Search

The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness and safety of SIRT in the treatment of hepatic metastases from Uveal Melanoma.

The number of retractions in the scientific ecosystem has increased in recent years, but it is still unclear what it is or what are the reasons for the occurrence of this phenomenon. The answer to this question can contribute to the creation or strengthening of anti-fraud policies and a more careful evaluation of the articles by the magazines that publish them, increasing transparency and strengthening an environment of good scientific practices.

This is a protocol of a scoping review that will describe the breadth of the literature on access to and utilization of nonpharmacologic therapies to manage chronic pain among people with disabilities and older adults.

The aim of this study is to: 1) measure the perceptions of medical journal Editors-in-Chief regarding naming patients as (co-)authors on research publications; and 2) measure medical journal Editors-in-Chief’s views on the application of the ICMJE authorship criteria to patient partners. Addressing these aims is critical to establishing equitable guidance and norms pertaining patient partners as authors of research publications.

Emerald Gate supported a pilot study conducted by the Institute of Noetic Sciences to evaluate energy medicine sessions efficacy in people with hand and wrist pain. Subjective pain scores were significantly improved immediately after the sessions and remained improved three weeks later (Yount et al., 2021). Many other additional exploratory measures such as geocosmic (Wahbeh, Radin, et al., 2020), water evanescence (Radin et al., 2020), and quantum noise generators (Carpenter et al., 2020) resulted in interesting findings that warrant further research. Among these results is the clairvoyant seer data collected from one clairvoyant seer’s reported observations of all the energy medicine sessions (Wahbeh, Niebauer, et al., 2020). The qualitative thematic analysis identified six major themes from the seer's notes: “Experience of the Practitioner,” “Experience of the Participant,” “Space and Other Beings” (referring to the qualities of the physical space the energy medicine session occurred in and ostensible non-physical beings present during session), “Participant-Practitioner Relationship,” “Healing Process,” and “Attributes of Energy.” The energy medicine methods used varied for each participant, according to the practitioners’ perceptions of each individual's needs. The linear regression models yielded significant associations between changes in pain scores and various codes, including energy color, practitioner touch, and the presence of ostensible non-physical beings supporting the session. However, their significance did not persist after correction for multiple comparisons. One limitation to this study was that only one seer was observing the sessions. Thus, it was impossible to tell whether the seer’s observations were purely subjective influenced by their mental filters or if there was some aspect to the observations that could be objectively measured. Thus, additional studies are needed to address this question and validate “seeing.” The current project aims to do just that. This study aims to validate “seeing” through observation of energy medicine sessions. Five Reiki Masters with extensive experience will be the energy medicine practitioners. Participants with the following conditions will be recruited: physical (injury such as broken bone), mental (Mild Cognitive Impairment), emotional (anxiety), spiritual (depression). Reiki Masters will see two participants from each condition for a total of eight 45-minute sessions each over two days. Six seers who can “see” externally will make quantitative and qualitative observations before, during, and after each session. Participants and Reiki Masters will also record their observations of the sessions. Data will be analyzed for similarities: 1) within-seers for the same sessions, 2) between the Reiki Master and seers, 3) between the participant and Reiki Master, and 4) between the participant and seers.

Scoping review protocol

We aim to analyze the extent and quality of patient engagement in best practice examples

This project serves as a pre-registration of the protocol for "Approaches to measuring and conceptualising sleep discrepancy: A scoping review"

In order to increase value and reduce waste in the biomedical sciences, several initiatives and remedies has been proposed. One of the key parts is the call for more open science, i.e., reporting all research results in a timely manner (timely reporting), publishing without paywalls (open access), sharing data, code and protocols (open data, open code, open protocol), and to preregister study protocols (preregistration). It has also been proposed that universities should change their incentive structures in order to facilitate these procedures. The aim of this project is to describe whether the proposed changes in incentive structures have already made their way into guidelines and policies of German medical faculties, and how prevalent traditional metrics still are. We will be looking at university regulations regarding promotion and tenure (i.e., PhD regulations, habilitation requirements, application forms and procedural guidelines for tenured professorships), as well as core facilities, like clinical research units and animal research facilities (including 3R centres).

Scoping review protocol for a review that aims to synthesise existing literature and evidence that contributes to the current understanding of the impacts of neoliberalism on Indigenous health.

The aim of our study will be to systematically investigate the detection of pleural effusion ANA at a titre of ≥1:160 and the pleural fluid to serum ANA ratio ≥1 in patients with lupus pleuritis compared to SLE patients with pleural effusions from other causes.

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease characterized by low bone mineral density and increased fracture risk. Fractures are serious and can result in pain, disability, and death. A common tool used to measure the prevalence and risk of these fractures are administrative databases, which can also help determine effectiveness and safety of osteoporosis medications. Fracture diagnoses are recorded in administrative databases by trained medical coders. However, after claims are recorded, researchers have the freedom to define variables in their study as they wish. As a result, the definition of ‘fracture’ can vary between studies; although these coding nuances may seem subtle, they may have a large influence on the results of a study. This lack of consistency raises the need for a standard of fracture coding. To inform future research in this area, a synthesis of how fractures are coded in observational studies using administrative claims data is needed. In this scoping review, we aim to answer the question How do pharmacoepidemiologic observational studies for osteoporosis that leverage administrative data for outcomes code fractures?

Scoping review protocol.

The usage of pulse oximeters has been increased in the COVID-19 pandemic. If a pulse oximeter is used by multiple users in a family, there is chances of cross infection. Hence, we aimed to find if using commonly available disposable polyethylene covers either on the finger or on the pulse oximeter provides same reading of SpO2 or not.

Scoping review protocol

This scoping review examines the literature on pregnancy among women with physical disabilities to characterize, synthesize and evaluate the current evidence to inform care practices, highlight gaps in knowledge, and guide the development of interventions to reduce longstanding inequities in maternal care and pregnancy outcomes for women with physical disabilities.

Background: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends aspirin for colorectal cancer prevention for people with Lynch syndrome. Strategies to change practice should be informed by an understanding of the factors influencing prescribing. Aim: To investigate the optimal type and level of information to communicate with GPs to increase their willingness to prescribe aspirin. Design and setting: We will recruit GPs in England and Wales (n=672) to an online survey with a 23 factorial design. GPs will be randomised to one of eight vignettes describing a hypothetical patient with Lynch syndrome recommended to take aspirin by a clinical geneticist. Method: Across the vignettes, we will manipulate the presence or absence of three types of information: 1) existence of NICE guidance; 2) results from the CAPP2 trial; 3) information comparing the risks/benefits of aspirin. We will estimate the main effects and all interactions on the primary (willingness to prescribe) and secondary outcomes (comfort discussing aspirin).

How are inter-hospital transfers of patients organised, communicated and implemented? A scoping review.

We are coding systematic reviews in forensic science to determine how transparent and reproducible they are.

This scoping review will enable a clear indication of the volume of literature on this topic – there is currently no identified specific Indigenous Peoples literature regarding cultural safety within ICU. There is, however, data on safety culture, which is not the same concept. By reviewing the evidence in the literature, it can be determined if there is a common theme, and perhaps more importantly, what the gaps in culturally safe practices are.

A Systematic Review looking at the effectiveness of multimodal treatment compared to other intervention(s), placebo/sham interventions or no intervention at improving clinical outcomes in adults and/or children with whiplash associated disorders (Grades I-III), and neck pain and associated disorders (Grades I-III)

This study uses a survey to ask orgasmic meditation practitioners to compare their experience of Orgasmic Meditation to sex and fondling

Part of the 'Evidence synthesis and translation of findings for national clinical guideline development: addressing the needs and preferences of guideline development groups' project with funding from Health Research Board (HRB) Emerging Investigator Award (EIA-2019-09)

Purpose: To compare 2-year results of a filtering trabeculotomy (FTO) to conventional trabeculectomy (TE) in open-angle glaucoma by exact matching. Methods: 110 patients received an FTO and 86 a TE. FTO avoided the need for an iridectomy due to a preserved trabeculo-Descemet window anterior to the scleral flap. TE employed a trabecular block excision and iridectomy. Mitomycin C was used in both. FTO and TE were exact-matched by baseline intraocular pressure (IOP) and the number of glaucoma medications. Complete and qualified success (IOP ≤18 mmHg and IOP reduction ≥ 30%, with or without medication) were primary endpoints. IOP, visual acuity (BCVA), complications and intervention were secondary endpoints. Results: 44 FTO were exact-matched to 44 TE. The IOP baseline in both groups was 22.5±4.7 mmHg on 3±0.9 medications. At 24 months, complete success was reached by 59% in FTO and 66% in TE and qualified success by 59% in FTO and 71% in TE. In FTO, IOP was reduced to 12.4±4.3 mmHg at 12 months and 13.1±4.1 mmHg at 24 months. In TE, IOP was 11.3±2.2 mmHg at 12 months and 12.0±3.5 mmHg at 24 months. Medications could be reduced at 24 months to 0.6±1.3 in FTO and 0.2±0.5 in TE. There were no significant differences between the two groups in IOP, medications, complications or interventions at any point. Conclusion: Modifying aqueous flow through a limited trabeculotomy in FTO yielded clinical outcomes similar to traditional TE but allowed to avoid an iridectomy.

The objective of this work was to outline a scope review, in order to point out the mechanisms of production, use and application of nanometric substances carriers, within dentistry, in order to guide the application of research in the dental area, in order to improve existing materials.

Objective: To compare outcome reporting and the presence of “spin” in COVID-19 studies published as preprints and subsequent peer-reviewed publications.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease that was closely related to the environment and human behavior. To overcome pulmonary tuberculosis, various factors associated with TB who received anti-TB treatment became very important. Therefore, we extend the Riskesdas data analysis To determine the various factors associated with Pulmonary TB patients received anti-TB treatment. Subject treated with anti-TB treatment became the dependent variable, while the independent variables consisted of subjects characteristics (age, gender, and education level), socioeconomic status and residential classification. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the use of anti-tuberculosis. The result showed that male subjects with age of 35 until 44 years, low education, consider poor in economic and inhabited in the urban area more common in subjects with anti-TB treatment. Thus, characteristics of subjects (age, gender, and education level), socioeconomic status and residential classification are the factors of subjects treated with anti-tuberculosis in Indonesia

Background: It is well known that premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is more prevalent in women of childbearing age than before as a common disease. But numerous epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that PMDD start from the adolescence, which have brought it a severe public health concern. To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of reliable estimates on the prevalence and risk factors among female adolescents. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of PMDD among adolescents. Methods: Electronic databases (from January 2000 onwards), including PubMed, MEDLINE, WoS (Clarivate Analytics), Embase, Google Scholar, CNKI, Chinese VIP Information, Wanfang Database and CBM will be searched separately. Observational studies reporting on the prevalence of PMDD among adolescents will be included. The primary outcome will be the prevalence of PMDD. Secondary outcomes will be the prevalence of any risk factors in association with PMDD. The abstract data and full-text articles will be independently screened by two reviewers. The study methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using an appropriate tool. If feasible, we will conduct random effects meta-analysis of observational data. Subgroup analyses will be conducted to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity (e.g., gender, sample size, type of occupation). Publication bias and heterogeneity between the included studies will also be assessed and reported. Results: The results of this study will systematically evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of premenstrual dysphoric disorder among adolescents. Conclusion: This study will summarize the current published evidence of epidemiological investigations of PMDD with advanced age classification. Abbreviations: PMDD = premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMS = premenstrual syndrome, ALLO = allopregnanolone, DSM-V =Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition, ICD= International Classification of Diseases, ROB = risk of bias, SMD = standardized mean difference. Keywords: SSRIs, Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, Population-based observational studies, Systematic review protocol

N-of-1 trials and single-case designs (SCD) are used to evaluate individual-patient response to interventions. This is in contrast to group-based research designs (e.g. randomised controlled trials), which tell us more about the average response to interventions for the group studied. N-of-1 trials and SCDs are being increasingly recognised as a useful method across a number of disciplines, but generally their adoption has been limited. This may be related to a number of inaccurate beliefs about these methods or perceived barriers to using them. It is important to explore stakeholder perspectives of N-of-1 trials and SCDs in order to identify strategies to increase awareness and adoption. To date, there are few high-quality studies investigating multiple stakeholder perspectives about using N-of-1 trials and SCDs studies in the healthcare context. Most studies have focused on the views of clinicians or patients, with few exploring views of other important stakeholders such as funders, statisticians, methodologists, publishers and regulators. Furthermore, the existing evidence is based on poorly reported research methodology with no theoretical basis about the potential factors that might influence awareness and adoption. A comprehensive, theory-based, in-depth investigation of perspectives across multiple stakeholders groups is needed. This can inform the development of intervention strategies to improve awareness and adoption of N-of-1 trials and SCD studies in healthcare.

Scoping Review

This qualitative study aims to analyze the attitudes and preferences of a group of Italian osteopaths in the clinical application of SD.

Objetivo: Mapear fontes de informação técnico-científica sobre os cuidados de Enfermagem Forense aos homens vítimas de violências sexuais. Método: Trata-se de um protocolo de revisão de escopo realizado em conformidade com o método Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Será adotado o mnemônico PCC, sendo: População - Homens que foram acometidos por violências sexuais, Conceito – Enfermagem forense, Contexto – Não se aplica. A busca será realizada em três etapas por dois pesquisadores, destaca-se que será mantido o processo de cegamento entre os revisores. A coleta será realizada em bases de dados a Lilacs, Medline, CINAHL, IBECS, BDENF, BINACIS, Web of Science, Periódicos CAPES, Embase, Scopus, Google Acadêmico, BVS. Análise dos Dados: Os dados serão organizados e será procedida a análise de conteúdo com o apoio do software Iramuteq®. A síntese dos resultados será apresentada de forma de gráficos, diagramas e fluxos, buscando-se os devidos alinhamentos com o objetivo e a pergunta de pesquisa.

Improving health and healthcare are dynamic processes in which stakeholders from research and practice are interdependent. Therefore, there is an increasing demand in approaches that facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange between academic research and daily practice of patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare policy (1-5). As an answer to this call, a myriad of collaborative networks and approaches are initiated, including communities of practice, academic collaboratives (AC) and research partnerships (6-9). However, collaboration networks often face challenges, such as lack of interaction between knowledge users and knowledge producers, inadequate match between the supply of and demand for knowledge products, suboptimal use of novel scientific knowledge and expensive innovations resulting in limited effects on practice (10-14). For sustainable development, an AC or any other type of collaboration network needs to create a way of working together that is able to address these challenges (15). In the Netherlands, AC’s are a common form to facilitate research practice collaboration and knowledge exchange (1). The AC ‘Stronger on your own feet’ (SOO) is such a collaboration between the Radboudumc and seven care organizations for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). The aim of this AC is to improve the health and healthcare for people with ID. Like in other AC’s, SOO encounters challenges in the collaboration and knowledge exchange between research and practice such as differences in timelines, knowledge needs and priorities (1). To date, there is little insight in the functioning of academic collaboratives and how collaboration and knowledge exchange within an AC is being shaped. This study provides more insight about the functioning of AC’s and into how collaboration and knowledge exchange within an AC in the ID care sector can be improved. In this way, the health of and healthcare for people with ID can benefit. The aims of this study are to explore 1) the network positions of organizations within AC SOO concerning collaboration and knowledge exchange within the AC, 2) on which themes organizations within AC SOO collaborate and exchange knowledge, and 3) what the perspectives are on the current and future network position of organizations within AC SOO concerning collaboration and knowledge exchange. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design will be used involving quantitative data and explaining the quantitative findings with in-depth qualitative data. The overall research question of this study is the following: How do organizations within an Academic Collaborative in care for people with ID collaborate and exchange knowledge? Sub research questions: 1. What network position do organizations have within AC SOO concerning collaboration, knowledge sharing and knowledge searching? 2. On which themes do organizations within AC SOO collaborate, share and search knowledge? 3. What are perspectives for the current (and future?) network position of organizations within AC SOO concerning collaboration, knowledge sharing and knowledge searching?

Musculoskeletal disorders are a common and costly problem worldwide. Digital health interventions are a very promising option to help individuals with musculoskeletal disorders to overcome geographic and physical barriers to access health care. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of digital health interventions to improve physical activity levels in people with musculoskeletal disorders.

A systematized review (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE) will be conducted to assess program evaluation methods utilized by hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs in high-income countries. Program evaluation methods retrieved from the literature will then be assessed for incorporation of the four standards of program evaluation (utility, feasibility, propriety, accuracy).

The Medical Maximizer-Minimizer Scale (MMS) captures the extent to which some individuals are more disposed to seek health care than others (Scherer et al, 2016). Recent findings of Scherer et al (2020) suggest that people more disposed to seeking health care ("Maximizers") may also be more likely to make low-benefit health care decisions. Low-benefit health care has negative consequences for individuals and for the efficacy of a health care system as a whole. The aims of this study are to explore whether: - the MMS predicts preference for low- or high-benefit care (replication of Scherer et al, 2020) - Protection Motivation Theory explains Minimizer and Maximizer preferences for health behaviour - intolerance of uncertainty adds further explanatory power in understanding MMS responses in a behavioural threat - manipulating the cost (risk) and threat (reassurance) appraisal changes people's preference for high- and low-benefit care. Effective interventions that encourage individuals who have a tendency to make low-benefit health care decisions to make better choices could be enormously beneficial to those individuals as well as enabling health resources to be used efficiently.

Due to the complexity of Alzheimer's disease, multiple cellular types need to be targeted simultaneously in order for a given therapy to demonstrate any major effectiveness. Ultrasound-sensitive coated microbubbles (in a targeted lipid nanoemulsion) are available. Versatile small molecule drug(s) targeting multiple pathways of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis are known. By incorporating such drug(s) into the targeted LCM/ND lipid nanoemulsion type, one obtains a multitasking combination therapeutic for translational medicine. This multitasking therapeutic targets cell-surface scavenger receptors (mainly SR-BI), making possible for various Alzheimer's-related cell types to be simultaneously searched out for localized drug treatment in vivo. Besides targeting cell-surface SR-BI, the proposed LCM/ND-nanoemulsion combination therapeutic(s) include a characteristic lipid-coated microbubble [LCM] subpopulation (i.e., a stable LCM suspension); such film-stabilized microbubbles are well known to substantially reduce the acoustic power levels needed for accomplishing temporary noninvasive (transcranial) ultrasound treatment, or sonoporation, if additionally desired for the Alzheimer's patient.

Māori continue to experience inequitable health care and health outcomes compared with other New Zealanders. A narrative review conducted in 2016 described disparities in access to and through the surgical care pathway for Māori from a limited pool of small retrospective cohort studies. This review only targeted studies that specifically investigated surgical care for Māori however, many other studies have performed sub-analyses for Māori as part of bigger ethnographic epidemiological studies and Indigenous Health has become more topical in Australasia since this review was conducted. Health disparities and inequities in surgical care for Māori are still not well understood. In order to address systemic barriers to surgical care for Māori, there needs to be robust Māori-led investigations and continuous monitoring of the crown and its constituents. This scoping review aims to report the nature and extent of disparities in surgical disease and care for Māori.

An integrative review that aims to analyse the literature examining organisational culture (including safety culture) in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). The research questions are: 1. How is organisational culture being studied in RACFs? 2. What are the findings on the impacts of organisational culture on staff and resident outcomes in RACFs? 3. What interventions are being used to improve organisational culture in RACFs?

This mixed methodology study aims to describe how patient education about functional disorders differs across specialist treatment settings in Europe. We will first identify relevant network of treatment services providing specialist management of functional disorders across at least 6 European Countries, and systematically gather and analyse patient educational material that is currently in use across these services. The second stage will be to survey health-care professionals working within these services about their personal understanding of the aetiology of functional disorders, and their clinical practices with regard to patient education and guided self-help. In the third stage we will carry out in depth semi-structured interviews with a sample group of healthcare professionals to enable richer descriptions to be gathered. Qualitative data will be analysed using theoretically driven thematic analysis. This work will build on in-depth recent literature reviews of themes in etiological explanations, explanatory models and effective behavioural change techniques. Quantitative survey data will be organised to allow comparison between factors of interest in the data-set (these include the country, professional background of the participant, and clinical focus of the treatment service’). This study builds on the work of the Clinic of functional disorders at Aarhus University Hospital. The purpose of the study is to describe information that may be important in developing an e-health educational programme that has international usability and acceptability.

This registration contains the project plan prior to receiving the data of the cross sectional study regarding cancer prevalence and characteristic of cancer care between individuals with and without mild or severe intellectual disabilities in the Netherlands. The used template for this registration is the current AsPredicted standard.

The aim of the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED) Project is to develop robust, universal, and psychometrically sound scales to measure the development of children aged 0-3 years. This study aims at the validation of the GSED measures (Short, Long and Psychosocial Forms)

The purpose of this review is to scope the literature for objective approaches used to examining the place of practice of dentistry, medical, nursing, and allied health graduates in Australia. This is important to understanding how place of practice following graduation is measured in order to identify opportunities to improve the consistency of geographical reporting between studies, and to identify potential opportunities for nationally consistent and locally relevant, geographical measures. The research question for this scoping review is: How is place of practice described, measured, and analysed in rural research studies focusing on dentistry, medical, nursing, and allied health graduates in Australia? Review objectives include: (1) Scope Australian rural studies focusing on dentistry, medical, nursing and allied health graduates that have included place of practice as an outcome measure and examine objective approaches to analysis, and (2) Examine alignment of approaches used to objectively measure place of practice, with relevant state-wide and national policies.

Scoping review - preregistration

Schizophrenia is a very challenging condition to medically manage, especially with majority of the population ending up with medication noncompliance due to the severity of treatment resistance, adverse affects. This ultimately leads to a very poor quality of life. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been proposed as a new intervention to use in patients with treatment resistant Schizophrenia or those who are approaching treatment resistance due to poor access and inadequate quality of life. We hypothesize that ECT will improve the quality of life in schizophrenia and reduce the overall population in the frightening treatment resistant and become more treatment compliant and potentially remission.

This is a scoping review protocol. The aim of this project is to explore the literature on Independent Medical Evaluations in the context of musculoskeletal injury.

Data underpinning the paper entitled "Developing composite indices of geographical access and need for nursing home care in Ireland, using multiple criteria decision analysis" by Reddy BP, O'Neill S and O'Neill C, published in HRB Open 2020. Abstract: Background: Spatial accessibility has consistently been shown to influence utilisation of care and health outcomes, compared against local population needs. We sought to identify how appropriately nursing homes (NHs) are distributed in Ireland, as its NH market lacks central planning. Methods: We used multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approaches to develop composite indices of both access (calculated by us and toincorporating measures of availability, choice, quality and affordability) and local NH need for over 65s (relating to the proportion living alone, with cognitive disabilities or with low self-rated health, estimated scores for activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, the average number of disabilities per person and the average age of this group). Data for need were derived from census data. Results were mapped to better understand underlying geographical patterns. Results: By comparing local accessibility and need, underserved areas could be identified, which were clustered particularly in the country’s northwest. Suburbs, particularly around Dublin, were by this measure relatively overserved. Conclusions: We have developed multi-dimensional indices of both accessibility to, and need for, nursing home care. This was carried out by combining granular, open data sources and elicited expert/stakeholder opinion from practitioners. Mapping these data helped to highlight clear evidence of inequitable variation in nursing home distribution.

Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet predicts healthier sleep (St-Onge & Zuraikat, 2019). Yet, there is not much known about potential mechanisms, mediating this bi-directional relation. This study aims to investigate gut-brain-communication, especially the impact of high fiber and tryptophan intake on the composition of the gut microbiome as a potential mediator and how it relates to human sleep quality.

The objective of this study is to review the literature on pain management in indigenous and tribal peoples across different cultures in a global context.