Cases were offered free or subsidised cataract surgery. Cases and controls were re-interviewed

approximately one and six years later. At baseline across the two countries there were 455 cases and 443 controls. Fifty percent of cases attended for surgery. Response rates at six years were 47% for operated cases and 53% for controls. At baseline cases had poorer health FK228 molecular weight and vision related QoL, were less likely to undertake productive activities, more likely to receive assistance with activities and were poorer compared to controls (p smaller than 0.05). One year after surgery there were significant increases in HRQoL, participation and time spent in productive activities and per capita expenditure and reduction in assistance with activities so that the operated cases were similar to controls. These increases were still evident after six years with the exception that time spent on Selleck LDC000067 productive activities decreased among both cases and controls. Conclusion: Cataract causing visual loss is associated with reduced HRQoL and economic poverty among older adults in low-income countries. Cataract surgery improves the HRQoL of the individual and economy of the household. The findings of this study suggest these benefits are sustained in the long term.”
“Objective: To describe communication between pharmacy staff and patients at the counter in outpatient pharmacies.

Both content and communication style were investigated. Methods: Pharmaceutical encounters in three outpatient pharmacies in the Netherlands were video-recorded. Videos were analyzed based on an observation protocol for the following information: content of encounter, initiator of a theme and pharmacy staff’s communication style. Results: 10058-F4 In total, 119 encounters were recorded which concerned 42 first prescriptions, 16 first refill prescriptions and 61 follow-up refill prescriptions. During all encounters, discussion was mostly initiated by pharmacy staff (85%). In first prescription encounters topics most frequently discussed included instructions for

use (83%) and dosage instructions (95%). In first refill encounters, patient experiences such as adverse effects (44%) and beneficial effects (38%) were regularly discussed in contrast to follow-up refills (7% and 5%). Patients’ opinion on medication was hardly discussed. Conclusion: Pharmacy staff in outpatient pharmacies generally provide practical information, less frequently they discuss patients’ experiences and seldom discuss patients’ perceptions and preferences about prescribed medication. Practice implications: This study shows there is room for improvement, as communication is still not according to professional guidelines. To implement professional guidelines successfully, it is necessary to identify underlying reasons for not following the guidelines. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.