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Symptomology following COVID-19 among adults in Alberta, Canada: an observational survey study

Por: Chen · X. · Norris · C. · Whitten · T. · Ho · C. · Mann · B. · Bakal · J.
Objective

Fatigue, headache, problems sleeping and numerous other symptoms have been reported to be associated with long COVID. However, many of these symptoms coincide with symptoms reported by the general population, possibly exacerbated by restrictions/precautions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the symptoms reported by individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 compared with those who tested negative.

Design

Observational study.

Setting

The study was conducted on adult residents in Alberta, Canada, from October 2021 to February 2023.

Participants

We evaluated self-reported symptoms in 7623 adults with positive COVID-19 tests and 1520 adults who tested negative, using surveys adapted from the internationally standardised International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC)-developed COVID-19 long-term follow-up tools. These individuals had an index COVID-19 test date between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2022 and were over 28 days post-COVID-19 testing.

Primary outcome measures

The primary outcomes were to identify the symptoms associated with COVID-19 positivity and risk factors for reporting symptoms.

Results

Fatigue was the top reported symptom (42%) among COVID-19-positive respondents, while headache was the top reported symptom (32%) in respondents who tested negative. Compared with those who tested negative, COVID-19-positive individuals reported 1.5 times more symptoms and had higher odds of experiencing 31 out of the 40 listed symptoms during the postinfectious period. These symptoms included olfactory dysfunction, menstruation changes, cardiopulmonary and neurological symptoms. Female sex, middle age (41–55 years), Indigeneity, unemployment, hospital/intensive care unit (ICU) admission at the time of testing and pre-existing health conditions independently predicted a greater number and variety of symptoms.

Conclusions

Our results provide evidence that COVID-19 survivors continue to experience a significant number and variety of symptoms. These findings can help inform targeted strategies for the unequally affected population. It is important to offer appropriate management for symptom relief to those who have survived the acute COVID-19 illness.

Integrated health system intervention aimed at reducing type 2 diabetes risk in women after gestational diabetes in South Africa (IINDIAGO): a randomised controlled trial protocol

Por: Norris · S. A. · Zarowsky · C. · Murphy · K. · Ware · L. J. · Lombard · C. · Matjila · M. · Chivese · T. · Muhwava · L. S. · Mutabazi · J. C. · Harbron · J. · Fairall · L. R. · Lambert · E. · Levitt · N.
Introduction

South Africa has a high prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM; 15%) and many of these women (48%) progress to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within 5 years post partum. A significant proportion (47%) of the women are not aware of their diabetes status after the index pregnancy, which may be in part to low postnatal diabetes screening rates. Therefore, we aim to evaluate a intervention that reduces the subsequent risk of developing T2DM among women with recent GDM. Our objectives are fourfold: (1) compare the completion of the nationally recommended 6-week postpartum oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between intervention and control groups; (2) compare the diabetes risk reduction between control and intervention groups at 12 months’ post partum; (3) assess the process of implementation; and (4) assess the cost-effectiveness of the proposed intervention package.

Methods and analyses

Convergent parallel mixed-methods study with the main component being a pragmatic, 2-arm individually randomised controlled trial, which will be carried out at five major referral centres and up to 26 well-baby clinics in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. Participants (n=370) with GDM (with no prior history of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes) will be recruited into the study at 24–36 weeks’ gestational age, at which stage first data collection will take place. Subsequent data collection will take place at 6–8 weeks after delivery and again at 12 months. The primary outcome for the trial is twofold: first, the completion of the recommended 2-hour OGTT at the well-baby clinics 6–8 weeks post partum, and second, a composite diabetes risk reduction indicator at 12 months. Process evaluation will assess fidelity, acceptability, and dose of the intervention.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval has been granted from University of Cape Town (829/2016), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (M170228), University of Stellenbosch (N17/04/032) and the University of Montreal (2019-794). The results of the trial will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations to key South African Government stakeholders and health service providers.

Protocol version

1 December 2022 (version #2). Any protocol amendments will be communicated to investigators, Human Ethics Research Committees, trial participants, and trial registries.

Trial registration number

PAN African Clinical Trials Registry (https://pactr.samrc.ac.za) on 11 June 2018 (identifier PACTR201805003336174).

Internal structure validity and internal consistency reliability of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire: a systematic review protocol

Por: Gowani · A. A. A. · Low · G. · Norris · C. · Hoben · M.
Introduction

The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) is one of the most used tools to measure health-related quality of life in heart failure. Despite extensive use in research, evidence on the MLHFQ’s internal structure validity remains heterogeneous and inconclusive. There are no known reviews that systematically summarise the evidence related to the MLHFQ’s factor structure (internal structure validity). This gap highlights a need to critically appraise, summarise and compare the available evidence on the internal structure and internal consistency reliability (ICR) of the MLHFQ.

Methods and analysis

The review will adhere to the reporting guidelines of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis. We will systematically search eleven electronic databases/search engines (Medline, EMBASE, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, Global Health, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, Scopus, Journals, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Dissertation and Theses Global) for quantitative studies assessing the MLHFQ’s factor structure and ICR. Two reviewers will then independently screen studies for eligibility and assess the quality of included studies using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments checklist. Throughout the review, discrepancies will be resolved through consensus or by the involvement of the third reviewer. We will analyse and present results using descriptive statistics (frequencies, proportions and ranges) and narrative synthesis. We will include all the relevant studies published within the timeframe covered by the database. We carried out the preliminary search in November 2022 except for Dissertation and Theses Global which was searched in September 2023; however, we will update the entire search right before the review completion in January 2024.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval is not required as no primary data is being collected from individuals. We intend to share the findings of the review at international conferences and publish manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42023346919.

A community of practice in a midwifery led unit. How the culture and environment shape the learning experience of student midwives

: to explore the teaching and learning experience of midwifery mentors and student midwives in a midwifery led unit. The aim of this paper is to discuss how a conceptual framework emerged from the findings of the study.
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