Conectar
To (a) seek examples of nursing caring success stories and (b) identify the common contributors to these successes. By focusing on the successes of nursing care rather than critically examining failures, this research seeks to provide examples of proven and feasible approaches and processes for improving care.
This study used a narrative inquiry design.
Data were collected through group interviews. Four interviews were conducted with a total of 20 nurse participants working in inpatient settings in South Australian hospitals. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data.
Two dominant themes concerning the contributors to caring success were identified. These contributors were (1) the provision of holistic care and (2) the influence of the caring community, which includes family members and other patients. The findings also indicated that the definition of caring success according to nurses is not aligned with organisational performance indicators but is more closely represented by caring values.
Success, according to nurses, is not exclusively defined by patient outcomes but includes the approach to, and process of, care delivery.
Nurses value the caring process while working in an environment that primarily values clinical and systems-level outcomes. Nurses want patients and their families, allied health professionals and hospital executives to be involved and invested in the process of care.
This study addressed a gap in the current literature to identify commonalities in nursing success stories, the contributors informing these successes and how these contributors can facilitate improved patient care. Understanding nursing definitions of caring success provides an opportunity to expand upon current accepted industry definitions and perspectives such as key performance indicators.
Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist.
No direct patient or public contribution.
Simulation offers a feasible modality to prepare nurses for challenges communicating with patients with dementia. Elderspeak communication is speech that sounds like baby talk and can lead to rejection of care by patients with dementia. However, it is unknown if simulation can be used to capture elderspeak communication in dementia care. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if simulation accurately captures elderspeak communication by nursing staff in hospital dementia care.
A 3-part mixed-methods design in which (1) three dementia care simulations were designed and validated by a panel of experts, (2) communication by nursing staff completing each simulation was quantitatively compared to communication during actual patient care, and (3) views on the realism were explored using within- and across-case coding.
Three simulations using different modalities (manikin, role-play, and standardised patient) were designed and validated with eight experts using the Lynn Method. Ten nursing staff were audio-recorded and their communication was coded for elderspeak communication. Results for each simulation were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test to recordings taken during actual dementia care encounters. Debriefings were coded for realism and results were converged.
The average time using elderspeak during naturalistic care was 29.9% (SD = 20.9%) which did not differ from the average amount of elderspeak used across the three simulations modalities which ranged from 29.1% to 30.4%. Qualitative results suggested a lack of realism with the manikin condition and the nursing staff indicated preference for the simulation with the standardised patient.
Communication elicited in the dementia care simulations was congruent to communication produced in actual dementia care but preference was for the standardised patient.
Elderspeak communication can be accurately produced in the simulated environment which indicates that simulation is a valid method for person-centred communication training in nursing staff.
Simulation offers a feasible modality to prepare nurses for challenges communicating with patients with dementia. Elderspeak communication is speech that sounds like baby talk and can lead to rejection of care by patients with dementia. However, it is unknown if simulation can be used to capture elderspeak communication in dementia care. Elderspeak communication captured in the simulated environment was congruent to communication nursing staff use during actual patient care to hospitalised persons living with dementia. This study empirically identifies that communication is elicited in similar patterns by nursing staff in the simulated environment compared to the naturalistic care environment which demonstrates that simulation can be used as a valid tool for education and research on person-centred communication.
STROBE.
No Patient or Public Contribution.
While there exists an ample body of research in international contexts focused on the characterization and quantification of infertility psychological distress, the level of scholarly scrutiny directed towards this phenomenon within the context of China remains scant.
To investigate the formation and developmental processes of psychological distress associated with infertility and infertility treatment among women within the Chinese cultural context and to construct a theoretical framework that elucidates this phenomenon.
Qualitative approach with grounded theory methodology.
This study was conducted within the reproductive medicine department of a tertiary-level hospital located in central China from May to August 2023. Twenty-seven women who experienced infertility and underwent assisted reproductive treatment (ART) were interviewed. The interview sessions spanned durations ranging from 20 min to 1 h and 35 min. Data analysis included open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The study is reported using the COREQ checklist.
The infertility psychological distress experienced by women undergoing ART is a socially constructed phenomenon influenced by a dynamic interplay of forces that construct and conciliate it. The formation and progression of infertility psychological distress are rooted in the process of self-construction. A Middle-Ranged Theory titled ‘self-reconstruction under the dome of infertility and infertility treatment’ (SUDIT theory) was developed to explain this phenomenon. Within this framework, infertility psychological distress manifests across three distinct phases under the gambling of the constructive force and conciliative force: (1) distress of disrupting the former self; (2) distress linked to the struggling present self; and (3) the renewed-self harmonized with distress.
It is imperative for healthcare professionals and policymakers to acknowledge the socially constructed nature of infertility psychological distress, and proactively implement measures aimed at ameliorating it.
No patient or public contribution.
by Yusuf Ari Mashuri, Vitri Widyaningsih, Alimah Premanawasti, Jaap Koot, Zinzi Pardoel, Jeanet Landsman-Dijkstra, Maarten Postma, Ari Probandari
BackgroundA high prevalence of hypertension is found in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) including in Indonesia. However, hypertension awareness, treatment, and control are relativity poor. A community-based program to screen and educate people on non-communicable disease prevention (POSBINDU) was launched by the Indonesian government. However, the association between participation in the POSBINDU program with increasing knowledge, attitude, and practice of hypertension has not been widely assessed. In this study, we compared the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among people who accessed the POSBINDU and those who did not access the POSBINDU program. Subsequently, factors associated with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among people who accessed the POSBINDU and those who did not access the POSBINDU were explored.
MethodsThis was an observational study with a cross-sectional design measuring the knowledge, attitudes, and practices for hypertension control in four districts in Indonesia from October 2019 to January 2020. A total of 1,988 respondents were included in this study. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of hypertension. Simple logistic regression was used to investigate the correlation between the characteristics of respondents and knowledge, attitudes, and practice status. Multiple logistic regression tests were conducted to investigate factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practice status.
ResultsWe found that people who accessed POSBINDU had higher odds of having better knowledge (aOR:1.4; 95%CI:1.2–1.8), however, accessed to POSBINDU was associated with lower attitudes (aOR:0.6; 85%CI: 0.5–0.7) and had no association with hypertension-related practice.
ConclusionPeople who accessed POSBINDU have an association with good knowledge, but the association with good attitude and practice was less clear. Therefore, an improvement in the POSBINDU program is needed to increase the attitudes and practices of hypertension.
To analyse whether the harmful effect of job demands on recovery can be alleviated by healthy lifestyle, psychological recovery experiences and job resources. We also describe their prevalence among employees in different types of eldercare service and in the health and social services sector in general.
Cross-sectional study.
The data were collected using a self-report survey in 2020 in the health and social services sector organizations (n = 4478). Employees were classified as the following service types: general health and social services (N = 3225), home care (N = 452), service housing (N = 550) and outpatient and ward care (N = 202). The data were analysed using percentages, cross-tabulations and logistic regression analysis.
Poor recovery, high job demands, low appreciation and low autonomy in terms of worktime and breaks were more prevalent in eldercare. Employers could alleviate the risk of high job demands by offering job resources—appreciation, autonomy in terms of worktimes and breaks—and motivating employees to maintain healthy lifestyle habits and use recovery experiences such as relaxation.
The study emphasizes the importance of appreciation in the health and social services sector context. Even with moderate levels of appreciation employers can protect employees from poor recovery from work in the demanding health and social services work environment.
Eldercare employees face continuous and accumulating work strain at the same time as the sector struggles against a labour shortage. One way to prevent the harmful consequences of strain is to enhance recovery from work.
Employers could alleviate the risk of high job demands and poor recovery by showing appreciation and giving employees more autonomy in terms of work time and breaks during the workday. This could also motivate employees to keep up healthy lifestyle habits and use their recovery experiences. Results are important especially in the daily management of HSS work.
Managers in the health and social services sector and eldercare can use these findings to promote recovery from work.
STROBE checklist.
No patient or public contribution.
Optimal selection of vascular access devices is based on multiple factors and is the first strategy to reduce vascular access device-related complications. This process is dependent on behavioural and human factors. The COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour) model was used as a theoretical framework to organize the findings of this systematic review.
To synthesize the evidence on determinants shaping the optimal selection of vascular access devices, using the COM-B behavioural model as the theoretical framework.
Systematic review of studies which explore decision-making at the time of selecting vascular access devices.
The Medline, Web of Science, Scopus and EbscoHost databases were interrogated to extract manuscripts published up to 31 December 2021, in English or Spanish.
Among 16 studies included in the review, 8/16 (50%) focused on physical capability, 8/16 (50%) psychological capability, 15/16 (94%) physical opportunity, 12/16 (75%) social opportunity, 1/16 (6%) reflective motivation and 0/16 (0%) automatic motivation. This distribution represents a large gap in terms of interpersonal and motivational influences and cultural and social environments. Specialist teams (teams created for the insertion or maintenance of vascular access devices) are core for the optimal selection of vascular access devices (75% physical capability, 62% psychological capability, 80% physical opportunity and 100% social opportunity).
Specialist teams predominantly lead all actions undertaken towards the optimal selection of vascular access devices. These actions primarily centre on assessing opportunity and capability, often overlooking motivational influences and social environments.
A more implementation-focused professional approach could decrease inequity among patients and complications associated with vascular access devices.
Optimal selection of vascular access devices is the primary strategy in mitigating complications associated with these devices. There is a significant disparity between interpersonal and motivational influences and the cultural and social environments. Furthermore, specialized teams play a pivotal role in facilitating the optimal selection of vascular access devices. The study can benefit institutions concerned about vascular access devices and their complications.
This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
No Patient or Public Contribution.
Optimal selection of vascular devices remains a growing yet unresolved issue with costly clinical and patient experience impact. Interventions to improve the optimal selection of vascular devices have focused on training, education, algorithms and implementation of specialist vascular teams; alas, these approaches do not seem to have substantially addressed the problem. Specialist vascular teams should evolve and pivot towards leading the implementation of quality improvement interventions, optimizing resource use and enhancing their role.
Populations are ageing, making the quality of old age a crucial issue. Some adversity in old age, such as loss of loved one or loss of physical function, is often experienced, as is the need for recovery from such adversity. Resilience in later life has become an important topic and has accumulated much empirical research. However, the research has mainly centred on individual factors, such as personality, rather than social factors, such as family relationships or community engagement. There is no systematic review of the social dimensions of resilience in old age, a focus that should be especially important for policy and practice seeking to create supporting environments.
Our review comprises quantitative and qualitative empirical original English language studies, published 2013–2023, using predefined search phrases including ‘resilience’ and various terms for old age and social dimensions. Titles and abstracts are screened by the first two authors using registered exclusion criteria. Final inclusion, based on full-text reading, is decided using registered inclusion criteria, and verified by co-authors. Qualitative articles are read by authors specialized in qualitative research and quantitative articles by authors specialized in quantitative research. Due to large expected heterogeneity, meta-analysis is not conducted, but weighted effect sizes or funnel plots may be prepared if parallel quantitative studies are encountered. Qualitative studies are synthesized using meta-aggregation. The risk of bias is evaluated with applicable Joanna Briggs Institute checklists for each study design. A narrative synthesis brings together the qualitative and quantitative studies.
Methodological strengths and weaknesses of the included studies are reported to assess the quality of the research. Summary of the most significant social dimensions of resilience in old age is prepared, emphasizing interactions between contexts, stressors, mechanisms and outcomes; and research gaps are identified.
Protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023412532).
Childhood obesity rates in the UK are high. The early years of childhood are critical for establishing healthy behaviours and offer interventional opportunities. We aimed to identify studies evaluating the impact of UK-based obesity interventions in early childhood.
Systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.
Nine databases were searched in March 2023. Eligibility criteria: We included UK-based obesity intervention studies delivered to children aged 6 months to 5 years that had diet and/or physical activity components and reported anthropometric outcomes. The primary outcome of interest was z-score Body Mass Index (zBMI) change (within and between subjects). Studies evaluating the effects of breastfeeding interventions were not included as obesity prevention interventions, given that best-practice formula feeding is also likely to encourage healthy growth. The publication date for studies was limited to the previous 12 years (2011–23), as earlier reviews found few evaluations of interventions in the UK.
The reviewers worked independently using standardised approach to search, screen and code the included studies. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane tools (ROB 2 or ROBINS-I).
Six trials (five studies) were identified, including two randomised controlled trials (RCT), one cluster randomised trial (CRT), two feasibility CRTs and one impact assessment. The total number of participants was 566. Three trials focused on disadvantaged families and two included high-risk children categorised as having overweight or obesity. Compared with baseline, five interventions reported reductions in zBMI, three of which were statistically significant (p
UK evidence was limited but some interventions showed promising results in promoting healthy growth. As part of a programme of policies, interventions in the early years may have an important role in reducing the risk of childhood obesity.
CRD42021290676
Lymphoedema is a chronic condition caused by lymphatic insufficiency. It leads to swelling of the limb/midline region and an increased risk of infection. Lymphoedema is often associated with mental and physical problems limiting quality of life. The first choice of treatment is a conservative treatment, consisting of exercises, skin care, lymph drainage and compression. Reconstructive lymphatic surgery is also often performed, that is, lymphovenous anastomoses, lymph node transfer or a combination. However, robust evidence on the effectiveness of reconstructive lymphatic surgery is missing. Therefore, the objective of this trial is to investigate the added value of reconstructive lymphatic surgery to the conservative treatment in patients with lymphoedema.
A multicentre randomised controlled and pragmatic trial was started in March 2022 in three Belgian university hospitals. 90 patients with arm lymphoedema and 90 patients with leg lymphoedema will be included. All patients are randomised between conservative treatment alone (control group) or conservative treatment with reconstructive lymphatic surgery (intervention group). Assessments are performed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months. The primary outcome is lymphoedema-specific quality of life at 18 months. Key secondary outcomes are limb volume and duration of wearing the compression garment at 18 months. The approach of reconstructive lymphatic surgery is based on presurgical investigations including clinical examination, lymphofluoroscopy, lymphoscintigraphy, lymph MRI or CT angiography (if needed). All patients receive conservative treatment during 36 months, which is applied by the patient’s own physical therapist and by the patient self. From months 7 to 12, the hours a day of wearing the compression garment are gradually decreased.
The study has been approved by the ethical committees of University Hospitals Leuven, Ghent University Hospital and CHU UCL Namur. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals and presentations.
The effectiveness of antibiotics for treating gonococcal infections is compromised due to escalating antibiotic resistance; and the development of an effective gonococcal vaccine has been challenging. Emerging evidence suggests that the licensed meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine, 4CMenB is effective against gonococcal infections due to cross-reacting antibodies and 95% genetic homology between the two bacteria, Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, that cause the diseases. This project aims to undertake epidemiological and genomic surveillance to evaluate the long-term protection of the 4CMenB vaccine against gonococcal infections in the Northern Territory (NT) and South Australia (SA), and to determine the potential benefit of a booster vaccine doses to provide longer-term protection against gonococcal infections.
This observational study will provide long-term evaluation results of the effectiveness of the 4CMenB vaccine against gonococcal infections at 4–7 years post 4CMenB programme implementation. Routine notifiable disease notifications will be the basis for assessing the impact of the vaccine on gonococcal infections. Pathology laboratories will provide data on the number and percentage of N. gonorrhoeae positive tests relative to all tests administered and will coordinate molecular sequencing for isolates. Genome sequencing results will be provided by SA Pathology and Territory Pathology/New South Wales Health Pathology, and linked with notification data by SA Health and NT Health. There are limitations in observational studies including the potential for confounding. Confounders will be analysed separately for each outcome/comparison.
The protocol and all study documents have been reviewed and approved by the SA Department for Health and Well-being Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/2022/HRE00308), and the evaluation will commence in the NT on receipt of approval from the NT Health and Menzies School of Health Research Human Research Ethics Committee. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific meetings and public forums.
We aimed to use a large dataset to compare self-reported and primary care measures of insomnia symptom prevalence in England and establish whether they identify participants with similar characteristics.
Cross-sectional study with linked electronic health records (EHRs).
Primary care in England.
163 748 UK Biobank participants in England (aged 38–71 at baseline) with linked primary care EHRs.
We compared the percentage of those self-reporting ‘usually’ having insomnia symptoms at UK Biobank baseline assessment (2006–2010) to those with a Read code for insomnia symptoms in their primary care records prior to baseline. We stratified prevalence in both groups by sociodemographic, lifestyle, sleep and health characteristics.
We found that 29% of the sample self-reported having insomnia symptoms, while only 6% had a Read code for insomnia symptoms in their primary care records. Only 10% of self-reported cases had an insomnia symptom Read code, while 49% of primary care cases self-reported having insomnia symptoms. In both primary care and self-reported data, prevalence of insomnia symptom cases was highest in females, older participants and those with the lowest household incomes. However, while snorers and risk takers were more likely to be a primary care case, they were less likely to self-report insomnia symptoms than non-snorers and non-risk takers.
Only a small proportion of individuals experiencing insomnia symptoms have an insomnia symptom Read code in their primary care record. However, primary care data do provide a clinically meaningful measure of insomnia prevalence. In addition, the sociodemographic characteristics of people attending primary care with insomnia were consistent with those with self-reported insomnia, thus primary care records are a valuable data source for studying risk factors for insomnia. Further studies should replicate our findings in other populations and examine ways to increase discussions about sleep health in primary care.
Exercise has been used to reverse dysglycaemic states in patients with pre-diabetes. Systematic reviews show that exercise is an effective way to reduce the incidence of diabetes, but there is conflicting evidence for reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular events. Therefore, we present a systematic review and network meta-analysis protocol designed to compare the effectiveness of different forms of exercise in reducing cardiovascular events and their tolerability in different populations.
We will include all randomised controlled trials and compare one exercise intervention to another. We will compare the following exercise patterns: standard endurance training, strength training, high-intensity interval training, mind-body exercise, and mixed strength and aerobic training. The primary outcomes are the occurrence of major cardiovascular events and the rate of patient attrition during the intervention. We will search major English and Chinese databases as well as trial registry websites for published and unpublished studies. All reference selection and data extraction will be conducted by at least two independent reviewers. We will conduct a random effects model to combine effect sizes and use the surface under the cumulative ranking curve and the mean ranks to rank the effectiveness of interventions. All data will be fitted at WinBUGS in a Bayesian framework and correlation graphs will be plotted using StataSE 14. We will also use the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework to evaluate the quality of evidence for the study results.
This study does not involve a population-based intervention, and therefore, does not require ethical approval. We will publish the findings of this systematic review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and the dataset will be made available free of charge. The completed review will be disseminated electronically in print and on social media, where appropriate.
CRD42023422737.
Person-centred care (PCC) is provision of care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensures that patient values guide all clinical decisions. While there is a large body of evidence on the benefits of PCC in high-income countries, little research exists on PCC in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa at large. Most studies on PCC have focused on maternity care as part of the global movement of respectful maternity care. The few studies on patient experiences and health system responsiveness beyond maternal health also highlight gaps in patient experience and satisfaction as well as discrimination in health facilities, which leads to the most vulnerable having the poorest experiences. The protocol for this scoping review aims to systematically map the extent of literature focused on PCC in Ghana by identifying patient expectations and preferences, barriers and facilitators, and interventions.
The protocol will be guided by the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework and recommendations by Levac et al. A comprehensive search strategy will be used to search for published articles in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and the African Journals Online from their inception to August 2022. Grey literature and reference lists of included studies will also be searched. Two independent reviewers will perform the literature search, eligibility assessments and study selection. Any disagreements will be resolved through discussion with a third reviewer. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram for the scoping reviews will be used to outline the study selection process. Extracted data from the included articles will be synthesised and reported under key concepts derived from the outcomes of the scoping review.
This scoping review does not require ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated through publications and conference presentations.
OSF Registration DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/ZMDH9.
Decisions about nurse staffing models are a concern for health systems globally due to workforce retention and well-being challenges. Nurse staffing models range from all Registered Nurse workforce to a mix of differentially educated nurses and aides (regulated and unregulated), such as Licensed Practical or Vocational Nurses and Health Care Aides. Systematic reviews have examined relationships between specific nurse staffing models and client, staff and health system outcomes (eg, mortality, adverse events, retention, healthcare costs), with inconclusive or contradictory results. No evidence has been synthesised and consolidated on how, why and under what contexts certain staffing models produce different outcomes. We aim to describe how we will (1) conduct a realist review to determine how nurse staffing models produce different client, staff and health system outcomes, in which contexts and through what mechanisms and (2) coproduce recommendations with decision-makers to guide future research and implementation of nurse staffing models.
Using an integrated knowledge translation approach with researchers and decision-makers as partners, we are conducting a three-phase realist review. In this protocol, we report on the final two phases of this realist review. We will use Citation tracking, tracing Lead authors, identifying Unpublished materials, Google Scholar searching, Theory tracking, ancestry searching for Early examples, and follow-up of Related projects (CLUSTER) searching, specifically designed for realist searches as the review progresses. We will search empirical evidence to test identified programme theories and engage stakeholders to contextualise findings, finalise programme theories document our search processes as per established realist review methods.
Ethical approval for this study was provided by the Health Research Ethics Board of the University of Alberta (Study ID Pro00100425). We will disseminate the findings through peer-reviewed publications, national and international conference presentations, regional briefing sessions, webinars and lay summary.
By implementation of Enhanced Recovery After Bariatric Surgery protocols and day-care surgery, early discharge poses a challenge if excessive bleeding occurs after bariatric surgery. Tranexamic acid (TXA) has demonstrated efficacy in other surgical fields and in bariatric pilot studies. This trial aims to assess the efficacy of peroperative administration of TXA in reducing haemorrhage in patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery.
This is a multicentre, phase III, double-blind randomised controlled trial in six high-volume bariatric centres in the Netherlands. A total of 1524 eligible patients, aged 18 years or older, undergoing primary gastric bypass surgery (either Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or one-anastomosis gastric bypass) will be randomised between TXA and placebo (1:1, variable block, stratified for centre, day-care/overnight stay and type of surgery) after obtaining informed consent (2.5% less haemorrhage, power 80%, 2-sided-α 0.05 and 10% dropout). Exclusion criteria are pregnancy, amedical history of acute bleeding (without cause), venous thrombotic events (VTEs), epilepsy, anticoagulant use and iatrogenic bleeding during surgery (aside from staple line). The primary outcome is postoperative haemorrhage requiring intervention within 30 days postoperatively. Secondary outcome measures are staple line reinforcement, blood loss, duration of surgery, postoperative haemoglobin, vital parameters, minor and major complications, side effects of TXA (nausea, hypotension and VTE), length of hospital stay and directly made costs.
Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. The protocol has been approved by the Medical Research Ethics Committees United, Nieuwegein, on 7 February 2023 (registration number: R22.102). Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conferences.
The objective of this study was to investigate associations between knowledge of health issues and healthcare satisfaction and propensity to complain including the association between knowledge and greater patient involvement.
The present study is a secondary analysis of a larger cross-sectional case vignette survey.
Survey conducted in adult Danish men.
Participants included 6755 men aged 45–70 years.
Participants responded to a survey with scenarios illustrating prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and different information provision.
Using Likert scales (scored 1–5), participants rated their satisfaction with the care described and their inclination to complain and responded to a short quiz (scored 0–3) assessing their knowledge about the PSA test.
Satisfaction with healthcare increased with better quiz performance (Likert difference 0.13 (95% CI .07 to 0.20), p
Mens’ knowledge of the benefits of screening varies with education, predicts satisfaction with care and the desire to complain, and may be improved through greater involvement in decision-making.
The term primary progressive aphasia (PPA) describes a group of language-led dementias. Disease-modifying treatments that delay, slow or reverse progression of PPA are currently lacking, though a number of interventions to manage the symptoms of PPA have been developed in recent years. Unfortunately, studies exploring the effectiveness of these interventions have used a variety of different outcome measures, limiting comparability. There are more constructs, apart from word retrieval, that are important for people with PPA that have not received much attention in the research literature. Existing core outcome sets (COS) for dementia and non-progressive aphasia do not meet the needs of people with PPA, highlighting a need to develop a specific COS for PPA.
This protocol describes a three-stage study to identify a COS for PPA interventions in research and clinical practice. The stage 1 systematic review will identify existing speech, language and communication measures used to examine the effectiveness of interventions for PPA in the research literature. Employing a nominal group technique, stage 2 will identify the most important outcomes for people with PPA and their families. The data collected in stages 1 and 2 will be jointly analysed with the project PPI group and will inform the stage 2 modified Delphi consensus study to identify a core outcome measurement set for PPA among a range of research disciplines undertaking intervention studies for people with PPA.
Ethical approval for stage 2 of the study has been sought individually in each country at collaborating institutions and is stated in detail in the manuscript. Stage 3 has been granted ethical approval by the Chairs of UCL Language and Cognition Department Ethics, Project ID LCD-2023-06. Work undertaken at stages 1, 2 and 3 will be published in open-access peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at international scientific conferences.
CRD42022367565.
Bacterial infection and Modic changes (MCs) as causes of low back pain (LBP) are debated. Results diverged between two randomised controlled trials examining the effect of amoxicillin with and without clavulanic acid versus placebo on patients with chronic LBP (cLBP) and MCs. Previous biopsy studies have been criticised with regard to methods, few patients and controls, and insufficient measures to minimise perioperative contamination. In this study, we minimise contamination risk, include a control group and optimise statistical power. The main aim is to compare bacterial growth between patients with and without MCs.
This multicentre, case–control study examines disc and vertebral body biopsies of patients with cLBP. Cases have MCs at the level of tissue sampling, controls do not. Previously operated patients are included as a subgroup. Tissue is sampled before antibiotic prophylaxis with separate instruments. We will apply microbiological methods and histology on biopsies, and predefine criteria for significant bacterial growth, possible contamination and no growth. Microbiologists, surgeons and pathologist are blinded to allocation of case or control. Primary analysis assesses significant growth in MC1 versus controls and MC2 versus controls separately. Bacterial disc growth in previously operated patients, patients with large MCs and growth from the vertebral body in the fusion group are all considered exploratory analyses.
The Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics in Norway (REC South East, reference number 2015/697) has approved the study. Study participation requires written informed consent. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03406624). Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences and patient fora.
Fatigue is an important and distressing symptom for many people living with chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. Many non-pharmacological interventions have been investigated in recent years and some have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing fatigue and fatigue impact, however, there is limited guidance for clinicians to follow regarding the most appropriate management options. The objective of this scoping review is to understand and map the extent of evidence in relation to the factors that relate to the outcome of non-pharmacological interventions on MSK condition-related fatigue across the lifespan.
This scoping review will include evidence relating to people of all ages living with chronic MSK conditions who have been offered a non-pharmacological intervention with either the intention or effect of reducing fatigue and its impact. Databases including AMED, PsycINFO, CINAHLPlus, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus will be searched for peer-reviewed primary research studies published after 1 January 2007 in English language. These findings will be used to identify factors associated with successful interventions and to map gaps in knowledge.
Ethical approval was not required for this review. Findings will be disseminated by journal publications, conference presentations and by communicating with relevant healthcare and charity organisations.
FreshRSS 