Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Clinical research activity in hospitals is associated with reduced mortality and improved overall care quality. In England, the latter is a compound score of several elements and both staff and inpatient feedback form part of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings. The objective of this study was to determine if NHS Trusts' National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) study activity data correlates with specific outcomes from national NHS staff and patient surveys. ⋯ Survey elements of the CQC appraisal of English NHS Hospital Trusts are significantly associated with increased clinical research activity levels; it appears to drive better information provision to inpatients-particularly around medicine management-and contribute to a better inpatient experience overall, whilst staff are more likely to recommend their own organization. Despite clinical research activity forming a very small fraction of overall NHS activity, it has an indirect positive effect on staff and Trust performance that is measurable at patient level.
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Observational Study
GheOP3 S tool and START/STOPP criteria version 2 for screening of potentially inappropriate medications and omissions in nursing home residents.
There is limited information about the comparative effectiveness of the START/STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions/Screening Tool to Alert doctors to Right Treatment) criteria and the Ghent Older People's Prescriptions community Pharmacy Screening tool (GheOP3 S tool) for the screening of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) in the geriatric population. Considering this, the aim of this study was to compare the ability of the START/STOPP criteria and GheOP3 S tool to identify the PIP and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) among elderly patients visiting their primary care physician. ⋯ The results of this study indicate that both tested tools demonstrated efficiency to detect PIPs and PPOs. The GheOP3 S tool detected significantly more PIPs than did the STOPP criteria. On the other hand, the START criteria performed much better for the screening of PPOs.
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Consumer-based activity trackers aim at quantifying physical activity in a wide range of contexts. Nevertheless, they need to be validated before they are confidently used. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the Nokia Go against reference devices, according to different sensor locations, in two measurement conditions: during a walking task and during a 24-hour free-living condition. ⋯ There are high discrepancies in step count between devices because of the different types of activities in daily life. The Nokia Go may be confidently used for step counting during pure walking tasks, at different locations. However, the lack of concurrent validity with ActiGraph call for caution regarding their use in daily living conditions.
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Prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for cancer control. The objective of this study was to ascertain opinions, attitudes, and professional practices towards cancer prevention among primary care professionals and to assess differences between family physicians (FP) and nursing professionals (NP). ⋯ Group and community interventions are rarely practised, especially among FP. Actions targeting improved ability and knowledge could lead to higher involvement in the promotion of health. It would also be necessary to intervene in the examination of the utility of such interventions.
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The main leading cause of the upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) is viral infection. However, parental attitudes often lead to inappropriate prescription of antibiotics contributing to development of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study is to assess parental knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards the use of antibiotics in Dubai and to reveal the associated factors. ⋯ The study has identified key factors associated with misuse of URTI antibiotics and highlights the importance of targeting those groups with intervention programs and campaigns to increase awareness and decrease misconception of antibiotic use.