Browsing by Subject "Symptoms"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A qualitative analysis of gender differences in the experience of depressive symptoms(Texas Tech University, 1996-08) Daughtry, Donald W.It is well established that adult women as compared to men are over-represented regarding depressive symptoms and unipolar depression by a ratio of approximately 2 to 1. This phenomena is consistent even when factors such as ethnicity, levels of income, education, and occupation are controlled. This investigation is phenomenologically focused, and aimed at the identification and exploration of latent constructs salient to adult women's and men's organization and expression of depressive symptoms. It employs a two-study research design that blends qualitative and quantitative research strategies. In Study One, an alternative research methodology, concept mapping, was used to elicit and graphically represent participants' perceptions of depressive experience. Participants in Study One were coTTTTunity college students (n = 59). Qualitative data reduction was also employed to derive a depressive symptom inventory based on these perceptions. In Study Two, this questionnaire was administered to a larger sample (n = 393) of carmunity college students. Participants in both studies were also administered the CES-D and the PAQ. Stepwise discriminate function and regression analysis were employed to determine the variation of Study Two participant responses regarding gender, level of depressive symptoms, and gender role identification. Evidence from the first study suggests that adult women and men differ regarding their conceptual organization of depressive symptoms. It seems that adult women's depressive experiences were arrayed along dimensions of intrapersonal/interpersonal difficulties and emotional constrictionemotional expression. Men's experiences of depressive symptcms seemed arrayed along the dimensions of social stress-social isolation and internal chaos-lack of confidence. Evidence from the second study suggests that at least some of the concept mapping clusters may generalize to a separate sample. Experiences of vegetative-negative physical appraisal contributed most significantly to the correct classification of adult women by gender. Experiences of burdened-paranoid contributed most significantly to the correct classification of men by gender. Results from the second study also suggest that experiences of despair were most related to adult women's level of depressive symptoms, while experiences of unhappmess were most related to men's symptom level. Results from the second study showed little support for the influence of gender role identification on participants expression of depressive symptomatology.Item Assessing patient quality of life, symptoms, treatment satisfaction, work productivity, and experiences with TYSABRI® therapy for Crohn’s disease in a usual care setting(2011-12) Nag, Arpita; Lawson, Kenneth Allen, 1952-; BARNER, JAMIE C.; HASS, STEVEN L.; RASCATI, KAREN L.; WILSON, JAMES P.This study examines the effects of TYSABRI on the health-related quality of life (HrQoL) outcomes, disease status and symptomatology, treatment satisfaction, productivity outcomes and healthcare utilization for patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD). A total of 241 patients consented to participate in the study, out of which 61 patients qualified for the baseline survey. After three-months of TYSABRI therapy, the follow-up survey was completed by 24 patients. Changes in outcome scores from baseline to the three-month follow-up were evaluated. The 24 patients with the three-month follow-up were, on average 41 years old and 62.5% percent were female. For those with follow-up, a significantly lower proportion of patients (41.7 percent) identified their CD severity as moderate to severe compared to 83.3 percent at baseline (p=0.001). The patients also reported experiencing a significantly lower mean number of CD relapses at follow-up (4.0) compared to baseline (6.8) (p=0.004). Improved median well-being scores (2.0 vs. 1.0; p<0.001) and improved median abdominal pain scores (2.0 vs. 1.0; p=0.001) were also reported at follow-up. The patient global assessment of HrQoL over the last 2 weeks was significantly improved at follow-up (2.0 vs. 3.0; p=0.006). Similar improved results were observed regarding their assessment of the impact of CD on HrQoL (7.0 vs. 5.0; p<0.001). A significant change of 32.0 points on the total Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) scale (p<0.001) and significant improvements in each of the four component scales were also seen at follow-up (p≤0.05). Significant improvement was noted on the SF-36 PCS scale (mean change 7.0; p=0.001) and MCS scale (mean change 6.0; p=0.05). Significant improvements were observed in the scores for each of the four scales of the treatment satisfaction questionnaire at follow-up: effectiveness scale (28.6 vs. 63.0; p<0.001); side-effects scale (61.6 vs. 82.2; p=0.01); convenience scale (63.8 vs. 70.8; p=0.05); and global satisfaction scale (41.3 vs. 67.0; p<0.001). A significant decrease in the number of CD-related emergency room (ER) visits was observed between baseline and follow-up (1.3 vs. 0.7; p=0.03). For the productivity outcomes, the percent of planned household work lost due to absenteeism was significantly reduced (73.1 percent vs. 43.9 percent; p=0.02) and the total percent of planned hours lost was also reduced (87.3 percent vs. 64.4 percent; p=0.037). These results indicate that TYSABRI is associated with significant improvement in HrQoL outcomes, CD disease severity, treatment satisfaction, ER visits and productivity outcomes.Item Emotional blunting and social isolation in schizophrenics and psychosis-prone college students(Texas Tech University, 1992-12) Lemon, Martin EdwardNot availableItem Examining adherence, perceptions, and symptoms in patients with Multiple Sclerosis(2013-05) Suh, Kangho; Rascati, Karen L.; Wilson, James P.Objective: To examine reasons why Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients may not be adherent to disease-modifying therapies (DMTs). Also, to determine patient perceptions of MS as a disease and DMTs as a source of treatment, and compare these between patients with prior DMT experience and those who were DMT-naïve. Finally, to assess the level of MS symptoms reported in patients taking DMTs, and compare these between DMT users and non-users. Methods: Patients with MS who were affiliated with a regional health plan at any point between January 2005 and December 2010 were asked to fill out a survey, the Multiple Sclerosis Medication Questionnaire (MSMQ). For study purposes, non-adherence was defined as missing any doses in the previous 28 days by the patient. In addition, the MSMQ examined reasons why MS patients do not initiate or discontinue DMT use. For statistical analyses, chi-square tests were performed to detect differences and t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests to confirm the results. Results: A total of 197 surveys were returned, of which 105 (53.3%) patients were currently on a DMT. Thirty-two (30.5%) of the DMT users were considered non-adherent. Of the non-adherent respondents, the most frequent reason for non-adherence that was at least moderately important was being "too busy" (n=13/29, 44.8%). Amongst patients who were not using a DMT, the most common barrier to DMT use was related to possible side effects of treatment (n=46/79, 58.2%). Analyzing the statements regarding barriers to DMTs revealed significant differences in the proportion of agreement regarding physician's lack of advocacy for DMT use between DMT-naïve patients and those who discontinued DMT use (44.7% vs. 17.1%, respectively, p[less than]0.01), as well as for dislike for using needles (24.3% vs. 46.3%, respectively, p=0.043). In terms of MS symptoms, patients using a DMT generally reported the symptoms posed less of a problem, although significant differences were not seen in chi-square analyses. Conclusion: The injectable nature of most DMTs seems to cause varying degrees of discomfort in MS patients, which may contribute to non-adherence. Reasons given by MS patients for DMT non-adherence in the MSMQ mirror the literature regarding this topic. MS patients who are not currently on DMT may not seek or remain on treatment for various reasons. It appears certain perceptions regarding MS and DMTs are associated with potential DMT use.Item The effect of symptom information and validity scale information on the malingering of depression on the MMPI-2(Texas Tech University, 1998-08) Walters, Gina LNot available