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Over the past decade, the proliferation of entrepreneurial ventures and small firms with sustainable business models have pushed the sustainability agenda in the fashion industry. Despite prominent success stories, these companies often encounter significant operative challenges that hinder growth or even cause business failure. This paper adopts a qualitative research design and uses data gathered during 18 expert interviews with entrepreneurs and executive managers of 18 firms from 13 countries to identify and explore the dominant challenges that micro- and small-sized sustainable fashion companies struggle with. The results indicate that communicating with consumers is perceived as surprisingly difficult, especially because sustainable brands need to justify higher prices and explain the added benefits of their products. Second, resource constraints lead to operative friction and overburdening of the decision makers and their small management teams. Third, sustainable sourcing and production processes are economically difficult in an industry that continues to occupy a mass and low-cost logic. Against the background of these insights, a range of managerial recommendations are developed and contextualized in the framework of the Business Model Canvas. This novel approach makes the suggestions which are rooted in the resource-based view actionable and supports sustainable businesses to better manage their operations and achieve growth. For example, collaborative approaches with different stakeholders may mitigate constraints across all three identified problem areas.
Logistikunternehmen haben es bei der Suche nach neuen Standorten zunehmend schwerer, da geeignete Standorte immer knapper werden und ihnen wachsende Widerstände entgegenstehen: Umweltverbände und Anwohner*innen kritisieren Luftverschmutzung, Flächenverbrauch, Beeinträchtigungen des Landschaftsbilds und Zunahme des Verkehrslärms; die Lokalpolitik bevorzugt häufig Unternehmen mit höheren Gewerbesteueraufkommen und mehr (hochqualifizierten) Arbeitsplätzen. Der Druck auf die Logistikbranche, nachhaltigere Konzepte der Flächennutzung zu entwickeln und umzusetzen steigt. Zielsetzung des Artikels ist es, Ansätze aufzuzeigen, wie die Flächennutzung in der Logistik optimiert werden kann. Ein wichtiges Lösungsfeld ist auf Basis des Logistikmodells von Pfohl (2010) vor allem in den Bereichen der Flächenplanung zu verorten. Als Grundlage des Artikels wurde eine systematische Literaturrecherche durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen Möglichkeiten auf, wie Unternehmen und Kommunen durch eine frühzeitige Planung zur Optimierung von Flächennutzung für logistische Prozesse beitragen können. Die sorgfältige Planung eines Lagers und die damit einhergehende Nutzung von effizienten Lagersystemen, verringern die benötigte Fläche und sorgen für verbesserte Prozesse im Bereich der Lager- und Umschlagslogistik. Auch lassen sich ggf. neue Lagerflächen vermeiden, wenn die bereits genutzten Flächen optimiert werden.
In recent years, various studies have highlighted the opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) for our society. For example, AI solutions can help reduce pollution, waste, or carbon footprints. On the other hand, there are also risks associated with the use of AI, such as increasing inequality in society or high resource consumption for computing power. This paper explores the question how corporate culture influences the use of artificial intelligence in terms of sustainable development. This type of use includes a normative element and is referred to in the paper as sustainable artificial intelligence (SAI). Based on a bibliometric literature analysis, we identify features of a sustainability-oriented corporate culture. We offer six propositions examining the influence of specific manifestations on the handling of AI in the sense of SAI. Thus, if companies want to ensure that SAI is realized, corporate culture appears as an important indicator and influencing factor at the same time.
Information systems (IS) play a central role in promoting corporate sustainability and pro-environmental behavior. This study explores the use of mobile apps for fostering sustainability-oriented corporate culture. It accentuates issues relating to sustainability-oriented corporate culture (RQ1), app meta-requirements as a strategic approach to addressing these issues (RQ2), as well as design and implementation principles (RQ3). Referring to the literature on sustainability apps, gamification, and nudging, our qualitative research design combines an analysis of four corporate apps intending to promote sustainable behavior and expert interviews (Grounded Theory). The proposed framework supports the planning, realization, and monitoring of this targeted app use. Single cultural dimensions inform seven issues in culture development. Five meta-requirements address this multi-dimensionality, challenges provided by new digital working environments, and principles of Green IT. Four design principles support, extend, and integrate current knowledge on app features, nudging, and gamification. Five variables determine the app intervention and maturity level. We conclude that this targeted app use should intend to foster the sustainability orientation within all dimensions of corporate culture instead of being limited to promoting sustainable behavior.
Hintergrund
Demografisch bedingt wird sich die Anzahl pflegebedürftiger Menschen weiter erhöhen. Tragende Säule der pflegerischen Versorgung sind ihre Angehörigen, die den Großteil der Pflegeaufgaben übernehmen. Dies hat jedoch oftmals Auswirkungen auf ihre eigene Gesundheit und ihr Wohlbefinden.
Methodisches Vorgehen
Mit dem Fragebogen zur Angehörigenresilienz und -belastung (FARBE) liegt ein Instrument vor, um sowohl die Resilienz als auch Belastung pflegender Angehöriger zu ermitteln. Der Fragebogen wurde im Rahmen der Pflegestudie des VdK-Sozialverbands genutzt und von 12.475 Angehörigen komplett ausgefüllt. Durch eine multiple lineare Regression wurden Einflüsse und ihre Wirkstärke auf die Resilienz und Belastung analysiert.
Ergebnisse
Angehörige von Menschen mit Demenz, Depression oder hohem Pflegegrad weisen eine stärkere Belastung auf. Demenz und Depression mindern zudem die Resilienz. Positiv wirkt sich die soziale Unterstützung aus. Ebenso bedingt ein höheres Alter eine stärkere Resilienz.
Schlussfolgerungen
Im Ergebnis dieser Arbeit gelang eine Identifikation von relevanten Einflussfaktoren. Dies ermöglicht, Unterstützungs- und Entlastungsangebote auf ihre Anwendung und Wirksamkeit zu überprüfen. Besondere Bedeutung haben Unterstützungsangebote für Angehörige von Menschen mit Demenz, Depression und/oder höheren Pflegegraden. Stressreduzierende Maßnahmen und das Bilden sozialer Netzwerke für Angehörige können weitere Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der Resilienz und Abschwächung von Belastung sein.
HRM processes are increasingly AI-driven, and HRM supports the general digital transformation of companies’ viable competitiveness. This paper points out possible positive and negative effects on HRM, workplaces, and workersorganizations along the HR processes and its potential for competitive advantage in regard to managerial decisions on AI implementation regarding augmentation and automation of work.
A systematic literature review that includes 62 international journals across different disciplines and contains top-tier academic and German practitioner journals was conducted. The literature analysis applies the resource-based view (RBV) as a lens through which to explore AI-driven HRM as a potential source of organizational capabilities.
The analysis shows four ambiguities for AI-driven HRM that might support sustainable company development or might prevent AI application: job design, transparency, performance and data ambiguity. A limited scholarly discussion with very few empirical studies can be stated. To date, research has mainly focused on HRM in general, recruiting, and HR analytics in particular.
The four ambiguities’ context-specific potential for capability building in firms is indicated, and research avenues are developed.
This paper critically explores AI-driven HRM and structures context-specific potential for capability building along four ambiguities that must be addressed by HRM to strategically contribute to an organization’s competitive advantage.
Aims and Objectives:
Preventive home visits are a low-threshold counselling and support approach. They have been reported to achieve heterogeneous effects. However, preventive home visits have the potential to reduce the risk of becoming dependent on long-term care. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of preventive home visits as a nursing intervention on health-related quality of life of older people in a longitudinal survey and to develop recommendations for which target groups preventive home visits have the highest benefit. The sample consisted of 75 people, aged between 65 and 85, who were able to understand and speak German, had not yet been eligible for benefits from the long-term care insurance and lived in the municipality under study.
Methodological Design and Justification:
A quantitative longitudinal study in order to investigate the effects of preventive home visits.
Ethical Issues and Approval:
There were no ethical concerns. Accordingly, ethical approval was granted.
Research Methods, Results and Conclusions:
The health-related quality of life was recorded four times between 01/2017 and 08/2020 with the Short-Form- Health- Survey- 12 and analysed using descriptive statistics. Results reveal that the physical health status cannot be easily influenced over a short period of time. The main effect, however, is that preventive home visits have a significant positive effect on the mental health status. The main topics during the home visits were mobility, nutrition and social participation. Increased knowledge and motivation for preventive behaviour extended the autonomy of older people. Accordingly, preventive home visits can support a self-determined life in a familiar environment. The results of the present study show that preventive home visits as a nursing intervention in rural areas are successful. In Germany, preventive home visits have not yet been implemented on a regular basis. In order to do so, a general definition of the concept is needed. Preventive home visits should be officially included in the regular health care services in Germany.
The distribution of a species along a thermal gradient is commonly approximated by a unimodal response curve, with a characteristic single optimum near the tempera‐ture where a species is most likely to be found, and a decreasing probability of occur‐rence away from the optimum. We aimed at identifying thermal response curves (TRCs) of European freshwater species and evaluating the potential impact of climate warming across species, taxonomic groups, and latitude. We first applied generalized additive models using catchment‐scale global data on distribution ranges of 577 freshwater species native to Europe and four different temperature variables (the current annual mean air/water temperature and the maximum air/water temperature of the warmest month) to describe species TRCs. We then classified TRCs into one of eight curve types and identified spatial patterns in thermal responses. Finally, we in‐tegrated empirical TRCs and the projected geographic distribution of climate warm‐ing to evaluate the effect of rising temperatures on species’ distributions. For the different temperature variables, 390–463 of 577 species (67.6%–80.2%) were char‐acterized by a unimodal TRC. The number of species with a unimodal TRC decreased from central toward northern and southern Europe. Warming tolerance (WT = maxi‐mum temperature of occurrence—preferred temperature) was higher at higher lati‐tudes. Preferred temperature of many species is already exceeded. Rising temperatures will affect most Mediterranean species. We demonstrated that fresh‐water species’ occurrence probabilities are most frequently unimodal. The impact of the global climate warming on species distributions is species and latitude depend‐ent. Among the studied taxonomic groups, rising temperatures will be most detri‐mental to fish. Our findings support the efforts of catchment‐based freshwater management and conservation in the face of global warming.
Niche-based species distribution models (SDMs) have become an essential tool in conservation and restoration planning. Given the current threats to freshwater biodiversity, it is of fundamental importance to address scale effects on the performance of niche-based SDMs of freshwater species’ distributions. The scale effects are addressed here in the context of hierarchical catchment ordering, considered as counterpart to coarsening grain-size by increasing grid-cell size. We combine fish occurrence data from the Danube River Basin, the hierarchical catchment ordering and multiple environmental factors representing topographic, climatic and anthropogenic effects to model fish occurrence probability across multiple scales. We focus on 1st to 5th order catchments. The spatial scale (hierarchical catchment order) only marginally influences the mean performance of SDMs, however the uncertainty of the estimates increases with scale. Key predictors and their relative importance are scale and species dependent. Our findings have useful implications for choosing proper species dependent spatial scales for river rehabilitation measures, and for conservation planning in areas where fine grain species data are unavailable.
Land cover change is a dynamic phenomenon driven by synergetic biophysical and socioeconomic effects. It involves massive transitions from natural to less natural habitats and thereby threatens ecosystems and the services they provide. To retain intact ecosystems and reduce land cover change to a minimum of natural transition processes, a dense network of protected areas has been established across Europe. However, even protected areas and in particular the zones around protected areas have been shown to undergo land cover changes. The aim of our study was to compare land cover changes in protected areas, non-protected areas, and 1 km buffer zones around protected areas and analyse their relationship to climatic and socioeconomic factors across Europe between 2000 and 2012 based on earth observation data. We investigated land cover flows describing major change processes: urbanisation, afforestation, deforestation, intensification of agriculture, extensification of agriculture, and formation of water bodies. Based on boosted regression trees, we modelled correlations between land cover flows and climatic and socioeconomic factors. The results show that land cover changes were most frequent in 1 km buffer zones around protected areas (3.0% of all buffer areas affected). Overall, land cover changes within protected areas were less frequent than outside, although they still amounted to 18,800 km2 (1.5% of all protected areas) from 2000 to 2012. In some parts of Europe, urbanisation and intensification of agriculture still accounted for up to 25% of land cover changes within protected areas. Modelling revealed meaningful relationships between land cover changes and a combination of influencing factors. Demographic factors (accessibility to cities and population density) were most important for coarse-scale patterns of land cover changes, whereas fine-scale patterns were most related to longitude (representing the general east/west economic gradient) and latitude (representing the north/south climatic gradient).
Thermal response curves that depict the probability of occurrence along a thermal gradient are used to derive various species’ thermal properties and abilities to cope with warming. However, different thermal responses can be expected for different portions of a species range. We focus on differences in thermal response curves (TRCs) and thermal niche requirements for four freshwater fishes (Coregonus sardinella, Pungitius pungitius, Rutilus rutilus, Salvelinus alpinus) native to Europe at (1) the global and (2) European continental scale. European ranges captured only a portion of the global thermal range with major differences in the minimum (Tmin), maximum (Tmax) and average temperature (Tav) of the respective distributions. Further investigations of the model-derived preferred temperature (Tpref), warming tolerance (WT = Tmax − Tpref), safety margin (SM = Tpref − Tav) and the future climatic impact showed substantially differing results. All considered thermal properties either were under- or overestimated at the European level. Our results highlight that, although continental analyses have an impressive spatial extent, they might deliver misleading estimates of species thermal niches and future climate change impacts, if they do not cover the full species ranges. Studies and management actions should therefore favor whole global range distribution data for analyzing species responses to environmental gradients.
Freshwater ecosystems host disproportionately high numbers of species relative to their surface area yet are poorly protected globally. We used data on the distribution of 1631 species of aquatic plant, mollusc, odonate and fish in 18,816 river and lake catchments in Europe to establish spatial conservation priorities based on the occurrence of threatened, rangerestricted and endemic species using the Marxan systematic conservation planning tool. We found that priorities were highest for rivers and ancient lakes in S Europe, large rivers and lakes in E and N Europe, smaller lakes in NW Europe and karst/limestone areas in the Balkans, S France and central Europe. The a priori inclusion of well-protected catchments resulted in geographically more balanced priorities and better coverage of threatened (critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable) species. The a priori exclusion of well-protected catchments showed that priority areas that need further conservation interventions are in S and E Europe. We developed three ways to evaluate the correspondence between conservation priority and current protection by assessing whether a cathment has more (or less) priority given its protection level relative to all other catchments. Each method found that priority relative to protection was high in S and E Europe and generally low in NW Europe. The inclusion of hydrological connectivity had little influence on these patterns but decreased the coverage of threatened species, indicating a trade-off between connectivity and conservation of threatened species. Our results suggest that catchments in S and E Europe need urgent conservation attention (protected areas, restoration, management, species protection) in the face of imminent threats such as river regulation, dam construction, hydropower development and climate change. Our study presents continental-scale conservation priorities for freshwater ecosystems in ecologically meaningful planning units and will thus be important in freshwater biodiversity conservation policy and practice, and water management in Europe.
Mit der Akademisierung von praktischen Gesundheitsberufen stehen die Hochschulen und Universitäten gleichermaßen vor der Herausforderung, Pflege- und Therapiekräfte für ein noch nicht definiertes Berufsfeld zu qualifizieren. Die Wissenschaft hat die Fragen nach den genauen Inhalten und der Abgrenzung akademisierter Gesundheitsberufe zu anderen, seit langem etablierten Tätigkeitsbereichen in der Patientenversorgung zu beantworten und weiterführend zukünftigen Entwicklungen aufzuzeigen. Hier erwächst der Bedarf nach einer weitergehenden Arbeitsforschung in den akademisierten, praktischen Gesundheitsberufen. Der in diesem Beitrag vorgestellte Ansatz kombiniert die Weiterqualifizierung mit der Arbeitsforschung im Berufsfeld. Ziel ist es, Weiterbildungsmodule zu konzipieren, bei denen das praktische Arbeitsfeld mit den jeweiligen Inhalten der Module systematisch in Bezug gesetzt wird. Grundlage hierzu sind didaktische Ansätze der Theorie-Praxis-Relation aus dualen Studiengängen. Zentrales Instrument ist eine reflexionsorientierte Fallstudie, die von den Teilnehmern der Weiterbildung für jedes Modul erstellt wird, in der die Teilnehmer theoriebasierte Inhalte des Moduls aufgreifen und dazu nutzen, ihr jeweiliges praktisches Arbeitsfeld mit der fachlichen Perspektive des Moduls zu reflektieren. Die Teilnehmer werden so zu Praxisforschern und die Weiterbildung gleichzeitig zu einer wissenschaftlichen Berufsfeldreflexion, aus der die Praxis Impulse zur Weiterentwicklung erhält.
Das Gesundheitswesen steht vor zahlreichen Veränderungen. Dazu zählen auch sich wandelnde Kompetenzprofile. Auf Seiten der Hochschulen stellt sich neben den fachlichen Aspekten zukünftiger Kompetenzprofile verstärkt die Frage nach einer höheren systemischen Durchlässigkeit und damit auch nach einer optimalen Vernetzung hochschulischer und außerhochschulisch erworbener Kompetenzen. Insbesondere in den Gesundheitsfachberufen nehmen non-formal und informell erworbene Kompetenzen einen hohen Stellenwert ein. Somit stellt sich die Herausforderung, wie die Ausgestaltung eines hochschulischen Zertifikatsprogrammes erfolgen kann, das zum einen eine Qualifizierung auf akademischem Niveau bietet und gleichzeitig die bestehenden non-formal bzw. informell im Berufsfeld erworbenen Kompetenzen der Lernenden erfassen, bewerten und entsprechend zertifizieren kann. Zielstellung ist es letztendlich, die Gesamtkompetenz einer Person in einem klar umgrenzten thematischen Umfeld zu erfassen, wertzuschätzen“ bzw. zu bewerten und gezielt weiter zu entwickeln, wobei außerhochschulische Kompetenzen eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Die in diesem Rahmen zertifizierten Kompetenzen stehen in einem möglichen Folgeprozess für eine entsprechende Anrechnung zur Verfügung. Vorgestellt wird ein erster Prototyp, der sich insbesondere als eine Erweiterung bestehender Denkmodelle im Bereich der Anrechnung versteht.
The increasing diversity of cultural backgrounds offers potential for a more elaborated information processing, yet has been shown to be challenging for individuals, due to intergroup hostility, prejudices, and difficulties of intercultural communication. Current research thus focusses on the interaction of employees with different cultural heritages, as well as on their intergroup attitudes and competences. Thereby, leaders have been shown to shape the way diversity is considered in their teams in a top-down process. However, their perception of diversity as well as related challenges and chances are poorly investigated. The current paper thus aims to contribute to the understanding of leader’s perspective on and role in diversity-management by building on a comparative qualitative study with sixteen employees and twenty-two leaders. Research questions are how employees and leaders perceive cultural diversity from their specific point of view, which experiences are likely to contribute to their opinion on and perception of diversity and in how far do employees and leaders differ in these aspects. The results show that employees are aware of the topic of diversity in general but have poor competences in dealing with diversity in their daily working life. This seems to be associated with lack of experience with intercultural interaction and a lack of support from the respective organizations/leaders. Leaders are rarely aware of this lack of support. The results indicate that leaders’ experiences with cultural and age diversity, their identification with the company and previous diversity measures in the context of the companies’ policy towards diversity seem to be relevant for the formation of leaders’ attitudes. As a consequence, most participants focus on the question whether they do or do not want diversity within their teams and companies, while they actually fail to perceive the diversity that is already there.
Greenwashing, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image” can cause multifarious problems for companies. The phenomenon of greenwashing has, however, not attracted much attention in the event marketing literature to date. The purpose of this paper is twofold. It first describes and analyses the specific characteristics and features of greenwashing in event marketing. It then seeks to identify the current fundamental approaches of how to avoid greenwashing in event marketing and to assess their potential. A two-step literature analysis with complementary search approaches served as a methodical framework. First, journals related to event marketing were screened for the keywords “greenwashing” and “greenwash”. Next, the general literature was consulted for the same keywords. The results clearly demonstrate that the subject of greenwashing has been widely neglected in the event literature. There appears to be no overall concept or approach that allows event actors to avoid greenwashing, albeit various individual initiatives exist. However, it also became clear that initiatives against greenwashing in event marketing can be developed and implemented in the short and long term, for example by integrating different stakeholders. Additional political and juridical efforts based on specific guidelines are also necessary to prevent greenwashing in the future. The study is the first one to provide a systematic approach to the topic of greenwashing in the context of event marketing, including relevant approaches for its avoidance. It can thus help practitioners to better detect and avoid greenwashing in the event industry and to guide similar research in the future.
Background
Digital health technologies enable patients to make a personal contribution to the improvement of their health by enabling them to manage their health. In order to exploit the potential of digital health technologies, Internet-based networking between patients and health care providers is required. However, this networking and access to digital health technologies are less prevalent in sociodemographically deprived cohorts. The paper explores how the use of digital health technologies, which connect patients with health care providers and health insurers has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
The data from a German-based cross-sectional online study conducted between April 29 and May 8, 2020, were used for this purpose. A total of 1.570 participants were included in the study. Accordingly, the influence of sociodemographic determinants, subjective perceptions, and personal competencies will affect the use of online booking of medical appointments and medications, video consultations with providers, and the data transmission to health insurers via an app.
Results
The highest level of education (OR 1.806) and the presence of a chronic illness (OR 1.706) particularly increased the likelihood of using online booking. With regard to data transmission via an app to a health insurance company, the strongest increase in the probability of use was shown by belonging to the highest subjective social status (OR 1.757) and generation Y (OR 2.303). Furthermore, the results show that the higher the subjectively perceived restriction of the subjects' life situation was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the higher the relative probability of using online booking (OR 1.103) as well as data transmission via an app to a health insurance company (OR 1.113). In addition, higher digital literacy contributes to the use of online booking (OR 1.033) and data transmission via an app to the health insurer (OR 1.034).
Conclusions
Socially determined differences can be identified for the likelihood of using digital technologies in health care, which persist even under restrictive conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the results indicate a digital divide with regard to the technologies investigated in this study.
Einleitung: Whiteboards können als ein Instrument des Lean Managements zur Steuerung der Verweildauer auf Stationen eingesetzt werden, um aktuelle Patienteninformationen zu bündeln und in regelmäßigen strukturierten sowie interdisziplinären Besprechungen die Patientenversorgung zu steuern, die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit zu optimieren und das Entlassungsmanagement zu verbessern. Das Ziel dieser Studie bestand darin, zu untersuchen, inwiefern die Einführung von Whiteboards in zwei Kliniken mit einer Veränderung der Verweildauer einherging.
Methode: Um die Forschungsfrage zu beantworten, wurden retrospektive Zeitreihen aus den DRG-Routinedaten vor und nach Installation der Whiteboards aus den beiden Kliniken in einem Interrupted Time Series Design genutzt. In der einen Klinik (Chirurgie) lagen 3.734 Fälle für den Zeitraum von Januar 2018 bis Dezember 2019 und in der anderen Klinik (Innere Medizin) 54.049 Fälle für den Zeitraum Juli 2013 bis Dezember 2019 vor.
Ergebnisse: In dem gemittelten Vergleich der Verweildauer (relative Verweildauerabweichung pro DRG von dem jeweiligen Verweildauermittel) konnte in der ersten Klinik kein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen den Werten vor und nach Einführung des Boards festgestellt werden. Am zweiten Klinikum zeigte sich sogar im Vorher-Nachher-Vergleich eine signifikante Verschlechterung der Verweildauer. Eine deskriptive Zeitreihenanalyse vor und nach Einführung zeigte in beiden Kliniken, dass kurz nach der Einführung der Boards sich die Verweildauer verschlechterte, anschließend jedoch verbesserte, d.h. dass die Patienten durchschnittlich früher entlassen wurden. Dieser Unterschied ging jedoch im Zeitverlauf wieder zurück.
Diskussion: Zusammenfassend lässt sich festhalten, dass keine Verbesserung in der Verweildauer im Zuge der Nutzung der Whiteboards durch einen reinen Vorher-Nachher-Vergleich nachweisbar war. In der anschließenden Zeitreihenbetrachtung zeigten sich starke Schwankungen, die zunächst mit einer kurzzeitigen Verschlechterung der Verweildauer nach der Implementierung einhergingen und dann zu einer Verbesserung führten. Im Zeitverlauf verblasste der Unterschied jedoch, sodass die Patienten wieder später entlassen wurden. Methodisch zeigt sich, dass im Gegensatz zu der reinen Vorher-Nachher-Analyse erst eine Zeitreihenbetrachtung einen Einblick in das Geschehen und seine Variabilität lieferte. Für die Praxis ergeben sich folgende Implikationen: Whiteboards können als ein hilfreiches Instrument von Lean Management zur Verweildauersteuerung angesehen werden, wie die zwischenzeitlichen Verbesserungen nahelegen. Dies erfordert jedoch eine kontinuierliche, unter Einbezug der Mitarbeiter durchgeführte Pflege der Informationen und einen erkennbaren Mehrwert. Perspektivisch empfiehlt sich zudem eine Digitalisierung der Boards, um den Nachteilen wie der manuellen Pflege entgegenzuwirken.
In the context of the ongoing digitization of interdisciplinary subjects, the need for digital literacy is increasing in all areas of everyday life. Furthermore, communication between science and society is facing new challenges, not least since the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to deal with these challenges and to provide target-oriented online teaching, new educational concepts for the transfer of knowledge to society are necessary. In the transfer project “Zukunftslabor Gesundheit” (ZLG), a didactic concept for the creation of E-Learning classes was developed. A key factor for the didactic concept is addressing heterogeneous target groups to reach the broadest possible spectrum of participants. The concept has already been used for the creation of the first ZLG E-Learning courses. This article outlines the central elements of the developed didactic concept and addresses the creation of the ZLG courses. The courses created so far appeal to different target groups and convey diverse types of knowledge at different levels of difficulty.
Background and aims
In 2008, the International Association for the Study of Pain Special Interest Group on Neuropathic Pain (NeuPSIG) proposed a clinical grading system to help identify patients with neuropathic pain (NeP). We previously applied this classification system, along with two NeP screening tools, the painDETECT (PD-Q) and Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs pain scale (LANSS), to identify NeP in patients with neck/upper limb pain. Both screening tools failed to identify a large proportion of patients with clinically classified NeP, however a limitation of our study was the use of a single clinician performing the NeP classification. In 2016, the NeuPSIG grading system was updated with the aim of improving its clinical utility. We were interested in field testing of the revised grading system, in particular in the application of the grading system and the agreement of interpretation of clinical findings. The primary aim of the current study was to explore the application of the NeuPSIG revised grading system based on patient records and to establish the inter-rater agreement of detecting NeP. A secondary aim was to investigate the level of agreement in detecting NeP between the revised NeuPSIG grading system and the LANSS and PD-Q.
Methods
In this retrospective study, two expert clinicians (Specialist Pain Medicine Physician and Advanced Scope Physiotherapist) independently reviewed 152 patient case notes and classified them according to the revised grading system. The consensus of the expert clinicians’ clinical classification was used as “gold standard” to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the two NeP screening tools.
Results
The two clinicians agreed in classifying 117 out of 152 patients (ICC 0.794, 95% CI 0.716–850; κ 0.62, 95% CI 0.50–0.73), yielding a 77% agreement. Compared to the clinicians’ consensus, both LANSS and PD-Q demonstrated limited diagnostic accuracy in detecting NeP (LANSS sensitivity 24%, specificity 97%; PD-Q sensitivity 53%, specificity 67%).
Conclusions
The application of the revised NeP grading system was feasible in our retrospective analysis of patients with neck/upper limb pain. High inter-rater percentage agreement was demonstrated. The hierarchical order of classification may lead to false negative classification. We propose that in the absence of sensory changes or diagnostic tests in patients with neck/upper limb pain, classification of NeP may be further improved using a cluster of clinical findings that confirm a relevant nerve lesion/disease, such as reflex and motor changes. The diagnostic accuracy of LANSS and PD-Q in identifying NeP in patients with neck/upper limb pain remains limited. Clinical judgment remains crucial to diagnosing NeP in the clinical practice.
Implications
Our observations suggest that in view of the heterogeneity in patients with neck/upper limb pain, a considerable amount of expertise is required to interpret the revised grading system. While the application was feasible in our clinical setting, it is unclear if this will be feasible to apply in primary health care settings where early recognition and timely intervention is often most needed. The use of LANSS and PD-Q in the identification of NeP in patients with neck/upper limb pain remains questionable.
Introduction Development and implementation of appropriate health policy is essential to address the rising global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The aim of this study was to evaluate existing health policies for integrated prevention/management of NCDs among Member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). We sought to describe policies’ aims and strategies to achieve those aims, and evaluate extent of integration of musculoskeletal conditions as a leading cause of global morbidity.
Methods Policies submitted by OECD Member States in response to a World Health Organization (WHO) NCD Capacity Survey were extracted from the WHO document clearing-house and analysed following a standard protocol. Policies were eligible for inclusion when they described an integrated approach to prevention/management of NCDs. Internal validity was evaluated using a standard instrument (sum score: 0–14; higher scores indicate better quality). Quantitative data were expressed as frequencies, while text data were content-analysed and meta-synthesised using standardised methods.
Results After removal of duplicates and screening, 44 policies from 30 OECD Member States were included. Three key themes emerged to describe the general aims of included policies: system strengthening approaches; improved service delivery; and better population health. Whereas the policies of most countries covered cancer (83.3%), cardiovascular disease (76.6%), diabetes/endocrine disorders (76.6%), respiratory conditions (63.3%) and mental health conditions (63.3%), only half the countries included musculoskeletal health and pain (50.0%) as explicit foci. General strategies were outlined in 42 (95.5%) policies—all were relevant to musculoskeletal health in 12 policies, some relevant in 27 policies and none relevant in three policies. Three key themes described the strategies: general principles for people-centred NCD prevention/management; enhanced service delivery; and system strengthening approaches. Internal validity sum scores ranged from 0 to 13; mean: 7.6 (95% CI 6.5 to 8.7).
Conclusion Relative to other NCDs, musculoskeletal health did not feature as prominently, although many general prevention/management strategies were relevant to musculoskeletal health improvement.
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Background
This study describes a low-cost and time-efficient clinical sensory test (CST) battery and evaluates its concurrent validity as a screening tool to detect somatosensory dysfunction as determined using quantitative sensory testing (QST).
Method
Three patient cohorts with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS, n = 76), non-specific neck and arm pain (NSNAP, n = 40) and lumbar radicular pain/radiculopathy (LR, n = 26) were included. The CST consisted of 13 tests, each corresponding to a QST parameter and evaluating a broad spectrum of sensory functions using thermal (coins, ice cube, hot test tube) and mechanical (cotton wool, von Frey hairs, tuning fork, toothpicks, thumb and eraser pressure) detection and pain thresholds testing both loss and gain of function. Agreement rate, statistical significance and strength of correlation (phi coefficient) between CST and QST parameters were calculated.
Results
Several CST parameters (cold, warm and mechanical detection thresholds as well as cold and pressure pain thresholds) were significantly correlated with QST, with a majority demonstrating >60% agreement rates and moderate to relatively strong correlations. However, agreement varied among cohorts. Gain of function parameters showed stronger agreement in the CTS and LR cohorts, whereas loss of function parameters had better agreement in the NSNAP cohort. Other CST parameters (16 mN von Frey tests, vibration detection, heat and mechanical pain thresholds, wind-up ratio) did not significantly correlate with QST.
Conclusion
Some of the tests in the CST could help detect somatosensory dysfunction as determined with QST. Parts of the CST could therefore be used as a low-cost screening tool in a clinical setting.
Significance
Quantitative sensory testing, albeit considered the gold standard to evaluate somatosensory dysfunction, requires expensive equipment, specialized examiner training and substantial time commitment which challenges its use in a clinical setting. Our study describes a CST as a low-cost and time-efficient alternative. Some of the CST tools (cold, warm, mechanical detection thresholds; pressure pain thresholds) significantly correlated with the respective QST parameters, suggesting that they may be useful in a clinical setting to detect sensory dysfunction.
Background/Aim
This study aimed to establish the somatosensory profile of patients with lumbar radiculopathy at pre-and post-microdiscectomy and to explore any association between pre-surgical quantitative sensory test (QST) parameters and post-surgical clinical outcomes.
Methods
A standardized QST protocol was performed in 53 patients (mean age 38 ± 11 years, 26 females) with unilateral L5/S1 radiculopathy in the main pain area (MPA), affected dermatome and contralateral mirror sites and in age- and gender-,and body site-matched healthy controls. Repeat measures at 3 months included QST, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and numerous other clinical measures; at 12 months, only clinical measures were repeated. A change <30% on the ODI was defined as ‘no clinically meaningful improvement’.
Results
Patients showed a significant loss of function in their symptomatic leg both in the dermatome (thermal, mechanical, vibration detection p < .002), and MPA (thermal, mechanical, vibration detection, mechanical pain threshold, mechanical pain sensitivity p < .041) and increased cold sensitivity in the MPA (p < .001). Pre-surgical altered QST parameters improved significantly post-surgery in the dermatome (p < .018) in the symptomatic leg and in the MPA (p < .010), except for thermal detection thresholds and cold sensitivity. Clinical outcomes improved at 3 and 12 months (p < .001). Seven patients demonstrated <30% change on the ODI at 12 months. Baseline loss of function in mechanical detection in the MPA was associated with <30% change on the ODI at 12 months (OR 2.63, 95% CI 1.09–6.37, p = .032).
Conclusion
Microdiscectomy resulted in improvements in affected somatosensory parameters and clinical outcomes. Pre-surgical mechanical detection thresholds may be predictive of clinical outcome.
Significance
This study documented quantitative sensory testing (QST) profiles in patients with lumbar radiculopathy in their main pain area (MPA) and dermatome pre- and post-microdiscectomy and explored associations between QST parameters and clinical outcome. Lumbar radiculopathy was associated with loss of function in modalities mediated by large and small sensory fibres. Microdiscectomy resulted in significant improvements in loss of function and clinical outcomes in 85% of our cohort. Pre-surgical mechanical detection thresholds in the MPA may be predictive of clinical outcome.
Abstract
Background
The clinical presentation of neck-arm pain is heterogeneous with varying underlying pain types (nociceptive/neuropathic/mixed) and pain mechanisms (peripheral/central sensitization). A mechanism-based clinical framework for spinally referred pain has been proposed, which classifies into (1) somatic pain, (2) neural mechanosensitivity, (3) radicular pain, (4) radiculopathy and mixed pain presentations. This study aims to (i) investigate the application of the clinical framework in patients with neck-arm pain, (ii) determine their somatosensory, clinical and psychosocial profile and (iii) observe their clinical course over time.
Method
We describe a study protocol. Patients with unilateral neck-arm pain (n = 180) will undergo a clinical examination, after which they will be classified into subgroups according to the proposed clinical framework. Standardized quantitative sensory testing (QST) measurements will be taken in their main pain area and contralateral side. Participants will have to complete questionnaires to assess function (Neck Disability Index), psychosocial factors (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Depression, anxiety and stress scale), neuropathic pain (Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions, PainDETECT Questionnaire) and central sensitization features (Central Sensitization Inventory). Follow-ups at three, six and 12 months include the baseline questionnaires. The differences of QST data and questionnaire outcomes between and within groups will be analyzed using (M)AN(C)OVA and/or regression models. Repeated measurement analysis of variance or a linear mixed model will be used to calculate the differences between three, six, and 12 months outcomes. Multiple regression models will be used to analyze potential predictors for the clinical course.
Conclusion
The rationale for this study is to assess the usability and utility of the proposed clinical framework as well as to identify possible differing somatosensory and psychosocial phenotypes between the subgroups. This could increase our knowledge of the underlying pain mechanisms. The longitudinal analysis may help to assess possible predictors for pain persistency.
Hintergrund:
Wenn freiberufliche Hebammen die Geburtshilfe aufgeben hat dies in Bayern drastische Konsequenzen. Fast drei Viertel der bayerischen Kreißsäle arbeiten im Belegsystem, d.h. mit freiberuflichen Hebammen im Schichtdienst. Die wissenschaftliche Aufbereitung von Stress bei der Arbeit kann dazu beitragen, die Abwanderung freiberuflicher Hebammen aus der Geburtshilfe zu erklären.
Ziel:
Das Ziel war die Messung der Prävalenz von Gratifikationskrisen nach Siegrist als Prädiktor für zukünftige Berufsausstiege freiberuflicher Hebammen in Bayern.
Methodik:
Das Modell der Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) misst die Ratio aus beruflicher Verausgabung und dafür erhaltener Belohnung. Erhöhte ERI-Ratio Werte (≥1) weisen auf Gratifikationskrisen hin, welche als Prädiktor für Arbeitsstress und daraus resultierende Berufsausstiege gewertet werden können. Die Prävalenz solcher Gratifikationskrisen wurde in einer onlinebasierten Querschnittstudie an einer Stichprobe von 107 freiberuflichen Hebammen in Bayern gemessen.
Ergebnisse:
Die befragten Hebammen (N=45) hatten im Jahr 2013 im Median 50 Geburten betreut (SD 54,6) und hatten 10 Jahre Berufserfahrung (SD 9,7). Die Prävalenz von Gratifikationskrisen betrug in der Gesamtstichprobe 73% (n=33), im Median 1.2 (SD 0,3). Als belastend gaben die befragten Hebammen ihre finanzielle Entlohnung an und dass sie eine Verschlechterung ihrer beruflichen Situation erwarteten. Freiberufliche Hebammen im Kreisssaal-Schichtdienst gaben außerdem den Faktor „Zeitdruck“ als besonders belastend an. Als Belohnungsfaktor nannten die befragten Hebammen die Anerkennung von Kolleginnen und Kollegen und anderen beruflich wichtigen Personen.
Schlussfolgerung:
Für die Mehrheit der befragten Hebammen in der Geburtshilfe stehen berufliche Verausgabung und dafür erhaltene Gegenleistungen nicht im Verhältnis. Die hohe Prävalenz von Gratifikationskrisen in der Stichprobe kann als Prädiktor für zukünftige Berufsausstiege interpretiert werden. Dies ist ein deutlicher Hinweis auf zukünftige Leistungseinschränkungen in der Geburtshilfe in Bayern.
Die ethischen Fragen und Spannungsfelder individueller Förderung in inklusiven Schulen werden in der Ausbildung von Lehrkräften bisher nicht ausreichend behandelt. Gleichwohl wird erwartet, dass Lehrkräfte neben fachlichen und methodischen Kompetenzen auch ethische Kompetenzen in die Förderdiagnostik und das anschließende Fördervorgehen einbringen: Sie sollen ethische Implikationen ihrer Entscheidungen reflektieren, über eine wertebasierte Urteilsfähigkeit verfügen sowie Verantwortung für ihr pädagogisches Handeln übernehmen. Um diesen Anforderungen gerecht werden zu können, wird in diesem Beitrag für die Einführung einer ethischen Ausbildung angehender Lehrkräfte plädiert. Vorgestellt wird eine Modellkonzeption für zwei konsekutive Module im bildungswissenschaftlichen Anteil von Lehramtsstudiengängen, in denen Studierende eine Ethical Literacy in Bezug auf ihr förderpädagogisches Handeln in inklusiven Schulen erwerben.
Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions and Alexithymia in Patients with Chronic Facial Pain
(2018)
Objectives
Alexithymia, conceived as difficulties to identify emotions, is said to be related with several pain syndromes. This study examined the recognition of facially expressed emotions and its relation to alexithymia in subjects with chronic facial pain.
Methods
A total of 62 subjects were recruited, with n=20 patients with chronic facial pain and n=42 healthy controls. All subjects were tested for the recognition of facially expressed emotions (Facially Expressed Emotion Labelling Test (FEEL test). The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26) was used for the diagnosis of alexithymia.
Results
Patients with chronic facial pain performed worse than controls at the FEEL task (p<.001) and showed higher total TAS scores (p<.001). This indicates the presence of alexithymia and facial emotion recognition deficits in the facial pain group.
Discussion
It was concluded from the results that both the recognition of facially expressed emotions, and the ability to identify and describe one’s own feelings (TAS), are restricted in chronic orofacial pain patients. This relationship is particularly important in the treatment of chronic facial pain, indicating that it should become part of the treatment in addition to the therapeutic key issues, to influence the quality of life of the affected patients positively.
Hintergrund
Präventive Maßnahmen werden im Rahmen der Gesundheitsförderung immer bedeutsamer. Die regelmäßige Bewegung führt u. a. zu einer Stärkung des Herz-Kreislauf-Systems sowie zur Reduktion von muskuloskelettalen Beschwerden. Angestellte von Hochschulen sowie Studierende leiden häufig unter muskuloskelettalen Beschwerden.
Ziel
Ziel der Kundenbefragung ist es, die Zufriedenheit mit dem hochschulinternen Fitnessstudio INMOVE abzufragen, das rein physiotherapeutisch konzipiert ist. Mithilfe des Fragebogens sollen v. a. die Bereiche der Zufriedenheit, der physiotherapeutischen Betreuung sowie die subjektive Lebensqualität beurteilt werden.
Methode
Es wurde eine Kundenbefragung mit 26 Fragen, welche in vier Abschnitte eingeteilt sind, durchgeführt. Die geschlossenen Fragen wurden deskriptiv ausgewertet und die acht offenen Fragen wurden mit der Kernsatzmethode nach Leithäuser und Volmerg (1988) ausgewertet.
Ergebnisse
An der Befragung nahmen insgesamt 70 Trainierende (weiblich: 22/31,2 %, männlich: 48/68,8 %) teil. Anhand der Ergebnisse zeigt sich, dass die Teilnehmenden die Frage „Inwieweit sind die Kunden des hier genannten INMOVE mit dem Fitnessstudio zufrieden?“ mit „ziemlich zutreffend“ und „zutreffend“ beantworteten. Die zweite Forschungsfrage „Ist die physiotherapeutische Betreuung adäquat für das Fitnessstudio?“ kann mit „ziemlich zutreffend“ beantwortet werden. Die dritte Forschungsfrage bezog sich auf die Verbesserung der subjektiven Lebensqualität. Die Antwortenverteilung spiegelt, dass die Teilnehmenden diesen Themenbereich mit überwiegend „trifft genau zu“ oder „trifft ziemlich zu“ beantworteten.
Schlussfolgerung
Anhand der Kundenbefragung konnte die Zufriedenheit sowie die Auswirkungen auf die subjektive Lebensqualität beurteilt werden. Es lässt sich aus den Ergebnissen ableiten, dass ein hochschulinternes Fitnessstudio dabei helfen kann, Alltagsstress abzubauen und somit präventiv bei muskuloskelettalen Beschwerden nützlich ist.
Currently, the treatment of musicians is an interprofessional approach. Playing-related health complaints may impact the performance of a musician. In Germany, a medical consulting hour for musicians exists, but those for athletes in sports medicine are not so common. The diagnosing and treatment procedure within the physiotherapy consultation for musicians follows a specific concept-b and requires knowledge of instruments and musician-specific complaints. Based on the consulting hour in a clinic in Osnabrueck, 614 case reports were part of this sample, of which 558 data sets were complete. The focus of the analysis is the instrument and the primary complaint. Also, the type of therapy is characterized, and the amount is calculated. Primary complaints of musicians, in general, are found most frequently in the spine and upper extremity. Musician complaints are different between instruments. Instrumentalists have a significantly higher chance to suffer from a primary complaint in the area of the upper extremity. Furthermore, the groups without an instrument (e.g., singing or dancing) are developing complaints in the anatomical area which they primarily use. Therefore, these types of therapy were used: physiotherapy, manual therapy, and osteopathy with an average of 5.9 treatment units. This study underpinned the importance of musician-specific physiotherapy as a profession to treat musicians. Also, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to treat all aspects of complaints.
Guided by cultural labor economics, the paper analyzes the career paths of former actors from popular television soap operas, and addresses in particular, if and under which conditions such serial engagements may function as a stepping stone for a subsequent professional acting career. A novel database of 396 German artists with detailed and long-term biographical information is used for the quantitative empirical analyses. The results indicate that soaps, contrary to popular opinion, function as a stepping stone, especially for younger actors. However, soap engagements should be rather short but long enough to allow artists to play multiple roles in other shows or films besides being in the cast of a soap. While formal acting education does not influence soap actors’ future filmographies, there is evidence that it helps artists to find jobs in arts-related occupations such as voice acting. Finally, publicity and media presence foster a later acting career. Practical implications for artists and their managers are outlined, along with a discussion on the meaning of serials for the creation and commercialization of stars.
Objective:
To understand the meaning of entrepreneurial nursing care as inducer of healthy practices in vulnerable communities.
Method:
Grounded theory, whose data collection took place between March and December 2019, from interviews with 19 participants from the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and comparative data analysis.
Results:
The phenomenon was delimited: Experiencing small/big transformations in the invisibility of everyday life in promoting healthy practices in vulnerable communities. Conducted by the paradigmatic model, the categories were named based on the components: Condition: Making choices and negotiating non-negotiable exchanges; Action/interaction: Motivating oneself to maintain basic human needs; Consequence: Broadening perspectives and transcending personal and collective boundaries.
Conclusion:
Entrepreneurial nursing care as inducer of healthy practices in vulnerable communities is not reduced to a scientific theory or to the linear and decontextualized apprehension of healthy living, but extends to reach small/big transformations that occur in the invisibility of everyday life.
Objective:
to carry out a theoretical reflection on the Nursing Now Campaign and the experience of the unexpected irruptions facing the pandemic period.
Method:
a theoretical-reflective study, supported by the theoretical framework of complexity thinking. It aims at understanding the dialogic between the notions of order, disorder and organization, which translate the transition from simplification to complexity of the pandemic phenomenon and its relation to the theme of Nursing Now and Nursing in the future.
Results:
the universe of phenomena is simultaneously composed of order, disorder and organization. Reasserting the central role of Nursing in the health team, facing the irruptions and uncertainties caused by the current pandemic, implies the ability to dialog with disorder and raise a new and more complex global (re)organization of the being and doing Nursing.
Conclusion:
in addition to answers, theoretical reflection raises new questions and irruptions. The inseparability between the notions of order and disorder in the evolutionary dynamics of the Nursing system is conceived and the promotion of even more complex levels of organization, management and Nursing assistance to achieve universal access to health is advocated.
Objective: To understand the meaning of the Learning Incubator as a teaching and learning technology in the nursing area.
Method: Qualitative research, supported by grounded theory. Data was collected from March to November 2019, through interviews with guiding questions and hypotheses directed at two different groups. The analysis was done by comparative data analysis and included open, axial and integrated coding, as proposed by the method. The theoretical sample included 23 participants, which were nurses, technicians, and nursing students.
Results: The delimitation of the categories converged in the phenomenon (Re)signifying knowledge and practices in the Learning Incubator. Guided by the paradigmatic model, the categories were named according to the three following components: Condition: Recognizing that the being and the professional practice are inextricable; Action/interaction: Revisiting professional practices that are repetitive and mechanic; Consequence: Referring to the reflections and knowledge constructed in the Learning Incubator.
Conclusion: The Learning Incubator, as seen by the study participants, is not limited to the Incubator meetings or the themes addressed in it. Beyond a welcoming physical space, the Incubator expands itself and becomes a tool that promotes self-reflection and self-assessment of professional behaviors and attitudes.
Hintergrund
Schmerz hat einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die humane Lebensqualität. Allein eine Wissensvergrößerung über neurobiologische Vorgänge kann das subjektive Schmerzempfinden sowie psychometrische Variablen positiv beeinflussen. Es gibt verschiedene Formen der präoperativen Patientenedukation, welche u. a. zum Ziel haben, den postoperativen Schmerz zu erklären. Laut der aktuellen Literatur liegt einer präoperativen biomedizinischen Edukation eine geringe Evidenz zugrunde. Sie kann das präoperative Angst- und Stresslevel der Patienten steigern, was sich negativ auf das postoperative Outcome auswirkt. Im Gegensatz zur biomedizinischen Edukation betrachtet das neurobiologische Verständnis den postoperativen Schmerz unter den Gesichtspunkten der Plastizität des Nervensystems und bezieht Sensibilisierungsprozesse im zentralen und peripheren Nervensystem mit ein.
Ziel
Systematische Untersuchung von Kurz- und Langzeiteffekten einer neurobiologischen (Schmerz‑)Edukation bei Patienten vor einer Wirbelsäulenoperation
Material und Methoden
Bei der Literaturrecherche wurde nach dem PI(C)O(Population Intervention Comparison Outcome)‑Schema in den medizinischen Datenbanken gesucht. 83 Artikel kamen in die engere Auswahl. Entsprechend den Ein- und Ausschlusskriterien konnten letztendlich neun Artikel eingeschlossen werden.
Ergebnisse
Durch eine präoperative neurobiologische (Schmerz‑)Edukation können postoperative Katastrophisierungstendenzen sowie die postoperative Kinesiophobie positiv beeinflusst werden. Keinen Einfluss hat eine präoperative neurobiologische Edukation auf postoperativen Schmerz und Funktion. Inkonsistenz besteht bislang in der Herangehensweise der PNE (Pain Neuroscience Education).
Schlussfolgerung
Eine präoperative Reduktion von Angst und schmerzaufrechterhaltenden Faktoren v. a. auf psychologischer und sozialer Ebene hat einen positiven Effekt auf die postoperative subjektive Schmerzbewertung, was sich in einer Reduktion von Angst, Katastrophisierungstendenzen und einer geringeren Inanspruchnahme von postoperativen Leistungen im Gesundheitswesen widerspiegelt.
BACKGROUND: The Craniofacial Pain and Disability Inventory (CF-PDI) is a cross-culturally adapted instrument designed from a biopsychosocial perspective to measure pain, disability, and function in orofacial head and neck pain with shown psychometric properties; however, the German cross-cultural adaption is lacking.
OBJECTIVES: To carry out a transcultural translation of CF-PDI into German and assess its psychometric properties in patients with painful temporomandibular disorders (TMD) with respect to construct and clinical validity, internal consistency and reproducibility.
STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional design.
SETTING: Patients (n = 398) were recruited from dental and physical therapy clinics in middle and south Germany.
METHODS: Structural validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We investigated know-group validity by means of the scale’s potential to discriminate between affected and unaffected subjects. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to estimate convergent validity. We tested test-retest reliability by the intraclass correlation coefficient and the Internal consistency by Cronbach’s alpha, or each dimension separately, and the total score. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to estimate convergent validity.
RESULTS: Two hundred forty-six heterogeneous chronic craniofacial pain patients and 152 patients without complaints were recruited from the middle and south of Germany. The German version CF-PDI-G presents 21 items, 4 factors, and adequate psychometric properties. The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the CF-PDI-G were both excellent for the entire instrument and also for all sub-scales (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] > 0.90) except for the comorbidities and interference with work which was acceptable (ICC = 0.69). Standard error of the measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change values are sufficiently low. Assessment of clinical validity shows good potential of discrimination and classification into categories “no,” “mild,” “moderate,” and “severe.” The multiple linear regression model showed a strong association between neck disability index, Visual Analog Scale, and anamnestic questionnaire (supporting the scale’s convergent validity).
LIMITATIONS: Our sample has a higher prevalence of women and the sample was not recruited consecutively, which may lead to a biased estimation of psychometric properties.
CONCLUSIONS: The CF-PDI-G represents valid and reliable instrument to assess pain and disability in patients with orofacial pain and headache suitable for research and clinical practice.
The management of patients experiencing chronic orofacial pain is a great challenge, due to the complexity of chronic pain itself, combined with an increased peripheral sensitization in the craniofacial itself. Therefore, patients with orofacial pain may present a clear distortion of the somatorepresentation after some time. In this review, the authors develop a neurophysiological explanation of orofacial distortion, as well as propose assessment and treatment options, based on scarcely available scientific evidence and their own clinical experience. The assessments of facial somatosensory, cognitive-affective and motor dysfunctions are crucial to establish the most accurate treatment; the assessment tools are described in the article. Two-point discrimination, laterality recognition and emotion recognition are altered in patients with orofacial pain. Other sensorimotor assessment tools, such as motor acuity and auditory acuity, are also explained. Finally, the authors review their treatment proposals, based on the integration of brain training techniques and biobehavioral interventions. Somatosensory reintegration (tactile acuity training), facial emotion recognition, movement representation techniques, orofacial motor training and therapeutic patient education are explained in detail, and this may challenge new directions in rehabilitation and research.
The current narrative literature review aims to discuss clinical reasoning based on nociceptive pain mechanisms for determining the most appropriate assessment and therapeutic strategy and to identify/map the most updated scientific evidence in relation to physical therapy interventions for patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). We will also propose an algorithm for clinical examination and treatment decisions and a pain model integrating current knowledge of pain neuroscience. The clinical examination of patients with TMDs should be based on nociceptive mechanisms and include the potential identification of the dominant, central, or peripheral sensitization driver. Additionally, the musculoskeletal drivers of these sensitization processes should be assessed with the aim of reproducing symptoms. Therapeutic strategies applied for managing TMDs can be grouped into tissue-based impairment treatments (bottom-up interventions) and strategies targeting the central nervous system (top-down interventions). Bottom-up strategies include joint-, soft tissue-, and nerve-targeting interventions, as well as needling therapies, whereas top-down strategies include exercises, grade motor imagery, and also pain neuroscience education. Evidence shows that the effectiveness of these interventions depends on the clinical reasoning applied, since not all strategies are equally effective for the different TMD subgroups. In fact, the presence or absence of a central sensitization driver could lead to different treatment outcomes. It seems that multimodal approaches are more effective and should be applied in patients with TMDs. The current paper also proposes a clinical decision algorithm integrating clinical diagnosis with nociceptive mechanisms for the application of the most appropriate treatment approach.
Objectives
The aim of this Delphi survey was to establish an international consensus on the most useful outcome measures for research on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for migraine. This is important, since guidelines for pharmacological trials recommend measuring the frequency of headaches with 50% reduction considered a clinically meaningful effect. It is unclear whether the same recommendations apply to complementary (or adjunct) non-pharmacological approaches, whether the same cut-off levels need to be considered for effectiveness when used as an adjunct or stand-alone intervention, and what is meaningful to patients.
Setting
University-initiated international survey.
Participants
The expert panel was chosen based on publications on non-pharmacological interventions in migraine populations and from personal contacts. 35 eligible researchers were contacted, 12 agreed to participate and 10 completed all 3 rounds of the survey. To further explore how migraine patients viewed potential outcome measures, four migraine patients were interviewed and presented with the same measurement tools as the researchers.
Procedures
The initial Delphi round was based on a systematic search of the literature for outcome measures used in non-pharmacological interventions for headache. Suggested outcome measures were rated by each expert, blinded towards the other members of the panel, for its usefulness on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from definitely not useful to extremely useful. Results were combined using median values and IQRs. Tools rated overall as definitely or probably not useful were excluded from subsequent rounds. Experts further suggested additional outcome measures that were presented to the panel in subsequent rounds. Additionally, experts were asked to rank the most useful tools and provide information on feasible cut-off levels for effectiveness for the three highest ranked tools.
Results
Results suggest the use of the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) and headache frequency as primary outcome measures. Patient experts suggested the inclusion of a measure of quality of life and evaluation of associated symptoms and fear of attacks.
Conclusions
Recommendations are for the use of the MIDAS, the HIT-6 and headache frequency, in combination with an outcome measure for quality of life. Associated symptoms and fear of attacks should also be considered as secondary outcomes, if relevant for the individual target population. The cut-off level for effectiveness should be lower for non-pharmacological interventions, especially when used as an adjunct to medication.
Objectives
To develop a time-efficient motor control (MC) test battery while maximising diagnostic accuracy of both a two-level and three-level classification system for patients with non-specific low back pain (LBP).
Design
Case–control study.
Setting
Four private physiotherapy practices in northern Germany.
Participants
Consecutive males and females presenting to a physiotherapy clinic with non-specific LBP (n=65) were compared with 66 healthy-matched controls.
Primary outcome measures
Accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, positive/negative likelihood ratio, area under the curve (AUC)) of a clinically driven consensus-based test battery including the ideal number of test items as well as threshold values and most accurate items.
Results
For both the two and three-level categorisation system, the ideal number of test items was 10. With increasing number of failed tests, the probability of having LBP increases. The overall discrimination potential for the two-level categorisation system of the test is good (AUC=0.85) with an optimal cut-off of three failed tests. The overall discrimination potential of the three-level categorisation system is fair (volume under the surface=0.52). The optimal cut-off for the 10-item test battery for categorisation into none, mild/moderate and severe MC impairment is three and six failed tests, respectively.
Conclusion
A 10-item test battery is recommended for both the two-level (impairment or not) and three-level (none, mild, moderate/severe) categorisation of patients with non-specific LBP.
Background
Osteoarthritis of the knee is the most common cause for disability and limited mobility in the elderly, with considerable individual suffering and high direct and indirect disease-related costs. Nonsurgical interventions such as exercise, enhanced physical activity, and self-management have shown beneficial effects for pain reduction, physical function, and quality of life (QoL), but access to these treatments may be limited. Therefore, home therapy is strongly recommended. However, adherence to these programs is low. Patients report lack of motivation, feedback, and personal interaction as the main barriers to home therapy adherence. To overcome these barriers, electronic health (eHealth) is seen as a promising opportunity. Although beneficial effects have been shown in the literature for other chronic diseases such as chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, a systematic literature review on the efficacy of eHealth interventions for patients with osteoarthritis of knee is missing so far.
Objective
The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of eHealth-supported home exercise interventions with no or other interventions regarding pain, physical function, and health-related QoL in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Methods
MEDLINE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and PEDro were systematically searched using the keywords osteoarthritis knee, eHealth, and exercise. An inverse variance random-effects meta-analysis was carried out pooling standardized mean differences (SMDs) of individual studies. The Cochrane tool was used to assess risk of bias in individual studies, and the quality of evidence across studies was evaluated following the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.
Results
The literature search yielded a total of 648 results. After screening of titles, abstracts, and full-texts, seven randomized controlled trials were included. Pooling the data of individual studies demonstrated beneficial short-term (pain SMD=−0.31, 95% CI −0.58 to −0.04, low quality; QoL SMD=0.24, 95% CI 0.05-0.43, moderate quality) and long-term effects (pain −0.30, 95% CI −0.07 to −0.53, moderate quality; physical function 0.41, 95% CI 0.17-0.64, high quality; and QoL SMD=0.27, 95% CI 0.06-0.47, high quality).
Conclusions
eHealth-supported exercise interventions resulted in less pain, improved physical function, and health-related QoL compared with no or other interventions; however, these improvements were small (SMD<0.5) and may not make a meaningful difference for individual patients. Low adherence is seen as one limiting factor of eHealth interventions. Future research should focus on participatory development of eHealth technology integrating evidence-based principles of exercise science and ways of increasing patient motivation and adherence.
The last two decades have been characterized by a fundamental change in the approaches, tools and instruments in the quality management at Higher Education Institutions. Comparison of two Higher Education Institutions in the Slovak Republic and Germany highlights similarities and trends in quality assurance. Both case studies show how multifaceted the quality management is, and the needs to be approached if a meaningful progress is to be made. Complexity has to be explicitly recognized and built into the approach chosen. Higher Education Institutions have to develop internal quality assurance processes. Quality culture is key for addressing the challenges.
In der inklusiven Grundschule arbeiten zunehmend verschiedene Professionen, wie bspw. Lehrer*innen, Sonderpädagog*innen oder Schulsozialarbeiter*innen, interprofessionell zusammen. Dieser Wandel in schulischen Arbeitskontexten geht mit veränderten Professionalisierungsanforderungen für die Lehr- und Fachkräfte einher (vgl. Kleina & Tan, 2019, S. 63). Die Praxis interprofessioneller Kooperation in der inklusiven Grundschule ist dabei bisher nur in Teilfragen erforscht (vgl. Moldenhauer, 2019), kaum aber mit Blick auf die Erfahrungen und Erwartungen der pädagogischen Lehr- und Fachkräfte selbst. Hierzu werden Ergebnisse einer quantitativen Bedarfserhebung (N=271), welche im Rahmen des vom BMBF geförderten Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojektes InproKiG bei Lehrkräften und pädagogischen Fachkräften von Schulteams in Niedersachsen und Hessen durchgeführt wurde, vorgestellt. Die Ergebnisse geben Aufschluss über die Entwicklung und Gestaltung von Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen in diesem Bereich. Neben der Qualifizierung der bereits tätigen Lehr- und Fachkräfte, kann das InproKiG-Manual auch in der Lehrer*innenausbildung eingesetzt werden.
Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, wie eine vertrauensvolle Zusammenarbeit mit der Ausgestaltung interprofessioneller Kooperationen von Lehr- und Fachkräften in Grundschulteams zusammenhängt. Zunächst wird die Bedeutung von Vertrauen in der Zusammenarbeit als Voraussetzung für interprofessionelle Kooperation behandelt und anschließend durch die Darstellung und Diskussion quantitativer Ergebnisse eines Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojektes zur interprofessionellen Kooperation in inklusiven Grundschulen konkretisiert. Die Studienergebnisse zeigen, dass die befragten Lehr- und Fachkräfte (n=208) enger und intensiver zusammenarbeiten, je stärker das Vertrauensniveau im Kollegium ausgeprägt ist. Schlussfolgernd sollten Fort- und Weiterbildungsangebote für Lehr- und Fachkräfte inklusiver Grundschulen auch die Entwicklung, Aufrechterhaltung und Intensivierung einer vertrauensvollen interprofessionellen Kooperation unterstützen.