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To determine the prevalence of burnout and back pain in homecare workers in Switzerland and assess their associations with psychosocial work environment factors.
National multicentre cross-sectional study.
Using paper-pencil questionnaires, data were collected from January 2021 to September 2021 from employees of 88 homecare agencies across Switzerland. Respondents who identified themselves as administrators, apprentices, or trainees, who were in leadership positions, or who were not involved in the provision of care or housekeeping were excluded from this analysis. Burnout was assessed with the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory Scale (possible score range 0–100) and back pain with a single item from the Federal Statistical Office's Swiss Health Survey. Multilevel regression analyses were used to assess burnout and back pain's associations with psychosocial work environment factors.
We included 2514 homecare workers. More than two-thirds (68.6%) reported back pain in the past 4 weeks. The overall mean burnout score was 36.0 (SD 18.3). Poorer work-life balance, higher perceived workload and verbal aggression from clients were positively associated with both outcomes. Better leadership and social support from colleagues were negatively associated with burnout. Higher role conflict levels correlated with higher burnout levels.
Our findings indicate that the psychosocial work environment should be considered when designing interventions to reduce the prevalence of burnout and back pain among homecare workers.
The high reported burnout and back pain prevalences among homecare workers highlight an urgent need to design and implement psychosocial work environment-improving interventions. In addition to contributing to homecare employees' long-term attraction and retention, protecting and promoting their health and well-being will likely not only benefit them, but also contribute to patient safety, quality of care and homecare sustainability.
The study reports the prevalence of burnout and back pain among homecare workers and their associations with psychosocial work environment factors. The results indicate that six psychosocial work environment factors—work-life balance, perceived workload, leadership quality, levels of social support from colleagues, role conflict levels, and verbal aggression from clients—all correlate with burnout and/or back pain in homecare workers. For policy makers, researchers, healthcare managers, and homecare agencies, this study's findings will inform the development of interventions to enhance homecare work environments, leading to improvements both in workers' health and in the quality of their care.
We have adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting checklist for cross-sectional studies.
Our stakeholder group included patient representatives, policy makers, researchers, clinicians and representatives of professional associations. Throughout the study, all provided support and input on topics including questionnaire development, result interpretation and the design of strategies to improve response rates.
The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a cardiac device recommended for use to prevent the occurrence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The evidence informing this guidance comes from landmark trials that are now more than 20 years old. The risk-benefit profile of ICD for the contemporary target population may have changed substantially since then, which raises the question of whether there is evidence for sparing patients a procedure associated with potentially severe complications and high healthcare costs. A main part of the PRevention Of sudden cardiac death aFter myocardial Infarction by Defibrillator implantation (PROFID) project is the PROFID EHRA trial, which is supported by the European Heart Rhythm Association. PROFID EHRA is a European Union-funded, prospective, randomised, multi-centre, non-inferiority study designed to compare optimal medical therapy (OMT) alone to ICD with OMT, for post-MI patients with reduced LVEF. The study also describes economic evaluation methods to quantify the cost and health implications of using OMT alone in place of ICD implantation plus OMT in this group of patients.
The economic evaluation has been designed to conduct a pre-trial cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) prior to the availability of trial data, followed by a within-trial cost-consequences analysis (CCA) and a long-term post-trial CEA, conducted from the National Health Service and Personal Social Service perspective in England. The pre-trial CEA uses simulation modelling informed by available evidence to assess the lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years of OMT alone and ICD+OMT in post-MI patients with reduced LVEF at risk of SCD, as defined in the PROFID EHRA trial. The within-trial CCA is intended to summarise the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), healthcare resource use and associated costs observed during the PROFID EHRA trial follow-up period. The post-trial CEA updates the pre-trial model by incorporating contemporary evidence about the HRQoL and costs observed during the trial and the occurrence of those events and outcomes accruing during the trial follow-up period and projecting them into the expected lifetime of the patients. Sensitivity analyses are performed to assess the robustness of the CEA results with respect to both model assumptions and uncertainty in the value of the model input parameters. Finally, a value of information analysis will identify the key drivers of uncertainty surrounding the model conclusions regarding the optimal treatment strategy, establishing if further research may be required.
The PROFID EHRA trial, under legal sponsorship of Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, received its first ethics approval by the Medicine Research Ethics Committee of the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, Spain (reference number LHS-2019-0209). Before including patients, for all participating study centres, the required local, central and/or national ethical approval has to be obtained. As of the date 13 November 2025, at least one participating study centre in the following countries has received ethical approvals from relevant ethics committees: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. Results will be shared with the general public through various media channels and additionally with healthcare professionals and the scientific community through scientific meetings, conferences and publications.
To investigate adherence and non-adherence to treatment regimens among heart failure patients and to explore relationships with symptom burden and hospitalisation frequency.
The research employed a cross-sectional survey study design.
The online survey “Living with heart failure”, was conducted among patients attending the Cardiac outpatient clinic at a Swedish University Hospital over the course of a calendar year. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics using the statistical processing program SPSS.
The survey was made accessible to 1395 respondents; 479 individuals participated. The response rate was 34.3%. 73.6% were classified as non-adherent and 26.4% as adherent. Among the non-adherent, a statistically significantly higher symptom burden was observed. Lower hospitalisation frequency was associated with higher adherence and lower symptom burden. Frequent hospitalisations correlated with lower adherence and more severe symptoms.
This study underscores the prevalence of non-adherence in the heart failure population and emphasises the importance of addressing this issue.
Non-adherence to treatment regimens remains a global challenge, historically underestimated and challenging to quantify. Non-adherence to medical treatment in the heart failure population is about 50%; non-adherence from a wider perspective implicates a gap of knowledge. The principal discoveries from this study underscore the extensive non-adherence and its exacerbating effects on symptom burden and hospitalisation. The primary significance of this research will manifest among caregivers in multidisciplinary teams providing support to the heart failure population.
The Equator Guidelines Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) were adhered to.
No patient or public contribution.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a prevalent, chronic condition generating considerable global morbidity, mortality and socioeconomic burden. Despite the availability of established pharmacotherapies, overall treatment uptake remains low and effect sizes are moderate at best. Emerging evidence highlights substantial differences in treatment response between sexes and genders, yet these factors are rarely systematically considered in clinical trials or routine care. Existing reviews have limited scope and often exclude gender-diverse populations. This project aims to (1) Synthesise evidence on gender- and sex-specific efficacy, safety and adherence in AUD pharmacotherapies, (2) Evaluate the consideration of sex and gender beyond binary classifications in existing research and (3) Develop recommendations for gender- and sex-sensitive treatment strategies.
A systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted using (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, German Clinical Trials Register and ClinicalTrials.gov). We will include randomised controlled trials of pharmacotherapies for AUD with a minimum treatment duration of 4 weeks, reporting gender-specific and/or sex-specific results. The literature search will cover studies published up to October 2025, with inclusion restricted to articles published in English or German, regardless of setting. Two reviewers will independently screen records and assess risk of bias (Cochrane RoB), with evidence certainty evaluated using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation and aligned to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 and Sex and Gender Equity in Research guidelines.
Ethics approval is not required as only data from already completed studies and supplementary information directly provided by study authors are used. Findings and recommendations will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences and workshops.
CRD420251079160.
To determine the association between rates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection following home, community and work-related exposures, to assess real-world relative vaccine effectiveness, and to determine whether anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG levels were associated with the rates of subsequent infection.
Prospective cohort of 34 months’ duration (February 2021 to December 2023).
Teachers and education workers working ≥8 hours per week in the Canadian province of Ontario.
3155 education workers were eligible for the risk factor analysis; 2977 for the serological analysis.
Rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
1909 SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported (0.93 per 1000 participant-days); the highest incidence occurred during the period dominated by the Omicron BA.2 variant (2.01 per 1000 participant-days). Rates of infection were significantly higher following the repeal of the mask mandate. Compared with participants without known contact with an infected person, those in close contact with infected adult or child household members (adjusted HR (aHR) 1.43; 95% CI 1.24 to 1.65 and 1.39; 95% CI 1.17 to 1.65, respectively), coworkers (aHR 1.28; 95% CI 1.10 to 1.50), or individuals from more than one setting (aHR 1.44; 95% CI 1.27 to 1.64) had higher rates of infection. Participants with three or more doses of vaccine were 79%–87% less likely to develop SARS-CoV-2 than participants who had two or fewer vaccine doses. Blood samples with anti-RBD antibody levels in the highest quintile (≥5850 binding antibody unit/mL) were associated with a lower rate of subsequent infection (aHR 0.40; 95% CI 0.23 to 0.72) compared with samples with RBD levels below the threshold of detection.
Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in education workers occurred at home as well as the workplace, indicating the need to practise multiple intervention strategies whenever the potential for transmission of respiratory diseases is high. COVID-19 vaccines provided protection through December 2023.
The transition from hospital to home can be challenging for parents of premature infants due to a lack of education on specific care. This may lead to both higher readmission rates and healthcare costs. Telehealth interventions can improve the quality of care specific to premature and critically ill newborns. This protocol outlines the WELCOME study and evaluates its feasibility and effectiveness of this approach.
This two-centre randomised control trial (RCT) will assign 240 families with premature and critically ill newborns to an intervention or control group. The study has a parallel group design and an exploratory framework. The control group will receive standard postdischarge care. The intervention group will additionally receive scheduled video consultations, digital assessments and 24/7 access to educational resources. Primary outcomes will focus on 30-day readmission and emergency care use. Secondary outcomes will include child development and parental health. The intervention is expected to be feasible, with high acceptance and minimal drop-out. It will aim to improve parents’ self-efficacy and health literacy. If successful, insights from this multimethod telehealth study will inform standard care.
Results will be published in anonymised and summarised form in international and national journals and symposia. The study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (No. 25-0028) and was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register on 6 March 2025 (DRKS00034422).
DRKS00034422.
FreshRSS 