Food insecurity is increasing in the UK, impacting choice and diet quality. The current means-tested free school meals (FSM) policy was put in place to address dietary inequalities and food insecurity in school children. In secondary schools, approximately 20% of students who are eligible and registered do not take their FSM. Working across a range of schools that have variable levels of FSM uptake, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the current means-tested FSM policy in UK secondary schools on diet and food insecurity outcomes, understand what factors are associated with uptake and test the potential impact of any proposed policy change.

Secondary schools (n=32) in both Northern Ireland and the Midlands region of the UK are being recruited into the study. Data will be collected from school staff, governors, students and parents via questionnaires, as well as observational data of school eating environments. Qualitative data will be collected in selected case study schools (n=6–8). Multilevel modelling will be undertaken to evaluate the association between FSM uptake and fruit and vegetable intake, overall diet quality and food insecurity in all students. Economic evaluation will be conducted using a cost–utility approach. The effect of policy change will be modelled and school factors associated with FSM uptake explored using multiple methods.

Ethical approval has been obtained from Queen’s University Belfast Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Research Ethical Committee (MHLS 23_55). Findings will be disseminated to key national and local agencies, to schools through reports and presentations, and to the public through media and open access publications.

Longitudinal studies provide insights into the outcomes of medical training curriculum. However, few educational cohort studies have been conducted in Iran. This study aims first to evaluate the impact of the current curriculum on medical students' medium- and long-term academic and career outcomes and, second, to identify medical students' characteristics and how they change through the doctor of medicine programme.

This protocol outlines a multi-phase, prospective cohort study that will take place in Mashhad, Iran. The study will implement the Kirkpatrick model, investigating medical students' knowledge, skills, behaviour and professionalism development over 10 years. Approximately 1000 medical students will be recruited through peer invitations and social networks. Data will be collected through baseline and follow-up questionnaires, academic performance records and comprehensive test scores throughout the Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme.

The data from the questionnaires will be reported using a Likert scale. Quantitative data will be described using means and SD, while qualitative variables will be presented as frequencies and percentages. We will evaluate the relationship between quantitative variables using correlation coefficients and the relationship between qualitative variables via the ² or Fisher exact test. All tests will be two-sided, with a significance level set as p

All participants will complete written informed consent before data collection. All students can withdraw from the study at any time with no consequences. Results of this study will be presented at relevant conferences and will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.

IR.MUMS.REC.1400.311.

To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of integrating point-of-care ultrasound scan (POCUS) by midwives into routine antenatal care (ANC) services.

Prospective, observational, multiphase, implementation science study.

Primary outcomes included the proportion of midwives who completed training and competency checks for basic obstetric scanning using a POCUS device; the feasibility and acceptability of midwife-delivered POCUS from the perspectives of midwives and pregnant women captured on structured questionnaires; and the proportion of scans meeting predefined quality standards. Secondary outcomes included responses to acceptability-related questionnaires administered to midwives and pregnant women.

Rural, periurban and urban health centres in Blantyre District, Malawi.

Pregnant women attending ANC and midwives providing care at participating health facilities.

Obstetric registrars trained and mentored 45 midwives, and 42 (93%) completed the training. Most midwives (95%, n=40) found providing POCUS during ANC was feasible and acceptable. Overall, device durability was rated positively. Of the 1499 pregnant women who received a scan, 99% (n=1484) reported that receiving an ultrasound from a midwife during ANC was acceptable. Independent assessors determined that over 70% of the subsample of reviewed scans met minimum quality standards.

Midwife-delivered POCUS is feasible and highly acceptable in diverse antenatal settings in Malawi. These findings support task-sharing models as a means of expanding access to this essential ANC service, particularly in low-resource settings.