Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Family caregivers of persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cognitive and/or behavioural impairments (PALS/CIs) experience various challenges and needs, including emotional and practical support from peers. Various forms of peer-support have shown different strengths and weaknesses; however, little is known about how family caregivers of PALS/CIs interact with and perceive virtual face-to-face peer-support. ⋯ Virtual face-to-face peer-support can enable caregivers of PALS/CIs to share experiences of everyday life challenges that cannot always be shared elsewhere. Being able to relate to and learn from other's experiences alleviated feelings of loneliness, frustration, and concerns and thereby enhanced comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. Online palliative rehabilitation interventions should provide an opportunity for caregivers to meet regularly in interactive group meetings. Familiarization takes time online and is necessary to improve their sense of feeling safe to share their deepest thoughts. Such group interventions, facilitated by trained healthcare professionals, offer a means to support dynamic group interactions and discussion of sensitive topics.
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The concept of patient or case complexity is relevant-and widely used-at all levels and stages of mental health service provision, but there have been few methodologically robust attempts to define this term. This study aimed to establish a consensus on factors contributing to patient complexity in adult psychological services using Delphi methodology. ⋯ We conclude that applied psychologists do have a shared understanding of complexity and make recommendations for further research validating, developing and applying this empirically derived framework.
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There is a growing demand for comprehensive, evidence-based, and accessible clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to address virtual service delivery. This demand was particularly evident within the field of hearing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, when providers were faced with an immediate need to offer services at a distance. Considering the recent advancement in information and communication technologies, the slow uptake of virtual care, and the lack of knowledge tools to support clinical integration in hearing healthcare, a Knowledge-to-Action Framework was used to address the virtual care delivery research-to-practice gap. ⋯ Literature review findings are discussed along with the co-creation process that included 13 team members, from various research and clinical backgrounds, who participated in the writing, revising, and finalising of the draft version of the guideline.
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Preoperative care is one of the main areas in which to address low-value care. A detailed definition of what low-value care is in this period of the surgical care journey paves the way for new scientific research, clinical improvements, and reduction of unnecessary costs in this field. ⋯ Revisiting and integrating previous definitions of low-value care in low-risk surgery into a scoping review is a starting point for de-implementing unnecessary care and promoting improvements in surgical pathways.