SummaryBackground Studies of children with food allergy typically only include the mother and have not investigated the relationship between the amount of allergen needed to elicit a clinical reaction (threshold) and health-related quality of life (HRQL). Our aims were (i) to compare self-reported and parent-reported HRQL in different age groups, (ii) to evaluate the impact of severity of allergic reaction and threshold on HRQL, and (iii) to investigate factors associated with patient-reported and parent-reported HRQL. Methods Age-appropriate Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaires (FAQLQ) were completed by 73 children, 49 adolescents and 29 adults with peanut, hazelnut or egg allergy. Parents (197 mothers, 120 fathers) assessed their child's HRQL using the FAQLQ-Parent form. Clinical data and threshold values were obtained from a hospital database. Significant factors for HRQL were investigated using univariate and multivariate regression. Results Female patients reported greater impact of food allergy on HRQL than males did. Egg and hazelnut thresholds did not affect HRQL, but lower peanut threshold was associated with worse HRQL. Both parents scored their child's HRQL better than the child's own assessment, but whereas mother-reported HRQL was significantly affected by limitations in the child's social life, father-reported HRQL was affected by limitations in the family's social life. Severity of allergic reaction did not contribute significantly to HRQL. Conclusion The risk of accidental allergen ingestion and limitations in social life are associated with worse HRQL. Fathers provide a unique perspective and should have a greater opportunity to contribute to food allergy research.

Tsalen- and tsalpn-based nickel complexes with aldehyde functionalities have been prepared (tsalen = N,N'-ethylenebis(thiosalicylideneaminato)(2-) and tsalpn = N,N'-propane-1,3-diyl(thiosalicylideneaminato)(2-)). One of the complexes has been structurally characterized: Ni(pftp) (pftp = N,N-ethylene(6-formyl-4-methyl-2-methyliminatothiophenolato)(2-)) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a = 28.761(7), b = 8.582(2), c = 7.841(4) Å; beta = 98.92(3) degrees, and Z = 4. Ni(pftp) and Ni(eftp) (efpt = N,N-ethylene(6-formyl-4-methyl-2-methyliminatothiophenolato)(2-)) were used as synthons for acyclic and macrocyclic complexes and a prototype of each has been structurally characterized. The Schiff base derivative of Ni(pftp) and 2-(2-aminoethyl)pyridine gives the acyclic complex, Ni(peptp) (peptp =N,N-propane-1,3-diyl(6-(N-(2-ethylpyridyl)iminomethyl)-4-methyl-2-methyliminatothiophenolato)(-)) with the two ethylpyridyl arms furnishing an "open site", which in this complex is vacant, and a "closed site", in which the Ni(2+) is located. Ni(peptp) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n with a = 10.247(7), b = 21.886(8), c = 15.662(9) Å; beta = 92.58(6) degrees, and Z = 4. Schiff base condensation of Ni(pftp) with diaminopropane gave two different macrocyclic dinickel complexes [L(1)Ni(2)](ClO(4))(2) and L(2)Ni(2). L(1) and L(2) are the 2 + 2 and 4 + 4 macrocycles, respectively, comprising two propylenediamine and two thiocresol units and four propylenediamine and four thiocresol units, respectively. Crystals of L(2)Ni(2) (L(2) = (10,23,36,49-tetramethyl-13,26,39,52-tetramercapto-2,6,15,19,28,32,41,45-octaaza-1,7,14,20,27,33,40,46-octaene[7.7.7.7]metacyclophane) are of poor quality and crystallize in the C2/c space group with a = 31.517(14), b =8.980(2), c = 26.822(12) Å; beta = 117.17(2) degrees, and Z = 4.

BackgroundIn recent years, the healthcare system in the western world has undergone a structural development caused by changes in demography and pattern of disease. In order to maintain the healthcare system cost-effective, new tasks are placed in general practice urging the general practitioners to rethink the working structure without compromising the quality of care. However, there is a substantial variation in the degree to which general practitioners delegate tasks to their staff, and it is not known how these various degrees of task delegation influence the job satisfaction of general practitioners and their staff.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study based on two electronic questionnaires, one for general practitioners and one for their staff. Both questionnaires were divided into two parts, a part exploring the degree of task delegation regarding management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in general practice and a part concerning the general job satisfaction and motivation to work.ResultsWe found a significant association between perceived “maximal degree” of task delegation in management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the staff’s overall job satisfaction. The odds ratio of the staff’s satisfaction with the working environment displayed a tendency that there is also an association with “maximal degree” of task delegation. In the analysis of the general practitioners, the odds ratios of the results indicate that there is a tendency that “maximal degree” of task delegation is associated with overall job satisfaction, satisfaction with the challenges in work, and satisfaction with the working environment.ConclusionsWe conclude that a high degree of task delegation is significantly associated with overall job satisfaction of the staff, and that there is a tendency that a high degree of task delegation is associated with the general practitioners’ and the staff’s satisfaction with the working environment as well as with general practitioners’ overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with challenges in work. To qualify future delegation processes within general practice, further research could explore the reasons for our findings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-017-1984-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Young adults with peanut allergy face challenges when moving from the safe home with ready assistance if needed, to independence with unpredictable surroundings and less certain help. Perceived 'safe' situations may in fact be the riskiest, as patients often do not take the EAI with them.

Background.Recent research has shown that a high degree of task delegation is associated with the practise staff’s overall job satisfaction, and this association is important to explore since job satisfaction is related to medical as well as patient-perceived quality of care.Objectives.This study aimed: (1) to investigate associations between degrees of task delegation in the management of chronic disease in general practice, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a case and the staff’s work motivation, (2) to investigate associations between the work motivation of the staff and their job satisfaction.Methods.The study was based on a questionnaire to which 621 members of the practice staff responded. The questionnaire consisted of a part concerning degree of task delegation in the management of COPD in their respective practice and another part being about their job satisfaction and motivation to work.Results.In the first analysis, we found that ‘maximal degree’ of task delegation was significantly associated with the staff perceiving themselves to have a large degree of variation in tasks, odds ratio (OR) = 4.26, confidence interval (CI) = 1.09, 16.62. In the second analysis, we found that this perceived large degree of variation in tasks was significantly associated with their overall job satisfaction, OR = 2.81, confidence interval = 1.71, 4.61.Conclusion.The results suggest that general practitioners could delegate highly complex tasks in the management of COPD to their staff without influencing the staff’s work motivation, and thereby their job satisfaction, negatively, as long as they ensure sufficient variation in the tasks.