Medicine (RMH) - Theses
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ItemChronic pain in older people( 2001-04)Despite the expansion of research into chronic nonmalignant pain, a majority of reported studies are based on patient populations of specialised pain management clinics, which may not adequately represent older people with chronic nonmalignant pain in the general community. Therefore, the overall aim of the present thesis was to fill some gaps in this knowledge base. The findings of the present thesis support the notion that older people who attend multidisciplinary pain management centres are probably not representative of those with pain who live in the general community but do not attend specialised treatment centres. Indeed a conceptual framework developed from the findings suggest that less than 3 percent of a random community sample of older people with chronic pain share the profile of those who attend a multidisciplinary pain management centre. The majority (86 percent) of the community sample were found to have mild chronic pain that can be adequately managed in the community. However, about 11 percent of the community sample have moderate chronic pain, and it is probable that additional community-based pain management services can improve the management of pain. Development of instruments to measure the perceived helpfulness and use of pain management strategies by community-dwelling older people with chronic pain is another area that has not received adequate attention. A preliminary survey questionnaire was developed to measure the use and perceived helpfulness of pain management strategies in community dwelling older people. The findings have provided new insight from the user’s perspective regarding the relative effectiveness of different pain management strategies, and highlighted the potential clinical application of strategies that are less commonly used, such as TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), and relaxation techniques that are beneficial for specific subgroups of older people with chronic pain. The evaluation of the efficacy of a community-based intervention program that provides free choice of intervention for improving outcomes for older people with chronic pain showed that the program was successful in reducing pain and improving level of physical activity for those who completed the program when they were compared with matched subjects who did not participate. The findings also suggest that an educational seminar can have a positive impact that empower participants to make a more informed choice regarding interventions for managing pain. However, the long-term effect of the program has not been established. Therefore, further research will be needed to evaluate whether this approach is a viable alternative clinical option for effective, accessible, and low cost pain management for the general community of older people with chronic pain. The pain management service model was developed based on a synthesis of the findings. The model was based on a targeted approach that focuses on community-based interventions designed to improve access and outcomes for the majority of community-dwelling older people with chronic non-malignant pain who do not use specialised pain management services. Overall, the findings of the present thesis have enhanced our understanding of the management of chronic non-malignant pain in community-dwelling older people, which has important implications for the development of services, and has generated hypothesis for future research that may contribute to improve outcomes for older people with chronic non-malignant pain.
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ItemConceptualising and measuring health literacy from the patient perspective( 2009)The current patient-centred healthcare approach encourages individuals to assume greater roles in decisions about their health. The premise is that patients who are well informed about healthcare options are more likely to adhere to prescribed treatments and achieve better health outcomes. This approach assumes that patients have an adequate level of health literacy. While a range of definitions exist, health literacy is commonly defined as an individual’s ability to seek, understand and utilise health information to make appropriate health decisions. Health literacy is increasingly recognised as a complex multi-dimensional concept which involves interactions between individual abilities and broader environmental factors. However across definitions, there has been little consultation with patients to understand what is important to effectively seek, understand and utilise health information. The lack of a consensual understanding has led to debate as to what health literacy represents and how it should be measured. A range of measures exist with the predominant approach being the testing of individual literacy abilities. However measures do not assess the range of attributes described in definitions. Thus a considerable gap exists between how health literacy is defined and how it is measured. This thesis focused on addressing this gap. The objectives were to: (i) critically appraise existing health literacy measures (ii) develop a conceptual framework from the patient perspective and (iii) use this framework to develop a comprehensive measure of health literacy. A multi-method qualitative and quantitative approach was used: (1) Systematic review and appraisal of the content, development and psychometric properties of health literacy measures. (2) In-depth consultations with patients across healthcare and disease continuums to develop a conceptual framework. (3) Development of a new health literacy measure based on the conceptual framework using a classical test theory approach. A critical appraisal of the literature revealed that the majority of health literacy measures are not based on a conceptual framework and none appeared to adequately measure a person’s ability to seek, understand and utilise health information. Content focussed primarily on reading, comprehension and numeracy skills and scoring was poorly defined. Only five of the 19 measures had evidence of acceptable reliability. The conceptual framework of health literacy from the patient perspective identified 17 key elements: six individual abilities and 11 broader contextual factors that are important to seek, understand and utilise health information and expanded previous conceptualisations of health literacy. This informed the development of the Health Literacy Management Scale (HeLMS) which measures six generic and potentially modifiable abilities and three specific broader social factors. Overall the HeLMS measures an individual’s ability to seek, understand and utilise health information within the healthcare setting. The HeLMS consists of 29 items across eight domains. Rigorous psychometric testing demonstrates that it possesses strong construct validity and high reliability (coefficient α >0.80 for all eight domains). This research provides unique contributions to the conceptualisation and measurement of health literacy. Limitations in the content and psychometric properties of previously developed measures have been identified through a systematic process. A conceptual framework derived from the patient perspective identifies a range of components that provide new insight into: (i) constructs that should be incorporated to measure health literacy and (ii) areas that need to be addressed to improve health literacy. The development of the HeLMS now allows for a more comprehensive assessment of health literacy. Information from the conceptual framework and the HeLMS are likely to be useful tools to inform the development of public health initiatives to enhance patient participation in the management of their health.