@article{MehnertKochSchulzetal.2012, author = {Mehnert, Anja and Koch, Uwe and Schulz, Holger and Wegscheider, Karl and Weis, Joachim and Faller, Hermann and Keller, Monika and Br{\"a}hler, Elmar and H{\"a}rter, Martin}, title = {Prevalence of mental disorders, psychosocial distress and need for psychosocial support in cancer patients - study protocol of an epidemiological multi-center study}, volume = {12}, number = {70}, doi = {10.1186/1471-244X-12-70}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-153296}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background Empirical studies investigating the prevalence of mental disorders and psychological distress in cancer patients have gained increasing importance during recent years, particularly with the objective to develop and implement psychosocial interventions within the cancer care system. Primary purpose of this epidemiological cross-sectional multi-center study is to detect the 4-week-, 12-month-, and lifetime prevalence rates of comorbid mental disorders and to further assess psychological distress and psychosocial support needs in cancer patients across all major tumor entities within the in- and outpatient oncological health care and rehabilitation settings in Germany. Methods/Design In this multicenter, epidemiological cross-sectional study, cancer patients across all major tumor entities will be enrolled from acute care hospitals, outpatient cancer care facilities, and rehabilitation centers in five major study centers in Germany: Freiburg, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Leipzig and W{\"u}rzburg. A proportional stratified random sample based on the nationwide incidence of all cancer diagnoses in Germany is used. Patients are consecutively recruited in all centers. On the basis of a depression screener (PHQ-9) 50\% of the participants that score below the cutoff point of 9 and all patients scoring above are assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview for Oncology (CIDI-O). In addition, all patients complete validated questionnaires measuring emotional distress, information and psychosocial support needs as well as quality of life. Discussion Epidemiological data on the prevalence of mental disorders and distress provide detailed and valid information for the estimation of the demands for the type and extent of psychosocial support interventions. The data will provide information about specific demographic, functional, cancer- and treatment-related risk factors for mental comorbidity and psychosocial distress, specific supportive care needs and use of psychosocial support offers.}, language = {en} } @article{MengMusekampSeekatzetal.2013, author = {Meng, Karin and Musekamp, Gunda and Seekatz, Bettina and Glatz, Johannes and Karger, Gabriele and Kiwus, Ulrich and Knoglinger, Ernst and Schubmann, Rainer and Westphal, Ronja and Faller, Hermann}, title = {Evaluation of a self-management patient education program for patients with chronic heart failure undergoing inpatient cardiac rehabilitation: study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial}, series = {BMC Cardiovascular Disorders}, journal = {BMC Cardiovascular Disorders}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2261-13-60}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96852}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background Chronic heart failure requires a complex treatment regimen on a life-long basis. Therefore, self-care/self-management is an essential part of successful treatment and comprehensive patient education is warranted. However, specific information on program features and educational strategies enhancing treatment success is lacking. This trial aims to evaluate a patient-oriented and theory-based self-management educational group program as compared to usual care education during inpatient cardiac rehabilitation in Germany. Methods/Design The study is a multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial in four cardiac rehabilitation clinics. Clusters are patient education groups that comprise HF patients recruited within 2 weeks after commencement of inpatient cardiac rehabilitation. Cluster randomization was chosen for pragmatic reasons, i.e. to ensure a sufficient number of eligible patients to build large-enough educational groups and to prevent contamination by interaction of patients from different treatment allocations during rehabilitation. Rehabilitants with chronic systolic heart failure (n = 540) will be consecutively recruited for the study at the beginning of inpatient rehabilitation. Data will be assessed at admission, at discharge and after 6 and 12 months using patient questionnaires. In the intervention condition, patients receive the new patient-oriented self-management educational program, whereas in the control condition, patients receive a short lecture-based educational program (usual care). The primary outcome is patients' self-reported self-management competence. Secondary outcomes include behavioral determinants and self-management health behavior (symptom monitoring, physical activity, medication adherence), health-related quality of life, and treatment satisfaction. Treatment effects will be evaluated separately for each follow-up time point using multilevel regression analysis, and adjusting for baseline values. Discussion This study evaluates the effectiveness of a comprehensive self-management educational program by a cluster randomized trial within inpatient cardiac rehabilitation in Germany. Furthermore, subgroup-related treatment effects will be explored. Study results will contribute to a better understanding of both the effectiveness and mechanisms of a self-management group program as part of cardiac rehabilitation.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulerMusekampBengeletal.2014, author = {Schuler, Michael and Musekamp, Gunda and Bengel, J{\"u}rgen and Nolte, Sandra and Osborne, Richard H. and Faller, Hermann}, title = {Measurement invariance across chronic conditions: a systematic review and an empirical investigation of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ™)}, doi = {10.1186/1477-7525-12-56}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110441}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background To examine whether lack of measurement invariance (MI) influences mean comparisons among different disease groups, this paper provides (1) a systematic review of MI in generic constructs across chronic conditions and (2) an empirical analysis of MI in the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ™). Methods (1) We searched for studies of MI among different chronic conditions in online databases. (2) Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses were used to study MI among five chronic conditions (orthopedic condition, rheumatism, asthma, COPD, cancer) in the heiQ™ with N = 1404 rehabilitation inpatients. Impact on latent and composite mean differences was examined. Results (1) A total of 30 relevant studies suggested that about one in three items lacked MI. However, only four studies examined impact on latent mean differences. Scale means were only affected in one of these three studies. (2) Across the eight heiQ™ scales, seven scales had items with lack of MI in at least one disease group. However, in only two heiQ™ scales were some latent or composite mean differences affected. Conclusions Lack of MI among disease groups is common and may have a relevant influence on mean comparisons when using generic instruments. Therefore, when comparing disease groups, tests of MI should be implemented. More studies of MI and according impact on mean differences in generic questionnaires are needed.}, language = {en} } @article{LukasczikGerlichSchuleretal.2015, author = {Lukasczik, Matthias and Gerlich, Christian and Schuler, Michael and Neuderth, Silke and Dlugosch, Gabriele and Faller, Hermann}, title = {Stress and resources in women attending an inpatient prevention/rehabilitation measure for parents: Secondary analysis of quality assurance data}, series = {Open Journal of Medical Psychology}, volume = {4}, journal = {Open Journal of Medical Psychology}, doi = {10.4236/ojmp.2015.42003}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125316}, pages = {23-34}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Questionnaire data from two projects on the development of quality assurance instruments for an inpatient rehabilitation/prevention program for parents were used for a secondary analysis. In this analysis, the associations of gains in a psychosocial resource (parenting self-efficacy) and two types of stressors experienced by mothers at the start of treatment (parenting hassles, depressive symptoms) with general life satisfaction and satisfaction with health at the end of treatment were explored. Structural equation modeling was applied to data from N = 1724 female patients. Potential resource-stressor interactions were tested using the Latent Moderated Structural Equations approach. Results showed that parenting hassles were negatively associated with general life satisfaction and satisfaction with health while self-efficacy gains were weakly positively correlated with both variables. No interaction of parenting hassles and self-efficacy gains was found. Depressive symptoms were negatively associated with both satisfaction measures. In these models, self-efficacy gains were not substantially correlated with life satisfaction, but showed a small association with satisfaction with health. There was no significant interaction of depressive symptoms and self-efficacy gains. The findings imply that interventions for distressed mothers—as exemplarily illustrated by this inpatient setting—should focus on identifying and reducing initial stressors as these may continue to impair mothers' subjective health despite gains in parenting-related resources.}, language = {en} } @article{SemrauHentschkeBuchmannetal.2015, author = {Semrau, Jana and Hentschke, Christian and Buchmann, Jana and Meng, Karin and Vogel, Heiner and Faller, Hermann and Bork, Hartmut and Pfeifer, Klaus}, title = {Long-term effects of interprofessional biopsychosocial rehabilitation for adults with chronic non-specific low back pain: a multicentre, quasi-experimental study}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {10}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1371/ journal.pone.0118609}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143594}, pages = {e0118609}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background Improvement of the long-term effectiveness of multidisciplinary ortho-paedic rehabilitation (MOR) in the management of chronic non-specific low back pain (CLBP) remains a central issue for health care in Germany. We developed an interprofessional and interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial rehabilitation concept named "PASTOR" to promote self-management in adults with CLBP and compared its effectiveness with the current model of MOR. Methods A multicentre quasi-experimental study with three measurement time points was implemented. 680 adults aged 18 to 65 with CLBP were assed for eligibil-ity in three inpatient rehabilitation centres in Germany. At first the effects of the MOR, with a total extent of 48 hours (control group), were assessed. Thereafter, PASTOR was implemented and evaluated in the same centres (intervention group). It consisted of six interprofessional modules, which were provided on 12 days in fixed groups, with a total extent of 48 hours. Participants were assessed with self-report measures at baseline, discharge, and 12 months for functional ability (primary outcome) using the Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire (FFbH-R) and vari-ous secondary outcomes (e.g. pain, health status, physical activity, pain coping, pain-related cognitions). Results In total 536 participants were consecutively assigned to PASTOR (n=266) or MOR (n=270). At 12 months, complete data of 368 participants was available. The adjusted between-roup difference in the FFbH-R at 12 months was 6.58 (95\% CI 3.38 to 9.78) using complete data and 3.56 (95\% CI 0.45 to 6.67) using available da-ta, corresponding to significant small-to-medium effect sizes of d=0.42 (p<0.001) and d=0.10 (p=0.025) in favour of PASTOR. Further improvements in secondary out-comes were also observed in favour of PASTOR. Conclusion The interprofessional and interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial rehabilita-tion program PASTOR shows some improvements of the long-term effectiveness of inpatient rehabilitation in the management of adults with CLBP. Further insights into mechanisms of action of complex intervention programs are required.}, language = {en} } @article{PetersFallerPfeiferetal.2016, author = {Peters, Stefan and Faller, Hermann and Pfeifer, Klaus and Meng, Karin}, title = {Experiences of Rehabilitation Professionals with the Implementation of a Back School for Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Qualitative Study}, series = {Rehabilitation Research and Practice}, volume = {2016}, journal = {Rehabilitation Research and Practice}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1155/2016/6720783}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-146053}, pages = {6720783}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A standardized curriculum back school (CBS) has been recommended for further dissemination in medical rehabilitation in Germany. However, implementation of self-management education programs into practice is challenging. In low back pain care, individual factors of professionals could be decisive regarding implementation fidelity. The study aim was to explore attitudes and experiences of professionals who conducted the back school. Qualitative interviews were led with 45 rehabilitation professionals. The data were examined using thematic analysis. Three central themes were identified: (a) "back school as a common thread," (b) "theory versus practice," and (c) "participation and patient-centeredness." The CBS and its manual were frequently described positively because they provide structure. However, specified time was mentioned critically and there were heterogeneous perceptions regarding flexibility in conducting the CBS. Theory and practice in the CBS were discussed concerning amount, distribution, and conjunction. Participation and patient-centeredness were mainly mentioned in terms of amount and heterogeneity of participation as well as the demand for competences of professionals. Factors were detected that may either positively or negatively influence the implementation fidelity of self-management education programs. The results are explorative and provide potential explanatory mechanisms for behavior and acceptance of rehabilitation professionals regarding the implementation of biopsychosocial back schools.}, language = {en} } @article{MusekampGerlichEhlebrachtKoenigetal.2016, author = {Musekamp, Gunda and Gerlich, Christian and Ehlebracht-K{\"o}nig, Inge and Faller, Hermann and Reusch, Andrea}, title = {Evaluation of a self-management patient education program for patients with fibromyalgia syndrome: study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial}, series = {BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders}, volume = {17}, journal = {BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders}, number = {55}, doi = {10.1186/s12891-016-0903-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-146075}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a complex chronic condition that makes high demands on patients' self-management skills. Thus, patient education is considered an important component of multimodal therapy, although evidence regarding its effectiveness is scarce. The main objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of an advanced self-management patient education program for patients with FMS as compared to usual care in the context of inpatient rehabilitation. Methods/Design We conducted a multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial in 3 rehabilitation clinics. Clusters are groups of patients with FMS consecutively recruited within one week after admission. Patients of the intervention group receive the advanced multidisciplinary self-management patient education program (considering new knowledge on FMS, with a focus on transfer into everyday life), whereas patients in the control group receive standard patient education programs including information on FMS and coping with pain. A total of 566 patients are assessed at admission, at discharge and after 6 and 12 months, using patient reported questionnaires. Primary outcomes are patients' disease- and treatment-specific knowledge at discharge and self-management skills after 6 months. Secondary outcomes include satisfaction, attitudes and coping competences, health-promoting behavior, psychological distress, health impairment and participation. Treatment effects between groups are evaluated using multilevel regression analysis adjusting for baseline values. Discussion The study evaluates the effectiveness of a self-management patient education program for patients with FMS in the context of inpatient rehabilitation in a cluster randomized trial. Study results will show whether self-management patient education is beneficial for this group of patients.}, language = {en} } @article{AppelSchulerVogeletal.2017, author = {Appel, Patricia and Schuler, Michael and Vogel, Heiner and Oezelsel, Amina and Faller, Hermann}, title = {Short Questionnaire for Workplace Analysis (KFZA): factorial validation in physicians and nurses working in hospital settings}, series = {Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1186/s12995-017-0157-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-157510}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in psychosocial workplace risk assessments in Germany. One of the questionnaires commonly employed for this purpose is the Short Questionnaire for Workplace Analysis (KFZA). Originally, the KFZA was developed and validated for office workers. The aim of the present study was to examine the factorial validity of the KFZA when applied to hospital settings. Therefore, we examined the factorial structure of a questionnaire that contained all the original items plus an extension adding 11 questions specific to hospital workplaces and analyzed both, the original version and the extended version. Methods: We analyzed questionnaire data of a total of 1731 physicians and nurses obtained over a 10-year period. Listwise exclusion of data sets was applied to account for variations in questionnaire versions and yielded 1163 questionnaires (1095 for the extended version) remaining for factor analysis. To examine the factor structure, we conducted a principal component factor analysis. The number of factors was determined using the Kaiser criterion and scree-plot methods. Factor interpretation was based on orthogonal Varimax rotation as well as oblique rotation. Results: The Kaiser criterion revealed a 7-factor solution for the 26 items of the KFZA, accounting for 62.0\% of variance. The seven factors were named: "Social Relationships", "Job Control", "Opportunities for Participation and Professional Development", "Quantitative Work Demands", "Workplace Environment", "Variability" and "Qualitative Work Demands". The factor analysis of the 37 items of the extended version yielded a 9-factor solution. The two additional factors were named "Consequences of Strain" and "Emotional Demands". Cronbach's α ranged from 0.63 to 0.87 for these scales. Conclusions: Overall, the KFZA turned out to be applicable to hospital workers, and its content-related structure was replicated well with some limitations. However, instead of the 11 factors originally proposed for office workers, a 7-factor solution appeared to be more suitable when employed in hospitals. In particular, the items of the KFZA factor "Completeness of Task" might need adaptation for the use in hospitals. Our study contributes to the assessment of the validity of this popular instrument and should stimulate further psychometric testing.}, language = {en} } @article{MusekampSchulerSeekatzetal.2017, author = {Musekamp, Gunda and Schuler, Michael and Seekatz, Bettina and Bengel, J{\"u}rgen and Faller, Hermann and Meng, Karin}, title = {Does improvement in self-management skills predict improvement in quality of life and depressive symptoms? A prospective study in patients with heart failure up to one year after self-management education}, series = {BMC Cardiovascular Disorders}, volume = {17}, journal = {BMC Cardiovascular Disorders}, number = {51}, doi = {10.1186/s12872-017-0486-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-157501}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: Heart failure (HF) patient education aims to foster patients' self-management skills. These are assumed to bring about, in turn, improvements in distal outcomes such as quality of life. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that change in self-reported self-management skills observed after participation in self-management education predicts changes in physical and mental quality of life and depressive symptoms up to one year thereafter. Methods: The sample comprised 342 patients with chronic heart failure, treated in inpatient rehabilitation clinics, who received a heart failure self-management education program. Latent change modelling was used to analyze relationships between both short-term (during inpatient rehabilitation) and intermediate-term (after six months) changes in self-reported self-management skills and both intermediate-term and long-term (after twelve months) changes in physical and mental quality of life and depressive symptoms. Results: Short-term changes in self-reported self-management skills predicted intermediate-term changes in mental quality of life and long-term changes in physical quality of life. Intermediate-term changes in self-reported self-management skills predicted long-term changes in all outcomes.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulerMurauerStangletal.2019, author = {Schuler, Michael and Murauer, Kathrin and Stangl, Stephanie and Grau, Anna and Gabriel, Katharina and Podger, Lauren and Heuschmann, Peter U. and Faller, Hermann}, title = {Pre-post changes in main outcomes of medical rehabilitation in Germany: protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant and aggregated data}, series = {BMJ Open}, volume = {9}, journal = {BMJ Open}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023826}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201929}, pages = {e023826}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Introduction Multidisciplinary, complex rehabilitation interventions are an important part of the treatment of chronic diseases. However, little is known about the effectiveness of routine rehabilitation interventions within the German healthcare system. Due to the nature of the social insurance system in Germany, randomised controlled trials examining the effects of rehabilitation interventions are challenging to implement and scarcely accessible. Consequently, alternative pre-post designs can be employed to assess pre-post effects of medical rehabilitation programmes. We present a protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis methods to assess the pre-post effects of rehabilitation interventions in Germany. Methods and analysis The respective study will be conducted within the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. A systematic literature review will be conducted to identify studies reporting the pre-post effects (start of intervention vs end of intervention or later) in German healthcare. Studies investigating the following disease groups will be included: orthopaedics, rheumatology, oncology, pulmonology, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology and psychosomatics. The primary outcomes of interest are physical/mental quality of life, physical functioning and social participation for all disease groups as well as pain (orthopaedic and rheumatologic patients only), blood pressure (cardiac patients only), asthma control (patients with asthma only), dyspnoea (patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease only) and depression/anxiety (psychosomatic patients only). We will invite the principal investigators of the identified studies to provide additional individual patient data. We aim to perform the meta-analyses using individual patient data as well as aggregate data. We will examine the effects of both study-level and patient-level moderators by using a meta-regression method. Ethics and dissemination Only studies that have received institutional approval from an ethics committee and present anonymised individual patient data will be included in the meta-analysis. The results will be presented in a peer-reviewed publication and at research conferences. A declaration of no objection by the ethics committee of the University of W{\"u}rzburg is available (number 20180411 01).}, language = {en} }