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Measurement properties of the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) validation studies: a systematic review protocol

Por: ElKhalil · R. · AlMekkawi · M. · O'Connor · M. · Sherif · M. · Masuadi · E. · Ahmed · L. A. · Al-Rifai · R. H. · Belfakir · M. · Bayoumi · R. · Elbarazi · I.
Introduction

Mental Health Literacy (MHL) is important for improving mental health and reducing inequities in treatment. The Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) is a valid and reliable assessment tool for MHL. This systematic review will examine and compare the measurement properties of the MHLS in different languages, enabling academics, clinicians and policymakers to make informed judgements regarding its use in assessments.

Methods and analysis

The review will adhere to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology for systematic reviews of patient-reported outcome measures and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Manual for Evidence Synthesis and will be presented following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis 2020 checklist. The review will be conducted in four stages, including an initial search confined to PubMed, a search of electronic scientific databases PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase (Elsevier), PubMed (NLM) and ERIC, an examination of the reference lists of all papers to locate relevant publications and finally contacting the MHLS original author to identify validation studies that the searches will not retrieve. These phases will assist us in locating studies that evaluate the measurement properties of MHLS across various populations, demographics and contexts. The search will focus on articles published in English between May 2015 and December 2023. The methodological quality of the studies will be evaluated using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist, and a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data synthesis will be performed.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval is not required. The publication will be in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42023430924.

Protocol for the process evaluation of an intervention to improve antenatal smoking cessation support (MOHMQuit) in maternity services in New South Wales, Australia

Por: Longman · J. · Paul · C. · Cashmore · A. · Twyman · L. · Barnes · L. A. J. · Adams · C. · Bonevski · B. · Milat · A. · Passey · M. E.
Introduction

Smoking cessation in pregnancy remains a public health priority. Our team used the Behaviour Change Wheel to develop the Midwives and Obstetricians Helping Mothers to Quit smoking (MOHMQuit) intervention with health system, leader (including managers and educators) and clinician components. MOHMQuit addresses a critical evidence to practice gap in the provision of smoking cessation support in antenatal care. It involves nine maternity services in New South Wales in a cluster randomised stepped-wedge controlled trial of effectiveness. This paper describes the design and rationale for the process evaluation of MOHMQuit. The process evaluation aims to assess to what extent and how MOHMQuit is being implemented (acceptability; adoption/uptake; appropriateness; feasibility; fidelity; penetration and sustainability), and the context in which it is implemented, in order to support further refinement of MOHMQuit throughout the trial, and aid understanding and interpretation of the results of the trial.

Methods and analysis

The process evaluation is an integral part of the stepped-wedge trial. Its design is underpinned by implementation science frameworks and adopts a mixed methods approach. Quantitative evidence from participating leaders and clinicians in our study will be used to produce individual and site-level descriptive statistics. Qualitative evidence of leaders’ perceptions about the implementation will be collected using semistructured interviews and will be analysed descriptively within-site and thematically across the dataset. The process evaluation will also use publicly available data and observations from the research team implementing MOHMQuit, for example, training logs. These data will be synthesised to provide site-level as well as individual-level implementation outcomes.

Ethics and dissemination

The study received ethical approval from the Population Health Services Research Ethics Committee for NSW, Australia (Reference 2021/ETH00887). Results will be communicated via the study’s steering committee and will also be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences.

Trial registration number

Australian New Zealand Trials Registry ACTRN12622000167763. https://www.australianclinicaltrials.gov.au/anzctr/trial/ACTRN12622000167763.

Investigating patient engagement associations between a postdischarge texting programme and patient experience, readmission and revisit rates outcomes

Por: Bruce · C. · Pinn-Kirkland · T. · Meyers · A. · Javaluyas · E. · Osborn · J. · Kelkar · S. · Bruchhaus · L. · McLaury · K. · Sauceda · K. · Carr · K. · Garcia · C. · Arabie · L. A. · Williams · T. · Vozzella · G. · Nisar · T. · Schwartz · R. L. · Sasangohar · F.
Objectives

This study aimed (1) to examine the association between patient engagement with a bidirectional, semiautomated postdischarge texting programme and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey outcomes, readmissions and revisit rates in a large health system and (2) to describe operational and clinical flow considerations for implementing a postdischarge texting programme.

Setting

The study involved 1 main academic hospital (beds: 2500+) and 6 community hospitals (beds: 190–400, averaging 300 beds per hospital) in Houston, Texas.

Methods

Retrospective, observational cohort study between non-engaged patients (responded with 0–2 incoming text messages) and engaged patients (responded with 3+ incoming, patient-initiated text messages) between December 2022 and May 2023. We used the two-tailed t-test for continuous variables and 2 test for categorical variables to compare the baseline characteristics between the two cohorts. For the binary outcomes, such as the revisit (1=yes, vs 0=no) and readmissions (1=yes vs 0=no), we constructed mixed effect logistic regression models with the random effects to account for repeated measurements from the hospitals. For the continuous outcome, such as the case mix index (CMI), a generalised linear quantile mixed effect model was built. All tests for significance were two tailed, using an alpha level of 0.05, and 95% CIs were provided. Significance tests were performed to evaluate the CMI and readmissions and revisit rates.

Results

From 78 883 patients who were contacted over the course of this pilot implementation, 49 222 (62.4%) responded, with 39 442 (50%) responded with 3+ incoming text messages. The engaged cohort had higher HCAHPS scores in all domains compared with the non-engaged cohort. The engaged cohort used significantly fewer 30-day acute care resources, experiencing 29% fewer overall readmissions and 20% fewer revisit rates (23% less likely to revisit) and were 27% less likely to be readmitted. The results were statistically significant for all but two hospitals.

Conclusions

This study builds on the few postdischarge texting studies, and also builds on the patient engagement literature, finding that patient engagement with postdischarge texting can be associated with fewer acute care resources. To our knowledge, this is the only study that documented an association between a text-based postdischarge programme and HCAHPS scores, perhaps owing to the bidirectionality and ease with which patients could interact with nurses. Future research should explore the texting paradigms to evaluate their associated outcomes in a variety of postdischarge applications.

Prevalence and determinants of pregnancy termination in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Por: Kumsa · H. · Mislu · E. K. · Arage · M. W. · Kidie · A. A. · Hailu · T. · Tenaw · L. A.
Objective

This review aims to determine the prevalence of pregnancy termination and its determinant factors in Ethiopia.

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data sources

Relevant articles were retrieved from databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, Medline and other search engines.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies

The research design for this study had no restrictions, allowing for the inclusion of cross-sectional and case–control studies that examined the prevalence or determinants of pregnancy termination. However, case reports, case series, reviews, editorials and studies published as abstracts only were excluded from the analysis.

Data extraction and synthesis

The review was precisely in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria, and the quality of the review was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist. Heterogeneity was indicated by the p value for I2 statistics less than 0.05. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel, and the analysis was conducted by using Stata V.16.

Results

The pooled prevalence of pregnancy termination in Ethiopia was 21.52% (95% CI 15.01% to 28.03%). Women who had their first sexual initiation before the age of 18 (OR 1.78; 95% CI 1.13 to 2.82, p=0.14), had irregular menstrual bleeding (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.25 to 2.77, p=0.76), being a student (OR 4.85; 95% CI 1.98 to 11.91, p=0.20) and had multiple sexual partners (OR 4.88; 95% CI 3.43 to 6.93, p=0.33) were significantly associated with pregnancy termination.

Conclusions

One in five women terminated their pregnancies, which is higher than in other sub-Saharan countries. Being a student, irregular menstrual bleeding, early initiation of sexual intercourse and multiple sexual partners were determinants of pregnancy termination. Special attention is needed in avoiding early sexual initiation and in reducing sexual risk behaviours.

What do spouse primary caregivers of patients with glioblastoma want medical providers to know? A qualitative thematic reflexive analysis of letters written by primary caregivers from a secret Facebook support group

Por: Coman · D. L. · Chard · M. P. · Desautels · L. · Lutz · B. J. · Minns · L. A.
Objectives

To analyse the content of letters written by female spouse primary caregivers of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a devastating and terminal primary brain cancer, and give voice to their experiences for medical providers of patients with GBM.

Design

A qualitative study using reflexive thematic analysis of letters written by female spouses/life partners and primary caregivers of patients with GBM.

Participants

101 current or former female spouse primary caregivers of patients with GBM wrote letters to share with the medical community between July 2019 and August 2019. Inclusion criteria: (1) the primary caregiver who is a spouse of a patient with glioblastoma, (2) be a member of the secret Facebook group, ‘We are the wives of GBM and this is our story’, and (3) completed informed consent for the contents of their letter to be included for primary and secondary data analysis. Participants who wrote letters but did not complete the informed consent were excluded from the study.

Results

Themes from the letters included the patient experiences: (1) medical details of the disease trajectory, (2) interactions of the patient/caregiver dyads with healthcare and (3) the changing patient condition over time. Themes focused on the caregiver experiences: (1) caregiver challenges, (2) caregiver responses and (3) caregiver coping strategies, and description of tangible needs that would help other caregivers in the future. Caregiver needs were highest during the living with disease progression phase. Caregivers wanted more education and to be valued as members of the care team.

Conclusion

Shared decision-making through family-centred care would be beneficial for primary caregivers of patients with GBM. These findings provide opportunities to guide more timely and tailored interventions to provide support and improve care for patient/caregiver dyads to help mitigate the burden of this progressive disease and improve quality of life for caregivers.

The Tuberculosis Sentinel Research Network (TB-SRN) of the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA): protocol for a prospective cohort study in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America

Por: Enane · L. A. · Duda · S. N. · Chanyachukul · T. · Bolton-Moore · C. · Navuluri · N. · Messou · E. · Mbonze · N. · McDade · L. R. · Figueiredo · M. C. · Ross · J. · Evans · D. · Diero · L. · Akpata · R. · Zotova · N. · Freeman · A. · Pierre · M. F. · Rupasinghe · D. · Ballif · M. · Byakwag
Introduction

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading infectious cause of death globally. It is the most common opportunistic infection in people living with HIV, and the most common cause of their morbidity and mortality. Following TB treatment, surviving individuals may be at risk for post-TB lung disease. The TB Sentinel Research Network (TB-SRN) provides a platform for coordinated observational TB research within the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) consortium.

Methods and analysis

This prospective, observational cohort study will assess treatment and post-treatment outcomes of pulmonary TB (microbiologically confirmed or clinically diagnosed) among 2600 people aged ≥15 years, with and without HIV coinfection, consecutively enrolled at 16 sites in 11 countries, across 6 of IeDEA’s global regions. Data regarding clinical and sociodemographic factors, mental health, health-related quality of life, pulmonary function, and laboratory and radiographic findings will be collected using standardised questionnaires and data collection tools, beginning from the initiation of TB treatment and through 12 months after the end of treatment. Data will be aggregated for proposed analyses.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval was obtained at all implementing study sites, including the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Human Research Protections Programme. Participants will provide informed consent; for minors, this includes both adolescent assent and the consent of their parent or primary caregiver. Protections for vulnerable groups are included, in alignment with local standards and considerations at sites. Procedures for requesting use and analysis of TB-SRN data are publicly available. Findings from TB-SRN analyses will be shared with national TB programmes to inform TB programming and policy, and disseminated at regional and global conferences and other venues.

A qualitative longitudinal study of traumatic orthopaedic injury survivors experiences with pain and the long-term recovery trajectory

Por: Finstad · J. · Roise · O. · Clausen · T. · Rosseland · L. A. · Havnes · I. A.
Objectives

To explore trauma patients’ experiences of the long-term recovery pathway during 18 months following hospital discharge.

Design

Longitudinal qualitative study.

Setting and participants

Thirteen trauma patients with injuries associated with pain that had been interviewed 6 weeks after discharge from Oslo University Hospital in Norway, were followed up with an interview 18 months postdischarge.

Method

The illness trajectory framework informed the data collection, with semistructured, in-depth interviews that were analysed thematically.

Results

Compared with the subacute phase 6 weeks postdischarge, several participants reported exacerbated mental and physical health, including increased pain during 18 months following discharge. This, andalternating periods of deteriorated health status during recovery, made the pathway unpredictable. At 18 months post-discharge, participants were coping with experiences of reduced mental and physical health and socioeconomic losses. Three main themes were identified: (1) coping with persistent pain and reduced physical function, (2) experiencing mental distress without access to mental healthcare and (3) unmet needs for follow-up care. Moreover, at 18 months postdischarge, prescribed opioids were found to be easily accessible from GPs. In addition to relieving chronic pain, motivations to use opioids were to induce sleep, reduce withdrawal symptoms and relieve mental distress.

Conclusions and implications

The patients’ experiences from this study establish knowledge of several challenges in the trauma population’s recovery trajectories, which may imply that subacute health status is a poor predictor of long-term outcomes. Throughout recovery, the participants struggled with physical and mental health needs without being met by the healthcare system. Therefore, it is necessary to provide long-term follow-up of trauma patients’ health status in the specialist health service based on individual needs. Additionally, to prevent long-term opioid use beyond the subacute phase, there is a need to systematically follow-up and reassess motivations and indications for continued use throughout the recovery pathway.

Magnitude and associated factors of cutaneous leishmaniasis among patients visiting Nefas Mewcha primary hospital, Northern Ethiopia, 2022: An institution-based Cross-sectional study

Por: Bantie · B. · Kassaw · G. · Demelash · A. T. · Abate · M. W. · Nigat · A. B. · Amare · A. T. · Birlie · T. A. · Tasew · S. F. · Zeleke · S. · Kassie · A. · Tantigegn · S. · Ambaw · L. A. · Muhamed · A. N. · Melese · B. D.
Background

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common neglected tropical disease, causing stigmatised skin lesions. It is an important public health concern, with 95% of cases occurring in low-income and middle-income countries. Despite its long-recognized endemicity and psychosocial impacts, it is largely overlooked.

Objective

The main aim of this study is to investigate the magnitude and associated factors of CL in north-central Ethiopia.

Design

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted.

Setting

The study was conducted in Nefas Mewcha Primary Hospital (NMPH), north-central Ethiopia.

Participants

The study was conducted among 332 individuals visiting NMPH from June to July 2022.

Primary and secondary outcomes

The primary outcome was to estimate the burden of CL among patients visiting NMPH, and the secondary outcome was to identify factors associated with the presence or absence of CL. The association between predictor variables and CL was assessed using a binary logistic regression model. Statistical significance was declared at a p _value of

Result

Out of the 332 study participants, 63 patients sought medical care with skin lesions, and 61 (18.37%, 95% CI: 14.5% to 22.9%) were patients with CL. Localized CL was the predominant type (86.9%). Male sex (adjusted OR (AOR): 4.51; 95% CI 1.94 to 10.45), older age (AOR 0.91, 95% CI: 0.87 to 0.94), secondary and tertiary educational status (AOR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.6), poor knowledge of CL (AOR: 4.02, 95% CI: 1.81 to 9.76) and living with domestic animals (AOR: 5.29, 95% CI 3.24 to 7.5) were identified as predictors of CL.

Conclusion

In the study area, the magnitude of CL was found to be high. Being male and young, having low educational status, having poor knowledge and living with domestic animals increase the risk of acquiring CL. As a result, increasing the knowledge of the community through scaling up of health education programmes and reducing activities that increase individuals’ exposure to sandflies should be prioritised.

Understanding the uptake of virtual care for first and return outpatient appointments in child and adolescent mental health services: a mixed-methods study

Por: Campbell · L. A. · Clark · S. E. · Chorney · J. · Emberly · D. · Carrey · N. · Bagnell · A. · Blenus · J. · Daneff · M. · Campbell · J. C.
Objective

To describe patterns of virtual and in-person outpatient mental health service use and factors that may influence the choice of modality in a child and adolescent service.

Design

A pragmatic mixed-methods approach using routinely collected administrative data between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022 and semi-structured interviews with clients, caregivers, clinicians and staff. Interview data were coded according to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and examined for patterns of similarity or divergence across data sources, respondents or other relevant characteristics.

Setting

Child and adolescent outpatient mental health service, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Participants

IWK Health clinicians and staff who had participated in virtual mental healthcare following its implementation in March 2020 and clients (aged 12–18 years) and caregivers of clients (aged 3–18 years) who had received treatment from an IWK outpatient clinic between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022 (n=1300). Participants (n=48) in semi-structured interviews included nine clients aged 13–18 years (mean 15.7 years), 10 caregivers of clients aged 5–17 years (mean 12.7 years), eight Community Mental Health and Addictions booking and registration or administrative staff and 21 clinicians.

Results

During peak pandemic activity, upwards of 90% of visits (first or return) were conducted virtually. Between waves, return appointments were more likely to be virtual than first appointments. Interview participants (n=48) reported facilitators and barriers to virtual care within the CFIR domains of ‘outer setting’ (eg, external policies, client needs and resources), ‘inner setting’ (eg, communications within the service), ‘individual characteristics’ (eg, personal attributes, knowledge and beliefs about virtual care) and ‘intervention characteristics’ (eg, relative advantage of virtual or in-person care).

Conclusions

Shared decision-making regarding treatment modality (virtual vs in-person) requires consideration of client, caregiver, clinician, appointment, health system and public health factors across episodes of care to ensure accessible, safe and high-quality mental healthcare.

Evaluation of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy and minimal intervention associated with deproteinisation in permanent teeth with molar incisor hypomineralisation: study protocol for a clinical, controlled, blinded trial

Por: Mandetta · A. R. H. · Bortoletto · C. C. · Sobral · A. P. T. · Goncalves · M. L. L. · Motta · L. J. · Horliana · A. C. R. T. · Ferrari · R. A. M. · Prates · R. A. · Deana · A. M. · Cordeiro · R. d. C. L. · Pinto · L. A. M. d. S. · Fernandes · K. P. S. · Bussadori · S. K.
Introduction

Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a qualitative defect of enamel development that occurs in the mineralisation phase. MIH affects one or more permanent molars and, occasionally, permanent incisors. The aim of the proposed study is to evaluate the clinical effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) on permanent teeth with MIH through decontamination and sensitivity control.

Methods and analysis

Patients from 8 to 12 years of age with permanent molars will be randomly allocated to three groups. Group 1: selective chemical–mechanical removal of carious dentinal tissue around the walls of the cavity with Papacárie Duo and a curette followed by the application of aPDT and deproteinisation with Papacárie Duo; group 2: selective removal of carious dentinal tissue around the walls of the cavity with a curette, followed by the application of aPDT and deproteinisation with a 5% sodium hypochlorite solution; group 3: selective removal of carious dentinal tissue using a curette. The selected teeth must have a carious lesion in the dentin and posteruptive enamel breakdown on one or more surfaces with an indication for clinical restorative treatment. The teeth will subsequently be restored using a mixed technique with resin-modified glass ionomer cement and bulk-fill composite resin. The data will be submitted to descriptive statistical analysis. Associations with age and sex will be tested using either the 2 test or Fisher’s exact test. Pearson’s correlation coefficients will be calculated to determine the strength of correlations between variables. Comparisons of the microbiological results (colony-forming units) will be performed using analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis will be performed to assess the performance of the restorations.

Ethics and dissemination

This protocol has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of Nove de Julho University (certificate number: 61027522.0.0000.5511/approval date: 23 August 2022). The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Trial registration number

NCT05443035.

Attitude towards medication deprescribing among older patients attending the geriatric centre: a cross-sectional survey in Southwest Nigeria

Por: Akande-Sholabi · W. · Ajilore · C. O. · Adebusoye · L. A. · Fakeye · T. O.
Objectives

This study set out to assess older people’s perception of their medications, attitude towards medication use and their willingness to have medications deprescribed in a geriatric centre in Southwestern Nigeria.

Design and setting

A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Chief Tony Anenih Geriatric Centre, University of Ibadan, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire used was a revised version of the Patient’s Attitude Towards Deprescribing Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, and multivariate and bivariate analyses were performed using SPSS V.23. Statistical significance was set at p

Participants

415 older patients aged ≥60 years who attended the geriatric centre in University College Hospital Ibadan between April and July 2022.

Main outcome measure

The primary outcome was the willingness of the older person to deprescribe if recommended by the physician.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 69.6±6.4 years, and 252 (60.7%) were female. Overall, the willingness and positive attitude to medication deprescribing among respondents were 60.5% and 89.7%, respectively. Factors significantly associated with willingness to deprescribe were financial self-support (p=0.021), having no previous hospital admission (p=0.009), better-perceived quality of health relative to peers (p

Conclusion

Participants demonstrated greater willingness to deprescribe if the physicians recommended it. Predictive factors that may influence willingness to deprescribe were direct involvement with medications, appropriateness of medication and concerns about stopping medications.

Six month incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events among adults with HIV in northern Tanzania: a prospective observational study

Por: Stark · K. · O'Leary · P. R. E. · Sakita · F. M. · Ford · J. S. · Mmbaga · B. T. · Blass · B. · Gedion · K. · Coaxum · L. A. · Rutta · A. · Galson · S. W. · Rugakingira · A. · Manavalan · P. · Bloomfield · G. S. · Hertz · J. T.
Objectives

We aimed to prospectively describe incident cardiovascular events among people living with HIV (PLWH) in northern Tanzania. Secondary aims of this study were to understand non-communicable disease care-seeking behaviour and patient preferences for cardiovascular care and education.

Design

A prospective observational study.

Setting

This study was conducted at the Majengo HIV Care and Treatment Clinic, an outpatient government-funded clinic in Moshi, Tanzania

Participants

Adult patients presenting to an HIV clinic for routine care in northern Tanzania were enrolled from 1 September 2020 to 1 March 2021.

Interventions

At enrolment, participants completed a survey and a resting 12-lead ECG was obtained. At 6 month follow-up, a repeat survey regarding interim health events and repeat ECG was obtained.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Interim major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were defined by: self-reported interim stroke, self-reported hospitalisation for heart failure, self-reported interim myocardial infarction, interim myocardial infarction by ECG criteria (new pathologic Q waves in two contiguous leads) or death due to cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Results

Of 500 enrolled participants, 477 (95.4%) completed 6 month follow-up and 3 (0.6%) died. Over the 6 month follow-up period, 11 MACE occurred (3 strokes, 6 myocardial infarctions, 1 heart failure hospitalisation and 1 cardiovascular death), resulting in an incidence rate of 4.58 MACE per 100 person-years. Of participants completing 6 month follow-up, 31 (6.5%) reported a new non-communicable disease diagnosis, including 23 (4.8%) with a new hypertension diagnosis.

Conclusions

The incidence of MACE among PLWH in Tanzania is high. These findings are an important preliminary step in understanding the landscape of CVD among PLWH in Tanzania and highlight the need for interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk in this population.

Experience of an NIHR Clinical Lectureship (medical/dental) and the determining factors for a clinical academic career post lectureship: a mixed-method evaluation

Por: Stevenson · C. J. · Harris-Joseph · H. · Harper · L. · Hewison · J. · Mulvey · M. R. · Heuvelman · H. · McVicker · C. · Razalan · M. M. · Knowles · E. · Ebanks · B. · Lee · K. · Fenton · J. · Thompson · P. · Cotterill · L. A.
Objectives

The objective of this study is to investigate early-to-late postdoctoral clinical academic progression and the experiences of NIHR Clinical Lectureship (CL) fellows, considering enablers and barriers to success, and identifying the factors associated with immediate progression to a clinical academic role following completion of the award.

Setting

Datasets of CL awardees across the UK.

Participants

For semistructured interviews, n=40 CL awardees that had finished their award within the previous 5 years. For quantitative analysis, n=1226 completed or currently active CL awardees.

Outcome measures

The responses from the semistructured interviews to the defined questions on experiences during the award, postaward progression, and enablers and barriers to academic progression. Other primary outcome measures were quantitative data on first destinations postaward, demographic data, and whether an awardee had previously held an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) or was a recipient of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) Starter Grant.

Results

CL awardees identified numerous benefits to the award, with the majority achieving their aims. Most awardees progressed to a clinical academic role; however, some returned to a clinical only position, citing concerns around the time pressure associated with balancing clinical and academic responsibilities, and the competition to attain further postdoctoral awards. The region of the award partnership, year of award end and success in applying for an AMS Starter Grant were associated with progression to a clinical academic role. Gender, holding an ACF and having a craft or non-craft specialty had no independent statistical association with clinical academic progression.

Conclusions

The CL is a valued element of the Integrated Academic Pathway. By addressing issues around later postdoctoral progression opportunities, responding to challenges experienced by CLs, and by understanding the factors identified in this study associated with clinical academic progression, it should be possible to increase the proportion of CLs that become fully independent clinical academic research leaders.

Participants

1226 NIHR CLs active or completed on the award between 2006 and 2020.

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