weaning failure. Conclusion: A direct comparison of risk factors was not possible because of the heterogeneity of the studies. The large number of different definitions and relevant parameters reflects the heterogeneity of patients undergoing PMV and those discharged to HMV after unsuccessful weaning. Multidimensional scores are more likely to reflect the full spectrum of patients ventilated in different ICUs than single risk factors.

Background Spiritual needs gain importance in old age but are often ignored in health care. Within the ‘Holistic care program for elderly patients to integrate spiritual needs, social activity and self-care into disease management in primary care (HoPES3)’ a complex intervention was evaluated in a cluster-randomized trial. The aim of this study was to explore the acceptability, feasibility, benefits, and harms of a spiritual history taken by general practitioners (GPs) as part of the complex intervention. Methods In this mixed-methods study telephone interviews with 11 German GPs and 12 medical assistants (MAs) of the HoPES3 intervention group were conducted and analysed using a content-analytical approach. Furthermore, GPs were asked to complete a questionnaire after each spiritual history. One hundred and forty-one questionnaires from 14 GPs were analysed descriptively. Results GPs considered the spiritual history very/quite helpful for the patient in 27% (n= 38) and very/quite stressful in 2% (n = 3) of the cases. Interviews indicated that GPs found discussing spiritual history easier than anticipated. GPs and MAs saw a difficulty in that many patients associated spirituality with religion or church and reacted with surprise or rejection. Benefits for patients were seen in the opportunity to talk about non-medical topics, and increased awareness of their own resources. Benefits for GPs mainly related to information gain and an intensified patient–physician relationship. Conclusions A spiritual history in general practice has the potential to reveal important information about patients’ lives and to improve the patient–physician relationship. Implementation barriers identified in this study have to be considered and addressed.

To understand if GPs’ spiritual competence, their personal spirituality and attitude towards enquiring about spirituality in practice interrelate, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 30 German GPs regarding issues of SC. We found correlations between GPs’ personal spirituality, their spiritual competence and their attitudes towards SC. The ability to perceive spiritual needs of patients was the competence most strongly related to GPs’ attitude towards SC. The competence with the strongest correlation to personal spirituality was Self-awareness and Proactive opening. No correlation was found between affiliation to a spiritual community and GPs’ attitude towards SC. The results show that GPs’ personal spirituality and spiritual competence are indeed related to addressing spirituality with their patients. To foster SC, training programmes should raise awareness for one’s personal spirituality and encourage one to reflect on spiritual competence.

Background: The “Holistic Care Program for Elderly Patients to Integrate Spiritual Needs, Social Activity and Self-Care into Disease Management in Primary Care” (HoPES3) examines the implementation of a spiritual history (SH) as part of a multifaceted intervention in German general practices. While the effectiveness of the interventions was evaluated in a cluster-randomized trial, this article investigates the patients’ views concerning the acceptability of the SH and its effects. Methods: A mixed-methods study was conducted in which 133 patients of the intervention group filled in a standardized questionnaire after the intervention. Later, 29 of these patients took part in qualitative semi-standardized interviews. Results: According to the survey, 63% (n = 77) of patients found the SH helpful. In the interviews, however, many indicated that they either kept the conversation brief or declined the offer to talk about spirituality. Contents of longer conversations referred to difficult life events, personal sources of strength, and experiences with religious institutions. Many patients who had a longer conversation about spirituality reported that their relationship with their general practitioner (GP) had improved. Almost all patients recommended integrating a personal conversation of this kind into primary care. Conclusions: The SH seems to be a possible ‘door opener’ for a trusting doctor-patient relationship, which can then be built upon.

In the research project HoPES3, the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention, where one of the aims was to encourage social activities among older patients, was investigated in a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Patients were offered a conversation about their spirituality (spiritual history) which also included questions about their social relationships. The aim of this study was to examine patients' experiences regarding the acceptability, feasibility, conversational content and perceived benefits and harms of the interventions focusing on social relationships and activities.Semi-structured interviews with 29 patients of the intervention group aged 70 years or older.Loneliness in old age is the result of a long history with underlying complex reasons. Activities proposed by the practice team were rarely carried out, but if they were, patients reported strong benefits. Patients reported their GPs' interest in their lives had resulted in a more trusting doctor-patient relationship. Almost all patients recommended to implement the intervention in general practices.When raising the topic of loneliness, it is crucial to give patients the opportunity to explain the biographical developments which led to their situation. Therefore, embedding the conversation into a broader context such as a spiritual history might be helpful.

About one third of Europe’s elderly population takes ≥5 drugs. Polypharmacy increases their risk of adverse drug reactions. To ensure drug safety, innovative approaches are needed. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between psychosocial factors and medication-related beliefs and behaviors. Medication lists of 297 patients were recorded according to the ATC classification. Correlations between the dependent variables, Medication Adherence (MARS) and Beliefs about Medicines (BMQ), and independent variables, General Self-Efficacy (GSE), self-efficacy for managing chronic diseases (SES6G), spiritual needs (SpNQ), patient activity (PAM), loneliness (DJG), and social networks (LSNS), were measured. Patients with higher self-efficacy (OR: 1.113, 95% CI [1.056–1.174], p &lt, 0.001) or self-confidence in managing their chronic condition (OR: 1.188, 95% CI [1.048–1.346], 0.007) also showed higher adherence. Lonely patients (OR: 0.420, 95% CI [0.267–0.660], 0.001) and those with a need for inner peace (OR: 0.613, 95% CI [0.444–0.846], p = 0.003) were more likely nonadherent. Stronger positive beliefs about medications’ usefulness weakly correlated with higher scores on the SES6G (ρ = 0.178, p = 0.003) and GSES scale (ρ = 0.121, p = 0.042), patient activity (ρ = 0.155, p = 0.010) and functioning social networks scale (ρ = 0.159, p = 0.008). A weak positive correlation was found between loneliness and the belief that drugs were harmful (ρ = 0.194, p = 0.001). Furthermore, interesting correlations were detected regarding the number of medications and overuse beliefs. Psychosocial factors, such as self-efficacy, loneliness, and spiritual needs and medication-related beliefs and behaviors seem to interrelate. Addressing these factors may improve medication management and drug safety.

BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy is decisive for the quality of life of elderly, multimorbid persons. It may be possible to strengthen patients’ self-efficacy can be strengthened by the targeted reinforcement of individual spirituality, social activity, and self-care. This hypothesis was tested with the aid of a complex intervention. METHODS: A non-blinded, exploratory, cluster-randomized, controlled trial was carried out, with primary care practices as the randomization unit (registration number DRKS00015696). The patients included were at least 70 years of age, had at least three chronic diseases, were taking at least three medications, and were participating in a disease management program. In the intervention group, primary care physicians took a spiritual history, and medical assistants advised the patients on the use of home remedies (e.g., tea, application of heat/cold) and on regionally available programs for the elderly. The primary endpoint—health-related self-efficacy, measured using the SES6G scale—and further, secondary endpoints were evaluated with multistep regression analyses. RESULTS: Data from 297 patients treated in 24 primary care practices were evaluated. The analysis of the primary endpoint indicated no effect (mean difference between study arms 0.30 points, 95% confidence interval [-0.21; 0.81], d = 0.14, p = 0.25). Subgroup analysis revealed the following situation for the secondary endpoint “mental well-being” (SF-12 subscale): patients who had already been using home remedies before the trial began experienced a marked improvement (a difference of 7.3 points on a scale from 0 to 100; d = 0.77, p < 0.001). This was also the case for patients who stated that spirituality played a major role in their lives (a difference of 6.2 points on a scale from 0 to 100; d = 0.65; p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The main hypothesis concerning health-related self-efficacy was not confirmed. The results of the analysis of secondary parameters indicate that some subgroups of patients can benefit from the interventional approach.