View clinical trials related to Quality of Life.
Filter by:Aim: To answer the questions of whether a Mind-Body Medicine (MBM) skills group facilitated face-to-face and online can improve measures of Quality of Life (QOL) in a population of cancer patients. Value of Study: Technological advances have contributed to new venues for healthcare delivery. It is imperative that these new delivery methods, for individual and/or group psychosocial services are sufficiently tested and validated. Research shows that there is very little knowledge about differences in communication styles between online and face-to-face groups, nor is there much knowledge on the overall efficacy of online groups. Phenomenon Studied: Can MBM skills groups improve the quality of life of cancer patients? Is there a difference in outcome between a MBM skills group delivered face-to-face and a MBM skills group delivered online. Reasons Leading to Proposing the Project: Despite encouraging research showing that psychosocial interventions have positive effects in the lives of cancer patients, more research is needed due to several problems of current research, such as poor study design, lack of use of technological advances and relatively few existing studies on the effectiveness of MBM therapies in the oncological setting. Stated Hypothesis: Hypothesis 1: There is no difference between baseline QOL measures and QOL measures at the end of face-to-face facilitated MBM skills groups. Hypothesis 2: There is no difference between baseline QOL measures and QOL measures at the end of Online facilitated MBM skills groups. Hypothesis 3: Participation in either, online facilitated MBM skills groups or face-to-face facilitated MBM skills groups will improve QOL measures when compared to control group. Hypothesis 4: Patients in the control group (waitlist control, care as usual group) will have no improvement on QOL measures. Anticipated Value to the Larger Community: According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) "…there is a need for reliable, objective, evidence-based information regarding the usefulness and safety—or lack thereof—of CAM" (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2011, p.3). This study will add to general scientific knowledge of CAM and MBM.
As individuals age, they undergo transitions in many aspects of their lives. These transitions include social, economic and health transitions. People review their lives, and reflect on past choices. Future time is limited by the increasing proximity to end of life. This may lead to regrets and, in people with the ability to use compensatory mechanisms, a redoubling of efforts to achieve valued goals or a reprioritization of valued goals. In the context of aging, individuals' past, present, and future-oriented subjective well-being (SWB) may change. There is an incomplete understanding of the relationship of SWB, intra- and inter-personal resources, and outcomes, (particularly health and healthcare-cost outcomes). These issues have complicated the use of SWB measures and the investigators are left with traditional metrics such as life expectancy, infant mortality, wealth, and poverty to assess healthy aging, resulting in an incomplete picture of healthy aging. This project will examine the relationships among SWB, intra- and inter-personal resources, and health and healthcare-cost outcomes. It will advance the understanding of SWB and its role in healthy aging in order to assist policy makers in valuing the potential benefits of improving SWB on health and healthcare costs. The investigators will accomplish this through the following specific aim: Aim 1: To determine how SWB (past, present, and future-oriented): (1) is affected by life transitions, and (2) affects outcomes after life transitions.
Background: Renal transplant recipients have a greater risk of morbidity and mortality primarily due to cardiovascular disease when compared to the general population. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 50% to 60% percent of deaths amongst renal transplant population and death from cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of functioning graft loss. Physical activity is an effective form of secondary prevention in existing cardiovascular disease reducing all-cause mortality by 25%-30% and has demonstrated positive effects overall on quality of life and well-being. Transplant patients who participated in regular cardiovascular exercise have significant more positive scores on the SF-36 Health Status Questionnaire in comparison to inactive transplant recipients. Active video gaming is evolving as an innovative method to increase physical activity. Active video gaming has supported physical activity in children and youth. There is however a paucity of literature examining interactive games as a means to facilitate physical activity and its impact on CVD and quality of life in the adult population nor any literature examining AVG and its impact on an adult surgical population. This pilot study is designed to determine if Active Video Gaming is feasible and is able to lead to behavioral modifications and Quality of Life improvement. Subject Selection: This is a pilot study during which 10 patients who have undergone renal transplant will be selected to exercise with Active Video Gaming for a duration of 3 months. The program activity will begin 6 months post surgery.
The purpose of the study is to determine whether a combination of occupational therapy visits, nursing visits, and handyman repair are effective in helping low income older adults avoid costly health care services
This study aims to compare the efficacy of a partial meal replacement diet with a conventional diet, for inducing weight loss and improving metabolic and inflammatory profile, endothelial function, erectile function, sexual desire, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and quality of life in obese men.
This study aims to evaluate the extent to which weight loss of 5-10% from baseline, induced by exercise and diet, improves metabolic and inflammatory profile, endothelial function, erectile function, sexual desire, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and quality of life in obese men.
Background: - Some women with endometriosis have chronic pelvic pain. This pain may be caused by spasms of the pelvic floor muscles. These spasms can be detected by an examination. Studies suggest that botulinum toxin can help treat problems caused by muscle spasms. Researchers want to see if botulinum toxin injections into the pelvic floor muscles can decrease pain and spasms in women with pelvic pain. Objectives: - To see if botulinum toxin can relieve pain from pelvic floor spasm in women with pelvic pain. Eligibility: - Women between 18 and 50 years of age with pain associated with pelvic muscle spasm and endometriosis. Pain must be persistent (lasting for at least 3 months). Design: - Participants will keep a pain diary and record their pain medication use for a month before the first visit. - Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. Blood and urine samples will be collected. Participants will also answer questions about their pain levels and quality of life. - Participants will receive either botulinum toxin or a placebo (salt water) injection. The injection will be given into the pelvic floor muscles through the vaginal wall. Participants will take a muscle relaxant like Valium and have anesthetic cream put on the vaginal wall before the injection. - After the injection, participants will keep a pain diary for another month. - At a 1-month followup visit, participants will answer questions about their pain. If the pain has not improved, all participants may have a botulinum toxin injection (no placebo) into the pelvic floor muscles as before. - Participants will have followup visits for up to a year after the initial 1-month followup visit.
This longitudinal project will investigate a common complaint of women who receive chemotherapy for breast cancer- cognitive difficulty. The relationships of fatigue, stress, and depression to cognitive difficulties will be examined. The findings should lead to interventions to decrease the effects of these problematic side effects.
Vietnam is currently experiencing two epidemics -- injection drug use and HIV. HIV infection is rising rapidly, primarily among injecting drug users (IDUs). Most young IDUs keep daily contact with their family or live in their parent's home. The burden on their families is substantial, and even greater if the IDU is HIV+. In this study, the investigators conduct an intervention pilot to develop and evaluate a family intervention to improve outcomes over time for Vietnamese IDUs and their families. This two-year study is conducted in Phu Tho, a province located about 80 km from Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. Two teams with complementary expertise collaborate to implement this study: the UCLA team and the Vietnamese team from the Vietnam National Institute of Hygiene & Epidemiology (NIHE). The study has two phases: - In Phase 1, the investigators develop the content, format and an implementation plan for the intervention from a focus group of 10 service providers, administrators and community leaders, and through in-depth interviews with 40 IDUs (20 HIV+ and 20 HIV-) recruited from the local drug rehabilitation center (the "06 Center") and from two local communities (Duu Lau and Gia Cam), as well as in-depth interviews with 20 of the IDUs family members (FM). Based on the findings, the investigators collaborate on designing a Vietnamese-specific family intervention for IDUs and their family members. - In Phase 2, the investigators pilot the intervention in the local commune health centers in Viet Tri, Phu Tho. Eighty IDUs (HIV+/HIV-) and 80 of their family members are recruited from 4 communes and the 06 Center in Viet Tri city, and randomized into a intervention group and a control group. After the 4-week intervention, 3-month and 6-month follow-ups are conducted to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Participants randomized to the control group only complete the assessments (baseline, 3-, and 6-month) at the same time points.
Type I laryngeal cleft evaluation and treatment in the pediatric population is an emerging science. The largest published series of pediatric patients with type I laryngeal clefts shows conflicting evidence in terms of outcomes, resolution of dysphagia and method of treatment. A comparison of quality of life outcomes before and after injection laryngoplasty has not been carried out. The investigators hypothesize that injection laryngoplasty significantly improves symptoms and quality of life related to dysphagia in a pediatric population with laryngeal clefts.