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- Nielsen, Christoffer T, et al.
(författare)
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Increased IgG on cell-derived plasma microparticles in systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with autoantibodies and complement activation.
- 2012
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Ingår i: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 64:4, s. 1227-1236
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE.: To quantify immunoglobulin and C1q on circulating cell-derived microparticles (MPs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to correlate this with clinical and serological parameters. METHODS.: Sixty-eight clinically well-characterized SLE patients, 38 healthy controls (HC), 6 systemic sclerosis (SSc), and 6 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were included. The numbers of annexin V-binding MPs displaying IgG, IgM or C1q were enumerated by flow cytometry. MP protein levels were determined by mass spectrometry in clinically defined subsets of SLE patients and controls. The MP-IgG load was determined by flow cytometry of all SLE and HC samples. RESULTS.: SLE patients had significantly increased total and relative numbers of IgG-positive MPs (p = 0.0004) with a much higher average IgG-load/MP (p < 0.0001) than HCs. Quantitative mass spectrometry of purified MPs verified significantly increased IgG, IgM, and C1q in SLE. In RA and SSc the average IgG/MP was significantly lower than in SLE (p = 0.006 and 0.05, respectively). Also, IgM/MP and C1q/MP were higher in SLE than in controls (p < 0.05) except for IgM in the RA-group. IgG-positive MPs were significantly associated with the presence of anti-dsDNA, anti-ENA, and anti-histone antibodies, with total IgG, and with decreased leukocyte counts. Average IgG/MP was associated with lower concentrations of MPs, the presence of anti-C1q antibodies, and with complement consumption. CONCLUSIONS.: Circulating cell-derived MPs in SLE carry increased loads of IgG, IgM, and C1q and IgG-MPs are associated with autoantibodies and complement activation. The findings link immunological reactions on MPs with the etiopathology of SLE. © 2012 American College of Rheumatology.
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| 3. |
- Knudsen, Line V., et al.
(författare)
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Client labor : adults with hearing impairment describing their participation in their hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. - : American Academy of Audiology. - 1050-0545 .- 2157-3107. ; 24:3, s. 192-204
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:The uptake and use of hearing aids is low compared to the prevalence of hearing impairment. People who seek help and take part in a hearing aid rehabilitation process participate actively in this process in several ways.PURPOSE:In order to gain more knowledge on the challenges of hearing help-seeking and hearing aid use, this qualitative study sought to understand the ways that people with hearing impairment describe themselves as active participants throughout the hearing aid rehabilitation process.RESEARCH DESIGN:In this qualitative interview study we examined the hearing rehabilitation process from the perspective of the hearing impaired. In this article we describe how the qualitative interview material was interpreted by a pragmatic qualitative thematic analysis. The analysis described in this article focused on the efforts, initiatives, actions, and participation the study participants described that they had engaged in during their rehabilitation.STUDY SAMPLE:Interviews were conducted with people with hearing impairment in Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The 34 interview participants were distributed equally between the sites, just as men and women were almost equally represented (56% women). The average age of the participants was 64. All participants had a hearing impairment in at least one ear. The participants were recruited to represent a range of experiences with hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation.DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:With each participant one qualitative semistructured interview ranging between 1 and 2 hr was carried out. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, read through several times, and themes were identified, defined, and reviewed by an iterative process.RESULTS:From this thematic focus a concept called "client labor" has emerged. Client labor contains nine subthemes divided into three overarching groups: cognitive labor, emotional labor, and physical labor. The participants' experiences and meaning-making related to these conceptual types of efforts is described.CONCLUSIONS:The study findings have implications for the clinical encounter between people with hearing impairment and hearing health-care professionals. We suggest that a patient-centered approach that bears in mind the client's active participation could help toward improving clinical dispensing, fitting, and counseling practices with the end goal to increase hearing aid benefit and satisfaction
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| 4. |
- Knudsen, Line V, et al.
(författare)
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Conducting qualitative research in audiology : A tutorial
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 51:2, s. 83-92
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE:Qualitative research methodologies are being used more frequently in audiology as it allows for a better understanding of the perspectives of people with hearing impairment. This article describes why and how international interdisciplinary qualitative research can be conducted.DESIGN:This paper is based on a literature review and our recent experience with the conduction of an international interdisciplinary qualitative study in audiology.RESULTS:We describe some available qualitative methods for sampling, data collection, and analysis and we discuss the rationale for choosing particular methods. The focus is on four approaches which have all previously been applied to audiologic research: grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, conversational analysis, and qualitative content analysis.CONCLUSIONS:This article provides a review of methodological issues useful for those designing qualitative research projects in audiology or needing assistance in the interpretation of qualitative literature.
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| 5. |
- Laplante-Levesque, Ariane, et al.
(författare)
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Hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation : Perspectives of adults with hearing impairment
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 51:2, s. 93-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE:This study investigated the perspectives of adults with hearing impairment on hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation.DESIGN:Individual semi-structured interviews were completed.STUDY SAMPLE:In total, 34 adults with hearing impairment in four countries (Australia, Denmark, UK, and USA) participated. Participants had a range of experience with hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation, from never having sought help to being satisfied hearing-aid users.RESULTS:Qualitative content analysis identified four main categories ('perceiving my hearing impairment', 'seeking hearing help', 'using my hearing aids', and 'perspectives and knowledge') and, at the next level, 25 categories. This article reports on the densest categories: they are described, exemplified with interview quotes, and discussed.CONCLUSIONS:People largely described hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation in the context of their daily lives. Adults with hearing impairment rarely described clinical encounters towards hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation as a connected process. They portrayed interactions with clinicians as isolated events rather than chronologically-ordered steps relating to a common goal. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
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| 7. |
- Vestergaard- Knudsen, Line, et al.
(författare)
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Factors Influencing Help Seeking, Hearing Aid Uptake, Hearing Aid Use and Satisfaction With Hearing Aids: A Review of the literature
- 2010
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Ingår i: Trends in Amplification. - : Sage Publications. - 1084-7138. ; 14:3, s. 127-154
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: This descriptive summary of the literature provides an overview of the available studies (published between January 1980 and January 2009) on correlates of help-seeking behavior for hearing loss, hearing-aid uptake, hearing-aid use, and satisfaction with the device. Methods: Publications were identified by structured searches in Pubmed and Cinahl and by inspecting the reference lists of relevant articles. The articles covered different stages that a person with hearing impairment may go through: prior to hearing aid fitting, the period covering the fitting and the period post hearing aid fitting. Inclusion of articles occurred according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted by two independent researchers. Thirty-nine papers were included that identified 31 factors examined in relation to the four outcome measures. These covered personal factors (e.g., source of motivation, expectation, attitude), demographic factors (e.g., age, gender) and external factors (e.g., cost, counseling). Only two studies covered the actual fitting process. There was only one factor positively affecting all four outcome variables. This was self-reported hearing disability. The vast majority of studies showed no relationship of age and gender with any of the outcome domains. Discussion and conclusion: Whereas research of the last 28 years yielded valuable information regarding relevant and irrelevant factors in hearing aid health care, there are still many relevant issues that have never been investigated in controlled studies. These are discussed.
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