Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for dystonia is effective but programming optimisation can take months. Local field potentials (LFPs) recorded by the Medtronic Percept device may provide biomarkers to guide stimulation. This study will prospectively evaluate whether chronic LFP profiles correlate with clinical outcomes and can inform DBS programming strategies.

LFP-DYT is a single-centre, multi-phase observational study at Newcastle upon Tyne National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust. An internal pilot (Cohort 1) will refine recording workflows, followed by Cohort 2 (traditional programming with LFP recordings) and Cohort 3 (LFP-informed programming). 20–25 adults with primary dystonia undergoing globus pallidus internus DBS will be recruited. The study combines chronic LFP sensing with neurophysiology (electromyography, electroencephalography), motor inhibition testing (stop-signal reaction time), patient-reported outcomes and wearable sensor monitoring (STAT-ON) to provide a comprehensive multi-modal assessment framework. Primary outcome: reproducibility of alpha–theta frequency LFP peaks and concordance with optimal stimulation site. Secondary outcomes include stimulation and medication effects on LFP profiles, clinical improvement (Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale-2 (TWSTRS-2), Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS)) and beta-band activity as a marker of stimulation-related bradykinesia. Analyses will be descriptive and exploratory. Feasibility outcomes, including recruitment rates, retention and data completeness, will inform design and power calculations for future multi-centre trials.

The study has NHS Research Ethics Committee approval from the East Midlands—Derby Research Ethics Committee (REC reference: 24/EM/0246; IRAS ID: 337426). All participants will provide informed consent. Data will be pseudonymised and stored on secure NHS servers. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, conferences and participant summaries. De-identified data and analysis code will be available on reasonable request.

NCT07309133.

Burn injuries constitute a significant health concern, requiring immediate first aid to mitigate further tissue damage and complications. Most countries worldwide recommend application of 20 min of cool running water (20CRW) within 3 hours of the burn as the cornerstone in burn first aid management. Despite its widespread acceptance and proven benefits in reducing the severity of burns and subsequent interventions, concerns regarding the risk of hypothermia following this intervention persist, representing at least a perceived barrier to the delivery of 20CRW. When it does occur, hypothermia in patients with burns has been associated with higher mortality rates, even after controlling for burn injury severity. Developing an understanding of the incidence of post-burn hypothermia following 20CRW, with a specific focus on potential predictive and/or causative factors, is quintessential.

A retrospective cohort study of all adult and paediatric patients with thermal burn injuries presenting to one of 11 participating Australian or New Zealand hospitals between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 will be conducted. The primary outcome is the incidence of hypothermia in patients with burns following their arrival at the emergency department (ED). Secondary outcomes include influence of burn first aid cooling, risk factors influencing hypothermia, impact of hypothermia on clinical patient outcomes and incidence of hypothermia in patients with burns in non-ED settings.

Ethical approval was granted by the Children’s Health Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (CHQHREC; HREC Ref No: HREC/25/QCHQ/114285) as well as Health and Disability Ethics Committees, New Zealand (HDEC; Ref No: 2026 EXP 23892). The study findings will be formally disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

To define subaxial cervical spine vertebral body and canal dimensions in a paediatric cohort and to assess the influence of age and ethnicity.

Retrospective radiological observational study.

Single-centre tertiary level trauma care setting in New Zealand.

CT scans of children under 18 years of age were reviewed. A total of 111 participants were included (63 New Zealand European (NZE) and 48 Māori). Patients with cervical spine pathology or deformity were excluded.

Not applicable.

Primary outcomes were anteroposterior and transverse vertebral body and spinal canal dimensions measured at the mid-pedicle level from C3 to C7. Secondary outcomes included canal-to-vertebral body (canal:VB) ratios. Associations with age and ethnicity were assessed using correlation analysis and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Absolute vertebral body and canal dimensions were larger in NZE children compared with Māori. Canal:VB ratios were smaller in NZE children, reaching statistical significance at C7 (p=0.011). Age demonstrated a strong positive correlation with mean vertebral body anteroposterior diameter and a moderate correlation with canal:VB ratio. ANCOVA showed ethnicity (NZE) to be a significant predictor of vertebral body dimensions, particularly transverse diameter at C4–C6, while age had a lesser effect. Canal:VB ratios decreased with increasing age from C3 to C7, with low coefficients of determination indicating additional influencing factors.

In this paediatric cohort, vertebral body dimensions were more strongly associated with age than spinal canal dimensions. Ethnicity was associated with modest differences in cervical spine morphology, particularly transverse vertebral body diameter. These findings suggest cervical spine development is multifactorial and may have implications for trauma assessment and spinal cord injury risk evaluation in adolescents. Further studies incorporating anthropometric and sex-specific variables are warranted.

Healthcare services are mainly organised around single health conditions and need reconfiguration to meet the needs of people with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity). Typically, people are offered annual reviews for each of their long-term conditions separately. In a randomised controlled trial, a comprehensive computerised template based on a personalised care model increased the person-centredness of multimorbidity reviews in primary care, but there were implementation challenges. We sought to understand and address the challenges of implementing a template to support personalised primary care for people with multimorbidity (PP4M).

To explore the extent of implementation and factors influencing uptake of the PP4M intervention. To understand factors influencing implementation and normalisation of the template.

Convergent parallel mixed methods within a non-randomised hybrid implementation-effectiveness study. Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) informed design, data collection and analysis.

Primary care (general practices) in three English regions.

Quantitative: Patients aged 18 years or over and had at least three types of long-term conditions (routine data collection); staff involved in using the template in implementation practices (Normalisation MeAsure Development (NoMAD) questionnaire).

Qualitative: Staff at implementation practices.

A multimorbidity computerised template to support personalised annual reviews. NPT-informed implementation package delivered to implementation practices included: process mapping, software support and training.

Routine medical record data; NoMAD questionnaires and qualitative interviews in implementation practices.

Measures of reach, fidelity, acceptability and sustainability.

Quantitative data: descriptive statistics, logistic regression and difference-in-difference models. Qualitative data analysis conducted using NPT coding manual.

In practices that received an NPT-informed implementation package, use of the template increased more, across patients with a range of demographics and health conditions, than in those that did not receive the implementation package (OR 2.86 (95% CI 2.34 to 3.49)). The implementation package successfully triggered NPT processes of coherence and cognitive participation, and, to a lesser extent, collective action and reflexive monitoring. Contextual factors, including a lack of staff generalist skills and disease-specific incentives, impeded engagement and sustained implementation.

Focusing on the processes of normalisation as mechanisms of implementation facilitated development of an implementation strategy with potential to trigger those mechanisms, but did not sufficiently address contextual factors. Implementation strategies to support personalised care must consider wider system and practice level contextual factors, such as incentives and staff training.

https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN40295449 (2022–08-03, retrospectively registered.)

A neglected area of patient safety research is how the characteristics of mental health staff and teams may influence incidents, specifically, through unintended and harmful consequences of clinical care. While the research literature into patient safety has increased, there is still a need to further consider safety on mental health wards, for example, the role of the staff team in containment and conflict. This review aims to explore the question, ‘How do staff and team characteristics relate to safety incidents in adult inpatient mental health settings?’.

The review will follow Whittemore and Knafl’s integrative review framework. CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science will be searched. Literature published after 1999, that includes extractable quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods data exploring the relationship between staff and team characteristics on incidents in adult inpatient mental health settings, will be suitable for inclusion. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool will be used for quality appraisal and data analysis and will comprise data reduction, display and comparison.

No new data or access to participants will be involved in this review. As such, ethical review will not be required. Dissemination will include publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international conferences.

This review has been registered on PROSPERO (ref. CRD420251119981; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251119981).

Emotional difficulties, such as low mood and worry, are more prevalent among female forces veterans compared to their male peers. However, female veterans are more reluctant to access mental health services available for armed force veterans. To enhance help seeking, the Iona female forces veterans (IonaFFV) research app has been developed and adapted for low mood and worry management among female veterans. This feasibility randomised controlled trial primarily seeks to explore the methodological uncertainties of conducting a definitive randomised controlled trial using IonaFFV. Secondary aims seek to explore acceptability and engagement with IonaFFV. Additionally, progression criteria will be assessed to determine feasibility of moving to a definitive trial.

Participants were recruited online and asked to complete two screening assessments to assess eligibility. Eligible participants were randomised using block randomisation to use either the IonaFFV or Iona sham app for 6 weeks. Recruitment and randomisation are complete, and data collection is currently ongoing. At the end of the 6-week intervention period, participants will complete the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 and Work and Social Adjustment Scale outcome measures. At 4 weeks postintervention (10 weeks postrandomisation), participants will complete the same outcome measures in addition to the mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) to assess acceptability of both IonaFFV and Iona sham. At the end of the study, the participants who were in the Iona sham group will be given an option to use the IonaFFV app for 6 weeks. Proportions will be reported for feasibility and demographic data with descriptive analysis conducted for the outcome measures. Median values with IQRs will be conducted for each subscale of MAUQ.

This study received ethical approval from the University of Exeter Psychology Ethics Committee with consent obtained from all participants. Study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences, with a final report presented to the funders of the project.

ISRCTN50744553.

Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) causes a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from pharyngitis and impetigo to severe invasive infections and immune-mediated conditions such as acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Contemporary data on the global burden of Strep A diseases are lacking. The proposed study aims to use administrative data from numerous jurisdictions to estimate age-specific incidence or prevalence of Strep A diseases, with an emphasis on severe clinical endpoints. Depending on the availability of data, a secondary objective will be to estimate the economic burden of Strep A diseases.

This population-based descriptive study will use routine health data obtained from different low-income and middle-income and high-income countries through international research collaborations to estimate the country-level and global burden of Strep A diseases. Data will be primarily obtained and collated from hospital or national health laboratory databases for individuals across all age groups, along with emergency department, primary care and microbiological datasets where available. Strep A disease endpoints will be identified using International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision or other relevant coding systems and microbiological diagnosis. Age-specific incidence and prevalence rates will be computed using population denominators, and country-level age-adjusted rates will be applied to standard global reference populations to estimate the number of cases globally.

Ethical approval to conduct this study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Western Australia (reference: #2024/ET000401) and governance approval was obtained from The Kids Research Institute Australia. The findings from this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at Strep A Vaccine Global Consortium collaborative meetings.

Many researchers conduct a process evaluation alongside an effectiveness trial of a public health intervention to better understand mechanisms behind observed effects. Yet, there is no standardised, scientifically accepted guideline for reporting such process evaluations, which impedes interpretation and comparison of study results. The aim of this project was to develop a consensus-based and expert-based guideline for reporting process evaluations of public health interventions conducted alongside an effectiveness trial.

We conducted an e-Delphi study with a large panel of international experts.

Based on purposive sampling, we invited 137 international experts that had been involved in the design of process evaluations, researchers who published high-profile process evaluations or frameworks, editors of journals that publish process evaluations, and authors of other reporting guidelines.

Based on a literature search, a first draft of the reporting guideline included 32 items, which was proposed to panel members during the first round. Of the invited 137 invited international experts, 73 (53%) participated in at least one round of the e-Delphi study. Participants rated the inclusion and comprehensibility of the proposed items on a 5-point Likert scale and provided comments and suggestions for relevance and definitions of the items. Adjustments to the items and descriptions were proposed to the e-Delphi panel until consensus of ≥67% for each individual item was reached. In total, 64 (88% of 73) completed round 2, and 55 (76% of 73) completed round 3. This resulted in 19 items that are included in the consensus-based process evaluation reporting guideline for public health intervention studies (CONPHES) guideline. The items cover a detailed description of the intervention that is evaluated, the implementation strategies applied, and underlying causal pathways, and the role of the delivery and support team. The guideline also requires describing the evaluation framework and how evaluation outcomes were assessed. Lastly, the guideline includes items on providing a detailed description of applied analyses (both quantitative and qualitative) and measures for assuring quality. The guideline is accompanied by an Explanation and Elaboration document, with a more detailed explanation of each item.

We expect that the CONPHES reporting guideline for process evaluations of public health interventions can improve the reporting of process evaluations of interventions aimed at promoting public health. This can potentially facilitate more effective translation of public health research into practice and contribute to improving both individual and population health outcomes.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) remains challenging to diagnose owing to the marked clinical heterogeneity associated with the disease. This heterogeneity stems from the complex interplay of various clinical phenotypes, genetic mutations and underlying neuropathologies, such as TDP-43 and tau proteinopathies. Currently, there is no single confirmed biomarker that can reliably diagnose disease, specifically disease stage, disease subtype and underlying neuropathology. Recent research has indicated that neuroimaging techniques hold the most promise for the discovery of FTD biomarkers. We propose a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify MRI and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) biomarkers associated with clinical, genetic and pathological subtypes of FTD. We aim to address the following research questions: can regional MRI volumetry and FDG-PET hypometabolism differentiate (1) FTD patients from healthy controls; (2) sporadic cases of FTD from healthy controls; (3) genetic cases of FTD (MAPT, GRN, and C9orf72 mutations); and (4) underlying neuropathology, specifically discriminating between tau- and TDP-43-based FTD?

Literature searches will be performed across three databases: Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase and Web of Science. Publications that have fewer than five participants, are non-human-based, not written in the English language or contain unpublished data will be excluded. Two independent investigators will screen and subsequently evaluate which publications to include. Should any disagreements arise, a third investigator will settle the discrepancy. After the random-effects meta-analysis has been used to extract and pool the data, I² analysis will be used to quantify heterogeneity.

Ethics approval will not be required for this research. On completion, the systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CRD42024545302.

Group-format, peer-led parenting interventions may be valuable for parents with significant emotional and interpersonal difficulties in improving child behaviour, parenting and parent mental health. This article presents the results of a feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a novel peer-led group intervention, Being a Parent (BaP)-Enjoying Family Life.

Two-arm, parallel group superiority feasibility RCT, with pre–post intervention (postintervention) and 6-month follow-up (6-month follow-up).

Community recruitment across four South London boroughs.

Main inclusion criteria were (1) primary parental caregivers, (2) aged 18–65 years and (3) significant emotional and interpersonal difficulties (score ≥3 on Standardised Assessment of Personality–Abbreviated Scale screening tool) and had a child (a) aged 2–11 years, (b) living with parent participant and (c) with caregiver-reported behavioural difficulties.

Intervention arm: BaP-Enjoying Family Life, a 10-session, peer-led, group intervention for parents with significant emotional and interpersonal difficulties. Control arm: BaP-Standard, a nine-session, peer-led group parenting intervention.

Primary feasibility criteria were rates of recruitment, retention, intervention acceptability and fidelity. Initial estimates of intervention effect were measured using the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory (primary outcome), and the Concerns about my Child scale, Arnold O’Leary Parenting Scale, Parental Reflective Function Questionnaire, Kansas Parent Satisfaction Scale, Brief Parent Self Efficacy Scale, Brief Adjustment Scale-6 and Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (secondary outcomes). Data collection was conducted with the researcher masked to intervention allocation.

Predefined thresholds were met for three of five feasibility indices and partially met for the remaining two. Eligibility criteria were met by 70% (n=77) of 110 interested parents, and 85% (n=66) of those eligible completed baseline data collection and were randomised. Data were collected at postintervention for 91% (n=60) of parents. 75% (n=49) of participants attended at least one session and 50% (n=33) completed 5 or more sessions (intervention completers). The intervention was found to be acceptable by 60.71% of participants in BaP-Enjoying Family Life and 62.50% of participants in BaP-Standard arm, increasing to 93.33% and 88.24%, respectively, among intervention completers. Fidelity was reached for three of five groups in each arm, with missing data and group cancellation contributing to lack of observed fidelity in the remaining two groups. We aimed to obtain estimates of intervention effect and, while underpowered, estimates of effect on the primary outcome (child behaviour) were moderate within each arm (BaP-Enjoying Family Life d=0.73 (95% CI 0.30 to 1.15), BaP-Standard d=0.73 (95% CI 0.34 to 1.12)) from baseline to postintervention. Improvements were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Moderate and large pre–post effects were observed on most secondary outcomes. Effect sizes also indicated no between-arm effect of intervention BaP-Enjoying Family Life and BaP-Standard on most primary and secondary outcomes.

Findings indicate that both interventions show promise in supporting parents with significant emotional and interpersonal difficulties with limited differential effects. Further refinements which increase intervention completion, acceptability and fidelity should be conducted prior to progression to a full-scale RCT.

ISRCTN10950727.

Past studies show a mixed relationship between the Global Health Security (GHS) Index and COVID-19 pandemic health outcomes. Some recent work that suggested higher GHS Index scores are associated with better mortality outcomes has been criticised on methodological grounds. There remains scope for improved analyses of these relationships, including of island nations and macroeconomic pandemic outcomes. We aimed to determine the relationship between GHS Index scores and COVID-19 pandemic excess mortality 2020–2021 and macroeconomic pandemic outcomes.

Cross-sectional, multivariable regression design (controlling for per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and political corruption), comparing island and non-island jurisdictions.

194 jurisdictions with 2019 GHS Index scores.

Age-standardised cumulative excess mortality 2020–2021, GDP per capita growth 2019–2020 and 2020–2021.

The GHS Index predicted better health outcomes in terms of age-standardised excess mortality through 2020–2021 in non-island jurisdictions (β=–0.046, p=0.00068, adj R²=0.48), but not in island jurisdictions (β=0.012, p=0.734). For a starting age-standardised excess mortality of 100 per 100 000, a +10-point rise in overall GHS Index score predicts a 26.7 per 100 000 reduction in age-standardised mortality. We found no robust evidence that a higher GHS Index predicted higher year-on-year GDP per capita growth through 2019–2020 or 2020–2021.

The GHS Index demonstrated clear associations with favourable health outcomes of non-island jurisdictions through the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting its use to guide pandemic preparedness investments. Contrasting findings for islands suggest the need to enhance how the Index measures border biosecurity capacities and capabilities, including the ability to support the exclusion/elimination strategies that successfully protected islands during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To describe the lessons learnt during the promotion of a new approach to the care of critically ill patients in TanzaniaEssential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC).

A descriptive qualitative study using thematic analysis of structured interviews.

The study was conducted in Tanzania, involving 11 policymakers, researchers and senior clinicians who participated in the promotion of EECC in the country.

Five inter-related themes emerged from the promotion of EECC in Tanzania: (1) early and close collaboration with the government and stakeholders; (2) conduct research and use evidence; (3) prioritise advocacy and address misconceptions about EECC; (4) leverage events and embed activities in other health system interventions; and (5) employ a multifaceted implementation strategy. The themes map to the normalisation process theory domains of coherence, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring.

The integration of EECC into Tanzania’s health policy is a result of a multidisciplinary collaboration including government and partners that has used evidence, advocacy and context and included multifaceted implementation strategies. The lessons from Tanzania’s experience provide guidance for adoption in similar settings to improve critical care systems, foster access to care and optimal outcomes for all critically ill patients.

As global health education becomes more embedded in university curricula, the availability of experiential learning opportunities in this field has expanded as well. These programmes offer students valuable exposure to diverse cultural perspectives and help develop essential competencies in global health. However, concerns have arisen regarding the persistence of colonial-era dynamics, power imbalances and the potential negative impacts on host organisations in low- and middle-income countries. Much of the existing literature on this topic centres on short-term medical student experiences and is focused on the perspectives of the sending organisations. This study aims to fill this gap by examining a semester-long undergraduate global health experiential learning programme through the perspectives of host organisation staff.

This qualitative case study draws on interviews with 18 key informants from host organisations across seven countries. The research design, data collection and analysis were developed using an analytical framework based on recommendations made by previous studies.

Host organisations across seven countries participated in the study. Interviews were conducted remotely via Zoom. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded in Dedoose software and analysed for emerging patterns and themes.

Eighteen key informants from host organisations were interviewed, representing seven countries — Tanzania, Ghana, Mexico, India, Bangladesh, Australia and the Philippines — and a range of institutions including research institutes, government agencies and UN bodies.

Participants generally viewed their engagement in experiential learning courses positively. They emphasised the importance of their role in mentoring American and other foreign global health students, building their research skills and cultural competency, and providing valuable insights into power dynamics, local health systems and the wider context in which global health operates. Beyond financial remuneration, participants emphasised multiple non-financial benefits for host organisations. The study identified three key themes in developing strong programmes: partnership, communication and cultural competence. These findings reinforce the value of longer-term programmes and offer actionable recommendations for their continued evolution in global health education.

In critical care, intensive care unit (ICU) staff and physicians often estimate patients' height and weight visually, impacting calculations for cardiac function, ventilation, medication, nutrition and renal function. However, accurate assessment is challenging in critically ill patients. This study evaluates the accuracy of visual estimations by ICU staff.

Descriptive cross-sectional study.

National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan.

We included a convenient sample of adult (≥18 years) cardiac patients admitted to the critical care unit in this study. Patients who refused to give consent, trauma/surgery of lower limbs or patients with below-knee or above-knee amputation were excluded to avoid bias.

A convenient sample of cardiac ICU patients was included. Measured weight (kg) and height (cm) were compared with visual estimations by senior ICU nurse, senior non-ICU nurse, ICU consultants, fellows and residents. Correlation and agreement were analysed using Bland–Altman plots and 95% agreement limits.

A total of 356 patients were evaluated, of whom 204 (57.3%) were male, with a mean age of 55.2 ± 14.3 years. The median SOFA score was 3 [2–5], and 101 patients (28.4%) were on mechanical ventilation. The mean difference between measured and estimated weight by senior non-ICU nurse was 4.7±9.2 [–13.38–22.83] kg, senior ICU nurse was 7.8±9.9 [–11.56–27.12] kg, ICU consultants was 3.0±6.6 [–9.89–15.79] kg, ICU fellow was 3.0±7.1 [–10.88–16.92] kg and ICU resident was 8.0±9.6 [–10.83–26.79] kg. Similarly, the mean difference between measured and estimated height by senior non-ICU nurse was 2.0±7.3 [-12.36–16.34] cm, senior ICU nurse was 2.4±7.5 [–12.19–17.00] cm, ICU consultants was 1.5±5.6 [–9.51–12.48] cm, ICU fellow was 1.1±5.5 [–9.68–11.95] cm and ICU resident was 2.3±8.5 [–14.40–19.01] cm.

The findings indicate that healthcare professionals tend to overestimate both weight and height. The accuracy of these estimations varied among professional groups, underscoring the potential clinical consequences of such errors. This emphasises the need for objective measurements in clinical decision-making.