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BACKGROUND: An individual's subjective perception of well-being is increasingly recognized as an essential complement to clinical symptomatology and functional impairment in children's mental health. Measurement of quality of life (QoL) has the potential to give due weight to the child's perspective. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY: Our aim was to critically review the current evidence on how childhood mental disorders affect QoL. First, the major challenges in this research field are outlined. Then we present a systematic review of QoL in children and adolescents aged 0-18 years formally diagnosed with a mental and behavioural disorder, as compared to healthy or typically developing children or children with other health conditions. Finally, we discuss limitations of the current evidence base and future directions based on the results of the systematic review and other relevant literature. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: The systematic review identified 41 eligible studies. All were published after the year 2000 and 21 originated in Europe. The majority examined QoL in neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (k = 17), autism spectrum disorder (k = 6), motor disorders (k = 5) and intellectual disability (k = 4). Despite substantial heterogeneity, studies demonstrate that self-reported global QoL is significantly reduced compared to typical/healthy controls across several disorders and QoL dimensions. Parents' ratings were on average substantially lower, casting doubt on the validity of proxy-report. Studies for large diagnostic groups such as depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, (early onset) schizophrenia and eating disorders are largely lacking. We conclude that representative, well-characterized normative and clinical samples as well as longitudinal and qualitative designs are needed to further clarify the construct of QoL, to derive measures of high ecological validity, and to examine how QoL fluctuates over time and is attributable to specific conditions or contextual factors.© 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Language: en

Swedish healthcare quality registries are tools for the evaluation and improvement of clinical services and population-based research. There are presently 11 national quality registries that focus on psychiatric disorders; but none cover all neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) as defined by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Health care professionals have called for more user-friendly; time-saving; and clinically informative registers. To fill this gap, the NEUROPSYK Quality Register was established in 2014 by the Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet. Initially, this was a clinical register of child and adolescent psychiatry for the Stockholm County Council. The main objectives of NEUROPSYK are to improve the assessment of and interventions used for individuals with NDDs by doing the following: 1) supporting adequate follow-up related to the implementation of existing regional and national guidelines for assessment and treatment; 2) providing clinical decision-making aids; and 3) conducting large-scale clinical epidemiological research. The registry incorporates all legal requirements for quality registries in Sweden. NEUROPSYK includes patients of all ages diagnosed with NDDs per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. These diagnoses include autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disabilities, communication disorders, specific learning disorders, and motor disorders. Medication and behavioral interventions are recorded and patient outcomes over time are measured with the economical and user-friendly Clinical Global Impression tool, the Global Assessment of Functioning instrument, and patient-reported health-related quality of life. NEUROPSYK minimizes administrative work for health care professionals because it is integrated with structured digital patient records, thereby increasing the likelihood of high coverage and data quality. NEUROPSYK combines several strengths to exemplify a new generation of quality research registers for use in psychiatry and other areas of health care. Read more about NEUROPSYK: http://ki.se/en/kind/neuropsyk-quality-registry-for-neurodevelopmental-disorders

This is the first in a series of four empirical investigations to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The objective here was to use a comprehensive scoping review approach to identify the concepts of functional ability and disability used in the scientific ADHD literature and link these to the nomenclature of the ICF-CY. Systematic searches were conducted using Medline/PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC and Cinahl, to extract the relevant concepts of functional ability and disability from the identified outcome studies of ADHD. These concepts were then linked to ICF-CY by two independent researchers using a standardized linking procedure. Data from identified studies were analysed until saturation of ICF-CY categories was reached. Eighty studies were included in the final analysis. Concepts contained in these studies were linked to 128 ICF-CY categories. Of these categories, 68 were considered to be particularly relevant to ADHD (i.e., identified in at least 5 % of the studies). Of these, 32 were related to Activities and participation, 31 were related to Body functions, and five were related to environmental factors. The five most frequently identified categories were school education (53 %), energy and drive functions (50 %), psychomotor functions (50 %), attention functions (49 %), and emotional functions (45 %). The broad variety of ICF-CY categories identified in this study underlines the necessity to consider ability and disability in ADHD across all dimensions of life, for which the ICF-CY provides a valuable and universally applicable framework. These results, in combination with three additional preparatory studies (expert survey, focus groups, clinical study), will provide a scientific basis to define the ICF Core Sets for ADHD for multi-purpose use in basic and applied research, and every day clinical practice.

BACKGROUND According to several studies, physicians find sickness certification of patients to be problematic, and some smaller studies suggest that this is a psychosocial work environment problem (WEP). AIMS To explore to what extent physicians experience sickness certification as a WEP and the associations of this with the type of clinic and other workplace factors. METHODS Analyses of data from a questionnaire sent to all physicians who were living and working in Sweden. The study group consisted of physicians aged

Objectives In a recent study, 11% of the Swedish physicians below 65 years dealing with sickness certification tasks (SCT) experienced SCT to a great extent as a work environment problem (WEP). This study aimed at exploring which SCT problems those physicians experienced and if these problems varied between general practitioners (GPs), psychiatrists, orthopaedists and physicians working at other types of clinics. Design A cross-sectional nationwide questionnaire study. Setting All physicians working in Sweden in 2008. Participants The 1554 physicians, Article summary Article focus A study of the minority of physicians who state sickness certification tasks to a great extent being a work environment problem. What problems do these physicians experience in relation to sickness certification? Do the experienced problems vary with type of work clinic/specialty? Key messages A vast majority of these physicians experienced daily lack of time when handling sickness certification tasks. About half of these physicians found it very problematic to assess level of work incapacity, to manage the two roles as the patient's physician and as a medical expert, and to provide the Social Insurance Office with more extensive sickness certificates. Measures for improving physicians' sickness certification practices should be focused on organisational as well as professional levels and might need to differ between specialties. Strengths and limitations of this study The study was based on a questionnaire sent to all 37 000 physicians in a whole country, and the response rate (61%) could be regarded as relatively high. Only one question about work environment was included.

Background In most countries with sickness insurance systems, general practitioners (GPs) play a key role in the sickness-absence process. Previous studies have indicated that GPs experience several tasks and situations related to sickness certification consultations as problematic. The fact that the organization of primary health care and social insurance systems differ between countries may influence both GPs' experiences and certification. The aim of the present study was to gain more knowledge of GPs' experiences of sickness certification, by comparing data from Sweden and Norway, regarding frequencies and aspects of sickness certification found to be problematic. Methods Statistical analyses of cross-sectional survey data of sickness certification by GPs in Sweden and Norway. In Sweden, all GPs were included, with 3949 (60.6%) responding. In Norway, a representative sample of GPs was included, with 221 (66.5%) responding. Results Most GPs reported having consultations involving sickness certification at least once a week; 95% of the GPs in Sweden and 99% of the GPs in Norway. A majority found such tasks problematic; 60% of the GPs in Sweden and 53% in Norway. In a logistic regression, having a higher frequency of sickness certification consultations was associated with a higher risk of experiencing them as problematic, in both countries. A higher rate of GPs in Sweden than in Norway reported meeting patients wanting a sickness certification without a medical reason. GPs in Sweden found it more problematic to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sick leave with patients and to issue a prolongation of a sick-leave period initiated by another physician. GPs in Norway more often worried that patients would go to another physician if they did not issue a certificate, and a higher proportion of Norwegian GPs found it problematic to handle situations where they and their patient disagreed on the need for sick leave. Conclusions The study confirms that many GPs experience sickness absence consultations as problematic. However, there were differences between the two countries in GPs' experiences, which may be linked to differences in social security regulations and the organization of GP services. Possible causes and consequences of national differences should be addressed in future studies.

Objectives Diagnoses-specific sickness certification guidelines were recently introduced in Sweden. The aim of this study was to investigate to which extent general practitioners (GPs) used these guidelines and how useful they found them, 1 year after introduction. Design A cross-sectional questionnaire study. A comprehensive questionnaire about sickness certification practices in 2008 was sent to all physicians living and working in Sweden (n=36 898, response rate 60.6%). In all, 19.7% (n=4394) of the responders worked as GPs. Setting Primary healthcare in all Sweden. Participants The participating GPs who had consultations concerning sickness certification at least a few times a year (n=4278, 97%). Main outcome measures Descriptive statistics and prevalence ratios for the 11 questionnaire items about the use and usefulness of the sickness certification guidelines. Results A majority (76.2%) of the GPs reported that they used the guidelines. In addition, 65.4% and 43.5% of those GPs reported that the guidelines had facilitated their contacts with patients and social insurance officers, respectively. The guidelines also helped nearly one-third (31.5%) of the GPs to develop their competence and improve the quality of their management of sickness certification consultations (33.5%). About half experienced some problems when using the guidelines and 43.7% wanted better competence in using them. A larger proportion of non-specialists and of GPs with fewer sickness certification consultations had benefitted from the guidelines. Conclusions The national sickness certification guidelines implemented in Sweden were widely used by GPs already a year after introduction. Also, the GPs consider the guidelines useful in several respects, for example, in patient contacts and for competence development., Article summary Article focus Sweden recently introduced national sickness certification guidelines. We investigated: To what extent did the general practitioners use them 1 year later? How useful did the general practitioners find them? Key messages Already after 1 year, most general practitioners used the guidelines and benefited extensively from them Two-thirds of the general practitioners reported that the guidelines had facilitated their patient contacts and one-third that it facilitated their contacts with social insurance, other healthcare staff and employers One-third stated that the guidelines had been helpful in competence development and improved the quality of their management of sickness certification cases Strengths and limitations of this study Strengths were the large study group and that all general practitioners in Sweden were included. Also, internationally this is the, so far, without comparison largest study of general practitioner's sickness certification practices. However, the non-response rate of 39% was a limitation, and we have no way of knowing if the non-responders differed with regard to use of the guidelines. However, only 11 of the 163 items in the questionnaire concerned the guidelines, why there is no reason to believe that no response was related to use of the guidelines.