Objectives To evaluate diagnostic equity, feasibility and acceptability of a remote photoplethysmography-based blood pressure screening application among adults with darker skin tones in Nigeria. Design Prospective observational multisite field evaluation. Setting Three hospitals in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Participants Adults with Fitzpatrick skin types V–VI. Outcome measures Feasibility, agreement, diagnostic accuracy, acceptability, and equity relevant factors including facial tribal markings and internet bandwidth, using automated cuff measurements as the reference standard and a 140 over 90…
Introduction Cumulative interpersonal traumatisation increases the risk of psychosis and is linked to psychotic symptom severity and reduced recovery rates. Psychosis and treatment themselves can also be traumatising, with a first episode of psychosis posing challenges to one’s identity. Despite a growing evidence base for the safety and effectiveness of trauma therapies for psychosis, implementation remains poor in early intervention for psychosis (EIP) services, partly due to resource constraints. Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is an effective intervention for post-traumatic stress…
Purpose The KoMAC (Korean Medicine for Aging Cohort) study investigates health characteristics related to ageing from both conventional and Korean medicine (KM) perspectives through a prospective, multicentre cohort study that also serves as a platform for future embedded intervention studies. Participants This study aimed to recruit 1000 adults aged 50–65 years from both urban (Iksan and surrounding areas, Jeonbuk Province) and rural (Jangheung and surrounding areas, Jeonnam Province) regions in Korea. Recruitment began in August 2023. The inclusion criteria were residence in the target…
Objectives To compare influenza-related hospitalisation, mortality and effects of background factors in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and age-matched and sex-matched controls. To explore associations between clinical variables and the risk of severe influenza outcomes. Design Register-based nationwide cohort study. Settings Data from the National Diabetes Register are cross-linked to the Swedish Population Register, Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Patient Register. Participants 371 811 patients with T2D from the Swedish National Diabetes Register and 1 728 856 matched control individuals…
Objective Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, negatively affecting their health and quality of life. These challenges are particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where HIV prevalence, unintended pregnancies and child marriage remain high. This review aimed to map interventions designed to improve SRH access for ALHIV in SSA, applying Levesque’s framework to identify facilitators and barriers from supply-side and demand-side perspectives. Design Review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic…
Background There is a growing concern about the increasing number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) globally. This study investigates the impact of concurrent cognitive and socio-emotional development trajectories in childhood on NEET status in adolescence in a UK cohort. Method We analysed longitudinal data on 8368 children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Exposure trajectories of cognitive and socio-emotional development from age 3 to 14 years were characterised using group-based multi-trajectory models. We used Poisson regression to examine…
Objectives Care-experienced individuals are at elevated risk of mental health difficulties, yet less is known about their mental health needs in motherhood. This study aims to explore (a) disparities in trajectories of psychological distress in care-experienced versus non-care-experienced mothers as they raise their child from age 3 to 14, and (b) putative postpartum-associated pathways shaping disparities in maternal distress at child age 14. Design and setting We conducted longitudinal secondary data analysis using the prospective United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study data. Participants 11…
Objectives To develop phenotype algorithms for the detection of adverse events (AEs) or AE-proxies in electronic health records (EHRs), accounting for varying data availability. Design Multicentre study conducted as part of the Use Case POLAR_MI (POLypharmacy, drug interActions, Risks) of the German Medical Informatics Initiative (MII). Setting Germany. Participants Multidisciplinary teams from 10 German university sites within the MII. Interventions Not applicable. Main outcome measures Literature- and consensus-based development and operationalisation of AE algorithms using structured EHR…
Objectives This study aimed to investigate the association and potential causal relationship between ischaemic stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and oral anticoagulant (OAC) adherence using Bradford Hill’s criteria and to determine the factors influencing OAC adherence following ischaemic stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. Design We conducted a scoping review. Data sources MEDLINE, Embase and Web of Science from inception up to March 2026. Results The analysis included 43 studies on OAC adherence across different phases: initiation (n=1), implementation (n=15), implementation…
Objectives To assess uptake of nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prevention, during the first season of Ireland’s Pathfinder pilot universal newborn immunisation programme and to identify socio-demographic and perinatal predictors of uptake. Design Cross-sectional analysis of routinely collected programme data. Setting Ireland’s Mid-West region, served by University Maternity Hospital Limerick, the sole maternity and neonatal hospital for the region. Participants Infants born 1 September 2024 to 28 February 2025. Outcome measure Uptake of…
Objectives To explore what works for whom, how and why when implementing women’s sexual and reproductive health interventions in prisons to understand the barriers and facilitators to implementation and to generate recommendations for policymakers. Design Realist review using the Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Synthesis: Evolving Standards guidelines. Data sources We systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE, Global Health, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and the American Psychological Association (APA) PsycINFO databases and hand-searched…
Objectives Health interventions should be designed to be appropriate for scaling from the outset, but the extent to which factors that are important for scalability are reported on in pilot randomised trials is unclear. This review assesses the extent to which pilot randomised trials report on 15 domains of intervention scalability. Design Methodological review. Data sources Four journals were searched: BMJ Open , BMC Pilot and Feasibility Studies , BMC Trials and PLoS One for articles published between January 2023 and October 2024. Eligibility criteria We included pilot randomised trials of…
Objectives The aim of the present study was to compare Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curves (AUROCs) of age-and-sex alone, and in addition respectively, the Nordic Multimorbidity Index (NMI), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI), and explore simple count-based measures on in-patient care and filled drug prescriptions, with the outcome mortality using Swedish health registries. Study design and setting Study population: All persons born in 1975 or earlier who were continuously resident in Sweden between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014…
Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently leads to mobility impairment, fatigue and a significant decline in health-related quality of life (QoL). Home-based assistive technology, such as robotic exoskeletons, offers a promising solution to enhance independent mobility and increase the intensity of motor training. Long-term functional and quality of life benefits of light lower-limb exoskeleton home use have yet to be determined. Objective The primary objective of this study is to determine the efficacy of an 8-week period, home-based use of a robotic exoskeleton in improving QoL in…
Objectives To provide an updated systematic review of the effectiveness of workplace interventions for chronic musculoskeletal disorders, identify key intervention components and assess their impact on health and work-related outcomes. Design Systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for studies published between 2018 and 2024. Grey literature sources were also consulted. Eligibility criteria Randomised controlled trials and cluster-randomised trials evaluating workplace interventions targeting…
Introduction Avoidable and unfair variation in access to palliative care exists for different groups of people and communities. Primary and community care teams deliver most palliative care and care to people at the end of life at home but the quality of care provided is variable. This is an under-researched area and receives little attention in service design and policy. This study will investigate the key contexts, resources and components required for an integrated approach to palliative care to deliver improved and more equitable outcomes for patients and carers. Methods and analysis This…
Introduction The Healthy Early Life Moments in Singapore (HELMS) programme was developed by a multidisciplinary team to improve metabolic and mental health outcomes in women/mothers and to promote healthy growth and development in their children. Despite increasing interest in preventive life-course care, evidence on the long-term economic impact of these life-course interventions remains limited. This protocol outlines the economic evaluation of the HELMS integrated lifestyle intervention, supported by a mobile health (mHealth) app, across the reproductive continuum from preconception to…
Objectives Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among medical students globally, yet estimates from Pakistan remain fragmented and inconsistent across studies. Medical students in Pakistan face multiple academic, social and environmental stressors that may increase their risk of depression. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students in Pakistan and to explore sources of heterogeneity across studies. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis reported in accordance with the Meta-analysis Of Observational…
Introduction Emergency EEG (emEEG) is increasingly used in the emergency department (ED), but its diagnostic yield remains uncertain. This protocol describes a multicentre observational study aiming to evaluate emEEG findings and their relationship with diagnostic pathways and therapeutic management of patients admitted to the ED. Methods and analysis This multicentre retrospective study will analyse emEEGs performed on patients admitted to the ED of some Italian teaching and community hospitals over a 1-year period with a target sample size of 3850 patients. The diagnostic yield of emEEG will…
Introduction Steatotic liver disease (SLD), particularly its metabolic forms (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), is highly prevalent worldwide yet remains substantially underdiagnosed. Neck circumference (NC) is a simple anthropometric measure reflecting upper-body adiposity and cardiometabolic risk and has been increasingly investigated as a potential screening or risk-stratification tool for SLD. However, existing evidence is heterogeneous, and no comprehensive meta-analysis has synthesised the diagnostic…
Objectives This study aims to estimate the rate of recruitment of participants. Design This is a pilot, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised controlled trial of oral oxycodone and sublingual placebo vs sublingual buprenorphine and oral placebo for postoperative pain management for 7 days after pelvic exenteration. Setting Patients will be recruited from three metropolitan quaternary referral centres that offer advanced gastrointestinal surgery in Australia. Participants The inclusion criteria will be patients over the age of 18 years undergoing pelvic exenteration surgery…
Introduction Knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and disability and frequently results in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Decisions about surgery and postoperative management rely largely on subjective pain scales and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and 10–15% of patients remain dissatisfied after TKA despite technically successful surgery. Evidence suggests that pain is partly reflected in peripheral immune signalling, yet this neuroimmune interface has not been studied in patients with joint pain due to knee osteoarthritis. This study will explore whether peripheral…
Introduction Gastrointestinal cancer surgery commonly leads to postoperative complications and other adverse outcomes. While prehabilitation shows promise in reducing adverse postoperative outcomes, most hospitals have resource limitations that preclude its use as standard of care. Additionally, the need to expedite surgery from diagnosis often creates a narrow window for prehabilitation initiatives. Online, self-reported screening tools may address these challenges by facilitating early identification of high-risk patients and enabling targeted preoperative interventions, thereby allowing…
We’re entering uncharted territory if bad actors can both launch zero-days and exploit unaddressed backdoors with new efficiency. This is why teams need to unify their network structure and better forecast what they’re up against. The post Preparing Healthcare Networks For The Vulnerability Flood appeared first on MedCity News .