To examine trends in Chuna manual therapy utilisation for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) following its inclusion in the National Health Insurance (NHI) system in Korea in 2019 using claims data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA).

Retrospective analysis of NHI claims data.

Nationwide medical institutions, based on HIRA claims data from April 2019 to December 2021.

All patients who received at least one Chuna therapy session during the study period.

Primary outcome: Annual trends in Chuna manual therapy claims. Secondary outcome: Patient demographics, therapy frequency, MSD diagnoses and concurrent therapies.

A total of 12 729 625 Chuna therapy claims were analysed, showing a gradual annual increase in utilisation from 2019 to 2021. The most common age group was 45–54 years (22.3%), with female patients comprising a higher proportion (55.8%) than male patients.

Low back pain (M54.5), lumbar sprain and strain (S33.5) and cervicalgia (M54.2) were the most common diagnoses. Patients receiving Complex Chuna (50% co-payment) had more treatment sessions than those receiving Simple Chuna or Complex Chuna (80% co-payment), with spinal disorders such as spinal stenosis (M48.0) and intervertebral disc disorders (M51.1, M50.1) associated with higher treatment frequency. Acupuncture was the most common concurrent therapy (97.4%).

This study is the first to comprehensively analyse Chuna therapy utilisation using nationwide NHI claims data. The findings confirm that Chuna therapy is widely used for MSDs, particularly among middle-aged and elderly patients with spinal or muscle-related conditions. Patients with severe or chronic spinal diseases were more likely to receive frequent Chuna therapy sessions. These results provide insights into the utilisation patterns of Chuna therapy and highlight the need for further research to refine reimbursement policies based on disease severity and patient characteristics.

Preoperative exercise training is recommended, when feasible, for people undergoing resection for lung cancer and has been shown to reduce the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications and improve preoperative exercise capacity. However, preoperative exercise training programmes are not commonly available in the Australian clinical practice setting due to a range of factors including resource and time restrictions. We aim to describe the protocol to evaluate the implementation of an existing preoperative exercise training programme in people undergoing lung cancer resection in an Australian setting.

This is an evaluation of a secondary objective of a study examining the effect of lung cancer resection on exercise capacity, lung function and symptoms of dyspnoea and quality of life. Participants will be prospectively recruited at the time of lung cancer diagnosis and planned surgical treatment through the lung cancer multidisciplinary team of a metropolitan hospital in Sydney, Australia. All participants will be offered the choice of participating in the preoperative exercise training programme which encompasses a hybrid gym and telerehabilitation programme of up to five sessions/week from baseline until surgical date. The programme will be evaluated using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance Framework including both quantitative and qualitative measures which will be analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis coded inductively.

The study has received ethical approval through the Northern Sydney Local Health District reference 2023/ETH01643 and has been registered prospectively. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and scientific conference presentation.

ACTRN12624000359538.

Migrants and refugees with low language proficiency (LLP) in the dominant language of their host country have a higher risk of suffering from certain mental health disorders compared with non-migrant populations. They are also more likely to experience a lack of access to mental healthcare due to language-related and culture-related barriers. As part of the MentalHealth4All project, a digital multilingual communication and information platform was developed to promote access to mental healthcare for LLP migrants and refugees across Europe. This paper describes the study protocol for evaluating the platform in practice, among both health and/or social care providers (HSCPs) and LLP migrants and refugees.

We will conduct a pretest–post-test cross-national survey study to evaluate the platform’s effect evaluation (primary objective) and process evaluation (secondary objective). The primary outcomes (measured at T0, T2 and T3) are four dimensions of access to mental healthcare services: availability, approachability, acceptability and appropriateness of mental healthcare. Secondary outcomes (measured at T2) are: actual usage of the platform (ie, tracking data), perceived ease of use, usefulness of content, comprehensibility of information, attractiveness of content and emotional support. Participants will be recruited from nine European countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and the UK. Using convenience sampling through professional networks/organisations and key figures, we aim to include at least 52 HSCPs (ie, 6–10 per country) and 260 LLP migrants (ie, 30–35 per country). After completing a pretest questionnaire (T0), participants will be requested to use the platform, and HSCPs will participate in an additional personalised training (T1). Next, participants will fill out a post-test questionnaire (T2) and will be requested to participate in a second post-test questionnaire (T3, about 6–8 weeks after T2) to answer additional questions on their experiences through a brief phone interview (T3 is optional for migrants/refugees).

For all nine countries, the ethical review board of the participating university (hospital) has assessed and approved the protocol. If successful, the MentalHealth4All platform will be made publicly available to help improve access to mental healthcare services, as well as HSCPs’ cultural competencies in delivering such services, for any LLP migrants and refugees across Europe (and beyond). Findings will also be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and conferences.

The ‘MHealth4All project’ was prospectively registered on Open Science Framework, DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/U4XSM.

This study aimed to assess treatment outcome, medication adherence and predictors among epilepsy patients at three low-resource setting hospitals in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia.

A multicentre hospital-based observational cross-sectional study was conducted.

The study was conducted in three resource-limited tertiary care hospitals in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia: Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Mekelle General Hospital and Quiha General Hospital.

A total of 351 patients with epilepsy receiving regular follow-up care at adult neurology outpatient clinics in three low-resource setting hospitals were included in the study.

The study assessed adherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), treatment outcomes and identified independent predictors of these outcomes.

A total of 351 study participants were included in the final analysis, with a mean (±SD) age of 37.98±14.27 years. More than one-third (39%) had poorly controlled seizures. Living in urban areas (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)= 3.36, 95% CI 1.1 to 10.4, p=0.037), being government-employed (AOR = 4.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 14.5, p=0.035) and being a student (AOR = 4.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 14.5, p=0.035) were associated with good seizure control. Half of the participants (177, 50.6 %) were non-adherent to their medications. Being a farmer (AOR = 4.2, 95% CI 1.5 to 11.3, p=0.005), a housewife (AOR = 4.9, 95% CI 1.4 to 17.2, p=0.012), absence of seizure-triggering factors (AOR = 3.7, 95% CI 2.34 to 6.06, p

More than two-thirds of patients with epilepsy experienced poor seizure control. Place of residence, employment status and the number of seizure episodes prior to treatment initiation were identified as significant predictors of treatment outcomes. Approximately half of the study participants were adherent to their medications, with employment status, the presence of seizure-triggering factors, comorbidities and seizure control serving as predictors of medication adherence.